Hike: The 4th in the Warwickshire trilogy.

[A.W.U.K.]

Snow Joke! But it was all white in the end.

I parked at the moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton. It is mostly late medieval to Tudor and is formed of 3 wings around a courtyard, surrounded by a moat, beyond which are some ancilliary buildings and a deer park. It was closed on the day, so I was only able to take this one photo:

It is a very interesting place for those interested in old buildings. It belonged to a family with Catholic sympathies in the days when that was not allowed and has several priest holes.

A short walk brings us to St. Michael's church, standing alone amid the fields.

A few hundred yards more and we cross Haywood lane and enter Hay Wood.

Unfortunately it is private woodland so no chopping down trees or lighting fires!

After leaving the wood the bridle way passes this old farm.

The way ends up on the main Birmingham to Warwickshire road so we have to put up with traffic for a bit!

After a few hundred yards we can turn off the road along this drive to Wroxall Abbey.

Past some sheep (look hard!)

Through this kissing gate.

Past the ewe to this little wood

continued in part II

 

[A.W.U.K.]

Which someone is managing for firewood?

Wroxall Abbey. A Victorian mansion built on the site of a medieval priory. Today it is a school. According to the map there are visible remains of the priory around the other side but I only noticed that afterwards.

This is medieval ridge and furrow. Nominally, each ridge is one pole (5.5 yards) by one furlong (furrow-long), 220 yards. A ridge is the amount of land ploughed by a medieval ploughman and a team of eight oxen between beer breaks. Four ridges make a days work. That is, 22 yards x 220 yards, 4840 square yards or one acre.

The route carries on over the fields.

The view back to Wroxall Abbey.

Eventually we get to Quarry Lane.

An old windmill converted to a house.

Guess what? It's the Heart of England Way. A bridle way here.

The Heart of England Way leads us back to St Steven's Church again.

there is a pub near Wroxall Abbey called The Case Is Altered, selling Hook Norton ales but it didn't open till 6pm, so I went to the Orange Tree at Chadwick End near Baddesley Clinton for a delicious pint of Black Sheep ale by the log fire.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Sweet photos bro

thanks for posting