With my recent interest in the Alcester Branch railway I thought it would be good to see more of the line for myself, especially after reading the brilliantly informative book, The Alcester Branch (ISBN: 1905184050). Using maps from the book, I traced the line on recent satellite imagery using public footpaths where possible. And it turns out there is a public route from Kinwarton to Great Alne.
The walk starts at Kinwarton heading north east past the Old Rectory and Church. The path then goes through the Dovecote field and then another field which is divided by a hedgerow. This hedgerow follows the route of the old line towards what is now a walking trail in a woodland nature reserve. This section of the route is on the embankment, built for the rail line and at certain places is only metres away from the Alne river which curves towards the track and out again.
The walking trail continues for about 700 metres before reaching Pelham Lane and what was the old Station house at Great Alne (now a residential house called Station House).
Across the road at Pelham Lane is a woodland conservation area called Coffee Pot Wood. Appropriately named after the nickname for the train that used to roll though here all those years ago. The path takes you through a woodland trail of sorts but only follows the line for a short period before turning off on the Henley Road.
Some parts of this section of the line now run through private farms so I walked on the Henley Road towards Mill Lane.
The contour of the line reveals itself once again at Spencer’s Crossing. It runs through private fields on either side so it’s not possible to walk the line here. Further down Mill Lane is of course the old Mill which no longer operates as a mill. It was once run by the Spencer family which is where the name Spencer comes in for the crossing.
This was a good walk. Though I would mention that the fields at Kinwarton can be quite muddy in the colder months so wearing the right footwear is essential.
Date of walk: 22nd of February 2025
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