It is almost 400 years since the increasing persecution of Roman Catholics inspired a conspiracy to blow up the House of Commons, a conspiracy we call the Gunpowder Plot.

The ringleader was Robert Catesby, of Northampton, but several of his co-plotters were Catholic gentry from Worcestershire.

It is believed that the details were worked out at Huddington Court, the home of Robert and Thomas Wintour.

On November 5, 1605, the majority of the plotters waited for news in a pub at Dunchurch, near Rugby.

On learning that Guy Fawkes had been arrested they fled to Huddington Court, but soon set out again, their intended destination either Wales or the north.

But heavy rain had made the roads almost impassable and they got no further than Stourbridge, where the Sheriff of Worcestershire caught up with them.

Some were killed, while the rest were captured, only to be executed later.

It is said that Lady Wintour's ghost still haunts Huddington Court, eternally awaiting the return of her sons.

Even without this historic connection, picturesque Huddington Court is of great interest.

Excellent views of it are possible from two rights of way running through the grounds, both of which are used in this enjoyable walk.

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

Join a lane leading into Broughton Hackett but leave it almost immediately for a footpath. Follow this path for 100m then turn left on an unsigned but well-trodden path which crosses a field and passes through the churchyard to meet a lane. Turn right.

Turn first left on Rye Hill Lane, but leave it almost immediately at a footpath sign for Crowle. After 200m the path bears left to cross a footbridge, then left again to skirt Hoo Orchard until a stile gives access to a field. Proceed to a lane and turn right.

Join a bridleway as the lane bends to the right. Walk along the edge of an orchard, soon turning sharp left towards Crowle. Keep going until you meet a street next to a junction with School Lane. Turn right.

Take a footpath on your left at the edge of the village, heading initially towards Orchard Cottage before taking to a fenced path which skirts the property and leads to a field.

Go obliquely left to another field and continue in the same direction, to the far corner of a range of stables. Climb over a barrier (or untie it) and keep left to meet a farm track. Turn right to a lane, and then left.

Join the second footpath on the right, when the lane bends left. Follow a track to the top corner of a field then go through a gate but continue in the same direction on the other side of the hedge.

Go through another gate and turn sharp right by a hedge. Continue across the next field to a plantation - aim for a pylon at first, until a stile comes into view, then adjust your heading if necessary. Walk through the plantation then proceed by the right-hand edge of a field. Cross the third stile, by a water trough.

Go diagonally across another field to a stile fairly close to the far corner, then follow waymarkers towards Huddington Court. Turn left by a cider press and proceed to a lane.

Turn right, then right again on the court's driveway. When it bends right, keep straight on, passing to the left of St James's Church, a brick barn and a tractor store, before turning right to a stile into a field full of farm machinery. Turn left across the field to a stile.

Head for the far right corner of the next field, continue by the edge of another then cross a footbridge/stile and proceed to another stile. Continue in the same direction as before, to the right of a wood at first, then beside Bow Brook.

Bear right when the brook bears left, and cross a tributary. Head towards a brick farm building ahead, passing to the right of it, then crossing a stile. Continue across another field, with Manor House on your left. Go through a kissing gate, cross the Manor House driveway and walk across a field to a lane.

Cross to a footpath opposite. Follow the field edge until you have passed a sewage works then walk beside Bow Brook, soon crossing it at a footbridge but continuing in the same direction.

As the field eventually narrows and grows steeper, the brook moves away to the right and the path merges with a bridleway running along the top of the slope. The Court Farm driveway then leads to the A422.

n Turn right, then first left, opposite the Coventry Arms. Take a track on the right after 250m. When the track arrives at a pair of gates, go through the right-hand one into a field and walk across to a gateway, descending slightly towards Bow Brook.

n Continue across another field, heading towards some hurdles. Descend a wooded bank and cross Bow Brook to the left of Churchill Mill. Proceed across a field to a bridleway at the far side. Turn left, then go right at the next junction and straight on at another, joining a footpath to Churchill. Turn right to the A422, then right again to return to the start.