There are several routes from Ansley Village to Hoar Park, so here are two. Take your pick!
The Blue Route
2 miles, one hour over cultivated fields (with an alternative along country lanes)
From Ansley Village Post Office, turn left along Birmingham Road, past the Church Hall on your right. A little further along you will see the public footpath sign through the hedge on the left hand side. Follow the path between the houses and out into the field. It leads you across the field, over a footbridge and into the next one. Turn slightly to your right and the path brings you on to Ansley Lane.
The footpath continues the other side of Ansley Lane. Here it divides into two. Take the left-hand path over the field and through the hedge into the next one. The path brings you out on to Church Lane, to the left of Brook House Farm. From here the shortest route to Hoar Park is along the road, left along Church Lane, down Mill Lane which comes out on Nuneaton Road opposite the entrance to Hoar Park.
Or you can carry on over the fields past streams, spinneys and hedgerows.
Cross the lane and follow the footpath along the track between a brick barn and the farmhouse. Once in the field, you will see a patch of woodand straight ahead. The path takes you to the right of the wood, down to the signpost near the far end of the field. Follow the path through the spinney and over the mill stream. Once out of the wood, head straight out over the field, bearing slightly left towards the nearest tree you can see in the opposite hedge. Through the hedge, bear a little to the right and walk across the field. In the next field, follow the hedge until you come to Nuneaton Road.
The footpath continues over the road a little to the right, goes through the corner of a paddock and into another field. Head out, away from Red House Farm on your right, towards the hedge on the other side. From there, cross the field to the small wood on your left. From here the path runs almost straight to Hoar Park. From the other side of the spinney it goes along a hedgerow and then alongside the edge of Jersey Wood. At the end of the wood, through the hedge and the overflow car park is on your right. Time for a cuppa at the Tea Rooms maybe.
Yellow Route
2 hours, 4 miles over fields, lanes and woodland
From Ansley Village Post Office, cross the road and follow the track between the houses. Turn left at the allotments until you reach the Green. Turn right up to St Lawrence Road, follow it to the right and to the end, where you will see the footpath sign.
The footpath leads you over the field behind the St Lawrence estate, down to a footbridge in the hedge. Cross the bridge and bear left, up to the brow of the hill. Once you reach the farm track, cross it and continue on the same bearing, towards the end of the spinney in the distance. Once you reach the end of the spinney, turn left over the field to the signpost on the right-hand corner of the hedge by the farmhouse. The path then goes over the field to your right, towards Church End.
Cross the main road to continue along the path, which takes you around the back of Manor Farm, over the farm track, through a paddock, over a stream and up into the next large field. Here you head straight through through the middle of the field, keeping slightly to the left, to the far side. You will see a signpost at the end of a hedge. Continue straight on up, with the hedge on your right. When you reach some gardens step through the hedge and keep it on your left until you come out on to Birchley Heath Road. Cross the road and continue down Green Lane (known locally as Celery Trench. The shape of the roadway will give a clue to the name).
At the bottom of Celery Trench the road does a dog-leg, where it meets the public footpath. The path to the right takes you on a lovely walk up to Birchley Heath, but today we are going left. Here the path takes you along the parish boundary beside a stream, all the way to the back of Hoar Park. First it goes through cultivated fields and then into meadows. At the end of the third meadow turn left to continue following the stream. Look out for the footbridge over the stream. Cross it and keep following the stream on the other bank. Soon you will see Hoar Park up the hill to your left. Keeping it on your left, follow the stream until you reach a farm track which takes you up the hill for that cup of tea in the tearooms.
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