Wythall Walks - North Worcestershire Path

As promised we're back with another edition of our Wythall Walks series.

This is where myself and Rachel explore the different walking paths in Wythall so our readers can have a comprehensive list of all the different walking routes you can take in our village.

This morning we decided to explore the North Worcestershire Path. We got our inspiration from the Five local circular walk booklets (produced by the Countryside Carers). They can be downloaded off the Wythall Parish Council Website or you can get copies from the Parish Council Office. 

We decided to download the walking guide for walk number four (if you'd like to download the booklet, click herewhich takes you on a 6 mile walk through North Worcestershire. 

Instead of walking all the route we modified it for people who might not want such a long walk. 

We both met outside Woodrush, walked to the end of Shawhurst Lane by Drakes Cross shops then turned onto Alcester Road. We continued down Alcester Road until we came to the public footpath just before Gorsey Lane. 

This is where the North Worcestershire Path starts. You should see a sign like this on the stiles. 


public footpath sign
Something to note is that the field is incredibly bumpy, if you're not watching your footing there's a high chance you'll fall over. Also, there are usually horses in the fields but as long as you give them enough room and don't startle them, they're quite happy to leave you be. 

But common sense will tell you that a field with horses in it will also contain horse poo - but I don't think we were ready for the sheer quantity! If you're going through this field I'd advise boots or wellies as even though the ground was fairly dry today, our boots did get muddy. 

We continued straight on across two more stiles then bared right into what looks like a woodland where there's another stile. It's worth noting if you're not sure what direction to walk in follow the arrows on the stiles, the direction they point in is where the next stile is. 

gate in field
We then walked in a straight line adjacent to a strip of barbed wire with a 'private property' sign on. At the end of this wire there's another stile. 

This is where it kind of gets confusing. We walked along the edge of a field so to not loose our bearings and then arrived at a horse paddock. The paddock was clearly privately owned but we couldn't find a way through. 

However there is a small dilapidated shed to the left of the paddock, if you aim for to the left of the shed you'll see another small stile that's marked with the North Worcestershire Path sign. 

We then entered a large field that looked familiar and realised we were in the field next to harmony wood! 

We walked in a straight line towards the stile and came out on Houndsfield lane. 

bush covered in white petals
The route we were following (it's linked above if anyone would like to walk the whole route) was telling us to walk down Houndsfield Lane until you got to the crossroads by Lea Green Lane. 

However, we decided to turn left and walk down Simms lane and back to Shawhurst Lane that way. 

The total walk was about 5km (3 miles) and took us around 50 minutes at a slow ambling pace. 

It is safe for dogs if your dog is well trained around horses but there are no dog poo bins, only one at the entrance to Harmony Wood. 

We really enjoyed this walk - it was different and an interesting route to walk.

Let us know if you've walked there and what you thought. Also if you have any requests for places for us to investigate let us know in the comments below!

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