Hay Wood, Rowington and Baddesley Clinton - Warwickshire Starts at Lay-by alongside Hay Wood 2 hours 30 minutes 5.5miles 8.8km Leisurely ID: 0.683 Developed by: John Clift Checked by: Andy Page www.ramblersroutes.org The area covered by this walk was once part of the Forest of Arden. Hay Wood still preserves something of the atmosphere of the old forest. The walk links quiet lanes and paths though meadows with a section on the towpath of the Stratford canal. 500 m 2000 ft Crown Copyright 2012 Scale = 1 : 27K Main Route Alternative Route Point of Interest Waypoint The Ramblers is Britain s walking charity. We work to safeguard the footpaths, countryside and other places where we all go walking. We encourage people to walk for their health and wellbeing. To become a member visit www.ramblers.org.uk
Starts at The lay-by created along the west side of Hay Wood, on Hay Wood Lane, near Rowington Green, Warwickshire (SP 205707) Getting there From the Five Ways roundabout (junction of A4141 and A4177) take the minor road towards Rowington and Shrewley. Immediately turn right into Case Lane. Take the second turning on the right. Continue past a turning on the right and a turning on the left. You should see Hay Wood on the right. The best public transport option is to travel to Lapworth rail station on the Chiltern line. Services run at intervals of approximately two hours. You can then use the alternative route and join the main route at [7]. Route instructions [1] From the lay-by walk just into the wood to find a path running to the right parallel to the road. This path winds between the trees but you are never far from the road. (A) Hay Wood is a Forestry Commission property and has been designated as Access Land. Walkers are free to follow any of the numerous tracks through the wood. In the bluebell season you may wish to explore further, particularly along the southern edge of the wood. As you approach the southern edge of the wood find a small path on your right leading out on to the road at the corner of the wood. Turn left and walk down the road. Keep straight on past a road junction. Walk down a slope with a small wood on your right. After the bottom of the slope look out for a stile in the hedge on your right as the road bends left. [2] Go over the stile and walk across a field to pick up a hedgerow on the right. Throughout this section you can take your direction from Rowington church which is visible in the distance. (B) The small stream running along the hedgerow on your right is known as the Fox Brook. It is a tributary of the River Alne. Go through a kissing gate at the far corner of the field. Ignore the stile immediately to the right and continue across the next field to reach a second stile in the hedgerow on the right. Cross the stile and a bridge over the stream, then continue diagonally left across three more fields to a gate at the bottom of the churchyard. Follow a path to the left, taking you along the top of a bank above the road, covered with primroses in early spring. (C) The church of St Laurence is a grade I listed building which probably dates from the early 12th century. It has been much altered over the centuries and the central tower is a distinctive feature. The church is at the centre of the Rowington conservation area. Keep the church on your right and carry on down a surfaced path to the church gates. Cross over the Warwick Road and continue to the right to reach the junction with Mill Lane. [3] Walk down Mill Lane. When you reach a triangular road junction take the left fork, which is still Mill Lane, but now marked as a No Through Road. The road diminishes to a private drive, with a fingerpost with the legend 'To Stile & Footpath'. Go down the drive and find a kissing gate on the left, just before the gate to Field Cottage. (The stile has been replaced by a gate since the fingerpost was erected.) Once through the gate, turn right and follow the field edge. At the end of the field go through a small paddock and in front of a house to reach Finwood Road. (D) The Tom O'The Wood public house,named after a now vanished windmill, is to your right. With Rowington being on relatively high ground this was a good spot for windmills. Two others, with the equally
interesting names of Grinning Jenny and Bouncing Bess were also nearby. [4] Turn left and walk down Finwood Road, crossing the bridge over the Grand Union canal. Take the first turning on the right, which is Dicks Lane. Follow Dicks Lane which takes you under a railway bridge and you will arrive at a bridge over the Stratford canal. (E) Just after the railway bridge you can glimpse the M40 traffic across the fields to your left. The railway is the Chiltern Line from London Marylebone to Birmingham Snowhill. [5] Do not cross the canal bridge but instead join the towpath on the right. (F) The Stratford upon Avon canal was opened in 1816 to provide a link from the canal system around Birmingham to the Avon at Stratford. It narrowly escaped closure in 1958 but was subsequently restored to full working order largely though the efforts of volunteer groups. The southern section of the Stratford canal is notable for its split bridges (which allow tow-ropes to pass through the middle) and for its round roofed lengthman's cottages. You can see examples on this section of the walk. Past lock 22 the canal widens out to form a basin. Keep on the right hand side of the canal and look for a tarmac path on