Easy to follow Slow Ways route along pavements and roads Shops on route and Pubs Overall good route...

Nigel Cull

quite a bit of road walking at the start but then follows paths and a nice short section on the Coventry Canal and then alongside the river Trent into Tamworth Good Slow Ways Route...

Nigel Cull

Once past that it was straightforward to the Inn on the A452 although the named Holly Lane which approaches it is not recorded as a right of way even though it looks like an old lane. I wonder if it would be a better summer walk to turn left / north along Back Lane to pick up Wood Lane at the start. Having walked Broshe-2 last September I spotted I could take the lane away from the closure and pick up that route which I did....

Ken

The road through Roman Road Little Aston is marked as a private road with warnings that it is not a public right of way....

Mick Sadler

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

Once the shops had given way to houses the pavement walk of two miles became a bit of a drag. Crossing the Lichfield road (A461) isn't pedestrian friendly and sections of pavement alongside non domestic property had a tendency to need a good cut back. Onto minor roads and a short section of road without pavement but soon a return to safety, if only residents didn't consider the pavement a good place to park. The new rule states " When overtaking a pedestrian walking in the road (where there is no pavement): Allow 2 metres of space." Drivers appear to think that because I'm on the pavement it's acceptable to buzz me with their mirror....

Ken

The whole length of Claypit Lane is too dangerous for walking, narrow, twisting and fast traffic....

alanclare

OK between Shenstone and Chesterfield....

alanclare

It's only four miles so I devise a route that covers all the options. A sign directs me off road after the Toll road but initially I take the wrong track perhaps it's easier going north. No sign of the path across a field of carrots. I can see I'm heading wrong so at the field end I have to double back to find the stile into the next field. The Highway Act 1980 is clear, section 134 subsection (3) requires the occupier to make good the surface of the path and indicate the line of the path on the ground....

Ken

Shelic-2 was perhaps an interim route while Claypit Lane was closed. It looks like most path users continue along the track but the Slow Way heads north so keep a close eye on the plot. The Highway Act 1980 is clear, section 134 subsection (3) requires the occupier to make good the surface of the path and indicate the line of the path on the ground. Watling Street was no busier than Claypit Lane and its wide so I had no issue with occasional passing traffic, I met dog walkers coming the other way....

Ken

It looks like most path users continue along the track but the Slow Way heads north so keep a close eye on the plot. The Highway Act 1980 is clear, section 134 subsection (3) requires the occupier to make good the surface of the path and indicate the line of the path on the ground. Section 137A (1) (b) requires the occupier to prevent the crop from encroaching on any relevant highway. The grassy footpath across to Birmingham Road is the very best part of all three routes. Yes the best on offer but again spoilt by Birmingham Road and the inconsiderate farmer so unfairly Slow Ways loses a star....

Ken

The path across to Claypit Lane is fairly easy to follow - the only slight doubt is how far left to go once the access road for Harehurst Hill is left, but since the answer is the first available gap it is easily resolved. This time I found the start of it and managed to get past Chesterfield more or less on it, but the only non-trampling line I could find across a vegetable field took me south and left me within easy reach of the lane, so I used that rather than finding the correct way out of the field round the edge....

Hugh Hudson

The path south from Home Farm starts with another well cut field path and crosses a few smaller fields with more stiles, and Moor Lane is easily reached. We start off on a pleasant green lane, but there is a locked gate beyond which the path diverts into the edge of the field on the left (east) where the map shows the right of way continuing along the lane. We then follow the quiet Forge Lane to the A454 in Little Aston, and follow the pavements through suburbia to Streetly, where we enter Sutton Park....

Hugh Hudson

Once on Watling street it is quieter although there is no pavement and you are sharing the road with vehicular traffic....

pddys

The name of the lane reverts to Claypit Lane and in the year since I first reviewed this route, it does seem to have got busier. At the foot of the hill you join the pavement of Birmingham Road, and this takes you all the way to the meeting point at Lichfield City Railway Station. Beyond the mini roundabout, which I found easy to cross, but might be harder at busier times, the route is through a predominantly residential area of Lichfield although there is a pub "The Duke of Wellington" and just off the road "Trinity Brew" which is a brewery and eatery, open mainly at the weekend. What this route loses in directness by not following Claypit Lane for longer, it more than makes up for in safety, beauty, enjoyability, links to transport and pubs and shops....

