Strkin two

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Strkin here.

I completed this lovely walk yesterday from Kineton. It tidies up the original Strkin one route, as well as making a few minor alterations. Apart from some lovely views and scenery, the route takes in an Ancient Monument, some lovely villages, a 16th century mansion, an obelisk and an architectural folly. Perhaps less glamorously, the route also takes you directly past no less than three water treatment sites. The only thing preventing me giving it five stars is the amount of unavoidable road walking involved, as well as crossing the busy Fosse Way and A439. It's a good walk packed full of interest though, and at 14 miles your legs will have felt it by the end.

Leaving Kineton, the route takes you past the site of the Norman King John's Castle, although a little imagination is required to picture the scene as depicted on the nearby information boards. The route then takes you past the first of three water treatment works which you'll want to hurry past for obvious reasons. The path next to the works was narrow when I did it, and I can imagine it has the possibility to get overgrown if left unattended.

The route will then take you under an old railway bridge which would have carried the now dismantled railway from Stratford, before following the River Dene. The path then leaves the river, through a gate and over a bridge over a ditch. Immediately after, we entered an agricultural field with no clear path. The OS shows the right of way as crossing the field, so I walked straight across the field following the mapped route, even though it wasn't clear on the ground. As you cross this field, a footpath did eventually start to become clearer to give you some confidence you were on the right path, however the bridge over the ditch was three flimsy planks which didn't feel to sturdy as I crossed (photo 4).

The route then takes you past Brookhampton Farm before a lovely descent into Combrook village. Combrook is a gorgeous little picture postcard village, and it's well worth the little detour from the route to go and take a look at the very pretty St Mary and St Margaret church, as well as the other buildings, some of which are thatched and built with the distinctive Cotswold stone. As you leave the village, you may look back and notice a sign which spells the village differently as Combroke.

Leaving the village the route takes you back uphill along the road up to the ancient (but fast) Roman Road, the Fosse Way. Take care crossing the road here, there were several vehicles clearly going quicker than the 60 mph limit when I waited to cross! The route then takes you through to the lovely grounds of Walton Hall, a 16th century mansion which is a joy to walk through.

After Walton Hall, you then go via road through Walton village before crossing the River Dene next to a ford. The footpath then picks up the route of the river again before taking you into Wellesbourne, the mid way point of this walk. At time of walking, the thatched pub on the route here is being rebuilt following a fire, so although I was unfortunate not to be able to have a well earned half way pint, maybe repairs will have been completed by the time you do the walk.

Remarkably, the route through Wellesbourne doesn't feel like you're travelling through the centre of the large village. This is mainly due to the route rejoining the course off the River Dene. You will unfortunately however hear the noise of the A429 during this section, although happily the path goes underneath this busy road.

When you get to Charlecote you then have to rejoin the road and take care as you approach the grounds of Charlecote Park. The unavoidable road section then takes you through to the other side of Hampton Lucy before you can get away from the road again. The footpath then takes you through to Hatton Rock next to the River Avon. The footpath alongside the river here got quite overgrown, which if they are growing will see you negotiate a section of some thick tall nettles (photo 13). The path is also right on the edge of the bank of the river, so you will need to also take care here.

After leaving the river, the route takes you to the busy A439, which is another busy road that you will need to take care to cross. You then have one final piece of unavoidable road walking as you walk up Ingon Lane to pick up the footpath to the Welcombe Hills. The route then descends into Stratford-upon-Avon where you finish the walk alongside the Stratford canal as it takes you to the end.

The route has it's fair share of stiles, gates, steps and bridges to cross, and also has a few obstacles. None are impassable though and it really is a good walk.

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