06/06/26 - Walsall to Cannock on the McClean Way

Arrow Straight to a Broken Boulder

Walk Midlands is such an excellent resource. Subscribe to their mail list and as regular as clockwork on the 1st of the month your inbox will be filled with wonderful ramblers inspiration. I had my eye on today's walk as it ended in the never explored before Cannock. As usual, I ask AI what there is to do there. Let's just say ChatGPT is not going to get employed by the Cannock Tourist Board.

If you're expecting a picturesque market town full of historic buildings, Cannock itself can feel a bit underwhelming.

As surprising as that sounds, it's quite a fair assessment. Who says we need to worry about the veracity of  AI?

Still, its probably better than Walsall. In the rain. I look to make my escape as soon as possible and pick up the McClean Way. A former railway line, its arrow straight, offers no views and makes canals seem exciting.

It's like this for miles

Until you escape at Pelsall

Cadman's Lane offers little to lift the boredom - a green lane dividing cow pastures. There's an oddly placed blue plaque in a thicket and even this is a memorial to something that no longer exists. John Wesley, founder of the Methodists, preached from a large sandstone boulder near Fishey. The boulder no longer exists. Kind of fitting for the walk, somehow.

Unexpected Plague

Impossible to say where Great Wyrley ends and Cannock begins but the last couple of miles are along the A34. At least there are three pubs for needed refreshment. I picked well at the first - The Star Inn. A community pub trying to be all things to all people. Food, entertainment and sometimes both. The upcoming England World Cup games can be enjoyed with a half time chip butty.

Well kept beer - HPA, Butty Bach or Timothy Taylor

Over two horrible roundabouts - and then I am in Cannock. A town where the planners really don't want the pedestrian to make it into.  

Three Good Beer Guide Ticks await.

Walk Details

Distance - 10 miles

Geocaches - 1

Walk Inspiration

 

21/04/26 - The West Midlands Way Summary

 

The West Midland Way is a 50 year old walking route. Starting at Meriden, rumoured centre of England, it charts a circular route through Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Hand drawn maps are always a challenge, but it was simple enough to plot, with many of the paths incorporated into established Long Distance Paths. The North Worcestershire Way and Heart of England Way were frequently visited.

Highlights

The route started with well connected by public transport locations. 

Stage 4 offered superb walking - the first time I have walked the Lickey Hills, Clent Hills and Waseley Hills on the same route - utilising the North Worcestershire Path.

Plenty of new and interesting discoveries - not least arriving at Rugeley to follow an Adventure Lab Cache detailing the life of the "Prince of Poisoners".

My adaption of the route included some fine drinking towns. Bridgnorth, Lichfield and Tamworth for the three times winner of CAMRA Pub of the Year. Bathams at the Three Horsehoes in Alverley, was possibly the best way I have ever waited for a bus. The bus stop right outside.

Lowlights

I will never understand why the route designers, Ron and Eric, missed out Lichfield. Looked like they did this on purpose, as the route detoured around it. Of course, I had to include it for public transportation. 

Seeing one man bring the entire North/South Railway network to a standstill by smoking cigarettes on the bridge just outside Penkridge Station was a lesson in woke policing.

Warwickshire is the most boring county to walk in - so the ending was not particularly fitting. Boring fields gave way to two miles of road walking, which could only be avoided by adding serious miles to an already long route. 

Meriden hides its only pub away from the town centre - which meant delayed celebration.

The Stages

Stage 1 - Meriden to Kenilworth

Stage 2 - Kenilworth to Henley-in-Arden

Stage 3 - Henley-in-Arden to Alvechurch

Stage 4 - Alvechurch to Hagley

Stage 5 - Hagley to Kinver

Stage 6 Part 1 - Kinver to Alverley

Stage 6 Part 2 - Alverley to Bridgnorth

Stage 7 - Bridgnorth to Shifnal

Stage 8 - Shifnal to Penkridge

Stage 9 - Penkridge to Rugeley

Stage 10 - Rugeley to Lichfield

Stage 11 - Lichfield to Tamworth

Stage 12 - Kingsbury to Meriden

21/04/26 - West Midlands Way - Stage 12 - Kingsbury to Meriden

I Finished Something!

The West Midlands Way - a fifty year old book, charting a route around the West Midlands - comes to an end.

Due to strange logistics, I have been forced to amend the second half of the route - for the life of me, I cannot understand why Ron and Eric, the route planners, missed out Lichfield and Tamworth. Fine towns but more importantly, public transport hubs.

It was Tamworth that I found myself finishing Stage 11 at. No matter how I planned it, I couldn't find decent paths to get to Kingsbury but there is a handy bus.

I've walked this part of the world extensively on the Heart of England Way and the Centenary Way. I have previously pronounced Warwickshire the country's most boring walking county. 

