Circular Walk from Long Itchington, Millenium Way

Start: The Duck on the Pond Long Itchington CV47 9QJ. Grid Ref: SP416 653

(S/E) Emerging from the Duck pub car park go directly across the road into Leamington Road, keeping the large duck pond to your right, then turning left to walk down Church Road. You will pass The Harvester Inn, the Coop Foodstore and then Holy Trinity Church on your left to turn left into Bascote Road. Here you have joined The Millennium Way.

(1) Cross bridge over the river and at the end of the wooden fencing ignore the stile right and go a further 30 paces to take kissing right gate into the field following our black and white waymarker. Go with the fence right to find a kissing gate right.

Take the kissing gate / bridge / kissing gate and ahead with the ditch / fence left, ignore the kissing gate left and continue ahead up the field with the river now on your right to take the far mid fence kissing gate by the river bridge, to a small road.

(2) Go right to cross the road bridge and pass the 30mph signs following the road round to arrive at T-junction, then go left on Short Lane and at the end of the first house garden take passageway left. At the end of the passageway take the kissing gate and go half left across the field to find the gate/gap by the pumping station.

(3) Take the gate/gap going ahead with the White Hall Farm buildings to your right then through the kissing gate to exit ahead by a gap into the field. Keep ahead keeping hedge right and stock fence left to reach the field corner, then turn left keeping the hedge and ditch right to eventually find and take the footbridge on your right.

Keep the stream on your left and after some 130 paces carefully look for a sometimes difficult to see waymark into the woods.

(4) Follow the path through woods with the river left to cross a tubular bridge. After crossing the bridge turn left and after 20 paces go past remnants of the metal gate to cross over a narrow disused railway line then take the metal gate ahead to the field.

Go left round field for 60 paces to come to the field corner. Stop. Go diagonally 3/4 right, initially parallel to the power lines, across the field and then under power lines, to find a mid hedge gap by a telegraph pole with a small white footpath sign.

Take gap and go straight across next field towards the distant white house to take mid hedge stile. Continue ahead over the next field maintaining a line to exit by telegraph pole to Stonebridge Lane.

(5) Go right for some distance then as you start to rise, some 200 paces before the brow of hill, go left through the gate along a track known as Ridgeway Lane (Here we have left The Millennium Way which goes right).

Continue straight ahead towards the wood on a well marked track for approx 3/4 mile (with one gate along the track to pass through) to eventually reach a road.

(6) Cross the road then continue along the track, turning left onto canal towpath just before the bridge. HS2 works are alongside at this point. You are now walking along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal. Continue along the towpath passing Bascote Locks until you reach Bridge 25. Do not pass under bridge, unless you want to stop off at The Two Boats pub a few yards on, but look out for the small brick-built cubicle next to the towpath (here we rejoin the Millennium Way).

(7) Go behind the cubicle to take a kissing gate leading into a paddock. Cross the paddock and take two further kissing gates on either side of a farm track. Go ahead over the field to take a wooden footbridge then continue on to exit by kissing gate and ahead on grass track between trees towards a modern white house with a distinctive rear projection.

Take the kissing gate and turn left to follow Thorn Way which arrives into an open area known as The Square.

(8) Exit square by going right passing the quaint Harvester Inn on the right to reach the crossroads. Go right and very shortly you will come back to the main road with Duck on the Pond pub opposite. (S/E)