03/12/16 - Wye to Thames - Walk 6 - Pershore to Evesham

Distance - 8 Miles
Geocaches - 11
Previous Walks - Walk 1, Walk 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5
Pub - The Red Lion, Evesham, Hung, Drawn and Portered

Never has a walk started so poorly and ended so spectacularly.

My guide book - from the Wye to the Thames - was written well before Pershore Trading estate was built.  Trying to find where the footpaths have disappeared to as you walk past a series of light industrial units is no way to start a day.  Even if I do walk past the Pershore Brewery.

Correct paths are found when I enter Wyre Piddle.  A place much sniggered at but previously unvisited.

All depends on where you place the inflection

Nice place Wyre Piddle.  As well as the above wine bar, there was a nice looking pub - the Anchor.  I may need to come back to investigate.

Plenty of interest on this walk, as I make my way through several Worcestershire villages.  Wyre Piddle, gives way to Lower Moor, which in turn leads to Fladbury.  A chance to rectify some previous DNF caches, including an absolute swine at a railway crossing.  At least I had superb views of my favourite hill, Bredon, as I stumbled around before I cried "Eureka!"

I'll never forget this vista

Enjoy my walk through Fladbury, following the meadows next to the River Avon down to Jubilee and then a climb into Cropthorne, with its beautiful church.

View North from Jubilee Bridge

Cropthorne Church

A couple of pleasant miles over farmland and through orchards.  I've not walked these paths before, as there are a number of caches to find.  Then. at the top of Clark's Hill, Evesham reveals itself in all its glory.

Evesham - with its 1 Good Beer Guide Pub Below

The guide books suggested that I could take the Ferry across the Avon.  I never thought for a minute that it would be still running in a) December and b) 2016.

I was delighted to see it moored on the opposite side and a sign suggesting it was running all day.

The Hampton Ferry

To summon the Ferry, you just have to loiter for a bit and wait for a man to appear on the opposite bank and shout if you want to come across.

Oh yes, I do.  What a way to end a walk.

Evesham has one Good Beer Guide entry - the Red Lion.  There's not too much information about it on the web and unusually, it cannot be seen from Google Maps.  No fear, my Ferryman asks if I need directions in Evesham and I ask him on its whereabouts.  He is delighted to tell me the way and state that he is in there most evenings, drunk.

Lets hope he hasn't got to operate any heavy machinery, where the public could be endangered, in the morning :-)

A great experience and he is well worth his 100% tip.  (Ferry Cost one way, 50p)

I am delivered a touch early for the pub - so a chance to get a couple of caches and admire the old part of the town.

Evesham Church

War Memorial

Near the Red Lion

And how about this for Pub Good News?  The Red Lion has been closed for 100 years.  After opening as a pub in 1728, it closed in 1910 before being reclaimed and re-opened in 2014.

A central bar with two serving hatches at either end.  The front of the bar is packed but I do manage to squeeze in and get a simply stunning pint of North Cotswold Brewery Hung Drawn and Quartered.

I ask if they do food and told they don't but I am welcome to bring my own.  So out I go to get a festive pastie (Turkey and Cranberry to the horror of traditionalists), come back in and have to fight my way past a troupe of Morris Men to get into the back room.

Where the Landlady attempts to put the Christmas decorations up around me.

If I'd have stayed for another, I would be part of the display.

Could have done with more authentic chairs

Pint of the Year?  Very Possibly.  

23/09/24 - Pershore to Evesham Rail Trail

God Damn the Ferryman

My annual reminder that two things in life don't work. Goretex and cardboard ID Cards. Despite having the "best in test" mountain raincoat, water ingress starts at about mile 4. Despite having my National Trust card in the inner sleeve of my phone case, I am completing a request for a replacement. Dog eared doesn't begin to describe its current state. The phone is still working.

I knew the weather was going to be awful, but two students required dropping off at Worcester Parkway, so its time for me to check the end of month finances. A return to Evesham a whopping £11. When I am king, rail journey costs will be based on time duration and be less than what can be earned on the equivalent minimum wage.

