THIS is one of the loveliest walks you can do close to Worcester.

In fact, as you walk along the riverbank from Grimley to Hallow, it's hard to believe that the city begins just a couple of miles away.

The riverside woods and meadows are extensive, and there is plenty of wildlife. You are almost certain to see several herons - there is a heronry just upstream - but may also see scarcer species.

Snipe, for instance, are occasionally to be seen feeding in the meadows.

Grimley Marsh, a tiny but wonderful remnant of wetland, is a good place to look for birds.

Close to Bevere Lock there is another wetland area where geese are usually present.

Moving away from the river, some of the damper meadows around Shoulton, Moseley and Greenstreet support a reasonable amount of wildlife, with mallards frequenting the drainage channels and a pair of tufted ducks resident on a pond at Shoulton.

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

n Take a well-trodden path crossing fields towards Grimley Church. Join the Severn Way, pass through the churchyard and turn left on a track leading to the River Severn. Follow the river towards Worcester.

About ten minutes after passing the Camp House you will come to a footbridge spanning a tributary. Just before the footbridge a path branches right. There is no waymarker but the path is well-trodden. Follow it towards Hallow, turning left at a junction then climbing uphill. At the top, walk past Hallow Old Churchyard and proceed to the A443. Cross over and turn left.

Just after Lawherne House, take a track which descends towards Laughern Brook, finally ending at a sewage works. Turn left to find a concealed footbridge, cross the brook and keep left up the ensuing field to join Lovington Lane.

Walk along the lane for about 500m, passing several houses, until you see a fingerpost indicating a path on the right. Follow the path to Hallow Lane and cross to another path opposite which keeps left along a field edge to a stile in the corner. Go obliquely across a flowering meadow, following a trodden path to a gate. Turn left to Peachley Lane and turn right.

After a few metres, take another path on the left. It runs straight across two fields then passes close by three oak trees to arrive at a stile. Turn left across the ensuing field and cross Laughern Brook at a bridge.

Walk across the next field, then up the left-hand edge of another and along the edge of a garden to a lane. Turn right, then left towards Shoulton.

Turn right at a junction by Shoulton Cottage.

Ignore a footpath and a bridleway, continuing along a 'private road' (don't be put off by the notices) until a footpath is indicated to the left. Walk across rough ground (watch your step when descending the bank) to find a concealed gate into a field. Bear right to join a track and follow it through several fields until it bends right, just after crossing a brook. Don't follow it, but keep straight on instead, across two fields to Green Street. Turn right.

Keep straight on at Greenstreet Farm, then go through the right-hand gate and head obliquely across a field. There are two coppices at the far side - aim for the left-hand one then pass through a gate next to it.

Continue across another field to a waymarked gate fairly close to the far left corner. Follow the right-hand hedge through two further fields then cross a bridge. Proceed along a short track then cross two adjacent stiles and turn left by a hedge. When it turns a corner, keep straight on across the field to a stile at the far side.

Keep basically straight on across another three fields then cross a footbridge and turn left to cross a pair of stiles, then left again to meet a lane at Moseley.

Turn left for 200m to find a fingerpost indicating a footpath. Walk along the right-hand field edge, dealing with the obstructions along the way (see FACTFILE). Don't cross the stile in the corner, but turn left by the field edge. Deal with a difficult gate (see FACTFILE) and continue straight across two more fields then turn right by a hedge and walk to a lane.

Turn left, then soon right at Sinton Green, and right again at the next junction. When the lane bifurcates, fork left on Walton Lane and walk to the A443. Turn left and cross over to return to the start.

FACTFILE

n Start: The northernmost of the two turnings to Grimley, off the A443 north of Hallow, grid ref SO829605.

n Length: Nine-and-a-half miles/15km.

n Maps: OS Explorer 204, OS Landranger 150.

n Terrain: Cattle pasture, riverside meadows, arable fields; mostly level with no real hills; very muddy in places, with some nettles.

n Footpaths: The good news is that a long-blocked footpath at Shoulton has been provided with a gate, following a report to the county council, and most of the other paths range from just-about-adequate to excellent.

The bad news relates to a path near Holywards Farm at Moseley which is currently obstructed by three single-strand wire fences (which may or may not be electrified) and a dangerous gate, which is fastened shut and wobbles alarmingly when climbed (it is fixed so high that some may find it easier and safer to crawl under it). Elsewhere, at Sinton Green, some lane-walking is necessary to avoid difficult paths. The county council has been informed of all problems.

Stiles: 30.

Parking: By the start of the first footpath at the Grimley turn.

Buses: 293/294/296/298/308/312/313/314/315/316/758 on weekdays, 300 on Sundays; Traveline 0870 608 2608 or www.traveline.org.uk

Refreshments: Sinton Green, Grimley, Bevere and Hallow.