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| Whilst there’s
precious little riverbank footpath down the Rea valley itself,
this route crosses the river four times and takes in some
varied and fascinating terrain. Start from the small town car
park which you get to via back streets too tortuous to
describe – suffice to say it’s behind the Talbot Hotel. |
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| Through a little
covered alley by the side of the pub, you emerge onto High
Street. Take the crossing and turn left. Turn right into Lion
Lane, opposite the church (allegedly famous for it’s crooked
spire but it’s not in the same league as Chesterfield).
After 100m, the lane bends to the left – take the next right
up the hill. |
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| The footpath
towards the Rea is on the right after 360m. Go through the
gate in the electric fence and head for a similar gate
opposite. You should see Mawley Hall on the hill in front of
you. Now you are on the crest of a steep bank and following a
line of ancient oaks. |
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| A sturdy footbridge takes you
across the Rea and into the woods. Turn right, take the first
fork to the left and follow the winding path up the bank. You
will come to a walled garden that you have to circumnavigate
(clockwise). At the top of the hill you meet a drive towards
the big house on the right. |
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| Head towards the
gates and then turn left into the stony road along the line of
a privet hedge. Follow the blue bridleway signs. As you round
the redbrick hall you can see Bayton Church on the rise ahead
of you. |
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| Descending into
the valley, you enter a magical bit of wooded parkland. Stick
to the main path. You will hear the rush of the Rea as you
approach a complicated bit of water management with
spectacular weirs, channels and bridges. |
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| The road comes
to a ford – too treacherous to cross when the stream is in
full spate – thankfully there is a footbridge on the left. |
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| Rejoin the road
and start climbing up the lane towards The Rookery. You get a
good view of Mawley Hall over the wall. |
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| After crossing a
stable yard you turn left down the road to Nineveh. |
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| The Rea River
meanders round to join you at Houghtonspole Bridge. The road
passes through the embankment of an defunct railway line. Turn
immediately right into a lane. Opposite a small redbrick
cottage on the right, there is a stile into the field. |
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| Head for the
near right hand corner and then stick to the right side of the
next field, heading up towards a long low black and white
house on the horizon. A gate near the top of the field allows
you onto a short drive. |
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| Back on the
road, turn right past the house and cross the cattle grid onto
the Shakenhurst estate. We are looking for a path off to the
right – after a shallow S bend in the drive, keep scanning
the fence for a stile and a way marker near a hollow oak tree.
The path crosses a narrow bank separating a pool from the
gully below. |
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| Over the next
stile you enter pasture land again. Head for the group of
three oaks just below the horizon. |
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| As you pass them
you can see the line of the old railway below you and a stile
in the hedge at the bottom of the field. Across the sunken
track way there’s double stile into the next field. |
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| Directly opposite you can see
the next footbridge across the river.
Atop of the bank ahead of you there is a track that
leads you right towards Reaside Manor Farm. A stile takes you
across an old dyke and though a bit of rough coppiced land
which appears to be a drained pond. Back in the fields, turn
left and head for the manor house. |
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| Once you are
past the house, the drive starts to climb and bend to the
left. Over the second cattle grid, turn right and through a
gate into the adjacent field. |
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| Keep the barn
conversion on the crest of the hill on your right and head for
the skyline. In the middle of the hedge at the top of the
field there is an easy-to-miss stile next to a sunken pool.
Cross the next field on the right side. |
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| At the next
stile you catch a glimpse of Cleobury Mortimer church again.
Head in a two o’clock-ish direction down towards the oaks by
the Rowley Brook. A muddy cattle path takes you across the
stream and a stile into the next field. Head up towards the
crest on the left side hedge. At the end of the next field a
small path takes you between the houses and onto a residential
road. |
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| Turn left at the
end into High Street and Bob’s your uncle. |
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