Offchurch East
Circular Walk 27 (7.6 Miles)
Walk Overview
Within a short driving distance of Leamington Spa, this circular walk starts at The Stag in the lovely village of Offchurch, Warwickshire. Please park in the overflow carpark. For part of the walk, you will enjoy the delights of The Millennium Way reaching Hunningham before your return to Offchurch. You can of course start the walk in Hunningham from The Red Lion if you prefer - both pubs are a delight and offer a varied menu. HS2 works may be encountered in sections B and E so please follow any diversions.
Note: January 2024 - We have slightly modified this walk from the previous version, owing to two closed bridges over the River Leam along the route. Once the bridges have been repaired we will re-instate the original route.
Walk Details
- Start: The Stag at Offchurch CV33 9AQ
- Start Grid Ref: SP360 658
- Parking: Pub overflow or roadside
- Refreshments:
- The Stag 01926 425801
- Hilltop Farm, Hunningham 01926 632978
- Maps: OS Explorer 221 or Landranger 151
- Distance: 7.6 miles
- Time: 3½ hours
- Stiles: 6
- 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 2024
Walk Instructions
Section A
With your back to the pub, go left on road out of the car park for 30 paces to turn left again up School Hill signposted Leamington. Continue past Offchurch Village Hall to the T-junction where we turn left (on the right is the parish church of St. Gregory which may be of interest to visit - see below).
Having turned left at the T-junction, go along road past Village Farm on your right to another T-junction. Go directly across road to take footpath opposite, through gate, then stay ahead to then enter scrub and cross a bridge over a disused railway line.
Parish Church of St. Gregory
Emerging from the bridge walk slightly right aiming for the hedge corner 250 yards ahead. On reaching hedge corner go left around field keeping hedge a few yards to left then, just before double metal gate, take waymarked gap through hedge. Continue ahead keeping hedge right to exit field through corner hedge gap. Keep ahead with wire fence to your right passing dwellings and then continue straight ahead across the field to reach main Fosse Way (alternatively take surfaced driveway to right).
Section B
Cross over the road and take stile opposite, next to a telegraph pole and continue directly ahead keeping hedge left to reach a gap in the far left corner of field. Go ahead through gap then past house right, emerging onto surfaced lane ( with speed bump ) which you cross to find grassy track where you immediately turn left. Keeping hedge left and trees right follow the track round, eventually bending to the right, passing in front of metal gate in the corner and exit the field 200 yards further on, through the gap in the hedge, to reach the road. Turn right on road continuing gently downhill along the wide grass verge for just over half a mile to find a wide unnamed track left known as Ridgeway Lane.
High Bridge
Section C
Turn left along this tree lined track for about 3/4 mile to pass through metal gate to reach a road. Cross road and go through gate. You are now on The Millennium Way and will see the distinctive black waymarker on the post. Continue ahead up field to exit through metal gate to go on track and lane to main road. Cross road and continue along tree lined lane passing Snowford House left, then ahead on vehicle track (which is occasionally very muddy and rutted) eventually to cross unique and interesting high bridge over disused railway line and then onto tarmac drive leading to main road at Hunningham Hill.
Section D
This road ( The Fosse Way ) is busy with no pavement so we suggest a minor diversion here, away from the Millennium Way. Cross to other side of the Fosse Way to reach wide grassy verge and walk left for 100 yds to find driveway to Hilltop Farm. ( An ideal stop for tea & cakes with a good Farm Shop.)
Go down track which swings left then right to reach Hilltop Farm Shop & Café. Go past entrance to Farm Shop then through a wooden gate with play area on left & goat enclosure on right. At the end of the goat enclosure turn right and walk along field edge keeping wire/wooden fence on right. Stay around perimeter of the field to reach a wide gap visible on the other side. Take gap and walk downhill passing a red topped gas post half way down, before reaching a road. Turn right on road and after approx. 100 yds turn left on lane passing a house called “Sunrise “ on the corner.
Continue down this narrow road following the telegraph poles and passing houses on left to reach an attractive thatched cottage (The Old Bakehouse) at the end. Go left here and just in front of the church entrance gate go right to pass through wooden kissing gate. Follow ahead with wooden fence left to pass church, and at the fence corner go half left across field to reach a waypost & kissing gate adjacent to wide gap.
Section E
Turn left and walk through the meadow with the river to your right. At the end of the meadow take the kissing gate ahead and continue with hedge left towards a gap with exposed culvert. After the gap head up the hill towards the top corner of the field and through another kissing gate. Continue along field edge with trees and river right, and find another kissing gate just after the path goes round to the right. Go through this gate and turn left, walking with fence left until the path veers right towards the bridge over the River Leam. Continue past the bridge and bear left to exit the field by wide gated gap and continue along rough track keeping trees right.
Pass a small brick structure next to two trees and stay forward to a junction of four paths by farm buildings. Once at the junction, ignore first path coming in from the left by a metal barn and instead take the second path ( a bridleway ) to walk between barns. Stay up track and you will shortly see Fields Farm coming into view on right. Eventually the track veers right and then left in front of the two farm entrances to eventually reach a road, with a bungalow opposite called Ashlawns. Turn right on road and continue for 3/4 mile towards Offchurch crossing a traffic light controlled HS2 crossing, to reach a junction with Welsh Road. At the junction with Welsh road turn right to arrive back at The Stag Pub.
The StagOffchurch
Points of Interest - What to know and what to see...
by Andy Botherway
View From the Bridge
Offchurch
Offchurch is a small village on the River Leam, 3 miles east of Leamington Spa. It may have been home to Offa, who was the King of Mercia from 757 to 796. A church was built in the village, hence the name Offchurch (Offa's Church) but the original has long since gone and the current church has been rebuilt on the supposed site of Offa's church. It is thought that King Offa's son was killed nearby and the original church was built to commemorate his son's death.
After leaving the village we cross the trackbed of the old Leamington-Rugby line, built in 1851 and closed in the mid-1960’s. The Fosse Way, the roman road from Exeter to Lincoln, via Bath and Leicester is next crossed.
The next short road section is the Welsh (Salt) Road, dating from at least the Roman occupation, which links Droitwich to Northampton and was used to carry salt for meat preservation and general trading.
Hunningham
The name Hunningham comes from ancient times meaning 'Homestead / village of Huna's people' or 'hemmed-in land of Huna's people'.
The church of St Margaret with its picturesque timber bell cote dates from 13th Century. There was already a church at Wappenbury but parishioners on the Hunningham side of the river were often prevented from attending services due to flooding so Sir Geoffrey Corbucion, who died in 1242, built St Margaret’s.
To the north of the church are the holloways of an abandoned part of the village.The village population shrank in the mid-1800’s due to closure of the local lunatic asylum.
There is a nature reserve close to the village, managed as a hay meadow, called Hunningham Meadow.
Church of St. Margaret
Hidden Manor House
The return route from Hunningham follows the River Leam for a short distance before returning to Offchurch. The Offchurch Estate was purchased in 1936 by Harry Johnson, a textile manufacturer from Coventry and Macclesfield, whose descendants today retain much of the estate and live at Offchurch Bury in the manor house, originally a 16th and 19th Century building but reduced in size by 75% in 1954. The house is not open to the public.