The Big Session is Oysterband’s own festival, which grew out of the spirit of after-hours music sessions between artists and festival goers and developed into an award-winning event. From 2005 to 2010, the Big Session took place at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall. After a break in 2011, it is returning in a new home: Catton Hall, in Derbyshire, from 15th to 17th June 2012.

JJ will be marking the occasion with a walk from De Montfort Hall to Catton Hall on 13th and 14th June. He says: “It would be fantastic if some of you who are planning to come to the festival could do the walk – or part of it – as well.”

“My motivation for this walk is part pilgrimage and part symbolic – the leaving of the old and the arrival at the new.  There must be easier ways of creating publicity but I walked into Leicester to the Big Session so many years ago and now I would like to walk out. If in doing so that I can explore the country side through the foot paths and byways to find Catton Hall, that’s great.

“I’m assuming that no one will want to accompany me through the traffic of Leicester but I will be off at 9am from DMH on Wednesday 13th June, passing the Walker Stadium alongside the canal heading south west out of Leicester, then using roads to cross the M1 to the village of Enderby.  I suggest that anyone wanting to walk meets here at Enderby church at 11am. We follow footpaths through Thurlaston to Kirkby Mallory for lunch. In the afternoon we continue west via Sutton Cheney to Bosworth Field (battle field) before turning north to Market Bosworth (overnight stop).

“Day 2, Thursday 14th June – leaving at 9am. Taking Leicestershire Round path north west to Shackerstone. Then Ivanhoe Way to Measham (lunch?); cross A42 to locate Neatherseal trig point and Coton-In-The-Elms; and then footpaths to Catton Hall.

“Some wonderfully weird names in a hidden area for me.  “A voyage of discovery” …………  a bit like the new BS at Catton Hall. I will be amazed if anyone joins me. See you at the Big Session!” – JJ

Overview map of the route below (click on it for a larger picture).