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MAPS: Landranger 138; Pathfinder 952 More Information about The Crown Inn | ||
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The Ancient church of St. George is tiny, almost French like. From the church walk up to the Cleobury Mortimer road and into the village, then bear left along the lane signed Coreley/Clee Hill. After about 200 yards, turn right over a stile along a stone-walled gateway. You pass a new mansion on the left and continue towards Oak Farm on a roughly surfaced track. Turn left before the farm gate and continue around to the left of the farm buildings and through a metal gate onto a track crossing a field. This loops right and heads down to a group of trees where you go through another metal gate and over a footbridge. Follow the path left between rows of hawthorn and beech trees and ahead is yet another metal gate to the left of parallel stone walls. Go through this, or over the stile to the left of it, and proceed into a field with the boundary on the right, climbing gently in the direction of Mauns rough ahead. On reaching the trees turn 90 degrees left along the top edge of the field where pleasant views open up over the countryside to the south. At the end pass through a small metal gate, continuing in the next field with the boundary on your right and through a further gate into another field. The ground soon starts to level out and Little Down Farm is visible to your left. Pass through the left-hand of the two gates at the end of this field an into the next to reach another metal gate in front of Upper Down Farm. MAP REF 1 All this passing through gates and fields sounds a little boring but it's not really - the countryside is very attractive even if the paths can get a little overgrown in parts during the summer. Continue on a short track and go through a gate to pass to the left of the farm buildings onto a track, which on the other side develops into a narrow lane. When you reach a crossroads turn left and after about 200 yards there is a crossing right of way with a stile on each side. Take the one on the right and head down-field with a boundary on your right of mixed trees. There are good views at this point, as indeed there are on earlier sections, of the small settlements nestling on the side of Clee Hill. | ||||
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At the bottom of the field the boundary curves left and you will find a stile in the trees on your right. Proceed with care down a short bank, cross a brook (no footbridge) and cross the stile before climbing another bank on the far side into a field. Now follow the field edge rising gently with a mixed tree boundary on your right and, about 50 yards from the top before reaching a lane, cut left slicing off the top of the field through a gateway into the adjacent field. Now follow a course parallel with the right boundary, with Earls Ditton Farm further to the right to pass through a gate in the top right corner. Bear left onto a lane and you will immediately arrive at a crossroads. MAP REF 2 Bear right at the crossroads between farm buildings along the lane signed Hopton Wafers and after 100 yards where the lane bears sharp right there are two gates on your left. Go through the right hand gate and cross the centre of the field, keeping just to the right of a line of electricity poles, towards a copse in the dip. Hidden away in the trees is a footbridge but you will need to keep a sharp lookout to find it - the location is about 15 yards to the right of a continuation of the line past the last electricity pole. The footbridge is a single plank and the approach can be very overgrown in summer. Once over, cross the stile on the far side and continue in the field directly forward ,climbing steadily. Cross a stile into the next field followed by another stile after which the ground levels out and you reach a small gate and a plank footbridge. Cross this and the ensuing field towards the top left corner where a look back will be rewarded with extensive vistas over the surrounding areas. There is a stile in the field corner leading into a small field and on the other side of this is a gate which exits onto the A4114. Cross the main road carefully and over a stile directly opposite, and follow the waymark, effectively cutting off the right corner of the field. You will pass through a gate, then another in the next boundary to the right of an oak tree to continue into another field. Descend gradually with a tree boundary on the left, following a course parallel with the road which leads to Hopton Wafers. bout 40 yards before reaching a right hand kind in the boundary, branch left through a gap between the trees across the adjacent field to a stile on the opposite boundary. Having negotiated this stile cross the next field directly to another on the far side to the left of a metal gate, heading just to the left of the church. Go over and then through another gate after which bear right into a small field to cross a stile under an oak tree. The church should now be in view and you continue directly towards it through another small field to pass through an unusual double kissing gate and into the churchyard. Take the path around the church and turn right on reaching a lane to walk through a residential area of mixed period and modern houses. On arriving at a junction opposite the primary school turn left to find The Crown on the junction with the main road MAP REF 3 | ||
