27/05/24 - Habberley Valley Circular and an Update on the Kidderminster Pub Scene

Random Selector choose my home town....

If the sun is shining and its an unexpected day off - say a Bank Holiday -with  no plans, I will put my fate in the hands of the gods. A random spinning wheel will pick a page in my "Hidden Places of Worcestershire" book. Round and around it goes, where it stops, no-one knows.

Until it does.... on Kidderminster.

Not exactly a hot-bed of walking activity but the resource library of walks is consulted and Kommot has a gentle 4 miler that more or less follows the well signed Habberley Valley Walk.

Can't get lost

From the visitors car park, its a climb on the good paths to Trimpley for the views over to Clent.

Up on high at Trimpley

Then down through Easthams Coppice to the poppy fields of Franche. Disgruntlement at the farmer not maintaining the public footpaths dissipates through the photo opportunities.

This is meant to be a footpath

That's a pleasant way to spend a morning.

The Kidderminster pub scene has been blogged about many times over the years. Mainly static, with a few dropping out and coming back in over the years. Here's a quick summary;

The two Weavers provide an old school experience at the traditional Park Lane one and a more contemporary micro pub one at the Comberton Hill. Both have fantastic range and quality.

The King and Castle, the go to for arrivals on train, steam enthusiasts and lovers of Bathams. And we are all lovers of Bathams. The only station in the land where I am glad if the taxi rank is empty.

Bad news for the Beer Emporium, which didn't survive Covid. The range was always fantastic and I miss my Christmas St Bernadus, which became a tradition on my one man festive parties. The unexpected consequences of a home worker. Last time I walked past, the unit was being converted into a Sports Bar. I doubt they will stock the grinning monk.

Kidderminster's oldest, the Seven Stars, had a lengthy closure but reopened in 2022. It's added onto my Xmas crawl, to provide some tradition and an antidote to drinking more unusual beers in converted shops. 

The new kid on the block is the Bear and Wolf. A micro with big ambitions. Hosting comedy, live music and regular pub quizzes.

Kidderminster's newest addition

The range is ever expanding. Deya a near permanent feature, when the landlord thinks Kidderminster can handle the price. Other craft keg and traditional keg. My last visit was on the Friday before the bank holiday and the Cider range is becoming very impressive.

As if I need any more temptation.  

Walk Details

Distance - 4 Miles

Walk Inspiration

25/05/24 - Geocaching at RAF Desborough and the Good Beer Guide Pubs of Market Harborough

Pots and (half) Pints

A 44 Mystery Cache trail on the Northamptonshire/Leicestershire borders. The plan is that you solve a puzzle to reveal the actual co-ordinates and it provides "GeoArt" on the map. I could show today's example but I made such a poor job of finding tubes taped to branches in woodland that I have more gaps than a hillbilly's smile.

Geocaching Success!

I had no idea what to expect of the terrain and it was certainly odder than I could have planned. A 7 mile circuit of the former RAF Desborough Airfield. The concrete strips are the runways. What I thought to be agricultural buildings are huge aircraft hangars. Best part of four hours in the field and above is my only photo.

Thinking of how I can improve the blog, I head to Market Harborough. I can investigate the Civil War History, look for lunch and get a couple of Good Beer Guide Ticks.

The most significant event associated with Market Harborough during the Civil War was its proximity to the Battle of Naseby, fought on June 14, 1645. This battle was a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians under Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. Market Harborough served as a Royalist headquarters before the battle.

• King Charles I and his troops stayed in Market Harborough before marching out to meet the Parliamentarian forces. The King's decision-making and the Royalist army's preparations were based here.
• Following the Royalist defeat at Naseby, Market Harborough saw the retreat of the Royalist forces. The Parliamentarians captured several key figures and royal possessions in the aftermath, including the King's personal correspondence, which was later published to undermine Royalist support.

Onto the pubs.... and you cannot find a better "does what it says on the tin" place than The Beerhouse.

A Hive of Activity

Gaining access is slightly odd, walking through the white door below the "Optimum You, Yoga and Wellness" sign. This gives me just the right amount of quip ammunition to get the response "we offer a different type of wellness".

Boom - I pitch them up, they bat them back.

A bigger than average micro bar, with outside seating that popular I need to lift a photo from TripAdvisor. The wellness on offer is a huge collection of cask and keg. A chalkboard that requires a damn good staring. I ignore some of the more exotic Tartarus double digit stouts and settle on a Round Corner. 

Naturally, the reply is "which Round Corner?"

The sort of place you need a damn good session in to work your way through the wares.

Onwards, and lunch is needed. The Good Beer Guide Pub App - which I will not be able to re-install when I get a new phone - states that The Admiral Nelson has food available.

