North Worcestershire Path

Saturday 19th March 2022

While looking for the closest hills to me last year I came across a line of hills in North Worcestershire, south-east of Birmingham, that are more than a thousand feet high. Although they proved not to be the nearest hills to me I was intrigued enough to begin planning a walk that traversed the range, but I was unable to do the walk at the time, so now I caught a train to the pretty little rural village of Barnt Green. Straight out of the station I entered Lickey Hills Country Park climbing past the large houses of Barnt Green up an avenue of mature trees to cross Cherry Hill Lane and enter Pinfields Wood. I was already enjoying the walk with bright sunshine overhead as I passed through lovely woodland where young bluebells could be seen emerging through the ground and although it would be another month before they were flowering, they were a welcome sight. While slowly climbing the hill I soon became hot, so when I reached the visitor centre I stripped off several layers down to my tee-shirt before setting off now on the route of the North Worcestershire Path which I would follow for much of the day. Ignoring the prominent hill to my right, Bilberry Hill, whose slopes were covered in dead bracken and bramble, I followed a bridleway to a busy road and kept to the track as I walked beside Lickey Hills Golf Course.

After a while I checked my map and realised that I should have turned left at the road so I had to retrace my steps all the way back and passing the club house I moaned about the lack of clear signage as I climbed the hill away from the golf course to enter a wood while behind me were stunning views back down the hill to the tree covered hills I had just walked past. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the views were looking fabulous in the bright sunshine. An exhilarating climb through woodland brought me out of the trees to the top of Beacon Hill near a viewpoint that has been built on a structure made to look like a small fort. There I had extensive views north-west, but they were not spectacular as they looked out over the urban sprawl of Birmingham. The lack of good signage continued as I made my way downhill, but a cold wind prompted me to put my softshell back on. At the bottom of the hill I left Lickey Hills Country Park and with good signage returning I was directed onto a wide path between fields that provided me with a relaxing walk up to and across the A38 dual carriageway and into Waseley Hills Country Park.

The path soon emerged from the trees to wide views across the built-up area and back over the Lickey Hills behind me. With wide open spaces, strong winds and a clear path underfoot I made my way up Waseley Hill to the top of Windmill Hill. A short descent from there brought me to the popular visitor centre where I stopped for my lunch before resuming my walk along the North Worcestershire Path that took me over the M5 motorway. The scenery on this section was rather tedious as I climbed grassy fields up Romsley Hill with the descent on the other side down a road, but this passed through the gorgeously wild Dales Wood where many woodland plants lined the road. At the bottom of the valley a steep climb up a grassy field was compensated by the stunning scenery behind me up and down the steep sided valley. At the top of the field the path took me through fabulous woodland along the escarpment edge with great views continuing as I entered my third country park of the day, Clent Hills, and reached the top of Walton Hill, which at 315 metres is the highest point in the range and on my walk.

With young bluebells in the wood below the trig point and extensive views north I made my way down the hill past a car park and into the most popular part of Clent Hills Country Park, but not wanting to linger near the crowded summit I took one of the wide tracks heading slowly downhill. At the bottom of the hill I came across some buildings that I thought shouldn’t be there according to my map until I realised that I had gone the wrong way and was too far south. Rather than heading back up to the summit I turned north between the buildings and the woodland, but when I reached the Hill Tavern I did head back uphill though not all the way and veering north I came upon the correct route of the North Worcestershire Path and followed this down the hill out of the park and on muddy tracks that took me into the village of Hagley. There I finally left the North Worcestershire Path and after crossing the A456 road I joined the course of the Monarch’s Way up to the obelisk near Wychbury Ring. The cold winds that had accompanied me all day had a final wave as I passed the tall column and then plunged down the hill on a deeply muddy footpath into Pedmore.

After a stretch of road walking I dropped down into Ham Dingle Nature Reserve for a delightful walk through a narrow valley that led me to the railway line near Stourbridge Junction Station. I was very tired going into this walk and needed something to revive my spirits and this provided me with exactly that with sunshine, wild scenery and some steep ascents that got my heart pumping. These hills in north Worcestershire are known as the Clent-Lickey range and provided me with great walking in an area that is surprisingly not far from the heavily built-up sprawl of Birmingham. I am glad to have found it and I hope that I can find an excuse again to explore these enjoyable hills.