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Hopton Wafers. Derived from 'Hope', the Celtic name for a valley between hills, 'Ton' meaning enclosure and 'Wafre' after one Robert le Wafre who once held the manor. The village was once a hive of industry boasting three paper mills, stone quarries, coal mines and iron workings. Indeed, it is thought that the first blast furnace in the Midlands was located here and there are still a number of sites in the area with remains of these early industries. Today it is just a pretty rural village which has to make do with one pub instead of the earlier two. The church was rebuilt in 1827 and contains a remarkable monument to Thomas Botfield, local benefactor and pioneer of the coal mining industry in Shropshire. | ||
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When you have summoned up the willpower to leave the pub turn right up the main road for a distance of 20 yards or so and bear left along a tarmac lane signed 'No Through Road'. You will pass to the left of a bungalow and continue along a grass track to a stile and onto a sunken path between rows of trees. On reaching a further stile, cross and continue on a path which emerges into an open field where you carry on forward with a hedged boundary on the left. Where the boundary kinks right cross a stile to the left of a metal gate and descend gradually towards trees. The tree line curves left and you will shortly see a footbridge over a brook to your right. Cross this and in the next field follow your line ahead to a stile in the opposite hedge. Cross it and go through a small paddock via gates and continue ahead with a hedge on your right. You will see below you on the left a water undertaking with huge pipes carrying the water from the Elan Valley to Birmingham together with various little buildings associated with it along the way. A wooden fence now appears on your left and guides you to a stile and a locked gate. Cross and continue along a service road alongside a row of mobile homes. The road turns left, then right, to exit onto a lane. MAP REF 4 Turn left onto the lane and bear left at a fork around Ditton Mill to follow the lane through a pretty section alongside a stream, crossing a bridge after about 50 yards. The lane now rises between trees and as it bends left look for a stile on your right beneath an ash tree in the hedgerow. The embankment up to the stile is a little steep and can get overgrown, so negotiate with care. Once in the large field follow the waymark across the centre of it and to the left of an isolated oak towards a tree line on the opposite boundary. There you should find a waymark between oaks with a small pool 75 yards to the right. This leads you down to a plank footbridge and over a stile on the other side into a meadow. Follow the waymark half left across a rough plantation and after about 50 yards cross a fence stile. Following another waymark go half left up the field to the top left corner where a farm track goes through a gate. Some 10 yards to the right of this cross a stile into a facing field but aim further to the left than the waymark arrow suggests, to the left of a clump of trees around a pool. When you reach it you will find a dilapidated gate to your left exiting onto a lane. Turn right onto the lane to reach Upper Dudnill Farm with its picturesque black and white Elizabethan style farmhouse; MAP REF 5 Continue on the lane for maybe a little over a third of a mile, passing Haybridge Nurseries, until it bears sharp left. If you wish you can short cut the walk by carrying on along the lane for a further third of a mile to meet the Cleobury Mortimer road at Haybridge. Alternatively, there is a waymark on the right into a large field taking you over a fence stile and along the right boundary. Pass an isolated oak tree to reach a metal gate in a crossing fence; pass through this and bear left to follow the top field boundary with a brook below. Immediately before you come to a large oak tree cross a fence stile on your left and then bear half right to walk across the first field, aiming well to the left of a black and white cottage that you can see off to the right until you meet a hedged boundary to the adjacent field. A little directional care is required here. There is a double stile hidden in the hedge which you will find through you may not come across it straight away. Once over the stile, cross the next field bearing slightly right towards a cottage ahead to find a waymarked gateway onto a lane. Turn right, then right again on meeting a junction with the Cleobury Mortimer road. The 'cottage' actually turns out to be a garden centre which sells, amongst other things, ice cream - very welcome at this point on a warm day. Follow the road for about half a mile back into Milson and the start. | ||
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