Coundon Wedge to Allesley Village

Explore the legacy of Saxon Times

Transcript of a Coventry Evening Telegraph Country Walk with Ron Weston 7-Jan-2006 , with updates where needed

4½ miles, Map 221 Explorer

Take a step back in time on this fine walk.

It begins through the newly-planted Coundon Wood before heading into the delightful English countryside which is Coundon Wedge. It is a legacy from the Anglo-Saxon period and the best example of unspoiled Arden in Warwickshire.  Allesley Village is a conservation area with a Grade A-listed church, the 16th-century Rainbow Inn and a number of historic buildings.  Imagine the excitement as the mail coaches thundered in from Birmingham and London.

HOW TO GET THERE:

From Coventry follow the Tamworth Road B4098 to the edge of the city and just before the Royal Court Hotel on the right turn left into the Coundon Hall sports fields and park.  GR 312 819.

Route Directions

• With your back to the road head past the right side of the spinney and continue through a kissing gate bearing right to enter the new Coundon Wood.
• Walk-on to the extreme right corner and exit on to the road and turn left.
• Cross the island into Coundon Wedge Drive and in 150 yards fork left at the footpath sign.
• Continue along the traffic-free lane and pass Rookery Farm on the left and climb the hill to the perimeter fence of Coundon Court School.
• Turn right through the kissing gate and follow the enclosed path around the school to reach the playing fields. Continue along the perimeter fence to its end at a spinney and a cluster of gates.
• Turn right through the farthest gate and head towards the church steeple, veering slightly left.
• At the corner go through the right-hand gate and cross the small footbridge over the River Sherbourne into the next field.
• Follow the hedge on the left to its end and swing left and then right to pass beneath the road bridge and go forward to turn left over a small brick footbridge.
• Go up the field with the hedge on the left and pass through the woodland burial ground to exit on to a track.  Turn right and in 75 yards turn left at the waymark post, head for the church and enter the church yard to follow the path to the Old Birmingham Road. 
• Ignore the steps and turn right past the Rainbow Inn and turn right into Butchers Lane.  At the top, cross into Staircase Lane and follow it for a half mile to pass a -yellow-painted barrier on the left and go down the hill to a sharp right bend. 
• Turn left at a waymark post and aim up the centre of the field to continue into the next field with the hedge on the left.  Turn right to exit on to the Jaguar service road and cross to a waymark post. 
• Bear left to pick up the hedge on your left and remain in this direction to join the road and turn right to the island. 
• Turn left into Long Lane and in 50 yards cross to re-enter Coundon Wood. 
• Follow the trail to return to Coundon Hall Park.

End of transcript - other information below

Good for Dogs rating:  

Some parts  good for dogs, but other parts involve farmland or crossing busy roads.

Maps

For a more detailed map see Map22 K7 to J11 and Map21 I11 to I21 (best viewed together on All Maps page)

If you would like to extend this walk, a good choice would be to link it to the Allesley Park & Village walk - a walk by Keith Draper and published in the Coventry Evening Telegraph in 2001.  The two paths share the route from Allesley Church to the Rainbow Inn.  The Allesley Park route also allows a visit to  Allesley Park Walled Garden

Coundon Wedge - leaving Wedge Wood and walking towards Allesley Church