Hagley to Barnt Green via the Clent Hills Walk

Hagley to Barnt Green : 11.5 miles ( 18.5 km) with 1800 ft (550 meters) of ascent

Hagley Circular : 7.4 miles ( 11.9 km) with 1000 ft (300 meters) of ascent

Visiting Wychbury Hill near the start adds 1.5 miles / 300 feet to either option

This walk follows the North Worcestershire Way along the ridge of the Clent and Lickey Hills (or North Worcestershire Hills) about 10 miles south west of Birmingham. It passes Hagley Hall Park (no public access) to enter the Clent Hills (National Trust), and climbs to the 4 stones (a folly) and on to the summits of Clent Hill (309m) and Walton Hill (315m) - both a little over 1,000 feet high.

From the 4 Stones, optionally contour around the north side of the Clent Hill ridge along a well maintained path to a NT Cafe (bacon butties, nice view, toilets).

The shorter circular walk returns to Hagley via a lower route which passes Dark Pool and some good pubs (The Vine Inn in Clent, and The French Hen, The Fountin Hill and Hill Tavern in Adam's Hill). Hagley has a station pub to wait for your train.

The longer walk stays up high, and follows the "Clent-Lickey" ridge via Calcot Hill, Romsley Hill, the Waseley Hills and the Lickey Hills (298m) to Barnt Green station. Cross the tracks to the High Street for a pub.

Near the start of both walks there is a short out and back extension to visit Wychbury Hill.

By Train: Hagley and Barnt Green train stations are on different lines - they converge at Droitwich Spa - your best rail ticket will depend upon where you're coming from.

By car: The Clent Hills are just off the M5 on Birmingham's Ring Road (junction's 3 or 4) - the circular walk would make a great break for a long journey - you could do a shorter version and park near the summit, or at the NT visitor centre car park (Near B62 0NL

For the linear walk, car drivers can catch the hourly bus #318 from Upper Catshill back to Hagley (west of the summit of Beacon Hill in the Lickey Hills Country Park), as the train connections don't seem to link up very well.

• Clent Hills
• Wychbury Hill

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Feb-17 Andrew