12/08/26 - Rail Trail - The Hawthorns to The Jewellery Quarter

The Winston Green Island

A simple walk from my "Home of Football" and into the City outskirts at the Jewellery Quarter.

The Birmingham Canal providing a green-ish corridor through an urban landscape. Graffiti, some of it excellent, rubbish and the most unusual hobo. Living in a tent at a bridge, with a pontoon harbour made of milk bottles to protect his canoe. He is friends to the geese.

Today's Walking

Ted Lasso Vibes with the Graffiti Vibes

There is a detour from the straight line of the Birmingham Canal at Asylum Bridge. The Soho Loop is the original stretch of canal from 1769. This was straightened in 1829, effectively making the Winson Green Island. And what did the Victorians put on this island? You will have guessed the prison - a mock castle building - but there was also the lunatic asylum and workhouse.

I was there

Asylum granted

Icknield Street marks the entry into the Jewellery Quarter - as well as a bit of Tom*, you will find some of the city's finest restaurants and bars/pubs. And the Red Lion reopened in the summer of 2026.

Back from the dead

Joules have done a fine job but at a cost. It's immaculate inside and out - painted a striking but not unattractive brown externally and inside, a finely polished parquet flooring. Every wall surface covered in pubby memorabilia - a lot advertising Green Monkey Helles Lager. In the heatwave, I was susceptible.

Hit the spot

Outdoor terracing - both sheltered and elevated, it's a fine addition to the area. The Rose Villa Tavern is going to have to up its game (poor beer last two visits).

The cost? The Red Lion was possibly the only place in the city you could get Bathams. The landlord told me they still have people phoning up and asking if it is still on.

Listen to your customers, publicans.

* Tom Foolery - Jewellery..... Old Brummie Rhyming Slang

Walk Details

Distance - 3.25 miles

Geocaches - 2

Previous Stages on the Wyre Valley Line - Worcester to Droitwich, Droitwich to Hartlebury, Hartlebury to Kidderminster, Kidderminster to Hagley, Hagley to Stourbridge, Stourbridge to Cradley Heath, Cradley Heath to Old Hill, Old Hill to Langley Green, Langley Green to Smethwick Galton Bridge, Smethwick Galton Bridge to The Hawthorns

11/08/26 - The Thatched Tavern, Honeybourne

Comparing Ancient Worcestershire Pubs

It's a matter of days before the new edition of the Good Beer Guide is replaced. Where does time go?

My usual commitment is to ensure that my home county, Worcestershire remains "greened". There are two entries to tick.

Today, it is Honeybourne. Technically two villages - Church Honeybourne and Cow Honeybourne. Until 1958, one was in Worcestershire and one was in Gloucestershire. Its fortunes have improved with the coming of the railways - first being on the Cheltenham Line and more recently on the London-Worcester line.

The walking was always going to be agricultural. At times the paths were lost to 6ft corn crops. At others, I was walking - quite legally on the right of way - through strawberry poly-tunnels.

Lost again

Lunchtime snacks available. Bring your own sugar.

The walk was largely perfunctory - designed to work up a thirst. 

The Thatched Tavern, Honeybourne is the new 2026 tick. And I am having no problems in finding it.

One day, all pubs will be so well signposted

However, the walk takes me through Bretforton. Lovers of pubs know what this means. It would be rude not to say hello to an old friend. The Fleece Inn is described in one of my pub books as "one of the best half dozen historic pubs in England".

Both pubs appear in my 1960s guide "Historic and New Inns of Interest" and are of a similar age. A chance for me to compare and contrast.

The Fleece Inn, Bretforton

The memories of my last walk here - snow on the ground. What we would give for such days again!

The Fleece in a heatwave

The building is more than 500 years old and half timber-framed. A former longhouse farmstead - home to animals and humans - and in the same family until donated to the National Trust in 1978. 15 generations of the Byrds, the former owners, are found in the adjacent churchyard.

Rambling inside - there are low doorways, a tiny narrow bar and a rear dining room. Here you can see the famous "witch marks" at the fireplace, should you be lucky enough to get a seat.

