Stockton on Teme (From Worcester News)

Stockton on Teme

10:40am Saturday 28th January 2012 in Walks By Julie Royle

DUE to poor waymarking and some obstruction, a detailed route description is necessary for this walk, leaving little room for background information.

Briefly, however, you can expect to enjoy a scenic landscape of hills, orchards, woods, hedgerows and pastures, with some great views.

There are wonderful veteran trees (oak, ash and wild cherry) and some attractive old farmhouses.

Secluded Kingswood Common is an unexpected treat and the paths near Burnt House give glimpses of the ‘rewilding’ of former farmland.

St Andrew’s at Stockton is a charming Norman church, well worth a visit, while a brief detour from the route leads to a popular riverside pub at Stanford Bridge.

FACTFILE

Start: Stockton on Teme, on A443 west of Abberley; grid ref SO715674.

Length: 6½ miles/10.5km.

Maps: OS Explorer 204, OS Landranger 138.

Terrain: Pasture, woodland, arable; mildly hilly.

Footpaths: Most are good but some are appalling. Waymarking is patchy in places, and one long stretch is without any at all. Two paths north of Ellbatch Wood are obstructed by electric fences.

Stiles: Nine, and you may also need to climb over some gates.

Parking: By the Shelsley turn or opposite the Pensax turn.

Buses: Yarrantons’ 758, Mon-Sat only; worcestershire.gov.uk or 01905 765765.

Refreshments: Stanford Bridge.

DIRECTIONS

1 Walk down the Shelsley lane then take the first path on the left, which soon takes to the fields.

Pass well to the left of a farmhouse, aiming for a tall, chunky oak on the skyline. Walk past the oak and across a field to rejoin the lane. Descend almost to Stanford Bridge then turn left towards Lower Crundelend Farm.

Ignore branching footpaths and walk almost to the farm. Having crossed a bridge, turn right, climbing uphill by a field edge.

Turn right in the top corner on a track but leave it after a few paces for a field on the left. Walk along the right-hand edge then to the left of a pheasant pen.

2 In the top corner go straight on into woodland, still beside the pheasant pen. Descend to the lower edge of the pen and turn right, soon emerging from the trees into a field. Go diagonally right to find a bridge across a brook and then walk through Meneatt Wood to another field. Proceed to a road (B4203), turn left and cross to a bridleway (indicated by a fingerpost which incorrectly describes it as a footpath) at the Green Business Centre. When you pass the Hop Barn you’ll see from the footprints and hoofprints that most people take to a field on the left at this point, because of a lack of waymarking combined with an off-putting sign ahead warning of surveillance. There seems to be no objection to people using the field edge but the correct route is through the yard, past the CCTV sign, then left between two industrial sheds. The waymarking then resumes, guiding you to an arable field.

3 Take a poorly made path going diagonally left. At the far side of the field descend into a valley and follow a good path to a junction at Kingswood Common.

Go straight on, following the path to a lane. Turn left, then soon right on another footpath. Walk to a fence corner then turn left, walking past gardens. Go through a gate to Wilderness Farm, turn left to the road, and then right.

Pass two cottages then turn left on a track which runs along the edge of Ellbatch Wood, and then through the wood. When it forks, go to the right, past a picnic table.

4 Then you leave Ellbatch Wood you should be able to cross a field to a house then turn right to a stile at the far side of the field.

However, at the time of writing these paths are obstructed by a three-strand electric fence. If it’s still there, and you can’t get across it safely, the best option is to go left around the field edge to a driveway. Turn right past two houses then climb over a wooden fence back into the field and follow the left edge. Ignore the first stile and proceed to another. Having crossed this, go roughly straight across two fields then turn left to meet the A443.

5 Turn right, then go left after 200m on a footpath which is also an access track. When it bends left ignore branching paths and stay on the track, heading towards Poolhouse Farm. After 150m take to the fields on the left and follow a diverted, waymarked path past the farmhouse and into a valley. There are two branching paths in the valley bottom, both going left across a brook. Neither is waymarked but the second one appears to be the correct choice. Turn right on the other side of the brook then go through a gate into a field.

6 Leave the brook and cross the field, bearing slightly left. Pass just to the left of a pylon and through a hedge gap into another field. Go roughly straight across, aiming for distant oasthouses until a house on the other side of the brook comes into view. Head towards it and you’ll see a stile giving access to its grounds. Having crossed the stile, head towards the house initially, then turn left once you’ve crossed a footbridge. Follow a waymarked path round the property to a junction. Fork right, climb steps to the driveway and turn left. Ignore a branching path, proceed to a lane and turn left.

7 Approaching the A443, take a path on the right. It’s easily followed through several fields towards a timber-framed house.

Having passed a large, solitary oak you’ll come to a stile left of two pollarded ash trees. Don’t cross the stile but turn left instead.

Shortly turn right and follow a path past a pond, then uphill on an overgrown route through bracken.

At first you should still be heading towards the house, until the path starts to trend more to the left and becomes clearer, leading to a wide path where you turn left. Join the driveway for a short distance, passing through a large gate before entering a field on the left and turning right. The path gradually bears away from the field edge to pass to the left of a house before meeting the road at Stockton.