From the car park, enter Bleachfield Street and turn left onto Stratford Road. Cross the road and wander up High Street. Bear right past impressive St Nicholas Church and, at the corner of the road, turn right down Malt Mill Lane. At the bottom of the lane, go left through the public gardens and follow the tarmac footpath by the side of the River Arrow to reach the Stratford Road again. Cross the road and go down the lane opposite into Oversley Green village, crossing the bridge over the River Arrow.
Keep left through the village on Stratford Road, and 80yds (73m) after passing a road to the right, go right through a gate along a hedged footpath behind a row of houses. Cross a field via two kissing gates and walk past a football field, to reach a kissing gate at a junction of paths. Do not go through it but go right here along the field edge, then through a field gate and across pastureland to join a track. Follow this through a kissing gate below Oversley Hill Farm to reach a Severn Trent substation.
Continue ahead across a stile and through a gate to go right, under the A46 road bridge, and bear right through the gateway into Oversley Wood. Take the metalled track into the wood for about 400yds (366m), then go left. In a further 400yds (366m), the metalled track arcs right. In 50yds (46m), at a path crossroads, go right on a grass path steeply uphill and continue westwards over the crest of the hill. Descend past a viewpoint bench back to the main metalled track. Now go left for 650yds (594m), then right at a bench onto a wide path to leave the wood over a stile.
Go right through dense vegetation and walk along the edge of Oversley Wood to its corner. Continue ahead along the hedged track until you reach a farm lane, with Oversley Castle on the hillock to the left.
Go right along the lane and join the Heart of England Way. Walk up the lane towards some large grain silos by the side of Lower Oversley Lodge Farm. From the farm complex, go right along the concrete lane and left through a gate down to the footbridge over the busy A46. Cross, turn right then left and walk down Primrose Lane. At the T-junction, go left along Mill Lane for about 650yds (594m).
After passing a fourth park home, go right down a path and cross a footbridge over the River Arrow. Continuing ahead, the path becomes a lane by houses, with allotments to the right. Walk up Bleachfield Street back to the car park.
Alcester is one of the most delightful towns in Warwickshire. This former Roman settlement has sadly lost its ancient abbey, but the abbot’s splendid ivory crozier, similar to a sheperd’s crook, was discovered in the rectory garden and is now displayed in the British Museum. From time to time, new... Roman relics also come to light, such as the Roman milestone commemorating the Emperor Constantine (ad 306–337), which was excavated in the town in 1966. The Romano-British town, which flourished between the 2nd and 4th centuries, is now completely covered by the modern town. Following the turnpiking of the Stratford to Alcester road in 1753, Alcester became a busy stopping point on the main stagecoach route linking London and Holyhead via Shrewsbury. Few of the town’s old coaching inns survived the developments of the 1960s, but the Bear Hotel is a reminder of those days. Horse-drawn coaches gave way to trains, but today Alcester’s old station, now a private home, is all that remains in the age of the car. The town centre is now bypassed and so Alcester has had space to breathe. A regular in the Britain in Bloom competition, the town’s residents adorn its streets each year with beautiful flowers. The great tower of St Nicholas dominates the centre, with its clock face set at an angle on the corner of its tower. The Market Hall was originally built in 1618, when it was simply a pillared edifice, but a timber-framed upper storey was added in 1641. In 1874, the arches were filled in and today it is occupied by the Town Hall. The walk takes you through the old part of Alcester and down Malt Mill Lane into Oversley Green. Beautiful Oversley Wood is a remnant of the original Forest of Arden, and if you walk through here in spring you will be greeted by a carpet of bluebells and may even spot a shy muntjac deer. The route also goes close to the delightful villages of Exhall and Wixford, with their black and white buildings, then returns over Primrose Hill, which rises 250ft (77m) above the Arrow Valley, offering a fine view of Ragley Hall to the left. Once over the busy A46, you will pass several beautiful thatched cottages as you walk down Primrose Lane on the way back into Oversley Green.
The sparkle of sunlight on a gentle river as it meanders through beautiful countryside; the reflections of sailing boats on a lake; relaxing with a pint in the garden of an old English pub in a picturesque village; brightly coloured narrow boats making their way through a flight of lock gates; the imposing silhouette of an historic castle. These are the scenes that make Warwickshire a delight.
