NWANT WALKS REPORTS 2017. Walk - Saturday 14th January 2017 - Droitwich Water Tower. Our first walk of the New Year, was on a cold day, but with some clouds coming over. We met up at St Peters in Droitwich, and twelve of us set off for the Water Tower Walk. This walk was found on the Worcestershire website. The tower was built in 1962, on the top of Yew Tree Hill, is 110 feet tall and can hold 150,000 gallons of water. We set off past St Peters Church along footpaths, then along Tagwell Road, where we turned off onto a path under the M5 motorway, and on to the Gaudet Luce Golf Course. A long gentle climb, steeper at the end, took us to the Clubhouse, and it started to rain as we arrived. After a hot drink, we had warmed up, and resumed our walk. The rain stopped as we left the Clubhouse. We crossed the Golf Course by a different path, then it was back under the motorway and past some houses before open fields. There are some new houses being built, and the path enclosed by fences, so it was rather muddy. Then we found our way blocked. There were new works that had started in the previous week. We had to climb a muddy bank to get round, and diverge from the marked route. A series of footpaths took us back into Droitwich, and we were back at our starting point. We went to the Orchard Grove Cafe at David's Garden Centre for lunch. Our thanks to Penny for leading the walk. Walk- Saturday 11th February - Malvern. There was sleet and snow, so nobody went to this walk. Walk - Saturday 11th March - Alcester. After the disappointment of the February walk, when the snow resulted in no walk, this time the day was cloudy, but warm. When we arrived, the car park already had about thirty walkers getting ready! However, it soon transpired that there was another walking group, but we had fifteen walkers. One of the other group, hearing that we were a National Trust group, decided to join us, paid his money, but then re-joined his original group! The ground was dry, with only one bridleway muddy in places. The walk was about 4.5 miles, with only gentle hills and no stiles. We set off through Alcester, passing an old phone box which had been converted into a library. We walked along Primrose Lane, and there were a lot of primroses in the gardens, but none in the garden of Primrose Cottage! We were soon in open country, and could see Ragley Hall in the distance. In one field that we walked past, there were sheep with lambs, which seemed early in the season. We saw the church in Wixford, dedicated to Saint Milburga. There was a yew tree in the churchyard, with some branches supported by wooden posts, which may date from 1765. After the walk, we had a nice lunch at The Swan. Our thanks to Rosemarie Davies for leading the walk. Walk - Saturday 8th April - Tardebigge. Saturday morning, the day of another NWANT walk. But look, clear blue sky! We set off on our usual route to Tardebigge, but instead of turning off for the village hall, we continued the short distance to the Fayre & Square, New Tardebigge. We met up with the other walkers, and soon the 15 of us set off back along the main road, then past the village hall. Then we went past some fields of oil seed rape. Two weeks previously, the plants were about a foot high, and only green. Now they were 3-4 feet high, with bright yellow flowers. There were wonderful views over towards Bromsgrove, although it was hazy in the distance. Our walk had been generally downhill, and we reached the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. Here we stopped for a drink. There were many other walkers, joggers and cyclists enjoying the lovely spring day. There are 30 locks on this stretch of canal, known as the Tardebigge Flight, and we walked past 17 of them. We turned off the towpath, and climbed the only stile of the day to cross a field to Tardebigge Churchyard. This was the only steep part of the walk, but gave great views of the marina and surrounding countryside. After the walk, 14 of us had a pleasant lunch at the Fayre & Square. Our thanks go to Penny Owens for organising and leading the walk. Walk - Saturday13th May- Ombersley. It was a grey day when 10 walkers met in the car park of The Crown and Sandys in Ombersley for our May walk. Lunch menus were handed round, and we all ordered our lunches before setting off. We walked along the Wychavon Way, past the Black Pool fish ponds, then arrived at the River Severn. We walked north along the river, passing under the bridge at Holt Fleet. A barge was just leaving the Holt Fleet Lock as we passed, and we stopped for a drink just beyond the lock. Two further boats entered the lock as we watched. As we walked through a camp site, we saw a pair of geese with several goslings walking in a straight line towards the water. There were a number of tents and caravans setup at the site. We turned back inland, and had a steep climb away from the river. From Pipstyle, we had wonderful views across the countryside. We could see the Malvern Hills in the distance, and Worcester Cathedral. We could see that it was raining in Worcester; we only had the odd spot during our entire walk. Soon we were back in Ombersley, and had a lovely lunch at The Crown and Sandys. Our thanks go to Frank Davies for leading the walk. Walk- Saturday 17th June 2017 - Fleece Inn, Bretforton. We met at the Fleece Inn in Bretforton with the temperature already in the low 20's and not a cloud in the sky. After ordering lunch, 8 walkers set off, passing a lovely thatched cottage with a model of two fighting (?) hares on the roof. The walk was featured in a 20 year old book of Pub Walks, which mentioned a problem with a path being blocked by wire. On a trial walk a few days earlier, it was found that the route is still blocked! So another route was discovered. When taking the path that had been open, we found a rope across it, but decided to duck under it and continued OK. There was a man from Worcestershire County Council doing a traffic survey of pedestrians and horse riders on this quiet path, and he had also been there on the day of the trial walk. He had seen over 80 pedestrians that earlier day, which seemed surprisingly high. Much of the walk was in the sun, so we were glad of some shelter when we stopped for a refreshing drink. When we got back to the Fleece Inn, a group of Morris Dancers were performing, so we watched them for a while before having lunch. Our thanks go to Penny Owens for leading the walk. Walk - Saturday 15th July 2017 - Himbleton. The day started with some light rain, but by the time we met up at The Galton Arms in Himbleton, it had stopped, and it stayed dry for the rest of the day. Twelve walkers set off for a walk towards Grafton Flyford. There was also a group from the Worcester Ramblers, who were doing an eleven mile walk. They set off in a different direction, but we met up again a short distance into our walk, then we diverged again. Despite the recent rain, the ground was firm, and no mud was encountered. Part of our route was along the Wychavon Way, before turning off into Grafton Wood. Three horses in one field came over to say hello, but as there was an electric fence between us, they could not get too close. On Huddington Hill, there is a wonderful old Elizabethan (?) house, Hill Court, which has views over Bredon Hill and the Malvern Hills. At the end of the walk, we settled into our reserved area in The Galton Arms for lunch. We were joined by Gloria and Steve Harper, and Roger Collins, and we all enjoyed an excellent meal. Our thanks go to Peter Field for organising and leading the walk. Walk - Saturday 12th August 2017 - Alvechurch. Although the weather forecast was for a fine day, it started to rain when we were in the car park in Alvechurch getting ready to go. However, it was only a short shower, and it was dry thereafter, with the clouds clearing, and we had a nice sunny day. The ground was dry, with only one bridleway muddy in places. The walk was about 4.5 miles, but with some steep hills and several stiles, some of which were in rather poor condition. There were eleven walkers and we set off, walking through Alvechurch and under the A441, and then we were in open country. We headed towards Rowney Green, and passed a farm where two horses were walking round and round in a horse exercise "roundabout". Later we passed a paddock containing a number of Llamas, which were all white except for one, which was black. After the walk, we had a nice lunch at the Red Lion, where we were joined by three other NWANT members. Our thanks to David Georgeson for leading the walk. Walk - Saturday 14th October - Baddersley Clinton. Thirteen walkers met in the car park of the Navigation Inn, Lapworth, on a fine autumnal day.