CHARLECOTE Park has belonged to the National Trust since 1946 but it has been the home of the Lucy family since 1247, though the present Charlecote House was built in the 1550s by Sir Thomas Lucy.

William Shakespeare is often said to have been caught poaching deer in the park in 1583, though there is no real evidence for this.

The park supports herds of red and fallow deer, a flock of Jacob sheep and some magnificent veteran trees. Only one public footpath runs through the park but it can be explored on foot on payment of an entrance fee, or free of charge for National Trust members. The village of Hampton Lucy is separated from Charlecote Park only by the river Avon, and the imposing tower of Hampton Lucy’s church dominates many views of the park. St Peter’s occupies the site of a Mercian minster which was part of the estate of the bishops of Worcester, who had a palace here in Saxon times. The present St Peter’s dates from 1826.

Nearby stands Charlecote Mill.

It dates from 1806 but there have been mills on this site for at least 1,000 years. It belongs to the Lucy family but is leased to Karl Grevatt, a miller and craftsman, who produces traditional stoneground flour, using locally-sourced grain whenever possible. The mill occupies a lovely part of the Avon valley, where riverside reedbeds and wetlands provide valuable habitat for birds. In the adjoining fields it’s still possible to see hares.

Two long-distance paths are sampled on this walk from Charlecote. One is Shakespeare’s Avon Way, which follows the Avon for 88 miles, from its source at Naseby to its confluence with the Severn at Tewkesbury. The other is the Joseph Arch Way, which commemorates a farm worker from nearby Barford who in 1872 founded the first trade union for agricultural workers.

As you follow Shakespeare’s Avon Way across Copdock Hill you will enjoy views of Warwick, dominated by the soaring tower of St Mary’s Church. Warwick Castle is visible too, though much less prominent than the church.

At one point Kenilworth Castle also comes briefly into view.

FACTFILE START: Charlecote, a few miles east of Stratford; grid ref SP262565.

LENGTH: 8¾ miles/14km.

MAPS: OS Explorer 205, OS Landranger 151.

TERRAIN: Arable, pasture, water meadows, woodland, quiet lanes; undulating but not steep.

FOOTPATHS: Mostly excellent, let down only by poor-quality waymarking in places.

STILES: Four.

PARKING: Roadside at Charlecote, north of St Leonard’s Church. The car park shown on OS maps is for visitors to Charlecote Park only.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Stagecoach Stratford-Leamington- Coventry X18/18A serve Charlecote daily; connections from Worcestershire include Aston’s 166 which operates direct to Stratford from Worcester on Sundays, while on weekdays Stagecoach 28/28A operates frequently from Evesham to Stratford; it’s also possible (but slow) to get to Stratford by train, via Birmingham; worcestershire.gov.

uk/bustime tables or 01905 765765, warwickshire.gov.uk/buses or 01926 414140, londonmidland.com or 08457 484950.

REFRESHMENTS: Charlecote and Hampton Lucy.

ORDNANCE SURVEY Worcester News recommends the use of OS Landranger Maps, your ideal passport to navigating the countryside.This walk is based on OS Landranger 151.

DIRECTIONS 1 Walk north along the road from the church and pub, then turn left heading in the direction of Hampton Lucy.

Take the first path on the right and keep heading straight on at all junctions until you enter young woodland.

Once you are there, fork left, and keep walking close to the woodland edge.

Ignore paths which branch off in other directions.

When you reach the Hail End Bridge, cross it to join a bridleway.

Take a left at the next junction.

Follow the bridleway to Wasperton then walk along the lane through the village.

Turn right at the main road, the A429.

2 Take a footpath at J and A Growers Ltd.

Follow it for 400m to a wooden kissing gate and a junction.

Take the right-hand path, between a field and a wood.

When you come to a stile with faded, unreadable waymarking, cross to the field on the right and bear right across it and keep looking for a small, easily-missed gate in the right-hand hedge.

Proceed across a second field to rejoin the bridleway.

Return to Hail End Bridge and, after crossing it, go through a gate on the right into riverside meadows.

3 Head towards the church tower at Hampton Lucy.

Pass to the left of Charlecote Mill to meet Charlecote Road and turn right.

Cross Hampton Lucy Bridge, then take a bridleway which soon climbs slightly to run along the top edge of a cliff.

The bridleway eventually moves away from the edge and passes to the left of a line of oaks.

Not long after this point, after you have passed over the top of Copdock Hill, the bridleway descends to the right sharply for a little way.

Then, it turns left to resume its former course.

When you come to a farm, a waymark points straight on across a slope planted with young trees.

However, the correct route to take is to the left, along a field edge, meeting a lane opposite the driveway to Wood Cottage.

4 Walk along the driveway until a waymark points left to a lane.

Turn right, and then take a path on the left after 200m.

Turn left at a junction, on a cross-field path.

In the next field, bear right to a gate about halfway along the far fence.

Once you reach it, then go diagonally across a third field.

Cross a driveway and proceed along a footpath opposite.

Then prcoeed straight across a small field and then, along the right-hand edge of the next field.

Cross to the other side of the hedge when you come to a small gate, but continue beside the hedge.

5 Turn left when you meet a bridleway and then turn left again once you meet a road.

Take the first path on the right.

Pass to the left of Mount Pleasant.

Keep going along field edges, ignoring a waymark which seems to point sharp left as you go.

Turn left at another road and walk through Hampton Lucy and on to Charlecote.