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| The Fox Inn at Chaddesley Corbett |
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This walk offers great variety in both terrain and
vegetation. Open fields, arable farmland, woodland trails are all part
of this ramble and you'll possibly lose count of the number of ponds
you'll encounter. There are a few hills though nothing too strenuous,
but some of the paths are a bit squelchy in the winter months so it's
best to prepare with spare footwear to enjoy the pub afterwards. The
total distance is 14 kilometres and will take around four hours at a
very gentle pace allowing for a couple of stops to look at buildings and
sights of particular interest.
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Start
by leaving the car park and turning left along the main road. There is a
footpath initially but a grass verge can be utilised to keep off the
road. Turn left at Rowberry's Farm Shop and Tea Room and follow the
footpath. Cross the concrete driveway and continue between the
greenhouses. Follow the path along the right-hand field boundary and
head towards the stile and waymarker in the corner. Once over the stile,
climb up the bank and enjoy the sight of the pond before you. Turn right
and walk along the bank and nip over the stile. Keep on the right-hand
side of the field until you reach the metal gate. Climb the stile and
walk up the hill alongside the tree line. Once over the hill you'll see
Chaddesley Wood Farmhouse to your left, part of which is timber-framed.
Cross the private road that provides access to the farm and continue
straight ahead across the field. The track is not easy to distinguish in
the winter months but you are heading straight down the slope to a stile
and waymarker. Once you climb over this the path is fenced in on both
sides. A duckboard bridge takes you over the soggiest part and you
continue up the hill to the main track junction with blue waymarkers.
Turn left and walk up the hill. You will soon reach a gate with an
English Nature sign welcoming you to Chaddesley Woods Nature Reserve.
Chaddesley
Woods are part of the once extensive Royal Hunting Forest of Feckenham.
The broadleaved part of the reserve is being managed by English Nature
as a valuable remnant of ancient woodland, with its important species of
plants, animals, birds and insects. Other parts of Chaddesley Wood have
been planted with conifers since 1935. Species include Scots and
Corsican pines, Western Red Cedar and Norway Spruce. A programme to
selectively thin out these species will make way for native trees,
especially oak, for which the site is important and will increase the
value of the wood for wildlife. In the short term, birds will benefit
from the open ground created by felling the conifers. Parts of the
existing oak woodland were coppiced around 100 years ago and this
management regime is being re-introduced. 10 hectares of new woodland
has been planted including some areas of wet alder woodland. This scarce
habitat will complement the existing ponds and wet grassland. Glades are
being created along the main ride to encourage woodland plants and
butterflies including white admiral and speckled wood.
Following
the main ride you'll reach a track junction at the top of the hill. Turn
right and follow the path around a bend to the left. Just after this
there is a fork junction - follow the path to the right. After a short
distance you will pass a waymarked path to your right - make a mental
note of this because you will come up this path later on in the walk.
Continue along the path in front of you until you reach a metal gate
(here there is a small path leading off to the left). Pass through the
gate and follow the path along the tree line. Towards the crest of the
slope you'll notice the trees growing in a small gulley (pictured
above). The walk down the hill from here is particularly enjoyable. You
cross over a road and follow the path up the slope in the gulley to the
top of Line Hill. You will see a wooden outbuilding in the distance. You
pass through a gate here and follow the metal road down the hill to
Woodcote Lane. Turn left and continue along the road. 100 metres beyond
Randan Cottage you encounter a sign for the Chartists' Walk. Follow this
through Nutnells Wood, pass through the metal gate and walk along the
edge of the wood towards the farm. Clamber over a wooden stile then turn
right. Walk through a metal gate and past the small pond before reaching
another metal gate. Follow the path along the edge of the wood bearing
left when you get to the small valley created by the stream. This takes
you to a small footbridge and, once over, walk up the steps and follow
the path to the road. Turn left and then right down Church Road. At the
crossroads turn right and walk a few hundred yards to reach the entrance
of Rosedene on the right.
Operated
by the National Trust, Rosedene is one of the last surviving intact
Chartist cottages in Dodford, the location of a settlement created by
Feargus O'Connor in the mid-19th century. The early settlers found the
clay soil hard to work and, consequently, hard to earn a living.
However, many of them succeeded in selling strawberries to local centres
such as Birmingham. The settlements created by the Chartists via the
National Land Company were acquired with money raised through the sales
of shares. However, the allocation of cottages and smallholdings was a
lottery and few people actually achieved their dream of land and a vote.
The scheme did prove successful in that it provided tangible evidence
that the Chartists were more than a political movement bogged down by
dogma of the era. Admission to this Chartist cottage is by pre-booked
guided tours only so if you would like to discover click on the
Retrace
your steps back to the crossroads and turn right along Church Road. This
will bring you to the village hall, the site of the original church in
Dodford. Walk across the road and down the path to the left of the hall.
Keep your eyes peeled to the right because you are walking past the site
of the priory founded by Augustinian Canons in the late 12th century.
Halesowen Abbey took over the building in the 15th century and following
the Dissolution it was used as a farmhouse. Only a few fragments of the
original building have survived. Continue along the path to the main
track at the end. Turn right and bear left at The Poplars and walk down
the hill. Look out for the yew tree on the large mound. Continue down to
the main road and turn left. Cross over to use the footpath and walk up
the hill to the signpost for the church. Notice the unusual hotchpotch
style of the vicarage on the left. The art historian Nikolaus Pevsner
described Holy Trinity and Saint Mary as "the best church of its date in
the county". Designed by Arthur Bartlett, it was built between 1907-8.
The most unusual feature of the building is the dog-leg wooden
passageway connecting the church and tower. This creates a small
courtyard which has an outdoor pulpit on the tower wall.
Retrace
your steps to the bottom of the hill (where you emerged from the
priory). Turn left, through the metal gate, and walk up the path
improved with slate chippings. Walk past the stable then pass through
the metal gate and walk up to the cottage and bungalow. Follow the metal
road down to the gate where there is a signpost for the Chartists' and
Forester's Walk. Continue to the footbridge and follow the waymarked
path up the hill into High Wood. Just after the path bends round to the
right a path joins from 8 o'clock where there is a waymarker. Carry on
and after 40 yards take the left fork. At the fence bear left and follow
the fence line - you'll soon get to the same view seen here with a new
house and stable block in the distance. The path emerges at Woodcote
Cottage. Follow the lane down to the road and turn right. Walk past
Woodcote Green Cottage and just before the road junction nip over the
stile and into the field. Walk to the opposite corner where you cross
another stile into an orchard. Walk through this small field and cross
another stile and bear right. After a few yards cross another stile and
walk to the left-hand (north-west) corner of the field. The gate is
often left open here - bear left and follow the fence line (there's a
small pond on the other side) and cross the stile at the end. Bear
towards the opening in the wood where you'll see a waymarker. Follow
this path to the top. This is the path junction you were asked to make a
note of earlier. You are now retracing your steps back to the Fox Inn.
There is an alternative path that runs parallel to the path you walked
out on. If you follow this and turn left at the first track junction it
will bring you to the other side of the pond (pictured at the top of the
page). Walk back through Rowberry's Nursery and recharge the batteries
with a meal and drink at the Fox Inn.