David Sanderson

Lovely walk, well worth exploring more of Sutton Park if you haven't before. Shenstone is lovely and the day I went there was a classic car show up at the church....

Max

The track continues into the next field and turns left - here I hit my next minor snag - there is no visible path line continuing straight on across the vast crop field and no waymarker, and I didn't fancy trampling it, so I was eventually forced to accept that the road through Chesterfield was the easier option. The route within Lichfield also has minor problems - I can see what the route creator was trying to do using right of way paths rather than streets, but the path leaving Sainte Foy Avenue is not signposted or visible on the ground - there is a surfaced path round the other (east) side of the large gated building whose fences block the old path line....

Hugh Hudson

As mentioned by the other reviewer the walk is lovely, well signposted and generally easy to follow....

Paul McGill

I fully understand the reason to change to this route because of the closure of Claypit Lane but I would not recommend this route for two reasons (1) The long stretch along the very busy Birmingham Road and (2) the somewhat dangerous section along Watling Street. So would suggest Shelic One is a better route....

Paul McGill

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

Around Footherley the route crosses a couple of farm fields which could get muddy after wet weather and near the water works the path crosses scrubland which was still a bit boggy the day we walked it....

Mr Tippy

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

Good route taking in Sutton Park though fields to Shenstone Can be a bit muddy in places after the water works but enjoyable...

Nigel Cull

The route out of Lichfield is far more direct than the route chosen by Shelic One, which is frankly puzzling as Birmingham Road has a good pavement even after leaving Lichfield's city limits....

David Sanderson

Once you cross Back Lane, Holly Lane becomes too narrow and the trees too low for traffic. The end of Holly Lane emerges on to the A452 Chester Road, a 50mph road which needs to be crossed with caution, especially if you stopped at Plough and Harrow. The route soon emerges on to Wood Lane and it was a section of the walk that I had not been looking forward to, as lane walking can leave you feeling unsafe. The final section leaves the lanes and crosses a field towards Shenstone, crossing a narrow bridge across a stream in the process....

David Sanderson

My only concern with this walk as intended was the width of the pavement along Lynn Lane at the Shenstone end and also the short section which requires road walking on Lynn Lane....

David Sanderson

Leaving Shenstone via Lynne Lane consists of pounding a narrow pavement along a busy road. There is a section of about 200m just before turning into a track where the lane loses the pavement. Mill Lane connects you to Stonnall, half way through the walk where you pass through the village to make the most of the benches, shops and pubs. The only problem was Lynne Lane and I wondered as I passed the footpath, whether there is a better way using the quiet lanes to the south rather than the busy road to the north....

David Sanderson

Uses a busy private road with signs at either end. Shesut 2 is a usable alternative...

David Sanderson

It's not far from here that you enter Sutton Park and the walk here accounts for the first third of the walk. Sutton Park is very popular amongst the locals as a place to run, cycle or walk and is friendly. As you get to the other side of Little Aston you join the Walsall Road and having had to circle around the historic old way of Ryknield Street (privatised and renamed "Roman Road", not a public right of way) you reach the other end and actually start to follow the ancient way in the shape of Forge Lane....

David Sanderson

The way around, which was to continue to follow the footpath was easy enough to do in this direction so this wasn't a cause for failure. I'd been unable to review this first time I tried because Claypit Lane was closed for the construction of a housing estate, thus extending Lichfield further. After passing under the M6 Toll and A5 bridges you leave the lane to follow the path across fields. On previous walks, I'd found this path to be really easy to follow but it had been planted with crops and I had to make my way around the outside....

David Sanderson

The route uses Roman Road which is part of a private estate with no public right of way. To avoid this road use Walsall Road & Rosemary Hill Road....

Mr Tippy

Having had some misgivings about how many lanes it follows they turned out to be open with the exception of where you turn from Park Lane to Little Hay Lane, which requires some caution....

David Sanderson

I had some misgivings before doing this walk (as Shetam One) because of the amount of lane walking and the lack of directness of the route. The route through Buck's Head Farm is fenced in by HS2. Picking up Knox's Grave Lane the route undulates past a massive pig farm on one side and quarry workings on the other (Shetam One directs you through the quarry which is forbidden)....

David Sanderson