the right, past a brick building providing facilities for boaters. This brings you to the Kingswood branch canal. (G) The complex of canals and basins at KIngswood provides links between the northern and southern sections of the Stratford Canal and, via the Kingswood branch, the Grand Union Canal. The Lapworth link canal is a short recent addition which avoids the need for boats coming from the southern Stratford to go up a lock and then down again onto the KIngswood branch. There are some nice picnic tables just to the right along the Kingswood branch, which are handy if you would like a break. [6] Turn right and walk down the towpath under the railway bridge. When you reach the junction with the Grand Union Canal turn left, over the canal bridge, and walk along the towpath to the next bridge (bridge 65) and go up to the road. Alternative route from [6] to Lapworth station, rejoining the main route at [7]. This alternative may also be chosen if you wish to visit Lapworth or if you arrived by train. Turn left when you reach the Kingswood branch canal and almost immediately cross bridge 36A over the Lapworth link canal. Continue on the towpath with the Kingswood branch canal on your right and cross bridge 36 over the Stratford canal. Turn right and walk a short distance along the towpath to bridge 35A. Cross this bridge and follow the path that runs between the canal reservoir to the north and a canal basin, usually full of narrow boats, to the south. Continue on the path as it turns left to run along the eastern edge of the reservoir. When the path brings you out onto Old Warwick Road turn right and follow the road under the railway bridge. To reach Lapworth station take the next turning on the left and walk along Station Lane. If you are starting the walk from Lapworth station turn right at the station entrance and walk down Station Lane to its junction with Old Warwick Road where you turn left. To rejoin the main line of the route walk east along Old Warwick Road, crossing a bridge over the Kingswood Brook and another over the Grand Union Canal. You should see the Navigation Inn on your left. [7] Cross to the north side of Old Warwick Road and continue in an easterly direction with the Navigation public house on your left. Past the pub the verge becomes quite narrow, but there is enough space to walk in single file. After 100 metres turn left through a white gate onto a gravel driveway with a set of waymarks including one
for the Heart of England Way. Follow the driveway to another white gate, with a smaller pedestrian gate beside it. Through the gate, to the right of the buildings of the equestrian centre at Kingswood Park, the path ahead is clearly marked. (H) The ridge and furrow pattern across the field here is thought to indicate that this land was previously part of a medieval open field, cultivated in strips. Continue on the footpath into the National Trust Baddesley Clinton estate. Keep the hedgerow on your right. You soon have a wooded area on your right. At the far corner of the wood head diagonally across parkland to a gate onto the drive to Baddesley Clinton house. [8] Turn right and take the left hand driveway, leading to the car park. (I) Baddesley Clinton has every appearance of a classic late medieval manor house, although in fact building work extended from 13th to 19th centuries. For several hundred years Baddesley Clinton was home to the Ferrers family who are believed to have sustained the Catholic faith at the time when Tudor monarchs were imposing protestantism. The house is worth an extended visit. Continue past the car park entrance and take a footpath on your left signposted 'To the Church' just before the house entrance. (J) The church of St Michael is the parish church of Baddesley Clinton, but has always been closely linked to the house. Parts of the structure date to the 13th century although the nave only took its present form in the late 15th century and the chancel was rebuilt in 1634. Follow the tarmac path through the churchyard and then walk down the main driveway which provides access to the church. At this point you leave the Heart of England Way which takes a path on your right. Cross straight over a road and continue on a bridleway to the edge of Hay Wood. (This bridleway has recently been diverted and may be shown slightly further north on older maps.) Just inside the wood turn right. There are many interconnecting tracks but for ease of navigation it is best to keep just inside the boundary of the woodland. Whichever path you follow should bring you to a wide forest track which leads back to the starting point. Additional 'Point of Interest' information Many place names in this area preserve links with the Forest of Arden. Kingswood was once woodland belonging to the royal manor of Wellesbourne. Other similar names include Bushwood, formerly woodland belonging to the Bishop of Worcester, and Earlswood, an estate of the Earl of Warwick. It is less obvious that Baddesley Clinton is also a woodland name, but the -ley suffix denotes a clearing. Notes Combining this walk with a visit to the popular National Trust property of Baddesley Clinton house makes for a great day out. See http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/baddesley-clinton/ for details and opening times. Acknowledgements Developed by: John Clift Checked by: Andy Page Edited by: Mary Gough
Hay Wood The Stratford Canal Locks at Lapworth Baddesley Cinton