Two out of three ain't bad

Nothing today has prompted me to change my mind. Kingsbury Water Park offers occasional glimpses of bodies of water through the woodland. Shustoke Reservoir is hardly observed from the footpaths that circumvent it. There are endless agricultural fields - devoid of livestock and crops (at this time of year). One pub - The Swan at Whitacre Heath - so "chainy" that it wasn't worth stopping at.

The only chance to see Shustoke Reservoir

Distant views of Birmingham from a field in Warwickshire

The only item of interest on the map is Maxstoke Priory and this is a disappointment. The church is locked up and the remains of the priory - a couple of walls in a poor state of repair - are hidden from view on private land.

Maxstoke Church

Ideally, I would have liked to end things here. There are two miles of road walking to get back to Meriden. A bus would be handy but it only runs on a Wednesday - and then at 10am! Google Maps was checked for likely traffic and/or grass verges. It was safe enough to walk but I needed the Deserter Podcast to keep my spirits up.

Into Meriden - and despite the green, a memorial to the centre of England and a monument to British Cycling, there is no pub at hand. The Bull's Head another quarter of a mile on from the bus stop.

The Actual Centre of England is at Fenny Drayton

An underwhelming end to an interesting experience which started so well.

Walk Details

Distance - 12 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2), Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11

03/03/26 - West Midlands Way - Stage 11 - Lichfield to Tamworth

Hazards to Overcome

I am well off-piste on the West Midlands Way. For some reason, known only to 1970s walk planners, they manoeuvred around Lichfield without actually visiting it. I couldn't resist the triple spires and the easy public transport.

I now need to get myself to Kingsbury - a distance that is too far for a day's walking and again, with limited public transport options. Instead, I set my target slightly North. To Tamworth. For reasons that anyone with an interest in pubs will know.

But there are many hazards to overcome. This is HS2 Country - a thing I thought I had left behind, not expecting there to be any works north of Birmingham. But no - Komoot shows a shaded red danger area right across my planned route.

Then there is Whittington Heath Rifle Range. A MOD facility that hosts live firing several times a week. 

Finally, I intend to enter Tamworth along the River Tame. A river that has been in flood for the last few weeks.

How to mitigate disaster? Ask the hive mind of the Internet. Walk 1000 Miles contributors provide the answers needed - I should be OK to progress unhindered. Provided I go on the first Tuesday of the month and when there is a Wolf Moon.

A surprisingly decent walk ensues.

Borrowcop Hill - Home of Lichfield Legends

Discussed in the last blog

Low risk of fire - would you progress on Yellow or Orange?

What they are shooting at

Hopwas Hays Wood - pretty walking for those brave enough to face bullets

Easy navigation on the Birmingham and Fazeley

After the unflooded river Tame plains - the prize - Tamworth Castle and Queens Bridge

Onto the pubs. Not as easy as you would think. The Old Bank House was recommended - but not open on a Tuesday. The Tamworth Tap - which has to be visited - doesn't open until 4pm.

Sir Timbo can save the day for the traveller prepared to wait around a little. I am one day too early for the latest beer festival but the landlord tells me what I could have won and even gives me a leaflet to read at my pleasure. The usual great value can still be found - £2.35 a pint, but the guest ales choice completely limited to IPAs. If you are going to have an IPA, have one from the Indian Brewery.

Hard to tell what this building used to be

Still need to wait. I poked my head in the door of the Sheriff of Tamworth. Google reviews pointed to a fine Belgian Beer Range at good prices. I saw nothing of interest and an unmanned bar allowed me to make a quick escape to the Joules House, the Market Vaults. The house beer - an Aurora Golden - was in poor nick. 

Functional and opposite the ultimate destination

Finally, the clock strikes four and it's over to the Tamworth Tap.

And why was I prepared to wait? It's been CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2022, 20223 and 2025. The only venue to win three times. 

This suggests very good promotion or a very active local CAMRA. Personally, I think open hours should have been used in the selection criteria.

That said, it's exactly my kind of pub. Multiple levels, brew paraphernalia on the walls, wingback Chesterfields and an exceptional beer range. How often (excluding my own garage) am I forced to choose between a Bathams and a Straffe Hendrik, in the presentation chalice?

There is no denying it is gorgeous

All in all, a very successful day.

Now to try and plan the next leg. I am getting closer to the end, with Meriden almost in striking distance.

Walk Details

Distance - 8.5 Miles

Geocaches - 12

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2), Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10

21/10/25 - West Midlands Way - Stage 10 - Rugeley to Lichfield

Borrow, Cope and Hill

This walk will not be troubling the 2026 "Best of" awards ceremony. Let me count the things that are missing: Geocaches. Pubs. Open Churches. Places of interest.

