Mitcheldean — Newent
Mitnew one
Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Mitnew here.

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Mitnew here.
By a Slow Ways Volunteer on 07 Apr 2021
Description
This is a Slow Ways route connecting Mitcheldean and Newent.
Know of a better route? Share it here.
This is a Slow Ways route connecting Mitcheldean and Newent.
Know of a better route? Share it here.
Status
This route has been reviewed by 1 person.
This route has been flagged (1 time) for reasons relating to access.
Photos for Mitnew one
Photos of this route will appear when they are added to a review. You can review this route here.
Information
Route status - Live
Reviews - 1
Average rating -
Is this route good enough? - No (1)
Problems reported - Access (1)
Downloads - 5
Surveys
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Geography information system (GIS) data
Total length
Maximum elevation
Minimum elevation
Start and end points
Mitcheldean
Grid Ref
SO6640418578
Lat / Lon
51.86477° / -2.48930°
Easting / Northing
366,404E / 218,578N
What3Words
unloading.burying.gravest
Newent
Grid Ref
SO7226125820
Lat / Lon
51.93020° / -2.40483°
Easting / Northing
372,261E / 225,820N
What3Words
clays.cone.lots
Mitnew One's land is
Mitcheldean | |
---|---|
Grid Ref | SO6640418578 |
Lat / Lon | 51.86477° / -2.48930° |
Easting / Northing | 366,404E / 218,578N |
What3Words | unloading.burying.gravest |
Newent | |
---|---|
Grid Ref | SO7226125820 |
Lat / Lon | 51.93020° / -2.40483° |
Easting / Northing | 372,261E / 225,820N |
What3Words | clays.cone.lots |
Arable | 28.6% |
Pasture | 41.0% |
Urban | 11.3% |
Woods | 19.2% |
Data: Corine Land Cover (CLC) 2018
review
Nichowes
25 Sep 2022 (edited 04 Oct 2022)Nic Howes walked much of this route (as Mitnew two) on Sunday 25.9.22 and then went back to explore the Breakheart Hill area of Mitnew one on Thursday 29.9.22, which turned out to be quite an adventure. I have not walked the section of Mitnew one between Chessgrove Farm and Glasshouse.
I strongly favour alternative Mitnew two over Mitnew one because the latter misses the opportunity to visit the tremendous viewpoint of May Hill, has more road walking and includes the steep ascent and descent of the aptly named Breakheart Hill, near Mitcheldean, where there are also serious access concerns which lead me to not recommend route Mitnew one.
During my trial on Thursday 29.9.22 I found that the SW end of Mitnew one - Longhope to Mitcheldean - has many problems of walker-unfriendly land management that reach a crescendo with obliterated PROWs south of the eastern corner of the Business Village. This web link indicates that others encountered these problems as far back as 2015: http://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/mountaindetails.php?qu=S&rf=17100&st=cld
Photo four shows the waymarked stile from the dual carriageway section of the A4136; the course of the footpath has been obliterated by the built-up land and by the hard standing laid on top of it.
Photo five shows the far eastern corner of the Business Village; the footpath is marked on the OS map as being inside the security fence but this abandoned stile and post suggest that it was once re-routed to run along the outside edge of the security fence. Over the stile lies an (almost) impenetrable thicket, rich in brambles; why would a walker push through that? A determined rurexer might - but would it be trespass?
Photo six shows the trashed stile at the summit of Breakheart Hill; this is another of the characteristics that I assign to walker-unfriendly land management. In the background is the more welcoming land of May Hill, lying on Mitnew two - and with wider views than Breakheart Hill.
Photo seven shows the view along the crest of Breakheart Hill, towards Wilderness Quarry. On the right the aerials are on the rim of the eastern wall of the Forest of Dean plateau, and on Slow Ways' Cinmit route.
Photo eight shows a sign by a stile near Chessgrove Farm. There were no animals in the field or the next one, into which the stile bore a similar sign. An unintended reading of this sign might be as a contraction of another word.
I do not recommend Mitnew one for the Slow Ways network. It is passable with a deviation from the route into/out from Mitcheldean; it does not seem worth creating Mitnew three for this short deviation. The deviation is to leave Mitcheldean northwards along Bradley Court Road and at the northern end of the Business Village look out for a footpath heading east and then south along the outside of the perimeter fence. The deviation leads to Mitnew one's original planned ascent of Breakheart Hill, up the footpath on which Photo three was taken.
Photo one is a diagram from William Dreghorn's wonderful book "Geology Explained in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley" (1968). It shows how the steep-sided ridge of Breakheart Hill is produced by the steep dip of the massive sandstones on this eastern edge of the Forest of Dean syncline. Wilderness Quarry in Photo two shows that Dreghorn's cross section has not exaggerated the dip of the rocks by much, and the hedge line in Photo three shows how steep the dip slope is, facing west towards Mitcheldean.
There is a degree of "braiding" of Mitnew one and Mitglo, with the latter routed over May Hill and arcing far to the north of a straight line connection between Mitcheldean and Gloucester. I tentatively suggest that Mitcheldean to Glasshouse via Breakheart Hill becomes the western end of Mitglo, rather than the southern end of Mitnew.
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