Roman Town

Tag: walk

  • Monarch’s Way and Spernal Lane

    Pictures from an early summer walk following Monarch’s way from Kinwarton to Spernal Lane, a little bit of the Alne Hills and back again.

    Kinwarton Field Looking Towards The B4089
    Kinwarton Field Looking Towards Gerrard’s Bank
    Monarch’s Way Over Gerrards Bank Bridge
    Countryside View From The Monarch’s Way Path Spernal Lane
    Alne Hills
    Spernal Lane towards Great Alne
    Monarch’s Way Path with Trees on Spernal Lane

    All pictures taken on Tuesday the 29th of April 2025

  • Kinwarton Dovecote to Alcester Walk

    In late summer 2016, I enjoyed a 2.5-mile circular walk from the historic Kinwarton Dovecote, taking a clockwise route towards Alcester.

    My walk began at the Dovecote, a fascinating example of a medieval dovecote. From there, I headed towards the River Alne, and following it towards the picturesque Hoo Mill. Reaching Hoo Mill, I crossed the footbridge and continued towards the Stratford Road.

    As I approached Alcester, the Centenary Field came into view with St Nicholas providing a nice backdrop. Walking through the high street I managed to stop and take a few pictures. One of which you will see on this page – although the scaffolding did ruin it slightly.

    I had never really stepped foot inside the church other than for a ceremony. So it was nice to explore a little – there are many things of interest in here – with the obvious one being the tomb of Sir Fulke Greville.

    While the 2.5-mile route is easily manageable, it does include a short section across fields, so wearing appropriate footwear is advisable. The majority of the walk, however, follows well-maintained paths, making it a relatively easy and accessible ramble for most. This walk provides a lovely blend of history, natural beauty, and town charm, offering a wonderful glimpse into the heart of Warwickshire.

    Kinwarton Dovecote
    Kinwarton Dovecote
    River Alne
    Hoo Mill and the River Alne
    Hoo Mill
    Footbridge
    Footbridge over the Alne
    Direction signs pointing to Stratford and Alcester
    Direction signs
    Centenary Field and St Nicholas Church, Alcester
    Centenary Field
    Alcester High Street
    Alcester High Street
    Inside St Nicholas Church, Alcester
    St Nicholas Church’s Nave
    The Memorial Altar-Tomb of Sir Fulke Greville and Lady Elizabeth, his wife of Beauchamp's Court, Alcester. The Lady was a great heiress, who brought the Lordship of the Manor of Alcester to her husband. The Parish Register records his burial in 1560 and hers in 1562. The Memorial formerly stood in the South Aisle.
    Sir Fulke Greville Memorial
    Altar-Tomb of Sir Fulke Greville and his wife
    Altar-Tomb of Sir Fulke Greville
    Wooden bench outside the Rotary Club, Alcester
    Rotary Club
    Playground and The Alcester Inn
    Kinwarton Road Playground
    The Alcester Inn
    The Alcester Inn
    Walking Route

    Date of walk: 29th of August 2016

  • Elmley Castle & Bredon Hill walk

    Parsons Folly at Bredon Hill

    The weather was a little drier yesterday so we decided to walk Bredon Hill in Worcestershire.

    Parking the car at Elmley Castle (there used to be a castle there) we stopped off at the local pub, the Queen Elizabeth, for a coffee and a mince pie. This is a lovely little place with an old English countryside feel to it. Wood, stone, thick carpet etc – things I like about an English pub. And it’s community owned.

    I’m going to have to do this walk properly, with a proper planned route as I just can’t accurately describe where we went! Unfortunately I only captured the walk on my Garmin at the summit so before that my retelling won’t be up to scratch, I’m afraid.

    The paths were quite muddy as you’d expect and there were very strong gusts blowing as we were reaching the north side of the hill. The weather did actually turn up there and so we were pelted with hail. Thankfully my new coat was up for the job.

    The skies cleared southwards on the horizon once we’d walked past the Parsons Folly.

    Malvern Hills from Bredon Hill

    And now for the embarrassing part.. We didn’t take the turning we should have to do the loop and ended up in Westmancote! The loop had now increased in size and a journey back along the road would be 8.5 miles! And at 3pm this just wasn’t doable. And with no buses on a Sunday we were stuck – enter Uber. Thankfully this service is now operating in the area so we were taken back to the car at Elmley Castle. A small price to pay for a big mistake I say.

    A quick debrief in the Queen Elizabeth pub over a tea and what was one of the best homemade sausage rolls I’ve ever eaten. Home. Relief.

    Elmley Castle with Christmas lights