Even getting out of Rugeley station is a ball-ache. New-build estates, with no means of escape, force double-backs and rerouting. The countryside, when picked up at Chetwynd's coppice, is reasonable, as it winds its way through Upper Longford (pub opens in 6 hours), Farewell (church all locked up) and Elmhurst (no visible evidence of the manor house).

I swear, the entire route was uphill

Dark Lane, closed to traffic around 2010 and reclaimed by nature

Coming into Farewell

Farewell Church - Doors Locked

The guide book, rather foolishly, suggests ending the walk at Whittington, bypassing Lichfield completely. This is stupid. Public transport is needed to return home. And grim mysteries are hiding in plain sight.

City Shield on the Railway Bridge, showing the 3 Slain Kings, Borrow, Cope and Hill

According to local legend, Lichfield takes its name from a grisly episode in early Mercian history — the slaying of three Christian kings named Borrow, Cope, and Hill. The story tells that they were martyred near the site of the present city during the conversion of Mercia, their blood consecrating the ground that became known as Lyccidfelth — the “field of the dead.”

Ooooh... mystery and death! I use YouTube for inspiration on which sites to visit during my couple of hours. They hooked me with "haunted pub".

A walk through the Market—scene of the last burning at the stake in England—on the way to Bird Street and its ghouls.

Dodgy photo, dodging market stalls

The King's Head is the oldest coaching house in Lichfield, dating back to 1408. It is proud of its military history, having acted as a recruiting post during the English Civil War and later as the home of the Staffordshire Regiment. Military memorials and paraphernalia adorn the walls.

The Kings Head, Bird Street

 

My YouTube video discusses three ghosts - George, who lives in the cellar. A young girl killed in a fire, seen at the window, along with flickering flames and the laughing Cavalier. Hacked to bits by Roundheads outside the pub. I was too scared to go in. It is a Marstons house and only sells Hobgoblin.

Instead, I celebrated the end of another stage of the West Midlands way in the ever reliable Horse and Jockey. A Good Beer Guide Regular. I could have lost my Bathams Mild virginity, but had no complaints. The Holdens Golden Glow was in exceptional condition.

Lets not mention the Elephant on the room

Liquid Bliss

There’s a whole world left to explore in Lichfield—not least Borrowcop Hill to the south, supposedly the burial place of the slain kings: Borrow, Cope, and Hill.

I think the locals are playing us.

Walk Details

Distance - 11 Miles

Geocaches - 5

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2), Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9

08/09/25 - West Midlands Way - Stage 9 - Penkridge to Rugeley

The Prince of Poisoners

Stage 9 of the West Midlands Way. I wouldn't be surprised if this is classed as "the best section", once complete. A nice bit of symmetry at the start and end. The ancient towns of Penkridge and Rugeley. Canals, divided by a long section of the Staffordshire Way through Cannock Chase and into the Shugborough Estate. The Staffordshire and Worcester Canal to begin, the Trent and Mersey to end.

Let's show the walk through photographs;

Penkridge Church - with an inscription of 1578 carved into the sandstone wall

Autumn begins on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

Deer in Teddesley Park

Hadrian's Arch - one of the many follys in Shugborough

Shugborough House

Having completed my research, I was keen to discover the mystery of The Shepherd's Monument, another of the Shugborough follies.

Shugborough Hall, near Stafford, is an 18th-century stately home built for the Anson family, whose naval hero Admiral George Anson brought back great wealth from his circumnavigation of the globe. The estate is famed not only for its elegant Palladian mansion and landscaped grounds but also for the enigmatic Shepherd’s Monument, erected in the mid-18th century. Beneath a carved relief of Nicolas Poussin’s painting The Shepherds of Arcadia, an inscription of seemingly random letters—“OUOSVAVV” framed by “D M”—has baffled historians, cryptographers, and codebreakers for over 250 years. Theories range from Masonic secrets and religious messages to hidden references to the Holy Grail, but despite numerous attempts, including by wartime codebreakers at Bletchley Park, the true meaning remains unresolved.

The National Trust gatehouse was unguarded and the blog needs more dodgy photos to bring the mystery to life.

Risk Taking in Shugborough

Must mean something to someone

Onwards with the (lengthy) walk;

Over Essex Birdge, a C16th Pack Horse Bridge with 14 arches...

... to pick up the Trent and Mersey Canal all the way to Rugeley

Another story awaits in Rugeley. A place detailed in the Domesday Book and most notable as an Industrial Revolution mining town. Its most infamous resident - William Palmer, the Prince of Poisoners.

