THE lovely valley of Kyre Brook is one of the main features of this walk, along with good views of the Teme valley and Clee Hill.

The Temeside hamlet of Rochford is also visited.

It consists only of a church, a farm and a couple of houses, linked to the larger Upper Rochford by Church Lane, which is a lovely wooded holloway at its northern end, but rises quite steeply to provide far-reaching views.

St Michael’s Church has two original Norman window openings, one of which is now fitted with modern but attractive stained-glass by Kieron Gledhill.

The east window is Victorian, designed by the multi-talented William Morris.

The north door, now blocked up, is surrounded by rare but badlyeroded 12th-century carvings.

A mound between the church and river is thought to mark the site of a castle.

DIRECTIONS

1 Leave Tenbury on the Clifton road (B4204) and shortly turn right on a footpath signed to ‘Kyre Magna road’. Walk almost to Kyre Brook then take a field-edge footpath on the left. Go straight on at a junction, following the path back to the B4204. Turn right.

2 Take a path on the left just after White House Lane. Walk along the left-hand field edge then turn right in the corner. In the next corner, go through a gap on the left into a potato field and follow an overgrown path along the righthand edge. Push through nettles in the corner and descend through woodland into grassland. Go straight downhill on a wide grassy path then turn right along the bottom edge of a plantation. Keep straight on when you reach farm buildings to find access to a lane.

Turn right and walk to Rochford, where a path crosses a field to St Michael’s Church.

3 Leave the churchyard by the main gate. Take a path on the left and walk through two meadows to a junction. Cross a stile and turn right to return to the lane. Turn right, pass the turning for the church and go left at the next junction. Follow Church Lane to the B4204, cross over and turn right.

4 Take the third footpath on the left, just after the footway comes to an end, opposite Hill View. The path starts well and runs straight on. However, as you approach the bottom of a long field you may struggle to see any exit from it: search in the tall nettles to the left of a fenced chicken run and you’ll find a footbridge.

Having crossed the bridge, proceed through a copse to a meadow. Go diagonally right, cutting across the corner to an overgrown stile, then walk straight across a field (not by the hedge) to an overgrown stile at the far side, hidden in the hedge to the left of two oak trees.

Proceed along the right-hand edge of the next field then pass to the right of a pool to join a track near Sutton Mill.

5 Turn right, then right again at a junction with a lane, then immediately left on a path. This is a good one, easily followed through the valley of Kyre Brook.

Ignore all branching paths and keep to the valley, eventually passing two houses and Brook Farm. Keep straight on after the farm. After about 350m, take the second path on the left, at a stile opposite a bungalow. Walk along the right-hand edge of an orchard, climb over an electric fence (insulated) and cross a steep, nettle-covered bank to enter a field.

6 Head towards a track, cross it, pass to the right of a mill and keep close to the field edge and Kyre Brook, then continue along the edge of a maize field. Turn right when confronted with a fence and follow it up to a metal stile. Cross this, pass in front of a house and into a meadow. Keep straight on for a short distance then turn left into the adjacent meadow and turn right. Pass below a house and shortly cross a stile to a driveway. Turn left, then enter a meadow on the right. The path is obvious now, keeping to the right through two large fields to reach the junction encountered in point one. Turn left, retracing your earlier steps. Turn right at the B4204 then cross over for Palmer’s Meadow and Tenbury.

FACT FILE

Start: Tenbury Wells, grid ref SO596682.

Length: Seven miles/11km.

Maps: OS Explorer 203, OS Landranger 138.

Terrain: Mostly pasture, with some arable and a little woodland; undulating but rarely steep. There is some road-walking (due to poor paths) but the lanes around Rochford are very quiet and there is a footway beside the B4204 at Upper Rochford.

Footpaths: A few are good but most are very poor. Nettles are abundant, stiles are overgrown and waymarking is intermittent. In several places, the route of the path on the ground differs from the right of way as shown on OS maps – in such cases, I have usually described the waymarked route, where waymarking exists, or whatever route is actually possible, where there is no waymarking. In one case, where a route is partially waymarked but totally obstructed by maize, I have described a field-edge route instead. In another case, where the path is obstructed by tall, razor-sharp stubble (bad enough for adults, but especially horrible for children to struggle through) I have described the correct path but you will see tractor tracks which will enable you to avoid the worst of it, if you wish. To report problems, contact countryside@worcestershire.gov.uk or 01905 768214.

Stiles: 17, and two fences.

Parking: Palmer’s Meadow, Tenbury.

Buses: Yarrantons’ 758, Mon-Sat only; Worcestershire Hub 01905 765765 or www.worcestershire.gov.uk/bustimetables Refreshments: Tenbury.

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.

Worcester News recommends the use of OS Explorer Maps, your ideal passport to navigating the countryside. This walk is based on OS Explorer 203.