Warwickshire's scenic winter walk perfect for families
If you enjoy the outdoors, there are various places within Warwickshire where you can enjoy a winter walk with family and friends. You can explore the vast woodlands and long paths while embarking through historic landmarks on the way and get some fresh air among the dull days.
Warwickshire offers pretty views, and one winter walk worth trying is the Farnborough Parkland Walk. The route starts at the Grade I-listed parkland of Farnborough Hall and has views of churches with tall steeples and a mile-long terrace among the route.
According to the National Trust, the route is not dog-friendly and takes 3 to 4 hours to complete. The walk is 5.5km (8 miles for the full trail) and is described as easy. It has steps, woodland tracks, and several stiles to climb.
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Farnborough Hall is located in the heart of rural Warwickshire, surrounded by lakes and landscaped gardens. The country house is made from locally quarried Horton honey-coloured stone, which is said to shine in the sunlight. The Holbech family still lives in the home, and the interiors include sentimental family items and photographs.
The main centrepiece of the parkland is a terrace walk, which has 26 viewing points, two of which are made of stone to give the impression of a medieval fortification when viewed from below.
Along the route, there's Avon Dassett Church and a viewpoint towards Fenny Compton and Farnborough village.
The full Farnborough Parkland Walk, starting at Farnborough Hall
From the car park at Farnborough Hall, turn right out of the car park towards Sourlands Pool, then turn sharp left over the bridge and past the lower weir. Walk along the side of the pool until you reach the end, then turn left next to the second weir. Walk down the steps and follow the woodland track through the narrow belt of trees to the road.
Turn right and walk along the road for 437yd (400m) until you reach the public footpath sign on the right and an overgrown stile. Walk diagonally to the left across the arable land to reach the top of the hill, heading for a hidden stile, which is located past the trees halfway along the fence line.
Continue straight on across the arable land to reach the next stile and the gorse field beyond. Keeping tight to the upper tree line, walk straight on until you reach the next stile in the corner of the field. Looking right, follow the obvious path to an obsolete stile before reaching a metal gate. Follow the pathway through the long grass and towards the back of a metal shed; turn left and then right to walk alongside the shed and then left again to walk down the track, reaching the road through the village of Avon.
Turn right at the road and head up the hill in the village towards the church, taking care to keep to the footpath. Walk up to the church and take the small public footpath on the right, directly after the graveyard. Carry uphill until you reach the hidden pathway's end and the small back road. Turn right and climb the stile over the gate into the field.
Turn left in the field and walk along the fence line to a hidden gateway in the far left corner. Walk straight on along the track and through the next gate into the pasture. Continue straight on, passing a small overgrown quarry on the left, to the next stile to the right of the house at the boundary hedge. Cross the road with care and join the permissive footpath across the next arable field and through the obvious gap in the hedgerow, then walk uphill diagonally to the left through the field until you reach the hedgerow. Turn right along the field boundary, walking uphill to reach a viewpoint looking down towards Fenny Compton on the left and Priors Marston to the right in the distance.
Carry on down the hill, crossing two arable fields, and turn sharp right at the boundary next to a small bridge. Turn right and walk back diagonally across the second field, reaching a small bridge next to a large oak tree halfway along the field set in the hedge row marked with a public footpath sign. Turn left, walking diagonally until you reach the far right corner of the field. Go through the gap in the hedgerow and walk up the field until you reach the grass field hedgerow. Turn left, walk along the boundary to the corner of the field,and cross over the bridge into the field.
Leave the bridge and walk straight towards the waterhole's rear side. Turn left and follow the boundary hedge, passing by the obvious dry bridge and towards the stile in the right corner of the field with Windmill Hill ahead. Continue to the brow of the hill, passing gorse on the right and a small plantation of trees on the left. Farnborough village will appear as you reach the top of the hill. Walk down the hill and through the metal gate, passing to the right of the waterhole, before reaching another stile at the bottom of the field. Follow the small hidden pathway to the village.
Turn right in the village and make your way past the village pub and along the quiet road out of the village, keeping to the right. Pass Farnborough Hall on the left and then, with care, follow a narrow road around to the right with high walls on both sides before arriving back at Sourlands Pool and the car park.
For more information about the walking route, visit the National Trust website.
