Woopol two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

Nice route with plenty of road walking from Polesworth through Dordon, into an industrial park and then finally a nice country section before entering Wood End.

A very mixed walk. From Wood End the paths follow field edges with open views of countryside. A difficult single sleeper ditch crossing contrasts with the convenience of gates. At the disused railway a rapid change of scenery for passage through Birch Coppice Business Park. A bridge provides a safe crossing of the A5 then it's urban through Dordon and St Helena to enter Polesworth across Abbey Green Park.

Warwickshire has done a good job providing gates rather than stiles but finger posts are thin on the ground and vegetation clearance needs attention. The single sleeper ditch crossing has no handrail so in frosty conditions could be treacherous. The blue brick arched structures at the disused railway could well be follies built to watch the hunt passing in full cry. But no, they are the remains of a substancial footbridge that once carried the path over the long gone rail route. Care is needed here, continue for a direct crossing as if you were using the bridge. It's impossible to see what lays ahead and I'm tempted to leave it as a surprise. A friend has a thing with his grandchildren when walking through recently planted woodland. They meet the 'Tube People' a race imagined by the sight of those tree protection collars. I felt like a horizontal tube person as I passed into a world of mass logistics.

I was also amazed to meet other path users, here happy to walk on the tarmac footpaths safely segregated from all the rush and activity. The footbridge over the A5 intrudes from above on the privicy of the adjacent domestic gardens, a claim often made by those with acres of grounds when they apply to exclude the public from the fringes of their domain.

The route now enters Dordon and with luck will encourage some residents to abandon the car and take a walk. Here there are shops and yet more opportunity to feast on a Chineese or fish and chip meal.

Another walk which delivered more than it promised! The route out of the quiet village of Wood End is straight forward and the footpath which leads down through the fields is easy to follow. Intriguingly, there are the wooded remains of a partly demolished bridge over the dismantled railway, which you walk by. On the far side is a large pipe, which you walk through to get through to footpath on the other side. Any sense of the countryside disappears as you pass the steel fence of a container yard and walk along the very well maintained footpath. If you care to look, it's a fully operational container yard. If you have a soft spot for watching massive wheeled lifting machines loading goods containers onto goods trains, you can safely watch it all. Personally, it's a soft spot that I rediscovered! There are car hire and delivery company depots beyond. The paths around the industrial unit are very well signed, easy to follow and on the damp day we walked it, were firm and relatively dry. Crossing Watling Street, which is a dual carriageway at this spot, into Dordon is via a large metallic bridge. Dordon itself is an old mining village which offers some takeaway options as you make your way up the hill through its streets. As you turn into Bardon View Road you get superb views of the countryside over the border, in Leicestershire. The route into Polesworth is via a footpath and bridge past the Church of St Editha, but it's easy to divert via the stops and shops of the High Street if you need provisions. The route is direct, easy to follow and very safe. The section by the container yard was unique amongst the Slow Ways I have walked. It packs a lot of variety in 6km and I don't think it could be improved. Full marks.

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