Walk 1: Broughton Hackett and Froxmere 

6.3 miles / 10.1 km (approx 2¼ - 2¾  hours)

Map Walk One

A lovely walk alongside orchards with magnificent views of Upton Snodsbury church from Broughton Hackett; with glimpses of the Malvern and Bredon Hills from the E of Bow Wood.

It passes through the interesting hamlet of Froxmere past the Grade 2 listed Froxmere Court, a Jacobethan-style building with fantastic chimneys.

This walk is particularly lovely in the Autumn when Bow Wood turns into a mass of reds, yellows and golds, although the short walk across the middle of the field near New Hall Farm can get muddy.  A cold, crisp winter day is also a good time to do this walk when the ground may be hard underfoot.

1. From the Village Hall go down College Road onto Pershore Road (B4082) turn right after Cutts Pool onto Cowsden Lane.  Turn R after the gate and go along the R of the field to a green lane (Foomer’s Way).  About 50m down the green lane, turn L and follow the footpath across three fields then R onto Lower Cowsden Lane.  Walk to the crossroads and cross Peopleton Road.
   
2. Follow Edward’s Lane to Edward’s Bridge and cross Bow Brook.  Follow the footpath along the R field edge, go R through the gate, cross the tree-lined track and into the field opposite.  Follow the Bridleway on the R of the field, L round a corner and through the second gate R.  Follow the Bridleway along the R of the field, through the gate opposite and turn R to join a track and along it for a few metres to the end.
   
3. Go through the gate and follow the Bridleway straight on with the field boundary L to a gate opposite and down to the cattle grid.  Go past the March Hare Leisure Centre and up the lane to Broughton Hackett.  Cross the A422, turn R, walk 20-30m and turn L just after The Hop Kilns.
   
4. Walk around 50m along the lane, R over a stile and continue almost to the end of the wide grassy track.  (Good views N towards the orchards outside Crowle).  Take the footpath R immediately before the field boundary across a wooden bridge, through a gate into a field (Good views E towards Upton Snodsbury).  Follow a footpath alongside power lines through two fields, hedge to the L.  Where the hedge bends sharply L continue straight on and in 50m cross a stony track, follow the edge of the next field hedge R, over a stile, slightly L to cross a bridge over Bow Brook.
   
5. Go straight ahead from the bridge, through a gate and field to the gate opposite. Immediately before the gate turn L, along the R of the field, through a small gate and R again then over stiles to the gates and the track at Court Farm. 

For a shorter walk you could turn R to head back to the Village Hall; this route continues towards Bow Wood.

6. Take the Bridleway N, passing below the spinney in the middle of the field towards double gates at the L (W) corner of the wood (lovely view W towards the Malvern Hills).  After the gates, follow the Bridleway across the field, through a gate and R onto Froxmere Road.  Follow the tarmac lane through Froxmere, to a gate at the far end.  Go round the R side of two fields with Bow Wood R to double gates.  After the gates turn R and go diagonally across the field through a gate at the L of the fence.
   
7. Go S down the L of the field through the double gates, up the rough track, past the football field and up the slope to the A422.  Cross the main road by Red Lion House and down Pershore Road (B4082) back to the Village Hall.
   

Follow this link to download a PDF of the route with sketch map:  Walk One Route

 © Hilary Williams

Walk 2: Wolverton Hall & White Ladies Aston

7.6 miles / 12.2 km (approx  2½ - 3 hours)

Map Walk Two

This walk heads S to Peopleton then up a hill to Wolverton Hall, through the lovely villages of White Ladies Aston and Churchill.  There are some great views over a large area and Upton Snodsbury church can frequently be spotted on the horizon.

A section of the walk goes through Aston Hall Farm where a series of permissive footpaths have been established which could be used to make a really interesting alternative route to that described Aston Hall Farm, Natural England

This walk is lovely all year round but is particularly nice in the Spring when many fields are full of young lambs and the trees are coming into leaf.

