Stewpony to Enville - a beautiful, but easy winter walk!

The weather has been fantastic just lately. Cold, but bright and sunny. Just the ideal conditions for this walk.
I started at Stewpony Lock (the Stewpony was a famous local pub - now demolished), where there is good parking.

These circular weirs are a feature of the Staffs and Worcs Canal

Having admired the rushing overflow, I began walking along the towpath,

...catching a glimpse of Stourton Castle through the trees (it's invisible from here in summer). One of the castle gates has a hole in it, made by a cannonball in the English Civil War.

Towards Stourton Bridge,...

..and then on, northwards.

Two waterways here, the canal on the right, and the glassy River Stour on the left

I crossed the aqueduct over the Stour

It was almost December, yet there were still plenty of leaves on the trees, especially the oaks. Lots floating in the canal though.

At Prestwood Bridge, I turned left ...

...onto a clear bridle path

...which crossed Greensforge Lane, and then began to climb gently

Near the top, the views were fantastic, over towards Worcestershire's Clent Hills on one side...

...and towards the Black Country on the the other.

Gothersley Farm's tree was almost as bright as a burning bush

The path continued through The Million woodland

It was very easy to follow - and good walking underfoot, because its on sandstone

Eventually, the path reached the A458, with a handy footpath on the verge

After about 100 metres, I turned right onto another lane/path

Quarter of a mile later, I turned left onto this footpath. The donkeys in this field didn't want to be photographed! (Nor the Shetland - too interested in feeding)

As the path continued,the village of Enville came into view

Reaching the very minor road, I turned left, past an inquisitive sheep

Being on a main road, people often overlook Enville

...but there are some interesting buildings, mostly built in Enville brick

The church is sandstone, with lovely views and lacy stonework - well worth a visit

You can get chocolate from the tiny, old-fashioned Enville Post Office

The old school .

The walk was about 5 miles, and a top quality walk. You can do it with two cars, leaving one at the Stewpony, and one in Enville. Following your walk, you could drive back to Kinver and its tearooms or eat at the Cat Public House.
Or you could wait for the next blog, and see how this walk can be combined with the next one to make a nice 10 mile round trip- to do on Boxing Day, or New Year's Day perhaps.
The route: Start from Stewpony lock  - Junction of A449 and A458. Good parking, but no phone signal!Walk past the lock, along the canal (ignoring the turn off to Stourbridge) until Prestwood Bridge, where you turn left onto a bridle path - follow this uphill (it becomes a private road at one point), past Gothersley stables and into the Million woods. Just keep going straight on, ignoring any junctions. At the road, cross and continue in the same direction on the other side. Then follow the raod verge for 100 metres. Turn Right onto a road/track. After just over 1/4 mile, turn left onto a path which heads towards Enville. The path becomes a lane. At the junction, turn Left and follow the road into Enville. Make sure you visit the church, or at least its grounds. Return by the same route if you haven't left a car here!

The next blog continues this, to make a round walk. Click here. You combine the 2 walks, and then walk a mile along the canal to get back to your start at the Stewponey. Can't recommend highly enough.