I’ve been fascinated by Corby for a while now, and my desire to travel there has taken on quest like properties similar to that time I wouldn’t stop talking about Selby. What’s so special about Corby you ask? Two facts: it once had an unemployment rate over 30% and its Asda sells more Irn-Bru per capita than anywhere else in England. These are somewhat related as the town was once dominated by a massive steel mill which attracted large numbers of Scottish migrant workers in the early twentieth century. When the steel mill closed in the 1980s it devastated the local economy.

I did this as a two day 51 mile epic as it’s quite difficult to travel anywhere other than south from Corby by train. Starting in Huntingdon which I walked to earlier in the year and finishing in Oakham in Rutland which I’ve also visited previously.

The going was very slow due to the atrocious state of the footpaths in some areas. Eventually late in the evening I discovered this unfinished 16th century manor house at Lyveden. It’s a National Trust property but you can freely walked around the grounds.

I was expecting Corby to be some nightmarish post-industrial hell-scape but it was actually just a normal mid-sized town. The steel mill is gone and replaced with huge logistics parks and warehouses. The main local landmark is The Cube, the rather imposing home of North Northamptonshire council which you can see in the photos below. The highlight of the short time I spent there was hearing someone in Greggs (presumably a local) speaking in a strong Scottish accent, proving that at least some of Corby’s cultural heritage is still alive and well.