I was lucky on snow day, 2024

I do manage to get a table inside - in front of the 300-year old pewter dining set display. Uley Brewery Pig's Ear is on, as always.

In front of the family heirlooms

The Thatched Tavern, Honeybourne

I'm not sure how much of the C13th infrastructure remains. Again, it's half timbered and unlike the 1960s guide book, the A-framing can be seen from the other end, not where a more modern extension has been added.

That's the architectural angle! Two tree trunks pegged together for support

Unlike the Fleece, once inside, you could be anywhere. A modern bar... modern furniture... I wandered around, looking to see anything to photograph. To the delight of pensioner diners and knock-off early workers, there was nothing.

The cask range a little pedestrian. An HPA and another pale ale with a not-to-be-trusted handwritten pump clip.

It does have things going for it - a wonderful beer garden, regular and early opening hours (11am daily) and in these troubled days of cost of living crisis - reasonably priced and deliciously chilled keg lagers.

Walk Details

Distance - 8.5 miles 

Geocaches - 5

Walk Inspiration - Jarrold The Malverns to the Warwickshire, Walk 19

07/08/26 - Digby's Tap, Sherborne

The Host Knows

Our latest dog-sit brings us to Cucklington. It's quite possible over the three-day weekend that we may be able to do a walk in three different counties.

We start in Dorset. During the introductions and our host listens to my planned walks at Castle Cary and Bruton. I can tell he is unimpressed and ask him where we should go. Shaftesbury is mentioned, but we have recreated bread advents. Then he says "Sherborne". We've never been. Plans are changed.

We can tell on the drive in to the Long Stay Car Park that this is our sort of place. History seems to be dripping off the streets. As you could expect from a town with two castles, the architecture is both ancient and impressive. An Adventure Lab Cache shows us some of the history;

Sherborne is a town with a remarkably long history, its origins stretching back to Roman times and the foundation of a Saxon cathedral in AD 705, which later became Sherborne Abbey. Its two castles tell a later story: the medieval Old Castle was built in the 12th century, while Sir Walter Raleigh acquired it in 1592 before abandoning it for the grander New Castle, completed in 1594. Centuries later, another famous name arrived in the form of Alan Turing, who attended Sherborne School from 1926 to 1931, long before his pioneering work in computing and codebreaking made him one of the 20th century's most important scientists.

Our walk is hastily compiled from Komoot and as usual, is wonderful. Green lanes out into the countryside to Oborne. The brown signs point us to an historic church just off the footpath. St Cuthberts arguably the smallest church in the land. But like "Oldest Pub", the rules are contested. In this instance, the remains can be classed as chancel to previously larger building.

Green Lanes

Single Roomer

Into Sherborne Park - a deer park, where all the deer have been taken in for the summer. This leads back to town, via the new castle. Sights are seen. Photos are taken.

Sherborne Country Park

Sherborne (new) Castle

Sherborne Abbey

There is one Good Beer Guide recommendation in town. Digby's Tap. I have to say, I was expecting a micropub, or a taproom on the side of a brewery. I couldn't be more wrong. The oldest parts of the building date from the C16th. Digby's Hotel was next door and this private residence was purchased in 1870. It outlives the hotel.

Thirsty Post Walkers

Three small rooms inside, under a low ceiling. It appears to be just as renowned for its food as its beer - which leads to a rather unpleasant pubby experience. An 11am opener, we were there before midday. Every single table has a reserved sign on it - ranging in times from midday to 13:30. This means the drinker has the choice of squatting or hogging the bar. Some do both. Some move tables as one becomes available with a later booking time. Increasing numbers of punters come in, going through the same rigmarole.

It means the small interior is in a state of perpetual motion. Our dog gets tripped over.

We can't wait to get out of there, to be honest.

My campaign for comfy seats in pubs gets a subchapter. 

Ban table reservations.

Walk Details

Distance - 7 miles

Walk Inspiration - Komoot

Geocaches - 5

05/08/26 - Geocaching in Inkberrow

Drinking with the Archers..... How Much!

Inkberrow, Worcestershire, is connected to the county town by an infrequent bus service. Running only sporadically, it means that once I'm there, I'm stuck for a while. Fortunately, there are two pubs in which to while away the time. The bull seems to have been an animal of particular importance to past landlords, featuring in the names of both of them.

