The canal (southern) section of this route is lovely, including seeing the canal cross the River Tame below, on an acqueduct. The part in Kettlebrook is less pleasant. On reaching the centre of Tamworth I would use the subways to stay in the park on the south side of the River Anker, for pleasant views and arriving opposite the impressive castle, before crossing over the footbridge into the town centre....

Andrew Davies

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....

Emma

Lovely route with some walking by the river, through the park, some fields and some near houses....

agtaylor123

We go left at the third, the B5000 Glascote Road, then turn right before the viaduct and follow Kettlebrook Road down to the canal, which is accessed from the left (east) side of the bridge....

Hugh Hudson

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 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....

Hugh Hudson

An excellent bit of countryside walking east of Weeford, a dull mile plus along the busy road into Fazeley and a very challenging designed path to accommodate the M6 Toll. It was easy, ignoring the noise and on occasions a slow walk can offer points of interest missed during faster travel, not so here, except perhaps for the peek over the bridge parapet to view Fazeley canal junction and the imposing house. Called the Black Brook but the water is crystal clear as I peer over the bridge before turning onto the signed path. The Ordnance Survey (OS) map is not helpful as it shows the path in the field, in reality it crosses an overgrown stile onto a fenced path about four feet wide. It was clear to me that the substituted path had been designed by a builder of roads determined to resolve the issue of an inconvenient footpath that dared to cross the path of their project. Little if any thought went into how to maintain this long section of fenced path and little evidence that the essential maintenance programme has been drawn up. Joining the unaffected path across a field, distance from the confounded Toll road increased, but not for long. Safely across the bridge over the busy fast dual carriageway a gap in the fence secretly leads to a stile for a short cross field path, also unsigned at the far end....

Ken

The route is easy to follow and the woods at Hints were covered with bluebells on the day i walked in late April. Around Round Wood the path is very overgrown and is been cleared, but you may need to to climb over the fence to avoid the brambles at one point. Enjoyable walk....

Nigel Cull

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....

Nigel Cull

The first section is functional and traffic goes by at 40mph, but compared to the stress of the country lane walking I'd just done on Sutfaz 2, it was quite relaxing. At this stage the walk was an absolute nailed on 5 star route but the section by Round Wood is overgrown, and following it relies on where people have trodden the fence down. Sutfaz wasn't quite bad enough to earn 3 stars (my minimum pass) and the problems around Round Wood meant this walk just missed out on a perfect score....

David Sanderson

I started this walk from the Sutton Coldfield end. 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....

David Sanderson

At SP 1294 9677 the route takes you away from a road which takes you out of the grounds of Good Hope Hospital and takes you on a route to leave via a car park through a gate....

David Sanderson

Along footpaths by the river and across fields with nice views Recommened for Slow Way Route...

Nigel Cull

Passing through Middleton with The Green Man pub worth a visit Bridge over Gallows Brook by Middleton still not repaired so a scramble...

Nigel Cull

A bit muddy in places, and a fair bit on roads or verges, but most of route is on solid terrain and easy to navigate. Funky bridge too...

james

Easy walking and safe road crossings but the exit from Tamworth could be improved if slightly longer via the castle and river side gardens....

Ken

Mostly kissing gates on the field paths, some cross field paths but no significant mud even after a fair bit of rain....

Ken

A safe and interesting walk with no rights of way issues. An interesting mix of contemporary and historical points of interest! We also had a very good leader!...

John Johnson

Route along the canal was great, some walking along relatively busy roads unavoidable to get into the centre of Tamworth, suggest using the underpass where possible. Overall decent Slow Way...

agtaylor123

I started this route in Polesworth. The route through Polesworth is safe and relaxing....

David Sanderson

The route crosses Watling Street from the meeting spot past what would actually be a better meeting spot with benches next to a memorial and then crosses the road from Tamworth to join the Coventry Canal....

David Sanderson

In principle quite a sound Slow Way, however at SK 2454 0147, crossing the Staffordshire/ Warwickshire border it loses the path and directs you through an impassable hedge. Please use Fazpol Two...

David Sanderson