Willoughby On The Wolds: Trails, Churches and History

Willoughby On The Wolds offers several distinct points of interest for planning a trip: a short village walk, the long-distance Notts Wolds Way, churches and architectural history, and archaeological traces at Broughton Lodge. If you are looking for a hotel, you can first decide whether walking, local history or a particular reason for visiting will shape your stay. The route lengths distinguish a 2.8-kilometre circuit from a 26-mile long-distance route. The historical topics also range from a parish church with building fabric dating from several centuries to Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections.

Walking: distinguishing the village walk from the long-distance trail

The circular route through Willoughby On The Wolds is 1.8 miles (2.8 km) long. Suitable footwear and care around traffic are recommended. The Notts Wolds Way is a 26-mile long-distance trail from Bunny to Cropwell Butler, marked along its entire length with a distinctive black arrow on a white background. When the trail was introduced, the first stage ran from Bunny to Willoughby On The Wolds. The village walk, with its specific distance, can therefore be distinguished from a stage of the long-distance trail, while the 26 miles refers to the full route from Bunny to Cropwell Butler. If you plan to include a walk in your stay, you can first choose between the local circuit and the long-distance trail.

Churches and history

The Church of St Mary and All Saints is a Grade I listed parish church, with building fabric dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. A brass plaque in the church floor marks the grave of Michael Stanhope, who was killed at Willoughby Field at the age of 24. The Chantry Chapel of St Mary & All Saints contains alabaster tombs of national importance. The architecture, grave plaque and tombs offer different points of historical interest: you can distinguish the building fabric from several centuries from these specific memorials. Seasonal visiting hours for St Mary & All Saints are given as approximately 10 am to 5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Check these details before planning a visit specifically around them.

The history of the English Civil War is also connected with a specific place and date. On 5 July 1648, the last major engagement of the Civil War in Nottinghamshire took place in a field northwest of the church in Willoughby On The Wolds. This historical connection adds a 17th-century event to the architectural and church history.

Archaeological traces and woodland

At Broughton Lodge, the settlement is identified with Roman Vernemetum, mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Broughton Lodge contained about 90 inhumation burials; the finds are dated to the late 6th or early 7th century. These represent two distinct periods: the Roman identification of the settlement and the approximate dating of the burials. Those interested in local history can consider these as separate chapters, rather than assigning both the settlement and the cemetery to a single period.

Millennium Wood is part of the Woodland Trust’s “Woods On Your Doorstep” programme; Willoughby Wood refers to the same site. This woodland adds a distinct landscape interest to the walking trails, churches and archaeological topics. When looking for a hotel in Willoughby On The Wolds, you can shape your stay around your particular interests: for example, the village walk, the long-distance trail, church and Civil War history, archaeological traces or woodland.

Discover more destinations: Mansfield Woodhouse, Sutton In Ashfield, Calverton, Mansfield, Clayworth, Whatton, Stapleford, Colston Bassett

For the broader travel overview: Nottinghamshire.