A fine walk from Feckenham
Alan & Pauline’s Saturday Ramble 2 November
On a dry but cloudy morning, we set out along Feckenham High Street, with its many fine houses, making our way to the site of the former Royal Hunting Lodge. In the Middle Ages Feckenham was the centre of a royal hunting forest visited by the kings of England. It had a court, a prison and a grammar school, with Geoffrey Chaucer residing in the Royal Hunting Lodge in his role as Clerk of the Works. In the 18th century it became a centre of the needle and fishing hook industry.
After crossing Swans Brook (no swans to be seen, though) we headed north on a bridleway, strewn with autumn leaves, to Berrowhill, passing a number of impressive houses on the way. One remarkable property had windows covering the whole frontage – a homeowner’s nightmare but a professional window cleaner’s dream job. A steady climb on a metalled farm track brought us to Cruise Hill where we stopped for a short refreshment break.
It was a pleasure to stroll across a lush green field without it being waterlogged and even a harvested maize field was surprisingly dry underfoot. The pleasant countryside ambience was soon shattered by the stench of a stagnant stream below a very rotten bridge that we had to encounter.
We soon reached the hamlet of Berrow where three remarkably realistic horseshoe pumpkins, displayed on a wall, caught the eye of some of the group. Glyn was left chatting with the ex-farrier who proudly showed him a Christmas tree and a Covid rainbow sculpture that he had made.
Quickly catching up the rest of the ramblers, Glyn arrived on the top of Berrow Hill just in time to take photographs at the trig point.
Nearly back at the start, as we crossed Swan Brook again, we were treated to the spectacle of a young rider taking her horse back and forth through the water – another photo opportunity.
At the end of the walk, twelve of us enjoyed the hospitality at The Rose & Crown, including Kaz, our very welcome guest for the day.
Alan & Pauline
5 Miles
‘Out of the mist’
Alan & Pauline’s Midweek Ramble 13 November
Leaving the Vale behind, bathed in sunshine, the rest of the journey to Middle Tysoe was through thick mist which persisted as we set out along the attractive village street, lined with ironstone cottages. The area is still known as ‘The Vale of the Red Horse’, so named because the figure of a horse was cut into the side of a hill overlooking the village. Sadly, this has long disappeared under a plantation of trees.
The going was good on well-defined paths until we encountered a muddy gateway which the leader and some followers waded through whilst others circumnavigated it by gingerly crossing a stream higher up the field. We were soon rising up onto Edge Hill on good paths and once on the ridge took great delight in shuffling through the autumn leaves. What was meant to be a magnificent viewing point at a break in the trees was quite the opposite. As we wandered in the mist, a group of ghostly figures appeared in the distance – Shipston-on-Stour u3a, just as disappointed as we were. Not to miss an opportunity, Lesley handed out cards advertising Evesham Walking Festival 2025.
At the top of Sun Rising Hill we crossed the busy road that used to hold competitive hill climbs before WWII and was also used as JLR car testing route. We made our way to The Castle at Edge Hill for a well-earned coffee break and by total contrast, we were now in bright sunshine which warranted sitting outdoors, enjoying the extensive views across the Warwickshire countryside. An information board in the garden told the story of the Battle of Edge Hill, the first battle of the English Civil War which took place in October 1642 in the fields below.
As we headed along the ridge, the sun filtering through the remaining golden leaves on the trees was a delight to behold. Reaching the pretty village of Ratley we perched on the church wall to eat our lunch in the warm sunshine which lasted just long enough before the church tower cast a shadow over the group.
The first half of the afternoon route was quite up and down but we were rewarded with stunning views in all directions. Eventually, we descended into a lovely valley, alongside horse gallops, in the grounds of Upton House. Our final hill of the day brought us back to Middle Tysoe where unfortunately, the coffee shop had just closed and the pub was yet to open.
Alan and Pauline
10 miles
A wicked walk from Wick!
Clive’s Short Ramble – 20 November
The group of 18 met at 9.30 for a 10.00 start by the church in Wick. We were to welcome a new face, Paul Bonas into the fold. Weather was perfect for walking, sunny but cool enough to keep warm.
The terrain was mainly flat with some mud in places but not enough to hamper the walk. We walked the surprisingly short distance to the old Pershore bridge and followed the river Avon round for a while then cross country to the top of Pershore, stopping for a break to admire Bredon Hill in all its glory.
Back then through to the town, past the abbey and the gardens and then along the high street back to the Pershore Bridge and the short walk through the sheep to the cars.
In all an ideal ramble, good weather, good walking and good company. Thanks everybody.
Clive
4.6 miles
Beaten by Bert
Geoff & Rachel’s Sunday Ramble – 24 November
Seven ramblers were keenly following the forecast for the Sunday ramble as a storm was predicted to cause some issues. Sunday arrived, and so did Storm Bert, with torrential rain and severe winds. Deciding we would ‘see how things were’ we arrived at our meeting place. This involved negotiating fallen branches and flood water. With no let up in the deluge and no decrease of wind speed, it was decided that it was safer to postpone the walk to next year.
Let’s hope our fellow members in Tenerife are enjoying better weather!
Rachel and Geoff
0 miles