Cold Overton Park

County – Rutland

Elevation - 197m

Date – 16 October 2022

Distance – 1.13km

Elevation Climbed - 3m

Status – 25th highest Unitary Authority top; 30th highest historic county top

Rutland is famous for two things - being the smallest county, and being the fictional home of the Rutles, a 1970s Beatles parody outfit led by Neil Innes and Eric Idle. Neither of those are really true any longer. The Rutles are largely forgotten, and Rutland itself is now a unitary authority, no more of a "county" than North Northamptonshire or Torbay; although I suppose that's a better fate than being a district of Leicestershire, as it was between 1974 and the late 90s.

I'd never been to Rutland before and was pleasantly surprised by its beauty, as I passed through the quaint market towns of Uppingham and Oakham and headed for the heights above Rutland Water, the giant, trout-filled reservoir which occupies so much of the county (we'll call it that, as it'll get upset).

Having done The Slipe earlier in the day, and needing to get to Lincoln in time to watch the football that evening, I was in bit of a hurry, and so parking at the top of Cold Overton Park near the ubiquitous radio masts which mark so many Tops served me well, albeit it looked like a wonderful environment for a walk.

I wandered along a field boundary, hopped a fence (other Toppers seemed to suggest this was the Done Thing here, so I rolled with it) and jogged to the trig point.

I wandered back, looking wistfully at Rutland Water in the distance, and promising to return some day.