04/08/26 - The Teme Valley at Eardiston

New Cicerone Guide Klaxon

I do like the Cicerone Day Walks Guides. Always interesting, always on the right side of challenging. And my home county has a new 2026 release.

Saves me having to think too hard

Having the car, I decide on Walk 2. The Teme Valley. I ask AI what to look for in the hamlets of Eardiston, Stanford Bridge, Orleton, Eastham and Lindridge. It replies, "There is nothing of interest there." Knowing me, as it does so well, AI then suggests a blog theme.

One theme that might work well is that "nothing happened" is actually the story.

It's not wrong.... I don't pass a church or a pub on a 12 mile route. Especially cruel when much of the walking is through cider apple orchards and hop gardens. Worse than that, my own fears from knowing the area are confirmed. Badly overgrown paths - to the point that it's nearly a non-starter - and ridiculously steep woodland climbs.  Walls Hill Woods is a case of one step forward, three steps back and pulling myself up by any available root.

That said, the occasional superb view presents itself and with no distractions, I can plod on at a reasonable speed. Stopping only for lunch on the AMCO at Eastham Bridge.

How Eardington Locals Entertain

Down Valley

Up Valley to Abberley School Clock Tower

The OS Map does have one Big Blue Cup of Joy at Lindridge. A surprise that it lasted as long as 2009. Even more surprising, it had a short lived life after that as an Indian Restaurant. This was followed by a period of dereliction before being tarted up as a private residence. Rubbing the locals' nose in it by naming it "Nags Head House". 

No one likes Pedigree anyway

Walk Details

Distance - 12 miles

Geocaches - 3

Walk Inspiration - Cicerone Walks in Worcestershire, Walk 2

30/07/26 - Lammas in Halesowen

Early Harvest

I may be two days early for Lammas, but the strange weather makes a mockery of the calendar. All the conditions for a pilgrimage walk seem to have fallen into place. The farmers are already bringing in the harvest, and I find an oak beneath which to eat my ham sandwich. I have neither loaf nor companions to complete the ritual as tradition prescribes.

August brings Lughnasadh (or Lammas), the ancient Celtic festival of the first harvest, celebrated on 1 August. Lammas, from the Old English hlaf-mæsse ("loaf mass"), marks the baking of bread from the new grain and giving thanks for the harvest. This is the time for bread baked from new grain, for gathering berries on hedgerow walks, for songs of John Barleycorn, the spirit of corn who must die so we might live.

Pilgrimage at Lughnasadh is earthy and practical, when you can bring a loaf, break it with your companions beneath an oak, and share it together.

Harvest Special

I'm in Halesowen with plenty of plans - a new Adventure Lab Cache, a local walk in Country Walking Magazine and a lunchtime visit to CAMRA's Cider Pub of the Year (Stourbridge and Halesowen Branch).

It's a walk I know reasonably well but there's always something new to discover.

The remains of Halesowen Abbey - built 1218

A new waymarked walking trail

I knew that Leasowes Park was a Dudley Geosite but the new trail, with fresh waymarker signs is a bit of a mystery. A Google search and the only reference is an upcoming Ramblers Walk that follows a route from Halesowen to Waseley Hill Visitor Centre. Considering the effort they have gone to on plotting the walk on the ground, they could do with a little more advertising on the route it takes. And saying it is Geotrail 1 suggests more Geotrails are coming. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of this walk are the remnants of the Halesowen Branch Line.

Old Hill to Longbridge

The map shows the course of the route from Old Hill to Longbridge, but offers no clues to the engineering feats involved in its construction. Fallen trees forced me into the woodland, where the surviving brick piers can still be found. These once supported a lattice ironwork viaduct that rose 100 feet above the valley floor and stretched for 700 feet. Built in 1883, it lasted just over 80 years before being dismantled in 1965. All that effort, but would it have passed today's health and safety tests? It looks rather delicate!

Reclaimed by nature

10 mph speed limit. Unsure if it ran when windy

The route - unusually for this summer, completed in rain - is back to town via Leasowes Park and the disused number 2 canal.

Post walk refreshment has to be Roberto's Bar. For daytime drinkers, this means arriving on a Thursday/Friday or Saturday - when it opens at midday. Come on a Sunday and it opens at 2pm, but selling the most extraordinary looking Bloody Mary's - made in a vat and sold until gone.

You know what day it is! Don't miss out! I'm away next Sunday so you'll have to get your fix today! Cheers! pic.twitter.com/pTiaTVqXcA

— Roberto's Bar - Halesowen (@RobertosBarHale) July 26, 2026

No "Breakfast of Champions" on this Thursday afternoon but the electronic menu does demand some attention. Two pages of ciders were expected. About a dozen different meads wasn't. But there was only one choice for me. Not often I see the laughing abbot on draught.

