Shikin two

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I completed this walk today traveling from Shipston-on-Stour. I really want to give it five stars, but unfortunately it just fell short for me today. A couple of sections were a tad overgrown, and we had to find an alternative route at one point due to cattle. Having said that, it was a great walk and i'm really glad MikeM came up with this suggested alternative.

You leave Shipston over the Mill St Bridge which does require a bit of care to cross, but immediately after, you take a set of steps down to the footpath and in no time at all you find yourself in open countryside on Shakespeare's Way. After a short section along Fell Mill Lane, you then make the climb up the hill at Honington (photo 2). The views from the top are impressive - I was glad I took my monocular to pick out distant landmarks in Stratford and beyond.

The route eventually descends Idlicote Hill along the Centenary Way towards Whatcote, a couple of sections here were a little overgrown (photo 5) but might not be an issue at other times of the year. If you need refreshments, the Royal Oak pub in Whatcote is one of the oldest in the country and famed to be a favourite of Oliver Cromwell.

The route eastwards towards Tysoe is pleasant, and once in the village (approx the halfway point of the walk) there is the option of stopping at the village stores for refreshments. The Peacock Inn was unfortunately closed when we got there. Shortly after leaving Tysoe, we were shortly greeted with a field with a bull, some calves and cows (photo 11). We thought better of trying to cross this field, so turned back and found a safer alternative route round by the church in Tysoe and through Lower Tysoe. I'm always wary of cows, particularly so when bulls and calves are in the same field, so didn't have too much issue turning back. Hopefully they won't always be in that field when you attempt this walk, but it's useful to know an alternative route is available.

I'm happy to say the rest of the route to Kineton was not as eventful, even if some of the paths seemed a little less trodden. Nothing too severe though and we eventually got to our destination on what has to be one of the hottest days of the year. As already mentioned, it was a fantastic walk overall. There was the usual mixture of gates, stiles, footbridges and steps - all in varying states of repair. I would definitely recommend and would do the walk again.

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