Rare birds and a quiet valley

However, if you do this delightful walk you'll get a rare glimpse of the charming and secluded valley of the River Salwarpe below Harford Hill, where increasingly rare birds such as snipe can still be seen in the wet meadows and reedy river margins.

The Droitwich Canal is a valuable refuge for wildlife too. One of the first canals to be built, it was designed by the great engineer James Brindley and opened in 1771, its purpose to connect Droitwich with the River Severn to facilitate the export of salt.

It was abandoned in the early 20th Century but restoration work was begun in 1973. Much of it has since been restored, which is good news for canal enthusiasts, but not necessarily good news for wildlife.

However, this walk takes you alongside stretches of the canal where reedbeds still dominate, reducing the area of open water but providing shelter for a wide range of creatures, from tiny invertebrates to birds and mammals.

At Porter's Mill you can expect to see a family of mute swans. The cob and pen have managed to raise seven beautiful cygnets, which they guard fiercely. If you have a dog with you please keep it on the lead at this point and don't let small children go too close to the swans.

DIRECTIONS

WALK south along the main street until you can turn left on a footpath which runs diagonally across a cricket pitch. Climb a bank at the far side, not far from the pavilion, and cross the A449 bypass to a stile opposite.

Two paths are waymarked here: take the right-hand one, cutting across a field corner to another stile. But don't cross it - just keep on along the field edge. Cross two more fields then go through a gap into another. There is a wood, Gardner's Grove, on your left, and if you turn right you will be facing another wood, Knight's Grove. Go diagonally towards the left-hand side of Knight's Grove.

When you reach Knight's Grove head for the far side of the field, aiming for a point about 100m short of the furthest corner. Tractor tyre-tracks provide a useful guide and as you draw nearer you'll see a stile in the hedge. Join a lane and turn right.

Take the second footpath on the left (number 121), which leaves the lane at a stile under a willow tree. Walk a little way along a field edge to another stile then cross to the adjacent field. Go diagonally left to the point where a tall hedge almost meets a shorter one and climb over the wobbly barrier between the two.

Go obliquely across the middle of the ensuing field, passing just to the right of a tree-fringed pond. Join a lane and turn left past Hadley Bowling Green Inn. Take the first footpath on the left, by Harford Hill Cottage. Walk along a track until a sign sends you to the right on a well-defined path which leads to a field. Turn left across Harford Hill and descend to cross the River Salwarpe at a footbridge.

Follow a trodden path up the next field and swing left past a young wood. Keep going until you can join the towpath of the Droitwich Canal, where you turn right. Before long a road crosses the canal at Ladywood Lock - rejoin the towpath on the other side.

The next road you meet runs alongside the canal, replacing the towpath. Follow it to a T-junction and turn right on Porter's Mill Lane. Follow the lane through the tiny hamlets of Porter's Mill and Tapenhall before turning left on an unsigned bridleway after Tapenhall Cottage. Walk across a field and through a gap into another. Turn right, then left in the corner, follow the bridleway to a lane at Chatley.

Turn left for a few paces then join a footpath on the right. Keep straight on, ignoring a path branching left. The path is waymarked and easily followed, but look out for the point at which you need to join a parallel track on the right.

This leads to a lane where the footpath continues opposite, easily followed across a field to a waymarked post. The waymarker appears to direct you diagonally right but the farmer has made a good path which follows a slightly different route alongside a line of wooden pylons to the far hedge.

Continue across another field until a stile on the right gives access to the adjacent field. Go diagonally left, passing to the right of a brick barn to meet a lane at Sinton. Turn left for a few paces then join a footpath on the right, following a field edge to a stile. Continue across the next field, going diagonally right to meet the far hedge then following it to the top right corner. Turn left here, joining the Wychavon Way, which takes you across the bypass to Ombersley. Turn left to return to the main street

FACTFILE

Start: Ombersley; grid reference SO844634.

Length: 6.25 miles/10km.

Maps: OS Explorer 204, OS Landranger 150.

Terrain: Gentle gradients, mixed farmland, canal towpath.

Stiles: 27.

Parking: In Ombersley, or look for roadside parking along the route, eg near Porter's Mill (see map), or ask at one of the pubs.

Buses: Excellent service provided by Pete's Travel - 303/304 on weekdays, 300 on Sundays; details from Pete's Travel 0121 505 3245 or Traveline 0870 608 2608.

Refreshments: Pubs and excellent shop at Ombersley; Hadley Bowling Green Inn.

DISCLAIMER

This walk has been carefully checked and the directions are believed to be correct at the time of publication. No responsibility is accepted by either the author or publisher for errors or omissions, or for any loss or injury, however caused.