27/03/18 - The King Arthur, Hagley

Distance - 5 Miles
Walk Inspiration - AA 50 Walks in Warwickshire & West Midlands
Geocaches - 1
Other Walks from Bathams Pubs

New Bathams Pub Klaxon!

The King Arthur opened on Worcester Road, Hagley in September 2017.  I've waited till British Summer Time to celebrate this fact with a new entry on my list of Walks from Bathams Pubs.

Plenty to recommend this one too.   Good Beer is guranteed but not many of my walks have visits to Greek Temples and the discovery of historical murder most horrid.

This ramble starts right at the pub's front door.  You don't necessarily need to avoid the temptation of pre match sustenance, but I did.   Never has five miles been walked so quickly, as I await my reward.

Head up Worcester Road to pick up the North Worcestershire Path, that meanders through a housing estate, past schools and delivers you into the countryside.

Hagley Views - we are making our way to that far distant hill

We pick up a very posh housing estate at Ounty John Lane, where the local vandals have had a field day with a slight alteration of the first letter on the sign.  Our goal is the Monarch's Way, climbing muddily to the top of Wychbury Hill.

Glorious Mud.  Hope the King Arthur doesn't have carpets

So, we've all seen the obelisk from the A456 but how many have been up close to it.  Of course, I was intrigued by the grafitti - "Who put Bella in the Witch Elm?"

Wychbury Obelisk

Who put Bella in the Witch Elm?

A quick google and the tale is revealed.  It's graffiti that first appeared in 1944 following the discovery of a woman's skeleton in a hollow tree trunk by three lads poaching in Hagley Woods.  The murder has never been solved but the wiki page presents theories ranging from a local prostitute, to a German World War 2 Spy.   And if those fail, you can always blame the gypsies.

There's more to discover on this walk.   You can, of course, take the Monarch's way back to civilisation but on the other side of the hill is a Greek Temple built in 1758 so that Lord  Lyttleton could have a good view of the Malverns.  Not strictly on the footpaths but if lads can go poaching on private land in the forties, I'm sure a sneaky visit to an item of interest would be tolerated.

Temple of Theseus

And the views to Malvern

The North Worcestershire Path and Monarch Way take us back into Hagley, where the best is yet to come.

Newest of the Bathams

The pub has been converted from offices but inside and out, it looks perfectly traditional to me.

Not a table free and this is a Tuesday night when England are just about to kick off.   They are all here for one thing and one thing only.

There's something deeply satisfying about being in a gang - to a man and woman, every single person has a pint of Bathams Bitter on the go.   I exaggerate slightly.  There is one child with a coke.  But as soon as she turns 18, I'm sure she will be imbibing uniformly.

Do you want to be in my gang?