William Palmer, known as the “Prince of Poisoners” was a Victorian doctor infamous for one of the most notorious criminal cases of the 19th century. Born in 1824 in Rugeley, Staffordshire, he qualified as a physician but quickly gained a reputation for greed, gambling, and mounting debts. Between the early 1850s and his arrest in 1855, a series of mysterious deaths surrounded him, including his wife, brother, and several associates, though he was only ever tried for the murder of his friend John Parsons Cook. Cook died after falling ill at the Talbot Inn (now the Shrew) in Rugeley, where Palmer was suspected of administering strychnine. His trial at the Old Bailey in 1856 drew national attention, and after being found guilty, he was hanged outside Stafford Prison that same year, cementing his reputation as one of England’s most infamous poisoners.

I spent a little time plotting the locations of his dastardly deeds before finding out that an Adventure Lab Cache had done all the work for me;

The Palmer Family Home

Grave of John Parsons Cook - Gambler, bon vivant, Palmer victim

Formerly the Talbot, where Palmer administered poison to Cook

Palmer's final home - where he may or may not have poisoned his own children

A first - the blog turns "true crime". Let's get back to its original purpose. Pubs.

I had every intention of investigating the Talbot/Shrew but thankfully I was saved from myself.... this, a subset of an online review.

At the rear is a dance floor, karaoke with loud music and disco lights...

Best to stick with the Good Beer Guide recommendations, of which there are two and only the Vine open on a Monday. Although, I have never seen a pub look less open. Nearest door to the street closed and barely a light on inside to show proof of life. 

A mobility scooter further down the street gave hope

There is am eponymous brewery attached. If they sell any of their beers elsewhere, I haven't stumbled across them. A choice of at least 4, with the grapefruit IPA turned down in favour of the stout.

The pressure on with the Untappd checkin.... once I start my typing, I am told the head brewer is sat next to me. At least he is on the stout as well.

It was that good, I stayed for two.

Mobility, Hi-Viz, the pub is alive with life.

Walk Details

Distance - 15 Miles

Geocaches - 23

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2), Stage 7, Stage 8

22/07/25 - West Midlands Way - Stage 8 - Shifnal to Penkridge

Exit Through the Gift Shop

More public transport liberties with the West Midlands Way. I chose Shifnal, instead of Tong, to finish Stage 7. It would have been possible to resume from Shifnal, but two miles of busy road walking did not appeal. A handily placed station at Cosford - next to the RAF Museum - enabled the Monarch's Way to be soon picked up and get me back on track.

Jets through the fence

Lots of historical interest on this walk through Staffordshire agricultural fields... a couple of priories named after the colour of the habits worn by the nuns. White Ladies is a ruin. Black Ladies is a moated farm house. Linked by Charles II escape from Worcester - Boscobel House the home of the famous Royal Oak. 

White Ladies, with a fresh faced Mappiman from 2012

Catholic hidey-hole of Boscobel House

Black Ladies from the footpath

The Monarch's Way has been kindly re-routed from a road into fields just before Boscobel House. There may have been an exit, or it may have been a ruse to get the unsuspecting rambler to pay an entrance fee. Before I knew it, I was next to a sign saying "Ticket required" and with no way of escape apart from going through the gift shop. The cheery hello from the staff indicated they were definitely going to extract money from me if I looked in their eyes. Just keep moving.

Not that I needed to keep my dollar for the pub.

The first OS Map Big Blue Cup of Joy at Lapley. A town simply dripping in history, with a hall, manor house and a locked church that could not be explored. Externally, you could see the different building materials used in the various extensions.

Lapley Church - sandstone, Norman origins

Of course the pub was long dead. The Vaughan Arms was easy enough to spot from the architectural layout and naming it "Vaughan Arms House" after a refurb seemed a bit of a kick in the teeth to the 2,500 thirsty inhabitants left behind. Notes from the 2008 closure;

Its demise followed the closure of the village post office, a threat to remove its only phone box and an Oxford University study that ranked Lapley seventh among the most deprived areas across the country for villagers' ease of access to important local services and facilities.

Vaughan Arms House

Surprisingly, the pub at Whiston is still a going concern, even if it is of little use to the daytime rambler. Opening hours from 5pm. The sign proclaims "Holdens Beers" but it is not a tied house.

I have to wait until Penkridge. The Littleton Arms next to the train station. Horrible inside, no real ale and to add insult to injury, the train line gets suspended while I was battling through a £5.75 Staropramen. 

The main North/South line suspended for four hours. Scores of trains cancelled and thousands of passengers displaced.

All because of a man having a fag on a railway bridge. 

I know this, as he asked me to collect his cap that had blown off, as I walked underneath prior to my pint.

The stand-off between him and British Transport Police had to be seen to be believed. I'll stop the blog here before I use the word "woke".

£5.75, a 90-minute wait and a £14 Uber to Wolverhampton

Walk Details

Distance - 13.5 Miles

Geocaches - 12

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2), Stage 7