Ombersley and Droitwich

The riverside meadows south of Ombersley are particularly attractive, squeezed into a narrow gap between the Severn and the wooded sandstone cliffs which rise above.

Grey herons stalk the meadows and the shallower parts of the river.

They may also be seen at nearby Ombersley Fishpond, which once provided carp for the local manor, and was later the site of Turn Mill, which operated until 1900 and was dismantled in the 1930s.

FACT FILE

Start: Ombersley, grid ref SO844633.

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

Maps: OS Explorer 204, OS Landranger 150.

Footpaths: Most are excellent but some have not been reinstated after ploughing. Waymarking is absent in places. Some stiles poorly maintained.

Terrain: Pasture, arable, woodland, canal towpath; mostly flat, with a few easy slopes.

Stiles: 23.

Parking: Ombersley.

Buses: Worcester-Kidderminster services – 303 weekdays, 300 Sundays; worcestershire.gov.uk/ bustimetables or 01905 765765.

Refreshments: Ombersley.

DIRECTIONS

1 Walk south beside the road through the village, towards Worcester, until you can leave the road on the Wychavon Way, on the right shortly before a bus stop.

Walk across a field, then along the edge of woodland and past Ombersley Fishpond. Go left along a track, ignore the next path branching left and stay on the welltrodden Wychavon Way, which descends through woodland to riverside pasture. Proceed to the river Severn and go left, downstream.

2 When the riverside path ends, go left past Horseferry Cottage and walk up to the road (A449). Turn right and cross to a footpath signed to Chatley. Walk along a field edge then follow the waymarks to Caves Farm and turn right at a path junction to meet a lane. Turn left, then turn right at the next lane junction. Take a footpath on the left a little further on. Follow the path ‘from stile to stile’ and do not take ‘short cuts’ warns a series of notices. Ironically, these stiles would benefit from some maintenance – take care crossing a wobbly one after a pool. Once the environs of a house are left behind there are no more warnings, and the waymarking declines too. After passing through a metal gate keep left across a field to another gate then turn right to join a lane.

3 Turn left, and then left again at the next junction, past Woodbury Cottage. Pass Woodside House then look for an easily missed footpath which passes along the edge of the garden and through a paddock to a field. Keep left through the field to a footbridge (slippery when wet). Go diagonally left across a long narrow field to the far side, then turn right to descend into the Salwarpe valley and join a lane.

Turn left, then very soon turn right along a private drive/public footpath.

4 Turn right after 300m, walk along a tree-lined ‘tunnel’ then go up a bank into a field. Go roughly straight across and over the river Salwarpe at a footbridge.

Go through the next field to the top corner, cross a stile and proceed along the edge of woodland above the Droitwich Canal until you can join the towpath. Turn left to walk through Salwarpe, and then past Chawson. Go under two road bridges and pass a footbridge before going up to a road at a brick bridge.

5 Turn left, passing Droitwich leisure centre and high school.

After crossing the river Salwarpe you can take a footpath on the right which runs through trees above the river before rejoining the road just before a bridge takes it across the A38. Turn left beside Westwood Way then turn right on the Monarch’s Way. Walk through woodland then along the left edge of pasture and across the Westwood House driveway. Follow the well-trodden path across an enormous arable field and keep straight on at a waymarked junction. After a further 200m, having passed Westwood House, you will come to another junction, which is not waymarked. However, a cross-field path has been made and if you look to the right you should see a fingerpost at a field corner. Turn left, leaving the Monarch’s Way, and walk to another field corner.

6 Go downhill, to the right of a fence until a gate allows you to cross to the other side. Keep going down, moving away from the fence to go through a gate about halfway between a field corner and an old barn. Proceed to a pair of stiles and enter the next pasture. Go to the far side and cross Hadley Brook at a bridge. Walk along a green lane and straight on along a farm access track (Pope’s Hole Farm). Ignore a path branching left at a junction and keep straight on. Turn left at a junction with a public lane and walk to the A4133. Turn right on the wide grass verge.

7 Cross over to the Hadley Farm driveway and follow the Wychavon Way past Orchard Cottage and along a field edge to join a track running to the left of a wood, Gardner’s Grove. Follow the track into the next field and turn right along the edge of Gardner’s Grove until you see a path running across the field towards Ombersley. Cross the field and continue across the next field, where no path has been made.

Head roughly towards the church, then more specifically to a stile at the right end of a line of trees.

Three paths lead from here to Ombersley – the Wychavon Way (straight on) is the most direct, but you may find crossing the bypass is easier if you take the path going to the right.

Worcester News recommends the use of OS Explorer Maps, your ideal passport to navigating the countryside. This walk is based on OS Explorer 204.