It certainly didn’t look good on the map lots of road walking. So if you have continued to Five Ways take Cannock Road then Newlands Lane which the plot soon meets. It eventually meets a proper road but even here traffic was light which was good as there was no pavement....

Ken

From the meeting point outside the Co-Op in Norton Canes we cross Brownhills Road and head down the hill, then take the surfaced path left into the trees....

Hugh Hudson

Walked from Great Wyrley to Norton Canes. Cross the A5 with care and go left to find another wet and muddy field path over another stile. The Norton Canes meeting point is outside the Co-Op and like the Great Wyrley one it lacks seats....

Hugh Hudson

I walked Great Wyrley (Landywood) to Norton Canes. The path alongside The Star starts in the recreation ground but soon dives into woodland along Great Wyrley FP7. Turning back I did note the sign on the approach to estate roads "Private Road Residents Access Only" this is unadopted and unrecorded as highway which leaves Great Wyrley FP7 officially a dead end path....

Ken

The exit is on a safe roadside pavement and then a tarmac cycle track on the bed of a rail route. After crossing the rail line a second time the route is then along a safe roadside footway which passes a large supermarket before arriving at the meeting point which has seats with buses and a coffee shop close by....

Ken

To keep things simple I suggest the route should use Hednesford Road south of the M6 Toll this removes the weak link from an otherwise excellent Slow Way. The path meets the next road at about the same point as the plot. Back on the plot and it's then road side walking to the meeting point....

Ken

The route then reaches Chasewater Country Park and the cafe at Chasewater Heaths Station (part of the stream railway which runs around the outside of the lake). The route through Norton Canes is direct and easy to navigate to the meeting point....

David Sanderson

1 On Gentleshaw Hill at SK 0502 1086 you are directed to follow a right of way where the path does not exist....

David Sanderson

The first section is a gentle stroll along residential pavements in Norton Canes and then Chase Terrace although there is a blind road crossing at the A5195 which needs care. The walk leaves the national trails and crosses the road, passing a caravan park before looping around to climb over Regents Hill and then cross the road. After crossing Stile Cop Road you go through a car park, often busy with mountain bikers, and pass a triangulation pillar. For Rugbur from Rugeley to Burntwood I followed 200m of Stile Cop Road which although being a 60mph road with no pavement, is not very, busy and has long lines of sight and a wide roadside to step into when a car approaches....

David Sanderson

It sweeps around (I had to dodge round a family of swans!) and emerges on the Hednesford Road, the pavement of which you follow for 400m approx before turning into Stokes Lane. As for walking the lane, it is potholed and was strewn with flytipped rubbish near the east end. The last section before emerging on the pavement of the A5190 requires a stretch of road walking in the lane. The last stretch of the walk is along the busy A5190 but it seems like this route has done everything it can to prevent you from having to do that so it's a small price to pay....

David Sanderson

There the footpath seemed to disappear and despite my efforts proved unwalkable (uneven and overgrown) despite being clearly marked as a right of way (Photo 1). I went to the other side of the copse to see if the footpath could be picked up (Photo 2) but all I could see were fields of horses with no footpath marked where it should be....

David Sanderson

Starting through a residential section of Great Wyrley the route reaches the Star Pub where it crosses the A34 and cuts down a footpath through a field and into woodland. Crossing into a field the footpath emerges on the A5 which required patience to cross....

David Sanderson

The Beacon Way follows the route of a an old railway (3) and is straight and raised which makes it a pleasure to walk along even after the amount of rain there was before I walked it. Chasewater was high on the day I walked (7) but the track is raised and set back so was not encumbered by the flood water. The track heads around the West Bank of Chasewater and passes Brownhills West the terminus of the Chasewater Railway (a tourist train that runs around Chasewater as far as Chase Terrace). From there the very walkable track (11) affords views of Chasewater to your right (10)....

David Sanderson

Starting ona short stretch of road, you turn left to enjoy a nice tarmac path (Picture 1). After crossing the motorway (Picture 5), the entrance to the beacon way is a bit obscure however access is down the road (Picture 6). After walking down the thin grassy path of the Beacon Way (Picture 7), you'll meet the A5....

DCHUBB5