Straffe Hendrick Quad chaser also available

Walk Details

Distance - 8 miles

Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, April 2026, Walk 12

Geocaches - 10

Previous Celtic Pilgrimages - Imbloc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Summer Solstice

27/06/26 - Perry Barr, Witton and Aston - a Birmingham AZ City Walk

Spaghetti, Stadiums and Dead Centres

If you take nothing else from this blog, take this. Do not stop in Perry Barr Square, waiting to get a signal on your GPS. You will be left wondering why extras from The Walking Dead need spare change.

This walk from the AZ Series is primarily concerned with stadiums. The Alexander Stadium was re-developed for the Commonwealth Games. The Greyhound Stadium closed in 2025 and has already been demolished. Villa Park sadly remains. (A joke from a Baggie, Vile fans).

First they came for the pubs, then the greyhounds

Commonwealth Games Legacy

1709 Perry Bridge - with tags

The Birmingham Canal is picked up, which could take us all the way and under Spaghetti Junction. Yet we make a worthy diversion into Witton Cemetery, one of the largest in the country. A stop for lunch on a handy bench by the main chapel of worship. A grave catches my eye - Big Lee was a young man when he died. A quick Google - stabbed in the neck at a house party after calling an acquaintance a paedo. Just one of the thousands of stories contained in this huge final resting place.

Looking across the M6 into the City

Back to the canal for a unique perspective of Spaghetti Junction from underneath. 18 different routes across five levels, with 559 columns and 13,000 tonnes of reinforcing steel.

How it looks below

Up to civilisation on the Lichfield Road to walk on roads through Aston and Witton.

Watkins, ?, Martinez

Back at Perry Barr to avoid the zombies and head into a shopping estate 'spoons. What it lacks in looks it makes up for with £2.45 pints of quality cask.

Just don't sit outside.

Walk Details

Distance - 7.75 Miles

Geocaches - 1

Walk Inspiration - AZ City Walks, Walk 13

Previous Birmingham AZ Walks - Walk 1 & 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5, Walk 6, Walk 7, Walk 8, Walk 9, Walk 10, Walk 11, Walk 12

26/07/26 - The Fox and Hounds, Lulsley

Hanging On

Mrs M demands a Sunday lunch, I tell her to find the pub and I will plot a route to work up an appetite.

The Fox and Hounds in Lulsley comes up with great reviews. I know the pub, just off the Worcestershire Way, but in the back of my mind, I remember reading it was up for sale. True enough, a Worcester News article from 2025 detailing how there cannot be a viable business and planning permission has been granted to turn it into flats and new houses.

Late Victorian pub, replacing the same named one half a mile up the road

I'm unsure what has happened since a failed auction, but the pub is still operating. It's positioned just off the Worcestershire Way and above the River Teme. A walk is easy created, adapting a much shorter walk through Alfrick to really earn a roast.

A climb to Rounds Hill for the Worcestershire Way and a drop down on lanes into Alfrick. Just a church here - warning what awaits Lulsley unless they start using the amenities available.  Folly's Road leads us to the River Teme, where the map offers more than reality delivers. Cold Place is actually Coles Place and Lulsley Court - in old text on the map - looks nothing more unusual than an old farm. Offering a side-line in camping weddings. A teepee and a bell tent city thankfully had the weather on their side.

An unusual view of the Malverns from Camp Hill

Alfirck Church

The River Teme, after Lulsley Court

We meet an elderly gentleman dog walker on the hills. He tells us about Tom the landlord and how he's saving £36K per year by getting his parents to cook the roasts. He says for us to say hello to Tom. 

Tom has no idea who the mystery walker was. To be fair, Tom is not great with dog breeds. Two other drinkers are in the bar and all three ponder who owns the flat coat retriever. Photos from parish magazines are presented but no joy in identification.

At least this provided some entertainment in the main bar. In the dining room, a family of 3 turned up and there were two more diners in the bar by the time we left. Seven covers and two drinkers for a Sunday Lunch..... which was as excellent, as it was cabbage heavy.

My guidebook tells me what we would have won in 1995 when it was published. The "Hungry Hounds Mixed Grill" points to a disappearing age. But some things remain unchanged.... under drinks, it says Worthington or Bass Real Ale.

Permanently available

A check of the National Bass Inventory, where it is not registered. A tweet to Sir Quinno required. Maybe the legion of Bass fans can make pilgrimages and ensure that another one doesn't bite the dust.

Walk Details

Distance - 6.5 miles 

Walk Inspiration - Short Walks from Worcestershire Pubs, Walk 5

Geocaches - 0