LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

We parked in Brays Close, Brinklow, off the B4455 with the kind permission of one of the residents. It was a short walk to the bus shelter, opposite 'The Bulls Head' public house, to catch the bus 585 at 11.01am to Coventry, Walsgrave Hospital. The bus was approximately 12 minutes late, so timing for the connection to Ansty was very critical. We arrived at the hospital with two minutes to spare (road works by Coombe Abbey) but bus 74 to Ansty was also 10 minutes late. There was only one suitable bus 74 to Ansty for the walk, so the wait was worrying. We soon arrived outside the 'Rose & Castle' public house, Ansty for the start of the walk. Great care was required along the very narrow footpath of the 'main road' because of heavy traffic. We turned right on the outskirts of the village along a lane to a bridge over the Oxford canal. We continued ahead across fields, via kissing gates, to road B4029, near the entrance To Ansty Golf Club. We crossed the road, slightly to the right to a footpath skirting the golf course. Ann found a bright orange golf ball in the grass. Someone had obviously lost the ball over the big thick hedge while playing in the recent snowy period. We soon arrived through the mud at the impressive Hopsford aqueduct and viaduct, with the canal and railway high above the broad Withybrook valley. We stopped for refreshments on the newly constructed steep wooden steps alongside the tunnel to the canal towpath. We watched the barges (narrowboats) and the trains on the west coast main line pass with interest. The very steep embankment across the valley provided good views towards Coventry and the M6 motorway. The embankment soon became a deep cutting at Nettle Hill, where the pleasant easy towpath walk became an horrendous obstacle course through the deep mud where water courses flowed down the cutting banks and across the towpath. We scrambled above the mud through the bushes at the first muddy section before the very high bridge 24 of Nettle Hill Lane but couldn't avoid the mud at the section before the M6 motorway. There was a dead fox in the canal rushes. The M6 bridge was impressive as the canal and railways pass under the motorway. It was very noisy from the motorway vehicles on the south side due to the stiff north-easterly breeze carrying the sound. The railway slowly diverged away from the canal as we approached the permanent moorings by Colehurst Farm. We spoke to two Coventry Way voluntary wardens by the barges and before bridge 26. We left the bridge at Grimes Bridge where we re-joined the Centenary Way to walk down the farm road to Smeaton Lane. We turned left for a short distance along the lane before turning right at a 'no parking' sign leading to a small low walled stone bridge over Smite Brook. The brook looked like it had been dammed by otters, or was it due to the debris floating down the brook after the heavy and prolonged winter rains? We crossed the fields, passing dog walkers towards Lynfield House where we turned left before the barn. We stopped for a 'breather' on a bench in the kiddies park as we approached Brinklow village at Barr Lane by the doctors' surgery. We continued along Broad Street and the crescent passing many delightful cottages, some thatched, opposite 'St John the Baptist Church'. We stopped to enjoy the snowdrops scattered around the trees and the green. We turned right up the hill of Ell Lane, past more prolific snowdrops to the kissing gate at Brinklow's Norman motte & bailey castle. We walked through the muddy castle grounds to the moat and the kissing gates across fields to Coventry Road on the B4455. We turned right on the busy road for a short distance to the car in Brays Close, the end of the walk. Another enjoyable section of A Coventry Way, this time with Ann.

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk
Start at Ansty Finish at Brinklow

Hazards: None.