A classic back street boozer, I am slightly suspicious but still hope for cobs. You'd definitely get cobs in this sort of place in the West Midlands.

Back Street Boozer

Half a Bass - in such good condition I was googling Premier Inn - and mini cheddars.

A lunch fit for a (defeated) King.

Walk Details

Distance - 8.5 Miles

Geocaches - 44

First Cache

19/05/24 - The Long Compton Witches

Witches and Stone Circles

There are enough witches in Long Compton to draw a hay wagon up Long Compton Hill.

That's the saying from the olden days - right up to 1875. Within the cemetery at Long Marsdon church is the grave of Anne Tennant. Considered a witch by some villagers, she met a violent end. The story goes that in 1875, she was accused of witchcraft and subsequently killed by a local farmer named James Heywood. Heywood stabbed her with a pitchfork, believing she was responsible for various misfortunes in the village, including the illness of his animals. He  never tried to deny his responsibility, claiming several more witches existed in the village and it was his job to get rid of them all.

This is the story told in Episode 3 of the Loreman Podcast. A road trip to Oxford and we could incorporate a stop for a fine Cotswold walk that also takes in the third most important Stone Circle in England. Only Stonehenge and Avebury top trump it.

Here's the history, should you have a spare 10 minutes.

Parking up at the sports ground behind the village stores and heading out into the hills. Nothing spooky, just an aged but well maintained geocaching trail.

Mrs M getting bored with Tupperware in bushes already

Little Rollright for a (popular) lunch stop. A remote church with two other sets of diners and a chance to explore inside. Extraordinarily well preserved tombs within.

Resting Knight

Memento Mori

Onwards and upwards for an Adventure Lab Cache to add a modern twist to the Bronze age standing stones.... 

If a woman visits the Whispering Knights at midnight and listens closely, she may hear the voice of her future husband whispering to her.

The Kings Circle - Turned to stone by a witch and when counted, you never reach the same number

The King's Stone - Other side of the road and said to grant wishes

Any beer on this walk Mappiman?

Long Compton has a single pub - the Red Lion. A classic Cotswold Gastro-pub, with a rather fine rear beer garden.

Red Lion, Long Compton

I'm not saying the Landlady is a witch.... she was actually very friendly. But a Goff's Jouster Bitter and a Eurofizz and lime at £12.20.  

Enough to set a rambler pricing up pitchforks on Amazon.

Walk Details

Distance - 6.25 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Locations from the Loreman Podcast, Episode 3 

Route Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine, December 2002, Walk 15

Geocaches - 9 and an Adventure Lab Cache 

Previous Loremen Walks - Churchill, Burford

18/05/24 - The Clifford Arms, Great Haywood

Varying it up on Cannock Chase and finding a Bass House

Cannock Chase - fine walking country but it can get a bit monotonous.

Cannock Chase, located in Staffordshire, is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that spans about 26 square miles. It features a mix of woodlands, heathlands, and valleys, providing habitats for diverse wildlife, including deer. The area is popular for outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and horse riding, with well-maintained trails and bridleways. Historical sites include the German War Cemetery and Castle Ring, an Iron Age hill fort. Attractions like Go Ape and the Museum of Cannock Chase offer additional recreational and educational experiences. Conservation efforts are in place to maintain its natural environment and biodiversity.

This route solves any problems with boredom by including beautiful walking along the Sherbrook Valley, a short section of the Trent and Mersey Canal and returning through Shugborough Estate.

Cannock Chase - would be a dull day if it was just this

Walking alongside the Sherbrook - stepping stone crossing later on

Bargelife in the Trent and Mersey Canal

An Adventure Lab Cache provides a break in Great Haywood - a blue plaque cottage where Tolkien lived, a couple of churches and of course, the village local.

A lot to admire in the Clifford Arms - keen pricing, where a drink and a hot beef baguette gave more change from a tenner than a city centre pint. Bass proudly proclaimed as a permanent fixture, along with Timothy Taylor landlord and three other handpulls. A decision would have been needed to be made, should I have not been on pop.

Surprised its not a GBG Pub - even if I didnt test the quality

 A lovely return across a C17th pack horse bridge to follow the Staffordshire Way through the grounds of Shugborough Hall.

Essex Bridge....

.... with the daytrippers

Shugborough Hall, from the Staffordshire Way

Could the walk be improved?  Well, there was an ice-cream van at Milford Common Car Park. I would say "No!"

Walk Details

Distance - 8.5 Miles

Geocaches - 4 and an Adventure Lab Cache

Walk Inspiration - Jarrold 14, Shropshire, Staffordshire and the Heart of England.  Walk 17