Wyre Forest

There is no precise Englishlanguage equivalent, although some people now talk of leafpeeping, which sounds vaguely dodgy somehow and seems unlikely to catch on.

In this country, nature doesn’t stage such a dramatic autumn display as it does in Japan, but our woods, parks and gardens still become extraordinarily beautiful in a slightly more subtle way.

Wyre Forest is an ideal place to enjoy the autumn show because it has a wide range of tree species, including beech, which is a top favourite for many people.

Lovely Dowles Brook also flows through the forest, adding further variety and charm to the landscape, and this walk follows the brook for quite some distance.

Much of Wyre Forest is classed as access land so there are hundreds of paths in addition to the rights of way.

Pound Green Common and Pound Green Coppice are also designated access land, so do feel free to explore – the route described here is only one of many possible choices.

FACT FILE

Start: Bewdley Bridge, grid ref SO786754.

Length: Eight-and-a-half miles/13.5km.

Maps: OS Explorer 218, OS Landranger 138.

Terrain: Woodland, grassland and riverside towpath.

Footpaths: Excellent, but not all of them are rights of way so waymarking is fairly scarce. Please note that dogs must be kept under close control in Wyre Forest National Nature Reserve and on Pound Green Common.

Stiles: Six.

Parking: Bewdley (or Buttonoak – see map).

Public transport: On Sundays/bank holidays the 300 goes direct to Bewdley but on weekdays take a bus (294/295/303) or train to Kidderminster and change to the 2 or 192 (you can also change at Stourport but services are less frequent); Severn Valley Railway also connects Kidderminster and Bewdley; worcestershire.gov.uk/bustimetables or 01905 765765.

Refreshments: Bewdley. There is also a pub at Buttonoak, about 400m from the route (see map).

DIRECTIONS

1Walk upstream on the west bank of the Severn (North Worcestershire Path/Geopark Way). For the first two miles the river is bordered by meadows but after the path has rounded Folly Point you’ll pass through a gate into Seckley Wood, which comes right down to the riverbank. Take an unsigned path here and climb slightly uphill through the wood.

Keep left at a junction then continue past several houses after the path levels out.

2When you reach a house that has a greenhouse in its garden, turn right on another unsigned path. Turn right again when you meet a bridleway. Stay with it through the next few junctions, ignoring any branching paths until the bridleway bends left, past several beech trees. Go to the right here to find a cliff-top viewpoint then follow a path which runs close to the edge of the cliff. Go to the right when the path forks, then left at the next fork, climbing slightly. Walk through beech trees to rejoin the bridleway and turn right. At a complex junction by a bench turn right to return to the cliff-top. Pass a picnic area/viewpoint then proceed along the path, moving away from the cliffs to reach a five-ways junction.

Turn second right and after a few paces you’ll come to the edge of Seckley Wood. Turn right, and then keep left by the woodland edge when the path forks.

3Walk along the left-hand edge of pasture/orchard, soon joining the remains of an old green lane.

Follow it past Cherry Orchard Farm to a junction with a track.

Turn left to a lane, then right. Take an unsigned path on the left just after a brick bungalow and walk to Pound Green Common. Cross a cattle grid, then fork left at the next waymarked junction. Pass to the left of a house then go straight on, passing to the right of a bungalow. Keep straight on at another waymarked junction then fork right at the next, a short distance further on (by an English Nature sign). Leave the common at the far side near a house called Cherry Trees.

4Walk across Pound Green Coppice, between woodland and plantation. Go straight on at a cross-path, passing a tall oak tree, then turn right at the next crosspath, which is waymarked with a yellow arrow. Keep straight on at numerous junctions, some waymarked, some not, eventually leaving the trees and walking through a garden to the road (B4194) at Buttonoak. Turn right then cross to Cycle Route 45. Stay on it for over half-a-mile, ignoring paths branching left and right.

Just when it’s starting to feel a bit dull the track splits – the cycleway keeps to the lower route but you can choose to take the more interesting track on the left, which climbs slightly.

5The two tracks merge again after about 400m. Rejoin the cycleway and after a short distance you’ll come to a cross-path, where signs specify no horses or bikes.

Turn left here, leaving the cycleway. Go straight on at a junction near a newly fenced area but turn right a little further along, on a narrow, easily missed, unsigned path. Descend through woods of oak and birch, then turn left on a bridleway when you reach a T-junction.

After passing a National Nature Reserve sign the bridleway undulates pleasantly for a while then meets another bridleway – turn right here then very soon fork right, descending towards Dowles Brook. Turn left when you come to a junction next to another National Nature Reserve sign.

After passing Knowles Mill the bridleway is joined by the Geopark Way which you follow back to Bewdley.

Worcester News recommends the use of OS Explorer Maps, your ideal passport to navigating the countryside.

This walk is based on OS Explorer 218.