(S) From The Wharf pub turn right up through the carpark to the main A3400 in Hockley Heath. Go left on the main Stratford Road. At Miller & Carter go right into Aylesbury Road. Continue for well over half a mile to the road junction.
(1) Do not swing left but go straight ahead onto Vicarage Road and continue to the junction of road going right onto Glasshouse Lane. As the road bends right take the driveway left to St Giles Church. Packwood. At the car park take the kissing gate into church ground and take the path round to the front door of the church.
With your back to the front door of church go slightly left through trees on pathway to find a kissing gate into the field. Go 1/2 left down the field to the hedge and then left through 2 gaps, under power lines. Go ahead over the centre of the field to exit the field by kissing the gate to the road.
(2) Go right on the road (ignore Grove Lane) and come to the National Trust Packwood House, with its tearoom, garden centre, sundial and famous Yew trees. Turn left to find the easily visible steps up to Iron Gate leading to avenue of trees. Go onto the long avenue through 2 gates and, at the end, take the kissing gate to the road.
Go right on the road, passing open fields on your left. Just before the house on your left take the kissing gate to a waymarked footpath. Go with the hedge right to reach the kissing gate to the driveway go right 10 paces and take a kissing gate left to the public footpath leading round garden and house to come to kissing gate and further passageway to house driveway. Up driveway to the road.
(3) Go left then over a railway bridge (passing Station Lane right) and just after the road sign take the footpath left and a short passage and a kissing gate into the field. Go with the hedge right in the same direction, through the scrub, over at least 4 stiles and 2 gates to a stile and kissing gate leading into a field.
Continue now with the hedge left and go through the kissing gate to the right of a gate. Go through the paddock and exit by the field corner gate to the driveway. Go right on the driveway, ignore the branch road left, continue to the main road and go right for 50 paces.
(4) Before the house with a beautiful Yew Tree hedge go right through the swing gate to the driveway to the canal bridge. Over the bridge and go left on the towpath with the canal left. Go under one bridge and 40 paces before the second bridge, at Black Boy Pub, take a gap right up to the pub car park.
Go down the pub driveway to the main A4100 road and go left. At the left hand bend, cross the road very carefully and take the gate to the right of Dial House entrance. Go down the pathway leading onto a farm track.
(5) Go ahead under power cables and after 300 paces turn left at a Byway post to follow a narrow often overgrown and muddy path up through coppice and then with hedges on both sides (there are little diversions to avoid any mud!). Eventually bear left along the path to the road.
Go right on the road towards Chadwick End. Go left at the junction and after 30 paces take the kissing gate left. Go with the hedge right to eventually come to a farm track.
(6) Walk under two sets of power lines and continue on the farm track towards the farm. Go right following the farm drive round bends to a lane. Turn right and after 100 paces take the path left. Go with the hedge left.
At the end of a large field go ahead through hedge, also on the Heart of England Way. Continue with the hedge on the right under power cables. Over a stile across the field to a kissing gate and continue across the field to a kissing gate/footbridge.
(7) Straight ahead up field to marker post. Continue ahead with the hedge left to the road. Turn left for 85 paces to find a green corrugated building on your left, immediately take a gap right with the kissing gate. Go with the hedge right to the field end and take a kissing gate to the right of a white house. Go left on the lane to the main road and the Saracens Head. Go left and then cross the road at the driveway of the last house and go over a stile.
(8) Go with the hedge left to take a stile and continue with the hedge left. Cross the stile to a field with a bridge over the stream in the middle and over a stile. Along the hedge on the right side of the field and through a gap in the hedge at end of the field (ignore stile on right). Continue along the hedge on the left and go over a stile into the small coppice, cross the footbridge and a stile into a field.
Along left hand hedge to the wood. Turn left through the kissing gate to start the waymarked diversion avoiding HS2, which is not shown on OS map 221 but is on our GPS route. Continue straight through 2 kissing gates and field edge to reach Wootton Lane.
(9) Turn right and after 50 paces take a stile left. Follow the field edge to top the corner, then turn right. Continue across a small bridge over the main railway line and across the field to reach A452 dual carriageway. Turn left for 230 yards and cross busy A452 at a sheltered pedestrian crossing. (This next little section is not on our GPS). Turn left onto the footpath of A452 going up to Aston Martin roundabout.
(10) After the roundabout look out for and take a footpath right. After one field go 1/2 left to pass Marsh Farm on your left ending diversion. Go through a kissing gate.
Go down, crossing the path of HS2, to cross the bridge over a stream. Then ahead across a small field through another double fenced gap to a stile. Go over the stile to go along the path with quarry workings and hedge / wire fence right.
(11) Then turn right at the junction onto surfaced track with a quarry again right. Take the track for about ½ mile, passing two sharp bends, across quarry access road and through gate adjacent to metal gate, to come to a gate-in-gate Millennium waymarked and signed footpath left.
Take the gate-in-gate left to follow fenced path. At road, turn right and after 50 paces turn left through a kissing gate along the path with a quarry workings on the left.
(12) Continue over the footbridge, the path turns right. Continue ahead and follow the pathway left into the rising fenced path. At the top go through the kissing gate on the right. Go diagonally left across the field and downhill to the metal gate. Cross the corner of the field to a metal gate and wooden bridge.
Go diagonally 1/2 right across the field, keeping to the right of right hand solitary sweet chestnut tree, to reach a large kissing gate. (Do not be tempted to go right following Millennium Way sign unless you want to miss out the figure of 8 thru Meriden). Go ahead along passage to reach driveway. Here turn left to join the road opposite the Bulls Head pub.
(13) Cross the main road and turn left to pass the Cyclists Memorial to reach the old "standing cross" on The Green at Meriden, where there is a convenience store, a fish and chip shop and a little cafe. (E)
This is the traditional centre of England and is also the centre of our long distance trail. You have done 50 miles - only 50 to go!
