Dorridge & District Residents Association

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Another Lapworth Circle


View Larger Map This is a circular walk of around 3.5 miles that takes around 2½ hours. It starts from a lay-by on Packwood Lane, just where it joins the Old Warwick Road. From Dorridge, drive down through Packwood House. Go straight on at the junction with Rising Road and the road then splits before joining the Old Warwick Road. Turn left towards Lapworth, and just before the main road, you will see a small lay-by on the left. The walk has a few stiles which are not dog-friendly and has a couple of muddy sections when wet, so boots not trainers would be best. The first section is a walk walk along the canal. Then there is a section through fields. There is a further section through landscaped gardens of a private residence, and then further fields to the start. The pictures are from a rare sunny day in August 2009.

1: Cross road to canal entrance

Having stepped up to the main road, cross over to the footpath, turn left and you will see the path down to the canal footpath.

2: Go to the canal footpath

3: Turn left

Turn to the left and take the footpath towards Hockley Heath (NOT under the bridge). Passing 3 locks. Keep going for just under a mile.

4: Continue to drawbridge

We follow the canal for some time, switching sides occasionally. Eventually you arrive at a swing bridge to Drawbridge Farm, turn left over the bridge.

5: Go to farm

Follow the track through the gate, past the farm.

6: Forwards though the field

Just after the farm, go through the gate, and walk straight on staying to the left hand side of the field.

7: Through to next field

Go on over the stile (however, the gate is rarely closed). Bear slightly left as the field opens out and go down the slope to the gateway at the bottom.

8: On to a narrow field

Cross the stile, again bearing slightly left to follow the narrow field to the opposite end.

9: Carry on

The path goes past a small pond. Pass the pond to where the field opens out again.

10: Cross the next field

Go half right up the field to the stile to the left of the line of trees on the opposite side of the field. There is another gate to the right of the trees which we ignore.

11: Cross the stile, keep to the right

Cross the stile, and follow the right side of the field.

12: Cross stile to road

At the end of the field there is a bit of fencing in the corner, you will find the stile to exit the field just to the left of the corner, next to the fencing.

13: Turn left along the lane.

Having crossed the stile, turn left along the lane. After about 300 metres the lane turns left – follow it, ignoring the turning to the right. Continue for another 100 metres or so.

14: Cross stile into field

After some cottages on the right, there is then a field. Look for the stile which is just before the field ends, near an overgrown hedge. Cross and walk straight on through the dilapidated gate, then bear left to follow the hedge on the left.

15: Continue along hedge

The hedge swings away to the left. Look for the gap (about 20 metres past the last gate) and cross the stile next to the small stream.

16: Forward, past the windmill

Noting the waymark on the fence next to the stile, it appears that the footpath goes directly through the recent landscaping ahead (the mark appears also to agree with the OS map). Unless there are any new waymarks to the contrary, the most direct path is to go left towards the lake, then right along the lakeside path until you reach the windmill.

17: Turn right at the waymark

Immediately after the windmill, there is a waymark post marking the corner of the footpath (which until a few years ago followed a hedge line). Turn right, to walk to the matching post in the tree line at the top of the field.

18: Go through the trees to a stile

After the waymark post, continue through the trees, down a short slope to a stile. Cross the stile and turn left along a rough track.

19: Cross stile on left

After about 50 metres, there is a stile on the left which returns back into the previous property, just before the motorway bridge which is on the right. We cross the stile.

20: Bear right to the marked gap in hedge

Emerging in the field, the path bears very slightly right to a waymark roughly halfway up the field.

21: Left after the gap

Go through the gap and bear left. I suspect the official line of the footpath follows the waymark pointer to the far corner of the buildings, but without any clear path, the obvious thing seems to be to follow the made up track to the left, then right across the front of the buildings.

22: Turn right at hedge

Pass to the right of the buildings, and now the track swings left. Continue until the track meets the hedge and turn right, do not through the gap ahead but keep the hedge on your left.

23: Follow the hedge

The hedge swings slowly left. Follow this to the bottom left corner of the field.

24: Through the gap

Go through the gap on the left, and now walk up to the top right corner, keeping to the hedge on the right.

25: Leave the field

Barely visible in the corner, through the undergrowth is a stile onto a lane. Go over the stile and go right on the lane.

26: Follow lane to gate on left

Follow the track (Tapster Lane) for a couple of hundred metres, first passing woods on the left, round a corner, and then the woods end and there is a field on the left. Look for a gate on the left, and go through it.

27: Walk up the field

Walk slightly left, aiming for the end of the trees ahead. At the time of writing, there was a temporary electric fence in place with a gap to pass through on the path.

28: Exit the field at bottom left

As you approach the tree line, it becomes clearer that there is a corner to the trees. Go to the trees, still roughly straight ahead, keeping them on the left, and eventually you get to a gate into the next field.

29: Keep left

Into the next field, keep to the left, following the hedge as it swings to the left.

30: Keep left again

The field continues with an untidy hedge on the left until we reach the bottom left corner.

31: Through the gate

Hidden in the corner of the overgrown hedge, you will find the gate. Pass through it.

32: Follow tree line

The path now roughly follows a line ahead just to the left of a sparse row of trees.

33: Continue forward, then right

Eventually you arrive at the other side of the open area, where there is a well worn path. Turn right to the gate that goes into Lapworth Cricket Club.

34: Go through the gate

After going through the gate, walk straight ahead across the outfield to the picket gate on the far side – roughly the width of the pavilion to the right of the pavilion.

35: Leave the pitch by the gate

Go through the rickety wooden kissing gate.

36: Follow path

Follow the path which roughly follows the left hand side of the field.

37: Through gap

Pass through the gap at the top right of the field and then continue on on roughly the same line as before to the end of the field. Just to the left of the gate ahead is a kissing gate to exit to the road.

38: Back to start

You emerge onto the road by the path down to the canal where you started. Turn left along the road to return to the layby on the other side.