Warning: In August 2013 we were advised that The footbridge in section [6] by the motorway fence in invisible and impassable - suggested alternative is to go through a gap in hedge between fields (which is a vehicle bridge over the ditch) then turn left to reach and follow the motorway fence to steps up to road which are also very overgrown.
(A) Croome Court is a mid 18th century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by an extensive landscaped parkland near Pershore in south Worcestershire. The mansion, and park, were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown with some of the internal rooms designed by Robert Adam.The park and garden are owned by the National Trust. The mansion house, Croome Court, was purchased by the Croome Heritage Trust and is currently leased to the National Trust. The Park and Court are both open to the public for most of the year.
Croome Park has a man made lake and river, statues, temples and other buildings with the Court as the central focus. The other buildings around the park include Gatehouses, a Grotto, a Church, the Rotunda and buildings termed "eye-catchers". These are Pirton Tower, Panorama Tower, Dunstall Castle and Park Seat. They are set away from the core of the Park and are intended to draw the eye into the wider landscape.
The Court and Park are a 'pay for entry' property but National Trust members receive free entry and this walk uses public rights of ways (and a short section of permissive path) in the Park.
[1] Turn left out of Village Hall Car Park and at War Memorial turn right along main road (A38) towards Upton and Tewkesbury. If parking at Severn Stoke church (behind the Rose & Crown pub), return to A38 and turn right along the road.
[2] Just after Madge Hill road on left, cross A38 and take footpath on left between wood and back gardens of Stoke Gardens close. Follow gardens fence through wooded area and then fence on your right . At the first corner,bear diagonally right to two poles with an electrical transformer. From there continue on same line to cross this big field, converging with the right-hand hedge at top of field.
(B) The Panorama Tower. On your left you can see a domed and circular folly situated on Knight's Hill at the very edge of Croome Park. This is the Panorama Tower and is one of the "eye-catchers". It is Grade I listed and was probably completed in 1812, being constructed by James Wyatt using design ideas by Robert Adam. The Tower is now separated from the rest of the Park and Court by the M5 motorway which cuts through the park.
Turn uphill with fence and ditch on your right. Ignore first footpath on your right but continue forward over a stile and then through a gate. After gate turn right and follow hedge to stile and plank bridge onto road.
[3] Turn left along road and at T junction and pub on your left turn left along another road. In about 200 metres turn right over stile/gate and take right hand of two paths across field to far right hand corner. Follow path through wooded area and in next field continue forward to motorway hedge. Turn right and follow hedge to stile and up onto farm road that crosses motorway. Turn left and, immediately over motorway, turn left again down steps and then follow motorway fence on your left to gap into next field. Now bear diagonally right to gap into edge of wood. In 30 yards go over stile and turn right to follow hedge/wood through a couple of gates to farm access track. Cross diagonally to your right and go through signed gate into field. Walk across centre of this long field to gate into wooded area at left far end. Follow path with pool on your left to cross footbridge over weir and ignoring stile on your right continue round (on permissive path) keeping pool on your left to reach end of wood and stile to your front. Do not cross stile but turn right uphill (still just inside the wood) to go through a gate. Continue uphill with fence on your right to reach Park Seat folly and excellent views of Croome Court.
(C) Park Seat: Also known as The Owl's Nest. Built in 1770-2 by Adam. It is situated as a lookout over the park.
[4] From Park Seat continue uphill to pedestrian gate and then follow permissive path just inside fence on your left to stile and farm gate on your left. Cross stile and now join public right of way again and follow ridge ahead, almost due north, across the Croome Park for about half of a mile.
(D) The Rotunda. To your left front is a Grade I listed domed and circular building, close to the Court. It was designed by "Capability" Brown, was built between 1754-7, was described as a 'garden room' and is shrouded in trees, including 200 year old Cedar of Lebanon.
Continue a further quarter of a mile to a stile onto road and, on your left, the 'London Arch' gateway entrance to Croome Court. Continue forward along the road to soon turn left through large kissing gate on your left and then follow path through small gate to Croome Court church.
(E) St Mary Magdalene (Croome) Church. This Grade I listed building was built in 1763 by Capability Brown. A medieval church was demolished to make way for this church, the interior of which was designed by Robert Adam. Although the church is next to the public right of way, it is a National Trust building and you should pay at the nearby National Trust Visitor Centre if you wish to enter the Church. NB the National Trust Visitor Centre has a cafe for refreshments and more substantial meals and is also an alternative starting point for the walk.
[5] Turn right and follow hedge on your right, ignoring entrance pathway to visitor centre path on your right, to kissing gate to your front. After gate follow fence on your left downhill to gap and then go diagonally across next field to stile onto road in far corner. Cross road and stile into next field and bear diagonally left to stile and gate at right hand end of wood. Follow hedge on left and after going through kissing gate by the National Trust sign turn right to follow fence and eventually wood on your right to gap. Keeping wood on your right follow path to plank bridge and then go across field to gap in far hedge. In next field continue forward to farm gate and road. Turn right along road and just past Pirton Court follow road left through an S bend to a gap and footpath on your left. Bearing very slightly left cross centre of field to small hidden gate in far hedge and then continue forward and uphill across next field to where the fence to your left reaches the top of the ridge. Turn left through farm gate and follow ridge path past Pirton Castle folly to another field gate.
(F) Pirton Tower. A sham castle situated on Rabbit Bank among a row of Cedar of Lebanon trees. This is another "eye-catcher" although Croome Court and Croome Church in the distance can be quite difficult to see from the Tower. The building is Grade I listed and was designed by James Wyatt and built by William Stephens in 1797 as a ruin.
[6] Now follow wood on your right steeply downhill to pedestrian gate and in next field follow hedge on your left to motorway fence.Turn left through farm gate and follow motorway fence through three fields until you reach road access track by radio mast. Turn right along road over motorway and at T junction turn left along road to reach footpath on your left opposite a road junction on your right. Go left across ditch into field and bear diagonally right to footbridge in far corner next to motorway fence. After footbridge follow motorway fence on your left to reach road and turn right. At T junction turn left along road and take second footpath on your right through a farm gate.
[7] Now go very slightly diagonally left to cross field, with different views of the Panorama Tower to those seen earlier in the walk, to your front left. Continue past a small pond on your right and over stile in far hedge. Now follow path with wood on your right, eventually turning right (in same field) at end of wood to cross footbridge in hedge. Bear diagonally left across centre of field to stile onto road near houses. Turn left along road and at T junction turn left again along pavement of A38 to return to your cars in the village hall car park.