JDodd

Last updated 00:00, Friday, 28 December 2007

START in the village, near the Red Lion pub. Walk away from the main road up the minor road beside the Red Lion, passing a telephone box on the right and then a haulage contractor’s depot on the left.

1, After about 300 metres you come to a finger post on your left marked “St Peter’s Church half mile”. This path takes you through an attractive wood and across a stone bridge.

Over the bridge turn immediate left, through a gate and along a path beside the stream (Meggie’s Dene Burn). Go through a kissing gate and bear right, leaving the stream to follow a grassy path. Cross over a stone stile, cross the minor road and over another stile, marked “St Peter’s Church quarter of a mile”.

Go through a wicket gate and down steps, to a wooden bridge. Cross the bridge and go through the wicket gate at the far side to a waymarker post just ahead: here the rights of way fork.

2, Take the right-hand route up the slope ahead, aiming to the left of a fenced depression. Pass a pond on your right, into the graveyard. The path heads towards the church, then sweeps to the left down the side of the church and leaves the graveyard by a step stile.

3, Once on the road turn right and walk along this tree-lined section of road to a public footpath on your right after about 300 metres, marked “Middle House two miles”.

Walk up here for about 300 metres, crossing the stream again and where this road bends to the right at a lodge house, take a stoney track to your left.

4, In front of the row of cottages on your right, you need to cross the wooden footbridge on your left. Go over a stile and follow a directional arrow (half-right) up to the houses at the top of a steep field. Cross a ladder stile in the field corner.

5, Cross the road and follow the footpath signposted “Allerwash one and a half miles”. Walk up the side of this arable field. After 200 metres you come to a gate that leads on to a track. Turn right and continue along the track for half a mile.

6, At Fell Cottage take a left through a gate signposted “Allerwash Hall one mile”. Walk downhill between the plantation and woodland and go down to a stile in the corner of this field. Go straight down the steep bank and step across the stream.

Walk up through an area of young trees to a field and go right, along the edge through scrub with woodland on your right. This leads you to a gate taking you into the next field.

Once into the next field, you walk on a raised track to another gate. Now go through a small gate and carry on between Allerwash Buildings to another gate. This leads you onto a steep track down to the road.

7, Turn left and walk past the beautiful frontage of Allerwash Hall, taking care of traffic on the narrow footway, for 500 metres. Take the next left signed Newbrough one mile and follow the road for 500 metres.

8, Turn right over the stile marked “Newbrough three-quarters of a mile” and follow the field edge to the wood ahead, cross a footbridge and stile. Turn right around the edge of the field, climb over a stile into Crow Wood, down a flight of wooden steps and turn left along a lovely woodland path. Follow the burn upstream on this very pretty path.

Go over a stone stile and turn right, over the bridge and along the road back to the start.