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.

Churnet Valley – Alton and Brookleys Lake

Saturday 5th March 2022

After bad weather in February it was a relief to finally be able to go walking again at the beginning of March, so I quickly headed back to the Churnet Valley and parked at the Ramblers Retreat. This is an Inn that I’d passed by on several occasions over the winter but I had never parked there until now and I found that the small car park fills very quickly. I set off along the route of the Staffordshire Way on a heavily eroded path up to a track above the valley floor, but soon I realised that I had left my walking poles behind so I had to retrace my steps all the way back to my car to retrieve them before starting the walk all over again. At the end of the track, beside Holm Cottage, I climbed again, briefly, up a narrow path and at the top I saw some little green plants scattered beside the path that I realised must be very young bluebells. When I had previously been in the Churnet Valley it was still winter, but now I had this early promise of spring and that spurred me on. I am eager to see how the Churnet Valley is transformed by the coming of spring when the woods become covered in wildflowers and should be a fabulous sight. Further along the path, I passed some rock formations that I couldn’t resist climbing and beyond that I came to a lookout point where I had tremendous views across the valley with the morning sunshine and blue skies adding to the scene.

Returning to the path I slowly descended into the village of Alton and keeping to the Staffordshire Way I meandered through the streets and onto muddy, grassy fields as the walk deteriorated with the views now becoming bland and the landscape a farming monoculture. On reaching Saltersford Lane it seemed I would have to wade through thick mud, but soon I discovered there were flagstones on one side of the lane that provided me with a firm, though not necessarily dry, surface underfoot as I made my way along the lane. This slowly descended into the broadening Churnet Valley whose slopes were now much gentler and less dramatic than in my beloved parts of the valley upstream. Beyond this point the River Churnet meanders excessively before joining the River Dove just south of Rocester, so I would consider this the end of the Churnet Valley. Turning back upstream I walked along the route of the old railway that used to run through the valley and at this point is lined with trees that provided me with an enjoyable walk in the sunshine.

As the valley narrowed and the sides became steeper, the landscape became wilder and it was tempting to stay on the route of the dismantled railway all the way back to Ramblers Retreat, but this would have resulted in a very short walk, so in an attempt to prolong the walk I turned off the track onto a path that heads back down the valley. I wasn’t sure where I was going here except for a vague idea of exploring the area to the north of the valley, so for now I just stayed on the good path that became a track and after passing Crumpwood Weir became a private road. As I emerged into the more open area I took a path out of the valley, but with a choice of routes and not knowing where I was going I blindly chose one that was directed by a distinctive arrow that was very different to the local council signs. This took me through young woodland around the testing site for JCB whose world headquarters is nearby in Rocester. Fortunately there was no activity in the testing site when I was there, so I was able to wander safely around looking for the path until eventually I came to the clearly artificial Brookleys Lake.

The public footpath goes up the western side of the lake and when I reached a junction of paths, I turned uphill through established woodland and eventually left the JCB test site behind. A wide track now took me above an escarpment beside a high fence beyond which was the Alton Towers Resort and the twisted roofs of the enchanted village. I could see on the map a reference to Ina’s Rock so after passing the resort hotel I descended off the escarpment edge and onto a path below that led me to a large outcrop that must be Ina’s Rock. I spent quite a while exploring the rock and Joe’s Cave inside while waiting for the sun to come out so I could take a good picture until eventually I tore myself away and descended the hillside back onto the course of the old railway, which I followed all the way back to Ramblers Retreat. I enjoyed exploring the area around the JCB test site principally because it is a complicated area that I had never been to before and I had no idea where I was going. It was cold which prompted me to wear gloves most of the day, but it was sunny, which always helps and the signs of spring were really encouraging. Despite having now been everywhere in the Churnet Valley, the coming of spring is all the incentive I need to return again to this fabulous area.