Conderton (From Worcester News)

Conderton

10:53am Tuesday 9th March 2010 in

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THIS lovely walk on Bredon Hill is a good choice on cold days because it explores the sheltered south side of the hill without venturing to the windswept summit.

It’s great for wildlife watching as you are very likely to see small herds of deer between Grafton and Conderton, and there are usually good numbers of birds around, too, especially since the establishment of Beckford Nature Reserve on the site of a former quarry.

The site was purchased by the village in 2008 with the help of donations and grants from several sources. It includes rough grassland, scrub, woodland and a quarry face which has been colonised by sand martins and mining bees. The centrepiece of the reserve is a large pool which contains a small island that makes an ideal nesting place for ducks and other waterfowl.

There are two notable churches on the route, both of which are usually open. Beckford church retains much 12th century work and has some wonderful carvings – look at the tympanum above the south door and at the tower arch in the nave to see these. They include a centaur and some very strangelooking animals, which may represent figures from Celtic folklore, though nobody knows for sure.

St Faith’s church at Overbury has massive Norman columns, more wonderful carvings and many other interesting features. Its beautiful churchyard is carpeted with snowdrops, winter aconites, crocus and cyclamen, and a brook flows through one corner of it.

FACT FILE

Start: Beckford, grid ref SO976357 (off the A46 south-west of Evesham).

Length: Six-and-a-quarter miles/10km.

Maps: OS Explorer 190, OS Landranger 150.

Terrain: Pasture, orchard, woodland and arable. The first half of the walk is slightly hilly but not steep. Dogs should be on leads as there are young lambs in the fields.

Footpaths: Mostly excellent except that the few paths which cross arable fields have not been reinstated after ploughing and sowing.

Stiles: Eight.

Parking: The Green, Beckford.

Public transport: First 550/551 or train to Evesham then Astons 540/545 to Beckford, Mon-Sat; worcestershire.gov.uk/bustimetables or 01905 765765.

Refreshments: Beckford and Conderton.

DIRECTIONS

1 Walk through Beckford churchyard, passing to the left of the church and exiting from a gate at the rear left corner to join a footpath which leads to a track.

Turn right along the track, which soon becomes a bridleway, then take a footpath on the right into Beckford Nature Reserve. You now have a choice of a public footpath and a permissive footpath. Take either of these; the public path goes south of the lake and the permissive path goes north of it.

They both lead to Rabbit Lane, also known as Ashton Road. However, if you use the public path, don’t join Rabbit Lane at the end of it; instead, turn left onto the permissive path which runs east of the lake enabling you to join Rabbit Lane further along, opposite Beckford Silk. Turn left.

2 Take a footpath on the left which cuts across a field corner to cross a driveway then goes diagonally across fields to meet a lane. Turn left, then left again at a little triangular green at Grafton.

Take a footpath indicated by a fingerpost, following it through a field to join another footpath signed to Conderton. Turn left by a field edge then keep straight on at a corner, uphill to a waymarked post by a fence corner ahead.

3 Two paths are indicated here – take the one going diagonally right to a stile in a stone wall. Keep climbing, soon crossing another stile in a fence. Skirt round to the right of a knoll and then keep left of a young beechwood to find a gate giving access to the next field.

Walk uphill to a barn. Pass to the left of it then turn right. Go through an open gateway and turn left, walking past a wood to a junction with two bridleways.

4 Take the bridleway going straight on if you want a shortcut, but for a slightly longer walk turn right and walk up Conderton Hill to Shalden Farm. Turn left to descend the hill and keep going down when the two bridleways meet up again. Meeting a lane at a bend, turn right then shortly take a footpath on the left and descend towards Conderton, firstly by a field edge and then through an orchard. Join an access track, walking past a cottage to a junction. Keep straight on if you want to visit Conderton; if not, turn right over a stone stile.

5 Walk through orchards and fields then turn right when you enter a strip of woodland. Follow a trodden path past a stile to a field corner. Turn left, walking to the right of a hedge. Ignore a path branching left at a stile and continue along the field edge, turning right in a corner and left in the next corner until a farm drive gives access to a lane. Turn left into Overbury then turn second right to Overbury Court and St Faith’s church. Continue down to the main road.

6 Turn left and take the second footpath on the right, just before the village school. Climb over a wooden fence when you come to a path junction after about half-amile and turn left. Cross Crashmore Lane to a footpath opposite which quite soon enters a field. Go to a point about halfway along the far side. After that it’s easily followed to a road where you continue in the same direction. Go straight on along a footpath when the road bends right. Turn right at a bridleway junction at Court Farm and then right again to return to Beckford.

Your Worcester News recommends the use of OS Explorer Maps, your ideal passport to navigating the countryside. This walk is based on OS Explorer 204.