Heart of England Way

Milford – Bourton on the Water, 8^th-12^th April 2013

Introduction

 As the winter weather seemed everlasting this year, I was looking for a low level route for my spring offensive. Then we were invited to a family christening in Oxfordshire and all was revealed. I would walk there and Jill would drive down for the weekend and bring me home. And the best route available seemed to be the Heart of England Way. I made the bookings and prepared the rucksack. It all seemed so simple. Then United changed the date of their match with City.

 

Monday 8^th April       Milford – Lichfield

Home for the Derby

 I drove down to the station and caught an early train to Stafford, then a bus to Milford. This dropped me off at the very start of the route, in a car park on Milford Common. The ascent onto Cannock Chase was up a series of long steady inclines, gentle but ever upwards until the plateau was reached. I saw the trig point but failed to recognise the Glacier Boulder, unless it was a small stone near a remote car park. If this was it, then it was very disappointing. Then I must have taken the wrong path out of this car park because I never found the Polish Memorial. Instead I hit the path coming away from it and I wasn’t going back. After all, I had a train to catch.
 

There was no more trouble with route finding. Marquis Drive is a long straight route that spears across the rest of the Chase. Only a short section is tarmacked, that being around the visitor centre. The turn-off was along a very busy road and an off road alternative turned out to be very wet and muddy. But it led directly onto the footpath to Castle Ring and then passed a whole series of pubs. The descent from high ground was along another roadside path but once in the Trent Valley there was much road walking and my first ploughed field.  But I was soon in the outskirts of Lichfield, passing quickly through parks and sports field and round the back of the houses into the Cathedral precinct.

 I walked through the pedestrianised town centre until I got to Birmingham Road. There I abandoned the route, turned north and strode out for Trent Valley Station. I took a train back home, collected the car, changed and fed and set off for Old Trafford. That was a waste of time but at least I slept in my own bed.

Milford dep. 09.15, Lichfield arr. 13.30, 15 miles on route (plus another mile or more to the station) in 4hrs 15 mins.

Tuesday 9^th April 2013       Lichfield  – Whitacre Heath

Back to the Job in Hand

So it was back to the station again and another train, this time back to Lichfield. I missed the connection (signal failure) into City Station so had to resort to a taxi but was soon back in the central shopping area having a cappuccino & carrot cake. The exit from Lichfield was quite complex and I was glad of the guidebook as I took ginnels and pavements through new housing estates. Eventually I came out on the A51 and had a long stretch on the pavement to the outskirts of the city. Finally I turned out of civilisation onto a lovely straight path heading south.

At Buck Head’s Farm, just after the A5 footbridge, I met a lone woman doing the end-to-end walk. She was a GP wanting a career break who had decided to take three months leave and go for it. I wished her luck and we went our opposite ways, me to enjoy a great climb up to Rookery Farm and roads and fields to Hint’s Farm. Then followed the worst section on the entire route, four miles or more of tarmac through to Drayton Bassett and the canal. The author of the guidebook had indicated the obvious off-road alternative but was prevented from making it official by a short length of private road. It will be a great benefit when he overcomes this impasse.

It was interesting crossing the canal over the twin towers bridge and a blessed relief to be on a towpath after all that road. Three miles of towpath brought me to the first of the wildlife pools and I turned off round the lakes to reach Broomey Croft Children’s’ Farm where, Lord be thankful, there was a tea shop. A very reasonably priced tea and fruit cake saw me fuelled for the final few miles, these consisting of a tour of Kingsbury Water Park and then an exit into Kingsbury village. The approach to the village was dramatic with a ruined fortified hall high up on a bluff above the river and some steps leading up to a lovely old church.

The last section round the firing range involved a long crossing of a newly ploughed field and then across farmland into Whitacre Heath. Here I took the official route on the east side of the railway and, just as I realised I was bypassing my accommodation for the night, I came to a footbridge over the railway and back to the digs.

 Lichfield dep. 10.53, Whitacre Heath arr. 17.25, GPS 19.90 miles in 6hrs 16m 11s.

 I stayed in the Railway Guest House on Station Road, Whitacre Heath. I ate in the Swan Inn, Partridge pie and chips with spotted dick and custard and some well-kept Bass Premium Ale (4.4%).

Wednesday 10^th April 2013    Whitacre Heath – Henley in Arden

Old Churches Galore

I was woken early with water dripping from the ceiling onto the foot of my bed. Problems with the shower upstairs, said my landlady trying to remain calm. But at least I got a good early start for what was planned to be the longest day of the trip. Unfortunately it turned out to be even longer than expected. The guidebook, so reliable in every other facet, had the first section down as 3.25 miles. When my GPS reached 4.25 miles, I realised that someone had made an error, a mistake that was then replicated through the book in total aggregate mileages.

 

I could hear the M6 from more than two miles away, a constant low frequency roar. It was a relief to reach and cross it on a mud-covered farmer’s bridge. Now at least the roar was behind me. The improvement in the weather had brought out all the farmers and unfortunately I have to traverse several newly ploughed fields. A full day of this would have been dreadful but the route got less ploughed and more pleasant as I went south. 

I passed some lovely old churches, in particular St Laurence at Meriden and St John Baptist at Berkswell. The latter had a medieval wooden porch on its south door. I took a quick peep inside and gave thanks for the continuing dry weather. I was sunburnt. Then I passed over the boardwalks and into parkland. Just then, my phone rang. It was my daughter Rachel with some news that stopped me in my tracks. She was expecting another baby and I was to be a grand-father once again. I was so preoccupied with the prospect that I completely missed the loop into Baddesley Clinton and was on the road through the village before I realised my error. But who cares when you are walking on air. I got back on-route at the Poor Clares Convent and in no time at all was down at the magnificent old hall. The good weather had brought every one out and their dog. The car park was heaving and it was not the day for a quiet look around. I must return here again.  