The village is one of the oldest in Worcestershire - with plenty of history. The name derives from "Inta's Burial Mounds", suggesting ancient civilisations were there. There was a castle. There is still a moat. Charles I apparently left his battle plans for Naseby at the vicarage. Which provides an indication on how that worked out for him.

In more modern times, the Old Bull is the inspiration for the pub in Radio 4's The Archers. We'll come to that once I have calmed down. There is a plot spoiler in the blog title.

Today's walking is haphazard, as I am on a Geocache Trail - which takes in around 30, including some pirate themed Adventure Lab Caches. Don't ask. It's better that way.

Some nice views over the Worcestershire low-lands to the Malvern Hills, showing how it runs as a ridge up to Abberley.

From the Millennium Way

Caching completed at 11:50am. The next (but one) bus home at 14:50. Can I stretch three hours over two pubs? I do have the Metro newspaper and my cryptic crossword solving skills are improving.

The Old Bull

This is an entry in my 1960s Pub Guide - Historic and New Inns of Interest.

Undeniably Handsome

It's what you would want from a country pub. Ancient flagged floors, low ceilings, oak beams, signs saying "bullshit corner", 1970s pop playing out over external speakers. Catering for the tourists, there are some Ambridge Photos and an eye watering price list.

When Butty Bach is £5.70, the game has gone. 

I stayed for two, just to make sure I hadn't bene overcharged.

Still, there is something quaint about riders parking their horses (do you park a horse?), under the village green tree and nipping in for a pint in their jodhpurs. Cost consciously frugal foal fans can go to Costcutter.   

Horses in the Shade

The Bulls Head

Told you that Bulls are important to Inkberrow. I suppose with such a famous pub over the road, they are on a hiding to nothing here. Indeed, there were just a couple of old boys and a TV tuned to one of the last music channels, with the volume far too loud.

It's a Wye Valley House - and really, I should have had another Butty for cost comparison. Instead, I gave £6.50 to Jeremy Clarkson for his Hawkstone Lager.

Bull

Walk Details

Distance - 4.5 miles

Geocaches - c30

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

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

24/07/26 - London Spiral - Stage 26 - Farningham Road to Gravesend

5 Years

That's exactly how long ago - to the day - it is since I set out from King's Cross on the London Spiral.

26 day walks later, having crossed the Thames by bridge, boat, underneath and cable car. I've reached the end of the track. Although some variations cross the water again to Tilbury. But there be monsters.

I've walked out of Gravesend on the London Countryway, and I was right to not expect too much. It's impossible to access or escape, with gyratory road systems and urban spread.

But I have to get there first - and that is no fun at all either.

It's all lanes to Grub Street, where I thought I would be grateful for the countryside to the admittedly pretty Southfleet. Alas, the countryside is a horror show. Head height crops and disappearing paths. It is possible to walk around the sweetcorn but a wade through thigh-high stinging nettles and thistles is impossible.

The only photo I have is an unopened pub in Southfleet.

There are no bad pubs in the country called ‘The Ship Inn.’

From a walking perspective, a fitting end to the London Spiral Walk. It's certainly not been one for the walking purist and there were times - especially in the latter stages of housing estates of unloved London boroughs, where I thought of knocking it on the head.

Instead, I have proved that I see things through to the bitter end. 

A planned two-centre celebration for the new Good Beer Guide Ticks in Gravesend.

The Three Pillars is easily missed. A cellar bar in a Masonic hall, accessed only by steep steps. Even with Google Maps, it's a tough find.

There's a pub down there

So you would think they would make it easy for the unsuspecting traveller who has made it this far. The first sign is "Cash Only". Of course, I have no cash. You can't lie to Bromley Tramps if you do.

Despite a friendly but complicated explanation of where the nearest cash point is, I saw nothing (apart from the air conditioning) to warrant drinking alone in an underground bunker.

My other new tick - reached without passing an ATM - is the Invicta Bar. 

Open-fronted micro bar

They take card here. Mainly because they charge £7.40 to celebrate the end of an odyssey like a Mexican.

