Distance - 9 Miles
Geocaches - 8
Previous Stages -
Stage 1,
Stage 2,
Stage 3,
Stage 4,
Stage 5,
Stage 6,
Stage 7,
Stage 8
Final outing of 2017 and I just about manage to fit in the monthly walk on the Heart of England Way.
Today, I start at Middleton, Warwickshire. A quiet village with everything required, pub, church and shop. Two our of the three amenities will come in useful, post bimble.
Fields take me to Drayton Basset. A place without a pub. A multi geocache at the church proves fruitless, as I am sure the clue items have been chopped down. I was meant to collect data from information boards on trees but at GZ, there is just suspicious piles of sawdust.
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| Drayton Bassett Church and GZ |
More success at Drayton Swing bridge, where information is collated, plotted into the GPS and the prize is on my route along the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. Never made my way over a canal on a more picaresque crossing.
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| Up the spiral staircase and over the bridge... |
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| ... for a couple of flat miles along the canal |
The canal takes me to Kingsbury Water Park. Plenty of paths available and many families taking advantage of them.
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| Work your way through Kingsbury Water Park |
Bodymoor Heath sounded familiar to me and the reason is revealed on arrival. Aston Villa's training ground. A rather flash Mercedes SUV is leaving as I cross the boundary but as I don't watch Championship football (this year, although the Baggies are keeping me on my toes), I fail to recognise if the young man driving was a first team regular.
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| The warnings get increasing officious - including no photograpghy |
It's hard work getting back to Middleton - a new gravel pit has removed the old Right of Way detailed on my OS Map and I am forced to walk the perimeter in a pointless three sides of a rectangle fashion. The reward is there.
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| The Green Man, Middleton |
The Green Man is the focal point of the village - dominated in the extension with dining tables but a nice little bar can be found at the front. The Old Farmers having an early start to the New Year festivities dominate nearly all available space but I manage to squeeze in with my London Pride, rudely served in a Doom Bar Glass.
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| Pride in Doom |
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