Then it was only a short section to the complex of canals that, once successfully navigated, would lead directly towards the end of my day. The towpath of the Stratford Canal passed under the M40 and at the next village, I turned for home. A surprising hilly section finished on the Mount, an Iron Age fort overlooking Henley. The staggering views gave a good end to the day. A steep descent to another old church dropped me straight onto the main street. My hotel was a short way to the left. 

Whitacre Heath dep. 08.40, Henley in Arden arr. 17.20, GPS 26.54 in 8hr 38m 28s 

I stayed in the Bridge House Hotel and tried to eat at the White Swan (superb pint of Chamberlain Pale Ale 4.5% from Two Towers Brewery) but they had a function on so I retreated to an Indian (Naya) and sunk two pints of Cobra. 

Thursday 11^th April 2013     Henley in Arden – Lower Quinton

Protests in the Country 

It had rained during the night and it was wet underfoot for the first time this week. It was a grey misty morning and very cold, what a Scot would refer to as driek. But it was good walking over grassy fields up to Bannam’s Wood. There was enough uncleared windfall in the woods to make it a tricky traverse. But the route turned soon enough towards Alcester. The last mile into town were spectacular, along a high ridge that led right into the out suberbs with industry on either side. The town itself looked very pleasant but the coffee shops were very busy. One was too full to consider whilst the next suggested I look elsewhere. Well, it was a bit early for a morning break so I walked on. 

I continued up the hill out of town and passed Oversley Castle, a relatively modern construction.  
Then it was a long line of stiles through Wixford and Broome before entering the outskirts of Bidford on Avon. At the old river bridge, I glance towards the town centre and, lo and behold, there was a tea shop. A pot of Earl Grey and a ‘lardy’ were just what the doctor ordered. So 30 minutes later, I was still preparing to cross the narrow bridge. On the other side the route crossed the flood meadows to Barton which had a very nice-looking pub. Then a farm track seemed to go on for ever. This brought me to new coverts, plantations under the Heart of England Forest Project.

In Dorsington, I admired the expensive house mentioned in the guidebook. Banners all over the village professed the local opposition to a wedding venue and party tent at the nearby hotel. A long flat section beside a stream led across the fields to Long Marston, a one street town on a busy road. A two mile stretch of field edge paths took me round and into Lower Quinton. At the junior school, I left the route and turned right in search of my b&b. This turned out to be the very last building in the village. I arrived just in time. The rain bucket down until it was time to go out in search of food. 

Henley in Arden dep. 08.51, Lower Quinton arr. 16.40, GPS 21.46 miles in 7hrs 18m 36s 

I stayed in Vicarage Farm which was at the western extremity of the village. The walk across the village to and from the College Arms added another two miles to the day’s total. The Venison Casserole & dumplings was perfect. The beer was Doom Bar (Sharps/Coors at 4.0%)

 

Friday 12^th April 2013     Lower Quinton – Bourton on the Water

Gloucestershire Mud 

I was back on a tight schedule today as Jill was driving down this afternoon to meet me. So I went for an early get-away and was quickly back onto route and along the road to Upper Quinton. From there a field path contoured round Meon Hill and it was quite difficult to pick the exact line. The overnight rain made all off-road walking extremely slippery. But I was soon in Mickleton, the home of the Pudding Club. But I saw nothing of the village as I went straight through between the houses and came out at the church. Then there was a long climb up a muddy field and on to Mickleton Hills. The farm was a beautiful building and then the path turned right across the top of the railway tunnel entrance and headed off into Chipping Campden. This looked gorgeous in a bit of morning sunshine. What a pity I had no time for tea shops. 

A ploughed field into Broad Campden was a pain and the slippery and overgrown contour out to Campden Hill Farm was a drag. I just could not get any pace or rhythm going. Then it began to rain again and the farm track descended into mud. I gained two inched in height in the next mile. There was a deep valley between me and Blockley and I was getting hotter and hotter in all my rain gear. I had a five minute mind block before I found to correct path out of Blockley. This led up another steep climb to where a party of day walkers were warning me of even more mud. The next section and especially the descent into Batsford Park was a nightmare as I skated from side to side on the increasingly slippery surface. I was glad to get to the bottom and to turn onto the paths and roads that led to Bourton on the Hill.

The sun came out again as I set off into Sezincote Park and off came all the waterproofs. But the only likeliness to Rajasthan came from the Sezincote House. The mud told me that I was not in India. Then in Longborough a black cloud deposited another load of water onto the footpaths and
even the grassy field were now slow going. Jill text me to say she was parked up and I had to reply that I would be late. What with slipping and sliding and taking waterproofs on and off, I was running behind schedule.

So it was after 4pm (our rendezvous time) that I was waiting to cross the busy Bourton by-pass. I walked back into suburbia and found the path to the church that was the end of the way. Jill was walking up High Street as I arrived at the finish. She had recced the tea shops and I was soon tackling a large piece of Victoria Sponge, the first thing I had eaten all day. Then she bundled me into her car and we drove off for our weekend and Christening in Oxfordshire. 

Lower Quinton dep. 08.38, Bourton on the Water arr. 16.07, GPS 22.69 in 7hrs 29m 03s

Conclusions 

I was amazed at the sustained quality of the route of the trail. The avoidable road sections and the ploughed fields did not detract from some lovely (and hilly) countryside. And remember, the Way is at least a mile longer than the guidebook says.