Circular walk, under an hour, through woodland, along lanes and through pastureland.
Start by the bus shelter facing the recreation ground. The footpath starts on your left and goes into the rec. Walk to the bottom, and you will see the pathway continuing into the wood. Known locally as ‘the spinney’, the track follows the stream down to Green Lane, by the old pump house. Turn left up Green Lane, known locally as the Celery Trench, because it is hollowed out like a stick of celery. It is actually a holloway, an ancient trackway that has been hollowed out from centuries of use.
The lane rises quite steeply. Once it levels out and before you reach the house on the right, there is a bridleway to your left. It starts as a wide grassed-over trackway, then leads to a woodland track that brings you out on to Birchley Heath Road.
Entrance to the bridleway in winter
Turning left will bring you back to the village, but we need to turn right and walk for a few yards, up to the next sharp turn in the road. When the road turns right, go straight ahead on to a trackway and then turn left. You can see over the fields to Ansley Village on your right.
Looking back through the gap in the hedge, late summer
Follow this trackway until you see a gap in the hedge on your left, just before the farm buildings. Go through it and follow the edge of the field, past the farm buildings and through three kissing gates. After the third one, the path turns left to follow the hedge back up to Birchley Heath village.
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