THE location of this walk looks seriously unpromising when seen from the A449.

Views from the railway are more enticing, but only those who explore on foot will discover all the pleasant surprises in store, particularly in the charming valley of Elmley Brook.

Quiet and unspoilt, it seems a million miles from the industrial estate just 15 minutes' walk away near Elmley Lovett.

Even industrial-scale farming takes a back seat in places, and one of the valley's highlights is a meadow bursting with buttercups, knapweed, bird's-foot trefoil, poppies, meadow cranesbill, oxeye daisies and catsear.

Elmley Lovett was named for its elm trees, now long gone.

The original village has gone too, leaving only a series of humps and hollows in a field.

This is what historians refer to as a deserted mediaeval village, or DMV. There are many such sites in the Midlands.

Some were deserted after the Black Death in 1349, but there were also other causes of abandonment, with straightforward poverty often sufficient reason.

n 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 the author or publisher for errors or omissions, or for any loss, accident or injury, however caused.

FACTFILE

Start: Dunhampton, on the A449 nearly two miles north of Ombersley, and 200m north of the Lineholt/Doverdale crossroads; grid ref SO845666.

Length: 71/2 miles/12km.

Maps: OS Explorer 204, OS Landrangers 138,139 and150.

Terrain: Arable and pastoral farmland.

Footpaths: Many are excellent, but others are atrocious. In places, crops have been illegally planted across paths; elsewhere, it's more a case of neglect, with overgrowth a big problem, particularly nettles.

Stiles: 16.

Parking: A layby serves as both car parking area and bus stop, almost opposite a former pub now trading as 'epic bar brasserie'.

Buses: Worcester-Kidderminster services 300/303 daily; Traveline 0870 608 2608 or www.traveline.org.uk

Refreshments: epic bar brasserie.

Cross the road and walk past the oddly-named epic then turn left on a lane signed to Doverdale. When you reach a junction keep straight on along a track running along the left edge of a huge field. Ignore a branching path and proceed to the field corner.

Cross a stile and walk across a rapefield on an inadequate path. After about 100m, turn right on another poor path which leads to a lane. Turn left, following the lane for nearly a mile before taking a footpath on the right, soon after Callow Farm.

Walk through two fields, cross Elmley Brook then climb up a bank and turn left at the top. Cross a stile after 200m and walk across three fields, with a wooded railway embankment on your left. Turn left along a road and soon left again at a crossroads.

After about 350m, join a footpath on the right at an easily missed stile. The initially excellent path cuts a broad swathe across a wheatfield then deteriorates as it continues along the edge of another field.

Turn left in a third field. The path soon changes to the other side of the hedge/fence but continues in the same direction, descending to cross Elmley Brook.

Turn right on the other side and go through a kissing gate into a flowering meadow. Follow a trodden path for about 300m then cross Elmley Brook again but continue in the same direction.

When you reach a junction by a house, go left along the edge of the garden, re-cross Elmley Brook and descend steps into a narrow field. Cross to a bridge over a tributary, half-hidden under a tall alder tree, and enter sheep pasture. Head towards St Michael's Church.

The path enters the churchyard at the bottom left corner and exits at the top left corner, not far from the church tower. Go diagonally left across a field (this is the site of mediaeval Elmley Lovett) to meet a road.

Turn left, and soon left again at a junction. Turn right at the next junction, signed "Valley Farm only, gated road". The road turns right at the farm and you'll pass through two gates. Just after the second one, turn left on a bridleway.

Turn left on a cross-path after 600m, and keep straight on at the next two junctions to meet a lane. Turn right past Pepwell then join a footpath on the left. Walk along the right-hand edge of a field, over a stile in the corner and straight on in the next field.

Pass through a hedge gap into an asparagus field and go to the far left corner, where a waymarker guides you through nettles and past a pool. Emerging in a field, you'll find the path over-cropped with barley. Wade through it for a little way, however, and you can join the "tramlines" left by a tractor, in lieu of a proper path. Head roughly towards Acton Hall, a large house with multiple chimneys.

Reaching the hall's driveway, cross to a path opposite and walk across a field towards Acton Manor. Look for a stile on the left after about 100m. Two paths are waymarked here: take the right-hand one, currently over-cropped with sugar beet.

Head across the field, aiming to meet the far hedge about 110m from the far right corner. Beyond the hedge is another one, at right-angles to it. Aim for this and you'll see a waymarker confirming that you're on course. Cross an overgrown footbridge and proceed to the next field.

The path should run by the hedge but it has been cropped over so again you'll have to resort to nearby "tramlines". However, when the hedge turns a corner, make your way to it and continue across the field on an excellent path.

At the far side of the field, cross a footbridge then bear right up a bank. Go straight across the next field to meet the track you used at the start of the walk. Turn right to the A449.