Dudley Trail 12 mile walk part 2

The route next goes down Moden Hill, past these beautiful forget me nots on the roadside verge.

A playful foal.

The hill is so steep, these houses have four storeys!

There's quite a lot of walls round here made of Dudley rag -  as you can see, it's not a fine building material: the stones are not easily shaped, so end up lots of different sizes

The trail goes through Sedgley, and on to Beacon Hill

The views from the hill are very good. This is over to Wolverhampton

Higher up the views are of distant Birmingham, as well as the nearby Beacon Hill Cemetery.

On top of the Beacon, the two tall masts dominate the original tower.

The tower is on the Dudley MBC coat of arms

...it's right on the top.

Coming down the other side, I saw this old brewery. It's attached to the Beacon Hotel (I think : I couldn't see the name)

Then on down a narrow path, almost blocked by this tree

...to Turls Hill lane

Continuing past Coppice Baptist Chapel

There was a lovely stream...

 ...by the aptly named Brook Public House 

Finally I reached Wren's Nest Nature Reserve

The inscription on entry says: 
"To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour"  - part of William Blake's poem Auguries of Innocence 

Wren's Nest was very quiet on Friday when I walked through - I didn't see anyone at all.

Nice to see signs for the Dudley Trail

Sign by the Seven Sisters Caverns
 "in no part of England are more geological features brought together in a compass than in the environs of Dudley or in which their characters have been more successfully developed by the labours of practical men." Sir Roderick Murchison 1847 (one of the founders of geological science)

The Caverns are now very sadly blocked up.

Notice board, with Dudley Castle and the masts at Turner's Hill just visible (over the grey part of the board)

Wayside art  

Leaving Wrens Nest, the route heads towards the Broadway, 

...past the old churchyard.

And on past St James's Church, to the finish back at Dudley Leisure Centre. 

Conclusion: this walk is quite strenuous in places, and not to be tackled by the faint-hearted. If you've done it: well done!
If it sounds too much, have a look at the shorter walks: 
Click here for the 9 mile walk , or here for the 6 mile walkv  For more posts click here
I have really enjoyed doing these walks, and I have seen areas I didn't know very well. I will be trying the 18 and 26 mile routes too - just not in time for this year's trail. And I'm going back to some of the fantastic places: Wren's Nest and Saltwells spring to mind immediately. Others will follow over the summer. Keep watching the blog for details....

The route: it was this year's 12 mile route for the Dudley Trail. The council say it is quite rugged, and they are right. Worth a try though - plenty to see.

Dudley trail 12 mile walk, part 1

The Dudley Trails are taking place this weekend. Here is a preview of the 12 mile route, and some of the highlights (this is the memorial on Barrow Hill).

Starting off down Russells Hall Road  - in the distance, the blue Shropshire hills just visible

Over some rough ground and then starting the climb up Barrow Hill, now a nature reserve, but once a very small volcano!

It's a steep but clear climb

The views from the top are good,... 


...including the aforementioned Barrow Hill memorial ...

... and including this view of Russells Hall Hospital

The trail then continues down to the Pensnett Railway walk.

I loved this pedestrian bridge

There's a working sand quarry on the route.

An un-named stream which goes down the valley by the Railway Walk.

Crossing a few roads, the the trail heads to Cotwall End Valley Nature reserve

There are a few pools along the way... 

... and they are at their best right now, with the new spring growth on the trees around

There are plenty of bluebells too.

It's a delightful place to be. 

The route skirts around Ellowes Hall School.

...the cobbles on the path date from when Ellowes Hall was a stately home rather than a school. This was the coach road which led to the Hall.

There are more bluebells at the far end of the nature reserve.

And there are extensive views as you leave the path onto the road at Moden Hill. 

To be continued tomorrow: Sedgley Beacon, and Wren's Nest. Click here to see part 2