Enjoyed once, but I'm off to 'Spoons

Of course, there will be a summary blog of the route. Once I have had time to review 26 walks over 5 years.

Walk Details

Distance -  9 miles

Start - Farningham Road

Finish - Gravesend

Areas Walked - Gravesend

Geocaches - 1

Pubs - 2

Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19, Stage 20, Stage 21, Stage 22, Stage 23, Stage 24, Stage 25

20/07/26 - Wychbury Hill

Temples and Yew Trees

There was simply too much inspiration in section 2 of Jonathan Meades Travels with Pevsner. The main topic was Georgian Pershore but how could I ignore "the most momentous building in Worcestershire".

This is the Temple of Theseus. Built in 1758 by Lord Lyttleton, so he could look out over the Malvern Hills. It is the first example of neo-classical architecture in Europe.

There's a lot going on at Wychbury Hill. I have already told the tale of "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?". No need to repeat it here, but of course, there will be a photo of the obelisk. I also remembered that the Mysteries of Mercia Facebook page had discussed the yew trees at the iron-age hillfort. These were to be investigated. 

A walk was easily fashioned, a variation of the "Rail Trail" between Hagley and Stourbridge.

The temple is not strictly on a footpath, but on the ground, there is a well trodden path - either caused by graffiti artists, drinkers who like a view or possibly even the new inhabitants, usurping Lord Lyttelton but getting the same views. 

How we look after the county's most important architecture 

Perfectly Proportioned by James Stuart - following a pilgrimage to measure the original

Cows had already trampled the fencing

Folly Views

Back to the proper footpaths, via the obelisk.

Obelisk

Bella - an unsolved 1940s murder victim

Next stop, the yew trees of Wychbury Hillfort and have spawned a number of legends. Was it the site of an ancient battle between the Romans and the natives? Is Wychbury Hill the final resting place of King Arthur? Are the yew trees a manifestation of fallen warriors? Probably not. Is the site use by local pagans during key calendar events? Yes. But why?

In pre-Christian pagan traditions across Britain and north-west Europe, the yew tree was revered as a symbol of death, rebirth and eternal life. Remarkably long-lived and capable of regenerating from ancient wood, it seemed to embody the endless cycle of nature, making it a powerful emblem of immortality and the passage between this world and the Otherworld. Yews were often associated with sacred sites, burial places and places of ritual, where they represented wisdom, protection and ancestral memory.

My favourite on-line resource is from the Ancient Yew Tree  website. Someone went to the trouble of mapping the 23 trees, providing a summary and a description of each individual tree. You've got to love the Internet. Next, middle aged men will be writing about their walks and pints and hoping someone out there finds it of interest.

x marks SO9205581800 - a perfect place for lunch. 

It's incredibly accurate and easy to follow. A circuit of the hillfort and most of the trees were identified.

One of the 23.  We'll leave it there. No need for the other 22

30 minutes spent lunching in a Pagan worship spot, the GPS left on, explaining the random mess on the track recording.

Finally, a drop down to Stourbridge for one of the CAMRA's Heritage pubs. The Seven Stars.

Handy for the Station

Built for Mitchells & Butlers Brewery and opened in January 1905, the Seven Stars has an outstanding collection of M&B etched and painted windows plus much Maw & Co wall tiling.

The entrance hall has lots of light blue and cream dado tiling, which extends up the stairs and into the public bar. That room has its original counter and a superb four-bay, mirrored bar-back with a clock-adorned pediment. Below the pediment is a recently-reopened hatch to the smoke room behind. This is modernised but bell pushes remain above the benches, as do fine etched windows. The restaurant left of the hallway has nothing of historic interest bar a couple of windows.

Recently, it was closed down for a number of years, until resurrected by the Black Country Ales chain. Incredible really, they have changed nothing (apart from the drinks available) and it has gone from an unviable business to one that you are lucky to get a seat. As with all BCA Pubs, the drinks available are many, usually unheard of, a dedication to real cider and always well kept.

Interior Intact - Hobson's Town Crier chosen

Walk Details

Distance - 4 miles

Geocaches - 2

Future Inspiration

Ancient Yew Group

White Dragon

Tales from the Halfshire Hundred