Lincomb

Take the first one if you want to see the lock and weir. There are six locks on the Severn, all between Gloucester and Stourport, and Lincomb Lock is the most northerly one, and arguably the one with the most attractive setting.

The second route bypasses the lock and weir but runs through woodland beneath steep sandstone cliffs. There are other patches of woodland along the way but overall, this is a very intensively farmed landscape.

Most of the surviving woods are only still there because they occupy slopes too steep for cultivation. So it comes as a pleasant surprise to discover lots of newly planted woodland alongside the path which leads up from the river to Lineholt. The more the existing small woods and copses in the area are linked together with new planting to create green corridors, the greater the benefits for wildlife.

FACTFILE

Start: Crossway Green, on the A449 between Ombersley and Waresley, just south of Mitre Oak roundabout; grid ref SO842681.

Length: Seven miles/11km.

Maps: OS Explorer 204, OS Landranger 138. Terrain: Pasture, arable, woodland, riverside towpath, mostly flat with one gentle ascent and one short, steep descent (stepped).

Footpaths: Several paths have not been reinstated after ploughing and some have been over-cropped.

Waymarking is mostly poor or absent, except on the Severn Way (where it isn’t actually needed). But there are no major obstacles and the paths are mostly easy to follow.

Stiles: Five.

Parking: Layby on A449 between Acton and Mitre Oak roundabout.

Buses: First 303, Mon-Sat only; worcestershire.gov.uk/bustimetables or 01905 765765.

Refreshments: The Mitre Oak.

DIRECTIONS

1 If you arrive by car, cross the A449 and head towards Kidderminster.If you arrive by bus, and alight from it just before the roundabout, head towards Worcester. Look for an easily missed path just to the south of the sign for Crossway Green. Once located, the waymarked path is very easily followed across four fields and then along the edge of a golf course to Bishops Wood Lane.

Take a bridleway opposite then shortly turn right on another bridleway, going across a field to join a track at Waynhams Farm.

Keep straight on, following the track to another lane, then turn left. Descend into the Severn valley and turn right at the bottom, towards Stourport. Pass Court Farm and Lincomb Farm.

2 Take a path on the left which goes diagonally across two fields to a prominent white-painted stile. Pass this and continue across another field to an equally prominent metal gate. Walk through woodland to a junction and descend a steep flight of steps to a caravan site. The right of way is roughly straight down through the site but caravans obstruct the line of the path so just find the best way down to the field below the site.

3 You have a choice of routes here – either go directly to the river and turn left on the Severn Way, or turn left below the caravans, pass left of a pool and then search for an unsigned path leading into woodland to the left of a brook. Keep straight on when you come to a footbridge, joining the Severn Way here. Head downstream towards Worcester.

Ignore two paths branching left either side of a footbridge opposite the HampstallInn (across the river). Continue downstream, soon walking through scrub and young woodland.

4 The path enters a meadow with two large ash trees in the middle of it. Keep forward along the edge of this meadow for about 150m then go diagonally across to the far corner.

There’s a wide hedge gap in the corner but the path doesn’t go that way – look to the right of the gap to find an overgrown plankfootbridge and a collapsing stile.

Step over the fence next to the stile and follow a tree-lined path to a track.

Turn left and follow the track as it gradually climbs out of the valley.

Pass several houses and keep straight on at all junctions. Go straight on when you meet a lane.

5 Turn left at the next road junction, soon after Hunnypot Cottage. Take the next path on the right, opposite a postbox.It passes behind a house and then climbs a bank. There are two fields here; one full of scrap metal and one to the left of it planted with brassicas.

Go into the latter and follow the right-hand edge. When the brassicas give way to leeks you’ll see from a fingerpost in the left corner ahead that the path should go diagonally across the field.It has been over-cropped with leeks so either trample a way through (the legal solution) or go round the edge to the fingerpost. Slip through a hedge gap to a lane and cross to another path opposite.

6 Go straight across three fields, keeping to the boundary, or to the line of the former boundary in those places where the hedge has been grubbed out. As you approach the bottom of the third field look for a stile on your left. Cross this and walk to Owlhill Lane. Take another lane, almost opposite, to the right of Owl Hill and Barn Cottage. Turn left at a T-junction below Downshill Cottage, then turn right at the next junction and walk to Acton Farm. Turn left on a footpath opposite the farm (just after Stable End) and walk towards Acton Turf. Pass through a farmyard then along the right-hand edge of a turf field, after which a rather overgrown, fenced and hedged path leads to Mount Pleasant Lane. Turn right to the A449.