Woods and water make a good combination for a summer walk and there's plenty of both on this one. Trimpley Reservoir and Lower Pool occupy an attractive location between the River Severn and Eymore Wood, and there is public access to reservoirs, river bank and wood, thanks to Severn Trent and Arley Estates.

The reservoir and its banks are popular with walkers and picnickers, and also with the local bird population, including mallards, great crested grebes, pied wagtails and grey wagtails. More exotically, a pair of mandarin ducks is raising nine young this year. The mandarin is an introduced species which is well established in parts of southern England.

Eymore Wood is owned by Arley Estates and is commercially managed for timber production. It's not all conifers, however, and it retains plenty of interest. A public footpath bisects it but walkers are also welcome to use other paths; three routes have been waymarked. This walk includes part of one of the waymarked routes, through stands of Scots and Corsican pine.

Nash Elm Wood is very different in character from Eymore Wood. It's a lovely, secluded place, one of the dingle woodlands so typical of this part of the Severn Valley. It has species indicative of ancient woodland, such as small-leaved lime, along with an unusually large number of yew trees. Several of these occur along the woodland edge, giving possible support to a widespread but unproven theory that yews were sometimes planted as boundary markers.

Arley Arboretum, at Arley House, is open to the public from Wednesday to Sunday each week from March to November (and on bank holiday Mondays). Established in 1820, it wasn't opened to the public until 2002. It contains around 600 species of trees, including the tallest Wellingtonias in Britain and a layered beech tree which covers over a quarter of an acre. In addition to the arboretum, there are walled gardens to enjoy. Dogs (on leads) are allowed in the arboretum and gardens. See www.arley-arboretum.org.uk or call 01299 861868 for more details.

FACTFILEStart: Upper Arley; grid ref SO765802. 6 miles/9.6km.

Length: 10 miles/16km.

Maps: OS Explorer 218, OS Landranger 138.

Terrain: Woodland and pasture, with a couple of gentle ascents and one short but fairly steep descent.

Footpaths: Excellent.

Stiles: 11.

Parking: Upper Arley (or Eymore Wood).

Public transport: Bus or train to Kidderminster then Whittle's 297 to Upper Arley, Monday-Saturday only; Severn Valley Railway also serves Upper Arley from Kidderminster, with trains operating daily until October; Traveline 0871 200 2233 or www.worcestershire.gov.uk/bustimetables Refreshments: Old Bakehouse Tearoom and Post Office Stores at Upper Arley. The Harbour Inn is a short walk away on the other side of the river (there's a footbridge) and snacks are sometimes available at Arley Station, also across the river. Arley Arboretum has a tearoom, which may be visited without paying the arboretum entrance fee.

PLEASE NOTE This walk has been carefully checked and the directions are believed to be accurate at the time of publication. No responsibility is accepted by either the author or publisher for errors or omissions, or for any loss, accident or injury, however caused.

DIRECTIONS1 Join the Severn Way and head downstream through riverside woodland to Trimpley Reservoir. Pass the reservoir and its smaller neighbour (Lower Pool) then leave Severn Way, turning left around Lower Pool to find a footpath which crosses the Severn Valley Railway into Eymore Wood.

Go straight on at the first junction, then fork left at the next three junctions before crossing a firebreak to meet a lane.

2 Turn right, then immediately left to join forest track. Follow it to a junction and then turn right. Returning to the lane, turn left and you'll soon come to a map of Eymore Wood, showing colour-coded walking routes.

Join the red route (waymarked with red arrows), turning left into the wood just beyond the map. The path turns left to cross a brook and then climbs to a junction. Go straight on, crossing North Worcestershire Path (NWP). Climb to a Y-junction, turn left, then almost immediately right, so there's pine forest on your right and a bracken-covered felled area on your left, with just a few remaining silver birches and oaks.

3 Cross another brook and proceed to a junction. Turn left, then left again, so that you're walking to the right of the brook. Don't be put off by the absence of red waymark arrows - they're just missing. Turn right at the next junction, joining the NWP, and keep straight on at an unsigned cross-path. The path climbs very gently to an easily missed junction. Turn left on a grassy path (still the NWP), which descends quite steeply to cross a brook. The NWP now turns right - leave it here, turning left instead to follow the brook.

4 Cross brook at footbridge and walk to top left corner of meadow. Climb steps into cattle pasture and follow right-hand edge then continue along left edge of another field to lane. Turn right, then left on bridleway, signed to Nash Elm, just after cream-painted house. Stay on bridleway (blue arrows) after crossing brook in Nash Elm Wood, ignoring branching footpaths. Meeting lane at Nash Elm, turn left. The lane becomes a bridleway after passing Duttons Farm, and leads to another lane at Nash End.

5 Turn left and walk along the lane towards Upper Arley until you see a footpath on the right. Bear right across parkland so that you're eventually walking close to the right-hand edge. Join a driveway at the far side and continue in the same direction until you come to a cattle grid. Don't cross it, but turn left, staying in the park until you can rejoin the driveway at a stile a little further on. Walk past Arley House to return to the village.