Churchill Mill

1. Follow the footpath that runs behind the Village Hall (parallel to College Road) to Cutts Pool then R into Cowsden Lane.  Walk down the lane, past the village playground, allotments and Cowsden Hall farmhouse.  Where the road bends round L by Pump Cottage, turn R down the Public Bridleway and follow the green lane (Cattledraught Lane) to the “gated road”.  Continue along the track and around 100m after a sharp bend R, take the footpath L towards Peopleton. 
2. Follow this path S for approx. 1.2 miles through fields as the track goes from one side of the hedge to the other to a junction with a Bridleway, located where the hedge R ends.
3. Turn R (W) up the slope on the R of the field to the hedge at the top.  Turn L then after a few metres R through the gap and continue W through the field to Norchard Lane in Peopleton.  Walk along Norchard Lane to the main road then turn R towards St Nicholas’ Church, L into the churchyard and L again on the other side.
4. Follow the track past Bowbrook House School, bear R past Mill House, across the footbridge over Bow Brook, up the slope and through a gate where the path splits 2-ways.  Take the R branch to another gate, across a track, straight on through another field to a field in front of Wolverton Hall.  Now head NNW in front of the garden wall of the Hall and down the slope to a gate by Saw Brook.
5. Cross the brook to the field on the other side go slightly L (NW) towards a hedge part-way across the field then walk on the R of the field, then R through a gap in the hedge and along the other side to join the green lane between Peopleton and White Ladies Aston.  Go straight ahead where the footpath emerges onto a corner of this track.  After around ¼ mile take a footpath through the gate L, just before Aston Hall Farm.  Turn R and follow the footpath a few metres towards the farm buildings, then L, through the gate, diagonally R across the field to the gate in the corner and out to the lane.  Bear slightly L and walk NNW along the lane.
6. In approx. 70m take the first junction to the L, walk another 150m then turn R through the gate.  (You could deviate from this route and continue walking straight on along the lane through White Ladies Aston, a walk along a quiet road through a lovely village then pick up this route again at the church).  Go through another gate then slightly R and follow the footpaths towards the L of the houses.
7. Climb the stiles into the paddock behind the garden, over another stile into a garden then out again into a field.  Follow the path along the edge of the field until it bends R by a large garden pond and on to the lane.
8. Turn L on the road then R just before St John the Baptist Church, down the track into the churchyard past the church, L into the corner and onto a track by “Annacourt German Shepherds” at Aston Court.  Cross the track, walk into the field opposite and along the R edge of the field to join the lane at the junction between the White Ladies Aston lane with Edward’s Lane.
9. Turn R and walk around 400m down the stony track (Edward’s Lane).  Where the track bends R next to a small copse on the L, follow the footpath L through the trees, over the stile into the field. Walk NE across two fields to a small bridge and gate into the next field then on the L of the field and through the gate in the corner and turn R onto the track.
10. Follow the Bridleway through the gate at the end of the track, about half-way along L of the field bear R (NE), along the footpath down to Bow Brook and across the bridge by Churchill Mill.  Cross the brook and walk straight up the slope, following the footpath to the R of the old hedge, branch slightly R across the field through the gate in the middle of the next field boundary.  Walk diagonally up the slope and through the gate in the top R corner.  Follow the track to the Peopleton road, cross the road and along the drive towards Holy Oak Farm.  Walk straight through the farmyard at Holy Oak Farm and the next field towards the school and back to the Village Hall.

Follow this link to download a PDF of the route with sketch map:  Walk Two Route

 © Hilary Williams

Walk 3: Hill Court, Huddington

4.9 miles / 8.5 km (approx  1¾ - 2 hours)

Map Walk Three

A great walk that heads N and up a hill to Hill Court, a gorgeous late C16 red-brick timbered house with part of the moat in front of the garden. Hill Court, Grafton, British Listed Buildings 

On a clear day the views from this hill are wonderful, across the valleys to the Malvern Hills, Bredon Hill and sometimes as far as the Cotswold scarp with Grafton and Upton Snodsbury churches standing out among the trees.

This walk is always lovely but a crisp, cold, clear winter’s day is my favourite when the views can be outstanding and the short section of the route that crosses a cereal field is frozen hard.

