© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. BBC licence number 100019855, 2004. Map not reproduced to scale.
Start Point: Bubbenhall Village, at the village hall, Malt Shovel pub or Three Horseshoes pub
Ordnance Survey: Explorer 221 (Coventry and Warwick) - map ref 36572
Distance: Approx 2 miles
Time: Approx 45 mins
Walk Conditions:
There are a number of stiles on the route. All are very solid and have a maximum step up of about 30cm. If you want to cycle, use a pushchair or wheelchair, try the alternative Ryton walk which has no stiles but covers the same fascinating area. Take a look at the map to decide which option is best for your needs. NB: Dogs should be kept on leads.
From the village hall, Bubbenhall, walk back up the road past the Malt Shovel
pub.
Notice the timber framed building on your right and Victorian cottages on your left. The difference in style and age of these buildings suggests how the village has developed over a long period of time.
Turn left up Spring Lane, walk to the Three Horseshoes.
This is where you start the walk if you have travelled by bus.
Cross the road into Pit Hill and walk up the lane to the main road (ignore
the two footpaths to your right). Cross over the main road (taking care)
and walk up the track that has the sign outside for Glebe Farm.
Look carefully and you'll see badger sets on the way up this track. Badgers prosper in this area because it is a habitat mosaic of farmland and woodland, offering shelter and a mixture of feeding opportunities. Some of the woodlands here do not have public access and so the badgers can live undisturbed.
Walk up to the quarry workings and follow the footpath signs over the conveyor
belt.
In the base of the gravel pits is red clay that is from
the Triassic period, about 220 million years old. Called the Mercia Mudstone,
it suggests Warwickshire may have been covered in dry salty barren dusk
all those years ago.
Note the derelict farm buildings on the left. Agriculture was the land
use before the quarry.
Walk
straight on alongside the conveyer belt with the wood to your right.
Notice the industry and airport in the distance to your left. Industry is likely to be here to exploit the rich resources under the soil, which could include coal and ironstone. In addition, it is likely that the airport was built here because the area is flat and open with few natural obstacles or hazards.
Go over the stile and follow the woodland path, taking care over some
of the trail which may be boggy.
Note the coppicing and clearing of the woodland as you go. This is being undertaken to reproduce the management that would have been used in the middle ages. Coppicing allows light to reach the woodland floor for a few years, encouraging plant growth.
Continue through the wood until you reach the small group of houses.
A rottweiler lives in an enclosed pen here, but stick to the path straight through the houses and he won't bother you.
Turn right up the gravel drive of the furthest right house and walk back
to the wood edge, taking a straight course from the bend in the drive.
Stay right on the path so the wood is immediately on
your right. Note the evidence of the quarry and landfill on your left. Also look out for birds at this point. Kestrels, sparrow hawks and buzzards hunt here as the open grasslands allow them to more clearly see mice and other prey. Even rarer birds such as red kites and goshawks have been seen over these fields.
Go past the dead tree
Notice the old oaks that line this side of the woodland. In Bubbenhall this is now the oldest type of woodland, since the older 'wild wood' was largely cleared from here before the Romans invaded. The present woodland is considered to be about 1000-2000 years old.
Keep following the path and follow the line of the conveyor
again.
To your left is where half a million year old fossils were excavated.
Once you reach the conveyor bridge where you started,
go straight back over and go back down the track to the main road.
Cross over into Pit Hill and descend into Bubbenhall.
There are optional extended routes to this walk, marked by the dotted paths on the map.
To get to Ryton Pools, instead of crossing over at the end of the track, continue down the main road for 500 yards.
Alternatively, as you walk down Pit Hill, there are two other footpaths on your left. The first goes through a sheep filed and continues to join the Coventry Way.
To follow this route, it's best to have a detailed map.
