Circular walk, 1 1/2 hours, over cultivated fields, woodland and a short distance on main roads.
Ansley Common has a labyrinth of public footpaths, many of which are very well used. They are shown in green on the map here.
Our walk starts at the far corner of Bretts Hall recreation ground, which is accessed through the Bretts Hall Estate. Go through the gap in the hedge and head off over the field, up the hill towards the wood you can see to your right.
Walk through the field entrance and along the edge of the wood to the corner. From there you look down over the next field to what was once the village of Hockley, but no trace of it remains. It is just fields now. Walk down the hill to the field corner slightly to your left, follow the hedge for a few yards then head out to your right over the field to the gap in the hedge in front of you, about one-third along the field edge.
Through the hedge you enter a long narrow field. Turn right and follow the hedge to the top corner, where you can see a yellow signpost, at the corner of another wood. Go through the gap and continue in the same direction, following the edge of the wood towards the farm buildings ahead of you. Past the grey barn you will see a kissing gate on the right. Go through it into the field and pass the spinney on your left. Then head out over the field towards the stile which is to the right of the two houses you can see in the distance.
Over the stile you are on the main Coleshill Road. Turn right and make a note of the large robin on the other side of the road. You will need to come back to that.
But first, we are going to visit the hermitage at Ansley Hall, which is on the same side of the road as the stile you just stepped over. Walk to the end of the buildings and turn right into the drive. Go straight ahead (not to the hall gates), through the gateway in front of you, across the sports ground car park, past the front of the pavilion, down the field a little way until you see a sentinel beech tree.
Walk past it to the hermitage which was built in the 18th century. It even had a resident poet at one point. The grove around it has beech and yew trees.
Walk back to the big robin on the main road and follow the path with the wall on your right and the field on your left. A little way along the hedge there is a kissing gate, hidden behind the foliage. Go through it and cross the field to the gate on the far side. Through the next kissing gate, cross the road and go over the stile to the right of the metal gates. Follow the fence, going straight ahead until you can see woodland in front of you. The path cuts the corner of the field and goes into the woodland past a fallen tree.
Now you are on the old railway. Turn right and go straight ahead until you are past the end of the field on your right. Turn right off the embankment, and keeping right you come to another kissing gate that takes you into a field. The path continues to your left, cutting off the corner of the field, and takes you back into the woods. Here the path is well signposted. It brings you back out on to the Coleshill Road at the top end of Ansley Common.
Cross the road and walk down the hill to Nursery Road. Turn right into Nursery Road, follow it to the end then turn left into St John’s Road. At the end of St John’s Road, facing the allotments, turn right and go through the kissing gate. Follow the hedge to your left, then head over the field to the double oak tree. Over the stile, turn right into the lane for a short distance. The path continues on the other side of the lane before the next hedge. Follow that hedge and you will end up back in Bretts Hall recreation ground.
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