Catrom one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Catrom here.

Walked from Romsley to Catshill, the longest and hardest of the five (and a third) Slow Ways I used to walk from Sandwell & Dudley to Bromsgrove (via Oldbury, Rowley Regis and Halesowen). This one is a mixed bag - the good parts are very good but it is far from an easy walk. It should be a fine route through pretty countryside, but some of the stiles are in a poor state, and in places there are inadequately signed diversions. Quite a lot of wet ground too. The lack of obvious alternatives makes me reluctant to turn these reservations into a red flag, though I might be tempted to submit a redrawn version that clarifies a couple of the areas where route finding may be awkward.

Leaving the meeting point at Romsley, we follow Bromsgrove Road up the hill, turning right onto Poplar Lane just beyond the pub. Just beyond the junction with Dark Lane a field path leads steeply left up the hill. We turn left at the path junction beyond the gate, which leads to the north top of Romsley Hill, a fine viewpoint even though trees block the view north towards the city. The path leads down to Farley Lane, where there is an open space with three benches. We follow the lane right over the south top of Romsley Hill, then down left at the junction with Winwood Heath Road. Beyond the last house on the left, a field path goes left, following the edge of a wood lower down, then crossing the last field to pass the house below on the left. We turn right onto Bromsgrove Road, then cross and turn left up a surfaced lane. The M5 forces us right to a bridge, and we follow the lane over the bridge left, and left again to return to its pre-motorway line. A little further up the hill we reach a T-junction where we turn right onto an old unsurfaced lane.

This lane is charming, with holloway sections, but is rather wet and muddy in places, almost a stream at times. We follow the bridleway until it turns left up the hill, and we continue straight on across an open field. This section has a number of poorly maintained stiles, some of which are now just flimsy fences, so it is not ideal. We continue through a small wood and rejoin the Monarchs Way beyond, crossing the farm road and continuing to another awkward stile (the bottom rung is missing so the step down on the far side is a big one) to reach Redhill Lane.

We turn right down the lane and follow it round two bends, then turn right along the signposted lane leading to Lizzie's Farm (formerly Chadwich Manor Farm). The map suggests that the right of way goes straight through the farmyard, but this route is blocked beyond the farm and the new but inadequately signposted Monarchs Way route follows the lane right of the farmyard then through a wood left and over a stile to rejoin the old "path", which goes through muddy fields to an obvious underpass under the M5. Beyond the motorway we cross a stream left then turn right across an open field to reach the busy A491 (Sandy Lane).

We cross the main road and follow Wildmoor Lane until the give way at the junction with Top Road. The GPX plotting is lazy here - we follow the Monarchs Way sign left immediately beyond the junction and cross the car park to find the path right that leads back to the stream, where we go left and follow the path, crossing more slightly awkward stiles to emerge on Mill Lane, Here we go straight on and follow the road round to the right. Just before the house (not shown on the OS map!) we turn left at a footpath sign. This path crosses fields and is unmarked, so it is possible to take a more direct line than the right of way to the gate at the far side of the large open field. We follow the left edge of a few fields to reach a farm lane, where we turn sharp left towards the farm buildings. Our path leaves the farm road to the right earlier than the GPX file suggests, and goes right along the far side of the first field (planted with vegetables when I did it). The direct right of way line across this field was not cut, so I was forced to detour around its edge. More stiles lead to the large open field below Mayfield Farm, where the path disappears. The crop seemed to be mostly grass so I walked straight across towards the M5. Note that the right of way suggests leaving the field to walk through the trees by the M5, but this is not possible - OpenStreetMap shows the real path which stays in the field to join Stourbridge Road by the M5 bridge. We turn left here, and the rest of the walk is a simple pavement walk down the hill into Catshill.

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