Places Stories

Bob's third walk took him to an area known as the Lenches near Evesham. The route was suggested by Kate Rowles who lives in Atch Lench, one of several villages in the area bearing the Lench name.

Kate's a big fan of the area. She used to visit it as a child when she lived at nearby Stratford-upon-Avon. Now she and her one year old boxer, William, walk around this pretty area on most days.

It's an area that sees thousands of visitors in the Spring.  They come to see the so-called Blossom Trail, when all the fruit trees in the orchards come into flower. But as far as Kate is concerned, it's a great walk to do in the winter. You can see further as there are no leaves on the trees.

The Route

Kate's favourite route starts out in the village of Church Lench and lasts five miles. A footpath out of the village takes you across a field which affords stunning views right out over Worcestershire towards the Malverns.  On a clear day you can even see the Black Mountains.

The path out of the field joins the Wychavon Way for a while through Ferndown Wood. Once out of the woods, there's a chance to see some intriguing architecture. There's a red brick tower belonging to Rous Lench Church. You can't go right up to it as it's privately owned, but it's quite an imposing sight through the trees. Continuing along the road and down the hill for a short while brings you into the village of Rous Lench.

There's a pretty Victorian red brick post box with an arch on your left. A lot of the villages around here are known for their decorative postboxes. On your right is the impressive Rous Lench church and a path through the churchyard takes you through a beautiful canopy of yew trees into a field. Follow the footpath with magnificent Rous Lench Court serving as a great backdrop.

The field quickly climbs up a short but steep bank. Look back and you'll get some more of those terrific views over the Worcestershire countryside.

At the top of the steep bank go over the stile & follow the footpath across an arable crop. Continue to a stile in the corner of the field. Cross this & follow the path to the corner of the next field. Cross another stile & continue on this path until you reach a junction with a bridleway, turn left and then almost immediately right to follow the bridleway, through a field, keeping a fence on your left & continue down to an old gate. Continue following the bridleway the complete length of this large field to the corner & another old gate. Pass through & turn right uphill keeping woodland on your right, past the electricity sub-station (on your left), along the top edge of a field and enter the wood. Continue through and when you reach the end turn right onto a track. This track eventually becomes a lane and when you reach the end turn right to retun to Church Lench.

It's easy to see why Kate and William never get sick of walking here, it's got it all; Beautiful buildings, sweeping vistas and a really tranquil atmosphere.