From the car park, enter Bleachfield Street and turn left onto Stratford Road. Cross the road and wander up High Street. Bear right past impressive St Nicholas Church and, at the corner of the road, turn right down Malt Mill Lane. At the bottom of the lane, go left through the public gardens and follow the tarmac footpath by the side of the River Arrow to reach the Stratford Road again. Cross the road and go down the lane opposite into Oversley Green village, crossing the bridge over the River Arrow.
1 of 6
Keep left through the village on Stratford Road, and 80yds (73m) after passing a road to the right, go right through a gate along a hedged footpath behind a row of houses. Cross a field via two kissing gates and walk past a football field, to reach a kissing gate at a junction of paths. Do not go through it but go right here along the field edge, then through a field gate and across pastureland to join a track. Follow this through a kissing gate below Oversley Hill Farm to reach a Severn Trent substation.
2 of 6
Continue ahead across a stile and through a gate to go right, under the A46 road bridge, and bear right through the gateway into Oversley Wood. Take the metalled track into the wood for about 400yds (366m), then go left. In a further 400yds (366m), the metalled track arcs right. In 50yds (46m), at a path crossroads, go right on a grass path steeply uphill and continue westwards over the crest of the hill. Descend past a viewpoint bench back to the main metalled track. Now go left for 650yds (594m), then right at a bench onto a wide path to leave the wood over a stile.
3 of 6
Go right through dense vegetation and walk along the edge of Oversley Wood to its corner. Continue ahead along the hedged track until you reach a farm lane, with Oversley Castle on the hillock to the left.
4 of 6
Go right along the lane and join the Heart of England Way. Walk up the lane towards some large grain silos by the side of Lower Oversley Lodge Farm. From the farm complex, go right along the concrete lane and left through a gate down to the footbridge over the busy A46. Cross, turn right then left and walk down Primrose Lane. At the T-junction, go left along Mill Lane for about 650yds (594m).
5 of 6
After passing a fourth park home, go right down a path and cross a footbridge over the River Arrow. Continuing ahead, the path becomes a lane by houses, with allotments to the right. Walk up Bleachfield Street back to the car park.
Alcester is one of the most delightful towns in Warwickshire. This former Roman settlement has sadly lost its ancient abbey, but the abbot’s splendid ivory crozier, similar to a sheperd’s crook, was discovered in the rectory garden and is now displayed in the British Museum. From time to time, new... Roman relics also come to light, such as the Roman milestone commemorating the Emperor Constantine (ad 306–337), which was excavated in the town in 1966. The Romano-British town, which flourished between the 2nd and 4th centuries, is now completely covered by the modern town. Following the turnpiking of the Stratford to Alcester road in 1753, Alcester became a busy stopping point on the main stagecoach route linking London and Holyhead via Shrewsbury. Few of the town’s old coaching inns survived the developments of the 1960s, but the Bear Hotel is a reminder of those days. Horse-drawn coaches gave way to trains, but today Alcester’s old station, now a private home, is all that remains in the age of the car. The town centre is now bypassed and so Alcester has had space to breathe. A regular in the Britain in Bloom competition, the town’s residents adorn its streets each year with beautiful flowers. The great tower of St Nicholas dominates the centre, with its clock face set at an angle on the corner of its tower. The Market Hall was originally built in 1618, when it was simply a pillared edifice, but a timber-framed upper storey was added in 1641. In 1874, the arches were filled in and today it is occupied by the Town Hall. The walk takes you through the old part of Alcester and down Malt Mill Lane into Oversley Green. Beautiful Oversley Wood is a remnant of the original Forest of Arden, and if you walk through here in spring you will be greeted by a carpet of bluebells and may even spot a shy muntjac deer. The route also goes close to the delightful villages of Exhall and Wixford, with their black and white buildings, then returns over Primrose Hill, which rises 250ft (77m) above the Arrow Valley, offering a fine view of Ragley Hall to the left. Once over the busy A46, you will pass several beautiful thatched cottages as you walk down Primrose Lane on the way back into Oversley Green.
The sparkle of sunlight on a gentle river as it meanders through beautiful countryside; the reflections of sailing boats on a lake; relaxing with a pint in the garden of an old English pub in a picturesque village; brightly coloured narrow boats making their way through a flight of lock gates; the imposing silhouette of an historic castle. These are the scenes that make Warwickshire a delight.
