Croft Hill rises above our little community on the Lane, and when seen from the fields behind our home the informal grazed turf contrasts with the more formal, and certainly more domestic, trees and shrubs in the gardens behind the houses on the Lane. Neighbours who have lived here for longer than we have tell us that a couple of decades or so ago you could walk to the top of the Hill, and then continue in a straight line down the far side to the village of Croft, along a wide grassy ridge between Huncote Quarry and Croft Quarry. The ridge has now been excavated, the two quarries are one, and the footpath to the village now follows the road, although it remains a pleasant path, separated from the generally quiet road by a hedge. I, my dogs, and my friends are very familiar with the route – after all one of the first buildings encountered on entering Croft is the village pub!
The walker on the Hill is following one of my favourite routes up the Hill – a steep start leads to a gently climbing path with views all around, and as you reach the trig point at the top the quarry falls away dramatically before you, but with a backdrop of miles of South Leicestershire countryside.
