Kenilworth
Circular Walk 24 (6.5 Miles)
Walk Overview
This circular walk starts right by the historic Kenilworth Castle and continues across mostly flat farmland & open countryside, with many attractive views. Even in winter it is not too muddy. You will encouter some gorgeous Alpacas before halfway! Our Meer End circular also passes the castle around halfway, so that is for another day!
For the return part of the walk, you will enjoy the delights of The Millennium Way where you will be guided by our distinctive black and white waymarkers. There is also a bit of duplication with the Centenary way.
Walk Details
- Start: Queen & Castle, Kenilworth CV8 1ND
- Start Grid Ref: SP279 723
- Parking: Opposite or pay at the pub or roadside
- Refreshments:
- Queen & Castle (01926 852661)
- Time for Tea, Castle Hill, (01926 852017)
- Maps: OS Explorer 221 or OS Landranger 140& 151
- Distance: 6½ miles
- Time: 3 hours
- Stiles: none - so dog friendly!
- Download: Walk GPS (GPS Exchange Format, GPX)
- GPS and GPX explained
- Find a mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play
Updated January 2025
Walk Instructions
Section A
From the lower end of the free car park take the wooden kissing gate and walk around the perimeter path of the castle, climb a few steps to reach the castle entrance approach, then go left to pass the ticket office. Go over the bridge then at the service road go right onto the Millennium Way to pass the car park on your left. Stay on service road, ignoring first footpath lower right, and after 50 paces you will reach a solitary waypost and see the first distinctive black and white waymarker. Here turn left and go up the track through short stretch of woodland to reach a wide gap with adjacent gate right. Take gap and immediately go half right to take a gate leading onto grassy passage signposted Rouncil Lane 1¼ miles. After 150 yards you reach a solitary waypost on right. Here we leave The Millennium Way for the time being to continue straight ahead keeping hedge right. Continue along to pass to the side of large metal gate and stay with hedge right. Shortly, the path divides but keep to right hand path and stay with hedge right, eventually to go through gap in corner of field and ahead keeping hedge left. Just before end of field go through metal gate left and continue with hedge left. On reaching hedge corner stay ahead across centre of field to take wide gap in distance. Stay slightly right across field towards white house, partially obscured by trees, to find and take kissing gate to farm track. Turn right and continue under power lines to reach main road.
Castle Kenilworth
Section B
Stay ahead to pass Brook Cottages on left and where road bends sharp left go ahead to take footpath right through metal kissing gate into field staying ahead with fence left. The track continues between fences ( passing an Alpaca enclosure ) eventually to bear left to corner kissing gate. Take kissing gate and bear slightly right through scrub to take wooden footbridge over brook, then through kissing gate to turn left. Keep hedge & brook left. Take next bridge left over brook and then ahead through metal gate and up next field. Take the next gate ahead then turn immediately right along bridleway keeping hedge right. Continue through gated hedge gap eventually to reach field corner. Take metal gate right, under power lines, then follow blue bridleway marker into right hand field to go left and continue on cinder track with hedge left to end of field.. At the end of the field, by large metal gate, turn right along field bridleway (do not continue on cinder path to Deer Park Farm) but continue with hedge and fence right. Go through corner metal gate and ahead with hedge and fence right to reach field corner gate.
Section C
Take the gate and go immediately left to continue gently up farm track between trees ahead. Stay ahead on surfaced track, past Deer Park Farm entrance left and when you reach the corner of wood ahead go left through metal gate and continue down wide bridleway keeping hedge left. Eventually pass through large metal gate on left and continue on same line now with hedge right to go through metal gate and pass under power lines. Go through another metal gate and stay ahead to pass left of farm buildings and take metal gate on right, following bridleway sign. After a few steps go left and stay along surfaced track leaving Goodrest Farm behind you. After 200 yards you will pass a waypost & gate on your right at which point the Millennium Way rejoins our circuit. Do not take this gate, just stay ahead on surfaced track to reach the junction with Rouncil Lane.
Delightful views
Section D
Go right on lane for 50 paces and take metal gate left. Go with hedge right and wooden fence left to follow field edge cinder track and exit by corner gap. Stay ahead with hedge right to exit via metal gate then ahead with hedge right to end of field. Take metal gate then ahead to pass Oaks Farm to find corner concrete bridge. Cross bridge to find metal gate ahead. Take gate, then ahead, across field, to take second metal gate. Stay ahead with fence right (ignore kissing gate right to playing fields) to take metal gate then ahead with hedge right to eventually pass dew pond reaching a solitary waypost just ahead - you have now joined your outward route. Go right here along wide grassy corridor between hedge left and fence right to exit by gate to driveway. Go left down drive taking gap next to metal gate descending gently down woodland drive to junction then go right to pass car park. Go left towards castle entrance, retracing your steps on the outward route, past ticket office, descend steps on right just in front of castle entrance and continue around perimeter footpath to arrive back at a wooden kissing gate leading to the car park with the Queen & Castle pub opposite. The Time for Tea tearooms are just up on the left.
Points of Interest - What to know and what to see...
by Andy Botherway
Castle & Millennium Way
Kenilworth Castle
The architecture of the castle spans the Norman to Tudor periods and, in spite of its ruination, it’s a magnificent sight especially in the evening when the setting sun highlights the red sandstone. In medieval times it was a royal palace, much more important than Warwick Castle.
Queen Elizabeth I visited Kenilworth in 1575 as a guest of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. She stayed for 19 days, the longest stay she ever made to one of her subjects, but then Dudley was VERY keen to marry her and spent the equivalent of £4.5 million on entertaining her with pageants, fireworks, bear baiting, mystery plays, hunting and lavish banquets. One story claims that during her stay she married Dudley in a ‘wicca’ (pagan) ceremony, but nobody really knows the truth.
The castle was given to ‘The People of Kenilworth’ in 1958 by the then owner, the son of Baron Kenilworth (Sir John Siddeley of Armstrong-Siddeley automobile fame), and is now managed by English Heritage. If you are a Kenilworth resident, you have free entry to the castle!
From the castle, our walk takes you through delightful countryside. Deer Park Farm is named after the royal deer park which once surrounded the castle (notice on your Ordnance Survey maps the reference to Park Pale, the boundary of the park on Rouncil Lane.
The earthworks of the Pleasaunce
If time permits, having completed the Millennium Way circular, it is worth walking a further 1.5 miles around the castle on the "Millennium Trail" - details from the castle.
You will see stunning views of the castle and pass the Pleasaunce earthworks for King Henry V’s pleasure house.
