TEWKESBURY'S a remarkable town, with an enormous number of beautiful buildings surviving from the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries.

It has a great location too, at the confluence of the Severn and Avon, and there are lots of pleasant walks to be had beside the two rivers and across the huge meadow known as Severn Ham.

A couple of miles downstream from Tewkesbury is another remarkable place, a village called Deerhurst, which is Anglo-Saxon for "forest of wild animals".

There aren't many wild animals around today, other than rabbits, but Deerhurst does have a unique claim to fame: it possesses two well-preserved Anglo-Saxon churches.

The larger of the two is St Mary's, the parish church, the oldest parts of which date from the 7th Century, though it's been suggested some of the stonework is even older, possibly having been reclaimed from Roman buildings and reused. There's no firm evidence for this, however.

The church was built to serve a wealthy Benedictine priory, which owned over 30,000 acres of farmland. In 1016, it was the venue for the signing of an historic treaty between the English King Edmund Ironside and his Danish counterpart, Cnut.

St Mary's is one of the most important Anglo-Saxon buildings in England. It has many unusual features, including some triangular windows, and what's claimed to be the finest Anglo-Saxon font in existence, rescued from a farmyard in the 19th Century.

But, for many people, it's the collection of animal head carvings which has most appeal. An explanatory leaflet available in the church describes some of them as "mysterious and unique snarling beasts". There's also a 9th Century angel on one of the exterior walls.

Attached to the church is a farmhouse, Priory Farm, which is believed to have been built in the 14th Century as a new dormitory for the monks. The garden of Priory Farm was originally the monks' cloister.

Across the road is another farmhouse with a Saxon church attached to it. The farm is half-timbered, but the church is stone, a small, simple structure built in 1056 and known as Odda's Chapel. An inscription reveals that Odda, who was related to King Edward the Confessor, built the chapel in memory of his brother, Aelfric.

A few centuries later the farmhouse was built on to it, and the chapel became a kitchen. Its true origins were rediscovered only in 1885.

DIRECTIONS

IF starting in Tewkesbury (Gloucester Road car park or bus stop by Abbey) go down Gloucester Road, then turn right on Lower Lode Lane, part of the Severn Way. At the end of the lane (picnic site/car park) head south by the river.

After a couple of miles, you'll see Deerhurst on your left. When you reach a large oak tree, you'll find a footpath leading directly to St Mary's church if you want to shorten the walk. To go to Apperley, however, keep by the river.

Leave the Severn Way when you come to the Coalhouse Inn, turning left on a lane. Soon after the lane makes a sharp right turn, start looking for a bridleway on the left. Follow it past a house, through two gates into a field and then on in the same direction, mostly through trees, ignoring branching paths.

Eventually the bridleway emerges from the trees into a field of clover, and you can see Deerhurst. Go diagonally to meet a road, turn left and join another path on the left. Go diagonally across two fields, heading for Odda's Chapel near the far corner of the second field.

Cross the road, walk through St Mary's churchyard, exit by a gate at the far side, cross a field, then cross two stiles into a cattle pasture, soon bearing right along a bank. Stay on the bank across the next field, cross a footbridge, turn left, cross another footbridge in the corner, and go left again over a wobbly stile.

Turn left on a wide field-edge path, which rises gently over Rayer's Hill by the edge of Long Plantation. Eventually, a waymarker indicates the Severn Way to the left. Go along a holloway and then make a choice as you approach the end of it. You can go straight on to rejoin the Severn Way. But a better alternative is to look for an unsigned path on the right, which returns to Rayer's Hill.

The path emerges briefly by a golf course before returning to the trees. Then it takes you back to the course again. After a little way, join a track on the left to Lower Lode Lane.

If you began the walk on Gloucester Road, you might like to explore the waymarked Battle Trail (to the site of the 1471 Battle of Tewkesbury) as you head back up Lower Lode Lane.

FACTFILE

Start: Gloucester Road (A38) or Lower Lode Lane, at the southern end of Tewkesbury.

Length: 7 miles/11.2km (from Gloucester Road) or 5.5 miles/8.8km (from Lower Lode picnic site)

Maps: OS Explorer 179 and 190, OS Landranger 150.

Terrain: mostly riverside meadows, with one slight climb up Rayer's Hill: the muddy bridleway from Apperley is partially overgrown by very tall nettles at one point.

Stiles: 12

Parking: Gloucester Road car park or picnic site/car park at end of Lower Lode Lane.

Public transport: daily buses to Tewkesbury, or train to Ashchurch with bus link to town centre; Traveline 0870 608 2608

Refreshments: Tewkesbury, or Coalhouse Inn at Apperley.

DISCLAIMER

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