Start: Our walk starts from the car park of The Boot Inn, Lapworth B94 6JU. Grid Ref: SP181 712
(D/A/) Exit to the rear of The Boot Inn car park via the track which leads to the canal towpath. Go over Bridge 33, then turn left along the towpath keeping canal on the left. Continue gently uphill past a flight of locks to reach a small cottage.
(1) Go left over Bridge 32 and stay on the towpath, now with canal right.
(2) When you reach Bridge 30, cross the bridge to reach the towpath on the other side and stay with the canal left again passing several canal side dwellings. Stay ahead under Bridge 29 until you reach Drawbridge 28. Here you are joining The Millennium Way.
(3) Turn left over the drawbridge, go through the gate and down the track into Drawbridge Farm. Pass in front of farm buildings to take the kissing gate just to the left of the right hand gate. Go with the fence and hedge left to take the far corner gate to the next field then continue downhill to take the far left corner gate.
Go ahead through a narrow field to find and take another corner gate, past dew pond and continue with the hedge left to take the gated bridge over the stream into the field. Go up the field towards the tower of St. Mary's Church, Lapworth. Exit the field by a stile adjacent to a metal gate and go ahead towards the church taking the stile to the road.
(4) Turn right on the road and, after 120 paces (just before Green Acres), go left down a block paved drive, passing Rose Cottage, then through the gate on the left to follow the block paved driveway past greenhouses to the end, to find ground staff buildings with gated courtyard.
Turn left here onto the gravelled drive and go ahead 70 paces with the hedge right then take a hedge gap right (with two wayposts) to continue the same line down towards the motorway, now with hedge left and fence right. Take stile to track and continue over the M40 motorway bridge.
(5) After crossing the bridge, take a stile immediately left and go down steep steps keeping to the line of fence at the bottom of steps (do not veer right to the footbridge). At the end of the fencing take a bridge or gap to the field staying ahead across the centre of the field to pass through a gate in gate then under power lines to further gate within a gate to exit. Head across the narrow part of the field and take the kissing gate through the scrub into another field. Stay ahead with hedge left to exit by far left corner kissing gate to rough vehicle way.
(6) Go right on the vehicle way down to the lane. Cross the lane to take a bridge and stile, turning immediately left through the kissing gate to the field. Go across the field to the far corner kissing gate. Take a gate and bridge to go through short scrub into the field then go left with the hedge left.
After the large gap left, go 30 paces to take the stile on the left and go slightly left keeping hedge left to take hidden corner stile to the road (alternatively avoid tricky stile by going diagonally right to gate in gate further along road).
(7) Go right on the road for 500 yards (lovely blackberries in season) to reach staggered crossroads. Go directly over, past the post box and continue along Ireland's Lane. After approximately 3/4 mile go left down a farm track towards Ireland's Farm. Here we leave The Millennium Way, so ignore the footpath immediately on your right and continue down the track passing under power lines.
(8) Just before the entrance to the farmhouse go left down a wide grassy track. At the end of the track take a metal gate and cross a short section of field to take a further metal gate and stile across the stream. Proceed ahead up the field keeping the wire fence right to take stile adjacent to wide metal gate to a farm track.
Turn right for 10 paces then go left through the gate signed "Heart of England Way". Go initially with the hedge/trees right following the line of the hidden dismantled railway. The path then swings left towards a double metal gate. Here we leave the Heart of England Way to take the gate and continue forward to walk uphill on the bridleway with trees left. Where the track levels off you will find a commemorative bench on which to take a well earned breather and enjoy the spectacular view.
(9) Continue along the track past a pine wood right to take the wooden gate and a narrow fenced track behind dwelling. Stay on the access lane to reach the road. Turn right on the road to reach T-junction then turn left in the direction of Lapworth.
(10) Continue past High Chimneys Farm and just before you reach the overhead power cables turn right and go through the kissing gate. Go ahead past buildings with wire fence left and after 170 yards, just as the track starts to swing left, look out for concealed kissing gate in the hedge on your right.
Take the kissing gate and wooden plank bridge into the field and go left with the hedge left towards the motorway. At the field corner take the kissing gate into the next field and go left for a few paces to then turn right by the way post (effectively this is straight on) proceeding across the field towards the motorway.
(11) On reaching a way post at the far side, go left along the field edge keeping the wire fence and wood right, to find another waypost and slightly concealed path right which will take you onto the canal towpath via a metal gate.
Cross Bridge 39b directly ahead of you, then go left on the towpath to walk underneath the motorway. As we leave the motorway behind us we are soon back into a delightfully tranquil section of the Stratford Canal. Shortly we pass a wooden bench in memory of Doug Smith, the creator of Lockmaster Maps. There is another bench a bit further on in memory of Thomas and Irene Patrick. At Bridge 39 there is an information board which is worth a look.
(12) Stay on the towpath with the canal left and on reaching Bridge 37a cross over to the opposite towpath and then stay with canal right. Shortly we pass Kingswood Junction where there is a link between the Grand Union Canal and the Stratford Canal.
Proceed past the marina and under Bridge 35. On reaching Bridge 33, we leave the towpath to turn left back into the car park of The Boot Inn. (S/E)
