Kinver walks - Greensforge Lane

I saw a copy of an old walk booklet from Kinver Light Railway, and thought I'd try out their suggested walks to see what they are like nowadays.

Walk 4 is from the old Stewponey pub (now demolished), along Greensforge Lane, returning by the Canal. The booklet optimistically calls this 4 miles. My GPS clocked it at 6.09 miles! 

Starting down Greensforge Lane 

There are views across to Stourbridge and Clent

It's quite a horsy area these days

The "old time English homesteads" are still there

Including this cave/storage area.

This is Stourton Farm 

Some of the farm buildings are now converted into homes

Between the trees, you can just make out the Waterworks building - one of many in this area

Two of the four Waterworks cottages. Presumably originally for employees

 I always think this is like railway architecture

Here''s some of the "rustic scenery". I'd never really noticed how nice the tree planting was until I walked this lane (I've driven it hundreds of time but more things are visible on foot)

Keeping the horse fields clean: these people are muck-picking

The rustic scenery continues 

Wire fencing excluded, this probably looks the same as it did when the walk was described

(Not sure about the overhead electricity cables thiough)

 I guess it wasn't as well surfaced 80 years ago

Smestow Brook through the trees

 The turning off to Checkhill

View from the bridge 

To be continued...

Halesowen walk - Macdonalds(!) to Leasowes

Walking away from the Halesowen MacDonalds(!) I soon reached this - a disused piece of the Lapal Canal leading me back towards Leasowes Park

 This is the official start/end of the canal currently

It soon fills up with water, though I'm not certain if it would be navigable - it only looked about a foot deep.

The canal is on a considerable embankment: you can see the tops of these warehouses

Another group of ramblers. These were heading for the William Shenstone pub, apparently. Made me feel better about the Big Mac anyway.

Reaching Leasowes, I walked past Priory Pool, another artificial landscape-enhancing addition. Very atttractive, though. I felt I was getting the hang of William Shenstone's ideas

These birds are even more friendly than the ones I'm used to at Himley.

These children were having a great time exploring

 A rustic bridge

I went back to the start of the walk. This was the original, tree-lined entrance to the house and gardens

And on Mucklow Hill itself, there was this splendid example of hedge-laying

So, about this walk:

I can find no copies of the Shenstone Way booklet which I used for the walk. It's not signposted at all, and is impassable in parts. It was supposed to be 3 miles, but I walked considerably further. If you really want to do it, you can email me at the address in the yellow box below and I'll scan you a copy. (But I don't think it's worth walking really)
Alternatively, there is a walk on Dudley Council's website which goes through Leasowes and Combeswood which you can try (I've got a PDF version if you would like it.) I'll walk it in better weather, so you can see how beautiful it is.

More about Halesowen. A rare town walk for me

The Shenstone Way turns off Furnace Road just after this pub.

However, this is where the path is supposed to go. Totally blocked by head height brambles, old mattresses etc. Shame on you Halesowen!

So I had to follow the road instead. I emerged by this wonderful performing arts statue in the grounds of the Earls Secondary School

I continued to the town centre up this steep hill

...past this rather wonderful timbered building,

...to reach this church 

I was not expecting to see its fine Norman archway. It looks modern because of having been painted, but it's from the 11th century.

Not just one Norman archway, but a second one round the corner

This is the cross. Originally from Halesowen Abbey, it was moved to the Cornbow market area after the Reformation. It then blew down in a gale in the 1900s, and was finally located here in the church yard

The gravestone of William Shenstone. He'd turn in his grave if he saw the state of the path named after him...

...and the distinctly underwhelming pub named in his honour!

Some of the buildings in the High Street are old,

 ...but many are more recent

This street is wide because it was once a market

The Zion Christian Centre, so very different to the old Norman Church, yet just as thriving

Very few of the paths I have walked have been past a MacDonalds,

I had to have a Big Mac before continuing, thereby undermining many of the benefits of the walk.

To be continued