Sutfaz two

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This was generally a nice walk. I got a little lost in between new park wood and Middleton. Mostly the paths were very well established though, even if the fields where crops are growing.

Walking from Sutton to Fazeley, one of the first sections is Withy Hill Road. I hate this road as a driver, never mind as a walker - not great visibility and cars will be going fast. Be careful! There are grass verges but these are quite uneven / have big trenches in places, so can’t really be used for general walking.

Definitely not a good option for anyone with mobility issues or with a pram - the paths from Middleton onwards are through fields and very narrow, there’s at least one stile to cross, and the bridge over the canal at Fazeley end involves climbing/descending a small, steep, narrow spiral staircase.

For the most part, a good route. Walked from Fazeley to Sutton. There are plenty of unsurfaced field and woodland paths, but all are fairly easy to follow and not too muddy even after recent heavy rain. The bridge used to access the canal at Drayton Road has two narrow spiral staircases. My only reservations are that Withy Hill Lane can be busy and has no pavement east of the built up area (there is a grass verge on the north side), and Drayton Lane is also narrow with no pavement. I inadvertently followed two minor deviations from the marked rights of way - in the field south of Portleys Lane the path follows the north edge of the field into the NW corner rather than going straight across, and west of Middleton the path follows the access track into the clay pigeon shooting club rather than crossing the hedge.

Leaving the Fazeley meeting point, we go left along the north side of Lichfield Street and descend to the near side of the canal, turning right to follow the towpath under the bridge and out of the town. At the decorative turreted bridge, we cross the canal (using narrow spiral staircases on both sides), and cross Coleshill Road with care, going straight on along Drayton Road, which is quite narrow in places and has no pavement. This leads us into the village of Drayton Basset. We follow Drayton Lane right beyond the church, and turn left into the field path (the sign could easily be missed). We cross Portleys Lane (there is a stile on the far side, and I inadvertently missed the point where the right of way crosses the first field by following a local dog walker along the edge) and follow the field path to Middleton, crossing the HS2 site on an obvious fenced path. We emerge in a little park, and cross it to find the exit down to Church Lane, where we turn right.

Middleton has a rather nice village shop, where I was told that nobody can resist the flapjacks on the counter, and a pub. Past the pub we follow the lane straight on, passing a rather forbidding notice warning walkers about the clay pigeon shooting club. Despite its advice to follow the OS route, the path now stays on this lane as far as the range rather than crossing the hedge on the south side as shown on the map. A well marked path takes us into New Park Wood, where the paths are fairly clear though the signposts are not always clearly sited from this side. We emerge on the busy London Road, and go right a short distance and cross to Withy Hill Road. This is quite a busy shortcut, and has no pavements, but the grass verge on the north side is fairly wide.

We eventually reach the edge of Sutton Coldfield, crossing Lindridge Road and following the pavement to Whitehorse Common Road, where we turn right and use the pelican crossing just beyond the garage to cross left to Barnard Road, which we follow down to Bedford Road. We turn right along the north and west sides of Good Hope Hospital to reach Rectory Lane, where we turn right, going right again up Coleshill Street. We cross High Street, turn left into Railway Road and take the steep pedestrianised road up to the Sutton Coldfield meeting point at the Cenotaph/Town Hall.

Another good Slow Ways Route taking you from town to countryside and easy to follow.
You can avoid going through Good Hope Hospital by carrying along Rectory Road and turning left into Bedford Road. The bridge at Gallows Brook has now been replaced so easy passage.

I started this walk from the Sutton Coldfield end. The start of the walk is pretty straightforward from the meeting place outside the Town Hall. You get taken through the grounds of Good Hope Hospital which are a bit of a gamble. I'd have to question using the grounds of a busy city hospital, including the A&E Department. It's away from the main road, but not particularly calming. The rest of the pavement pounding through suburban Sutton Coldfield offers plenty of stops and shops at this early part of the walk. Crossing the road into Withy Hill Road, to leave Sutton Coldfield, proved a bit of a challenge, the roads are well used. Withy Hill Road itself has no pavement but is very long and straight. There were moments to enjoy the far views of the surroundings but this was tempered on the constant look and listen out for cars, which were not slowing down. Getting into New Park Wood was a relief and it was nice to be walking the well marked, although at times, boggy tracks. Once out of the woods the walk along the paths through fields was well marked and enjoyable. Middleton is a pretty village which lies about half way through this route and has a pub and shops for provisions as well as a handy bench outside the beautiful church. The next section was my favourite, despite the seeming encroachment of HS2. I could see for miles and a buzzard flew overhead. Drayton Bassett is a pretty village but the route is marred by more lane walking along busy stretches. It follows the Heart of England Way which was clearly designed at a time of fewer motor vehicles on the road. The final section follows the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to its end at Fazeley wharf, a short stretch from the meeting point. I was left feeling disappointed by this walk. Mainly because its faults were beyond the control of a Slow Ways plotter. The route is direct, has supplies, some offroad sections, but not enough. Sadly it is marred by an area where the car is king!.

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