The 10 mile route at times follows the Wychavon Way and Shakespeare's Avon Way. Through Wyre Piddle and then Fladbury, where things get so bad weather-wise, I consider alternatives.

Mon - Fri, No Service. Sat, No Service, Sun No Service. At least the bus shelter had a roof

Red Lane, and I can just about see Evesham across the water. 

Grimness not seen since the Langdale Pikes

I've done my homework, and a couple of miles can be shaved off by the Hampton-Evesham Ferry. A service I have used in the past, although inflation has hit. A 100% increase since 2016, although still a bargain £1.

The boat is my side, but where is the man? Doors are knocked. Phone numbers are rung. Google is consulted (7 days a week until the end of September). Coins are placed over my eyes, as I lie down and simply give up.

Come on man, a face a bit of rain and you get a shiny coin!

I fancied another couple of miles on foot to find the bridge. I haven't been splashed by lorries yet.

The return trains are not too frequent, so only Tim Martin can save the day. is 24 minutes enough time to order a breakfast. Eat the breakfast. Down an Old Hooky and walk the remaining 0.3 miles to the station.

Or course he does.... 3 minutes to spare for a train that comes on time and then is held for 10 minutes.

I could have had pudding.

Walk Details

Distance - 10 Miles

Geocaches - 4

Walk Inspiration 

Previous Rail Walks - Worcester Parkway - Foregate Street, Foregate Street to Malvern, Worcester Parkway to Pershore

23/07/17 - Wye to the Thames Summary

Number of Stages - 12
Start - Hereford on 07/05/16
Finish - Oxford on 23/07/17
Total Distance Walked -  130.5 Miles
Geocaches Found - 68


I forgotten how I found out about this walk, but there's no doubt on where I got the guide book from.  What did I used to do before eBay?

Think I paid more than £2.50 as well

Published in 1995, it details 12 walks that run between the railway stations on the Cotswold Line.

The Start is Hereford (The Wye) and the end is Oxford (The Thames).  Each stage begins at a railway station, involves a ramble ranging between 5 and 18.5 miles and then catches the train back to your starting point.  Simple but effective.

And with the exception of the industrial estate at Pershore, all of the paths remain.

Highlights
The walking is uniformly excellent and you pass through some great Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Oxfordshire villages/towns, with some cracking boozers.   I don't think I will ever forget nearly getting press-ganged into the Ledbury faction of the Morris Men at the Prince of Wales pub on Leg 1.

Everyone knows how good the walking is in Malvern but the qualities of Worcestershire Walking in Evesham (arrival by hand pulled ferry) and Pershore are there to be explored on this route.

This of course leads to the honeypots of the Cotswolds, including Moreton in the Marsh, the start of the Cotswold Way in Chipping Campden and Sezincote Hall.

Oxford is a fitting finale to any adventure.

Almost Joining the Morris Men in Ledbury

A Typical Cotswold Walking Vista

Lowlights
Man, they got free parking at all the stations back in the nineties.  Now you can expect to have to pay via an App or phone call.   After walking for 5 hours, its a little saddening to get whisked back to you starting point in less than 10 minutes and often paying the best part of a fiver for such a short journey.

And GWR seem to stop operating for a couple of hours at lunch time.  Time it wrong and you could be hanging around for a train for rather a while.

The Stages
Blog for each Stage.

Stage 1 - Hereford to Ledbury
Stage 2 - Ledbury to Colwall
Stage 3 - Colwall to Malvern
Stage 4 - Malvern to Worcester
Stage 5 - Worcester to Pershore
Stage 6 - Pershore to Evesham
Stage 7 - Evesham to Honeybourne
Stage 8 - Honeybourne to Moreton in Marsh
Stage 9 - Moreton in Marsh to Kingham
Stage 10 - Kingham to Charlbury
Stage 11 - Charlbury to Hanborough
Stage 12 - Hanborough to Oxford

The Photo Album on Flickr 

Flickr Album (arrows to move through photos)