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 There
are three routes for walks around Laxton which are of varying
lengths. Each has a leaflet giving directions and points of interest
along the way. The walks follow different, colour coded routes as
shown on the display board in the Visitor Centre.
All walks start and finish at the Visitor Centre and during the walk
you will see
interpretation boards
explaining different aspects of the Open Field Farming system in
Laxton.
Stuart Rose, a trustee of the Visitor Centre, offers
guided
walks
and talks about Laxton. His
contact details
are available in the Centre.
Within the Open Fields there are grassed areas known as 'sykes'
(pronounced 'six') which are not assigned to any of the farm
tenancies and have never been farmed. Farmers have grazing rights
over the sykes which work in conjunction with the current
stewardship agreement and Natural England. The sykes are either too
steep or too wet or were reserved for turning the horses when
ploughing. They often contain a road, a drainage ditch or both.
Farmers must not encroach on the sykes when
 ploughing
and must avoid spraying within six metres of their strip boundaries
to prevent them from being contaminated by artificial fertilisers
and chemicals. In spring the sykes grow a
profusion of cowslips and other wild flowers. The grass grown on the
sykes is sold at the annual 'Grass Letting' and the farmers who buy
it cut it to make exceptional hay full of many species of grass and
wild flowers.
Cowslips on Bottom Long Syke
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