THIS easy and enjoyable walk includes the chance to explore a remnant of the Forest of Arden and visit two tiny villages mentioned in a verse attributed to Shakespeare. The walk begins in Alcester, probably the most attractive small town in Warwickshire. It lies just the other side of the county border, a few miles north of Evesham.

The Romans established a town at Alcester but it was only in the 16th Century that it became an important centre for the wool and linen trades, as well as malting and iron working. Many street names refer to past trades: Malt Mill Lane, for instance, and Bleachfield Street, which leads to the riverside meadows where linen was bleached long ago. Like nearby Worcestershire towns and villages such as Redditch and Feckenham, Alcester was also greatly involved in the cottage industry of needle making.

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Alcester continued to grow in status as a market town and also became an important staging point on the coach road from Birmingham to London. This prosperous past has left a legacy of beautiful old buildings: there are fine examples of medieval and Tudor timber-framing in the High Street and a superb group of Georgian houses in Henley Street. Malt Mill Lane is lined with buildings spanning four centuries.

Before it grew to prominence, Alcester was just an agricultural settlement in a clearing in the great Forest of Arden, but only tiny remnants of the forest now survive, islanded in a sea of intensive agriculture. Of these remnants, Oversley Wood is one of the largest. Although partly planted with conifers by the Forestry Commission, it is still worth exploring. The route described here offers glimpses of the wood, but there are several points at which you can gain access to explore further if you wish. It's inhabited by roe deer and a range of other wildlife. If you're lucky you may see deer on the bridleway which runs along the edge of the wood.

The Marquess of Hertford's home, 17th-century Ragley Hall (open to the public) is visible to the west from this bridleway. So is the rather smaller Oversley Castle, a white-painted, embattled folly built to please the Prince Regent, a close friend of an earlier Marquess and, it was rumoured, an even closer friend of the Marchioness. The Prince commented that the view from the Hall would be enhanced by the addition of a "castle"" and so one was built.

The Oversley Wood bridleway leads to Exhall, a hamlet described, possibly by Shakespeare, as "dodging Exhall" in a frequently quoted verse usually attributed to him, though there is no real evidence that he wrote it. The story is that after a heavy drinking bout the hungover Bard vowed never again to drink with the men of

Piping Pebworth, dancing Marston,

Haunted Hillborough, hungry Grafton,

Dodging Exhall, Papist Wixford,

Beggarly Broom and drunken Bidford.

Nobody knows why Exhall was described as "dodging," or even what the word meant in the 16th Century. It is usually suggested that it refers to the fragmented nature of the village - which is a disappointingly boring explanation.

South-west of Exhall lies "Papist Wixford", so named because the manor was owned from 1541 by the Roman Catholic Throckmorton family of Coughton Court. The lovely old lane which leads to 11th-Century Wixford Church is little more than a track, bordered by tall hedges which meet overhead. It may seem insignificant now, but it was once part of the Roman road known as Ryknild Street.

DIRECTIONS

WALK along High Street towards the church and follow the road round, turning right on the Heart of England Way, which takes you down Malt Mill Lane. As the lane bends right turn left by a horse chestnut tree and follow the River Arrow to the new Stratford road. Cross and turn left along the old road.

Cross the river into Oversley Green and turn right on Mill Lane, passing timber-framed houses to reach Primrose Lane where you turn left. A footbridge takes you across the bypass to Primrose Hill, where you join a bridleway (the Arden Way) on the left. It soon makes a right turn and climbs gently, passing to the right of Summerhill House and along the edge of Oversley Wood.

Emerge at a path junction next to arable fields and turn left, still on the bridleway, which now follows the inner edge of the wood. When you again emerge from the trees the bridleway makes a right turn along the edge of a field. Pass Rosehall Farm as the bridleway descends towards a lane. Turn right through Exhall and keep going along the lane to reach a road. Make three consecutive right turns to join a "no through road" to Wixford Church.

Opposite the entrance to St Milburga's is a waymarked post. Rejoin the Heart of England Way here, which takes you past Oversley Farm and then round the side of the hill crowned by Oversley Castle before turning left to reach Lower Oversley Lodge. Turn right along a track to the footbridge across the bypass. Return along Primrose Lane to Mill Lane then turn left until a footbridge allows you to cross the river and join Bleachfield Street which leads back to the High Street.

FACTFILE

Start: High Street, Alcester; GR 090575.

Length: 5.5 miles/8.8km.

Maps: OS Explorer 205, OS Landranger 150.

Terrain: gentle gradients, woodland and arable fields.

Stiles: very few.

Parking: Alcester.

Public transport: bus or train to Evesham, then Midland Red 146/176, daily; details from Traveline 0870 6082608.

Refreshments: Alcester.

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.