Grafton Church from Huddington Hill

1. Start at the Village Hall cross Pershore Road (B4082) and go down the footpath to the L of Hillside Close bungalows into a field.  Go E straight down this field, across the stream and over a stile in the hedge.  The footpath veers off R in the middle of the next field then along the R side of fields to a lane.  Turn L to walk N up the lane, cross the A422 go up the lane to Libbery.
2. Follow the lane as it winds through the village until it becomes a track and continue on the track up the hill past barns on the L (Seagers Buildings), down the slope passing a big pond on the L, up past the mobile phone mast and round the R side of two more fields. (Wonderful views from here on clear days.)
3. At a junction of bridleways in the corner of the second field after the mast, turn R and go around 60m to a fork in the bridleways.  Take the R branch through two gates out on to Huddington Lane and turn R.  Walk along this quiet road for around 100m then turn L up a bridleway.
4. Walk up the R of fields to some farm buildings turn L by a gorgeous late C16 red brick timbered house with part of the moat in front of the garden.
5. Follow the footpath over a stile and through 2 fields down the hill keeping the hedge to your R.  The footpath then bears R across a field, through a gate in the corner by a small copse to Huddington Lane.  Cross the road, go through a gate onto the Public Bridleway opposite.  This Bridleway opened in 2010 and will not be shown on older maps; fortunately it is clearly waymarked and easy to follow.
6. Go straight on, past 3 oak trees to the R hand corner then turn R and walk with the hedge on your R along the edge of two fields toward Huddington Hill Farm.  Turn L in front of the farmhouse, down the Bridleway on L of the field through the gap in the hedge and walk alongside the brook to a small gate, between a big willow tree and the brook.
7. Turn R and continue about 50m alongside the brook then R through a small gate.  Go up R side of the field, through two sets of gates into a small field by Bow Wood.
8. Turn L and follow a bridleway along the L of two fields towards Upton Snodsbury.  Go through two sets of gates onto a rough track; follow this up the slope to the A422.  Cross the road and retrace your steps back to the Village Hall.

Follow this link to download a PDF of the route with sketch map:   Walk Three Route

 © Hilary Williams

Walk 4: Edward’s Bridge & Bow Brook

3.3 miles / 5.3 km (approx  1¼ - 1¾  hours)

Map Walk Four

A lovely, short walk across farmland with an interesting stroll alongside mill races and through a privately run animal sanctuary (Thistledown Meadows).  Deer can often be seen bounding through the fields, woodpeckers heard hammering on trees together with many other mammals and birds.

The walk could be finished off with a visit to one of the two pubs near the end of the route.  Lovely in Spring when birds and mammals are busy feeding their young.

Churchill Mill

1. From the Village Hall go down Church Lane towards the school, L into School Lane then R into Chapel Lane.  Take the footpath L where the road bends R into Owl’s End Lane.
2. After the gate follow the footpath R, round the edge of the field, past the pond then R, over the stile in the corner then straight along the R of the field to Peopleton Road.
3. Cross the road and follow the Bridleway on the R of the field, into the next field.  After approximately 200m turn L across the field (the track is not always apparent), towards a small gate in the hedge opposite.  Turn R at the hedge and follow the waymarker, walking along the edge of the field to the gate onto Edward’s Lane.
4. Turn R and follow the track to Edward’s Bridge and cross Bow Brook.  Follow the footpath along the field edge, go R through the wide gate, cross the track and through the gate into the field opposite.
5. Follow the Bridleway on the R of the field, L round a corner and through the second gate R.  Follow the Bridleway across along the R of the field, through the gate opposite at the far end and turn R to join a track.  Go through the gate at the end of the track and along the L side of the field, through the gate and down the slope and over a cattle- grid.
6. Turn R before the car park and follow the footpath alongside the ditch – mill-race – Bow Brook.  Please try not to disturb the wildlife.  Ducks, swans, moorhens and other birds and mammals nest in this area.  If you are very lucky you may see a kingfisher.
7. Follow the footpath through two small fields, keeping close to the brook, past greyhound pens and fishing pond and over more stiles and through the yard at Thistledown Meadows animal sanctuary to the A422.
8. Turn R on the main road, walk past Bant's public house and Peopleton Road to the car park by The Oak public house.  (The bulk of this road-walking is avoidable by taking the footpath on the R shortly after Bow Brook and following the footpaths as they zig-zag up the hillside back to the village.)
9. Turn R opposite to The Oak car park and over a stile to the right, straight up the slope towards Holy Oak Farm and through the gate at the top of this field.
10. Turn L and head towards a gate into the car park and back to the Village Hall. 

Follow this link to download a PDF of the route with sketch map: Walk Four Route

 © Hilary Williams