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Thurlaston and Draycote Water. Warwickshire.

Difficulty Easy

Walking time 2 hours

Length 6.0km / 3.7mi

Route developer: John Clift

Route checker: Andy Page

Start location Main Street, Thurlaston
Route Summary Thurlaston has managed to preserve its village identity despite proximity to Rugby. The walk is largely on hard surfaces and takes you out into quiet countryside and along the edge of Draycote Water, the largest area of open water in Warwickshire.
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Getting there

From the roundabout at the end of the M45 take the B4429 towards Dunchurch. The first turning on the right leads to Thurlaston village, laid out along Main Street and a few side roads. It should be possible to park in a wide section of Main Street. Look out for the telephone box on the right.

If public transport is preferred there is a bus approximately every two hours from Rugby or Coventry on service 580. There is no Sunday service. The bus stop is on the B4429 by the turning to Thurlaston village.

Description

[1]  From the telephone box walk north to the first turning on the left, Biggin Hall Lane. Walk down the lane into open country with views of Draycote Water to your left.

Golfers on the Whitefields golf course can be seen on your right. Walk past a couple of driveways leading to private houses on the left.

[2]  As the tarmac road comes to an end, the right of way continues as a bridleway though a waymarked gate. Continue along a track with the golf course on both sides.

Where the track turns left, carry straight on along a path by the edge of a field. Go through a bridle gate into a meadow. A metal gate at the far right corner of the meadow leads to a track through woodland. At the end of the wooded section go through a gate into the nature reserve at Draycote Meadows.

This is an ancient hay meadow now in the care of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Trust asks visitors to keep to the paths. Cutting a meadow for hay in the early autumn allows wild flowers, and their associated insects, to flourish in the spring and summer. The reserve is home to several species that are now rare, such as green winged orchids.

Walk downhill along the clear path through the reserve to a gate and information board at the bottom. Turn left and walk down a minor road towards Draycote village.

[3]  Just before you reach the first house turn left along a track following a signpost indicating the cycle route to Draycote Water and Rugby. This track is part of Route 41 of the National Cycle Network and there is permissive access although it is not a right of way. Look out for cyclists.

A gate across the track marks Severn Trent's property boundary surrounding Draycote Water reservoir. Go through and carry straight on up to the perimeter track. A signpost indicating the cycle route to Rugby points you in the right direction, straight ahead with the water down on your right. (A) Draycote Water was completed in 1969 but not fully filled until 1972. During the winter months water is pumped in from the River Leam at Eathorpe. With a storage capacity of 5,000,000,000 gallons the reservoir supplies water to the Rugby and Coventry areas. To your right you can see the western dam of the reservoir and the outlet tower which has valves at different levels for extracting water as required. Expect to encounter the occasional motor vehicle on the perimeter track.

Continue on the perimeter track for 2.3 km. On the far side of the reservoir you should see the sailing club and Hensborough Hill in the country park. Further on you have clear views of Shuckburgh Hill and the Northamptonshire Heights.

[4]  You come close to the outlying houses of Thurlaston on the left and shortly afterwards pass a picnic site. Just beyond it, as the path bends uphill to the right, there is a wooden gate in the left hand hedgerow. (You will not see the gate until you are level with it.) Go through, turn left along a path through a small area of woodland and then walk up a concrete track towards Thurlaston church. (B) The church dates from 1849 and was designed by architect William Butterfield in a simple Gothic Revival style. It was originally used as a school during the week and the head teacher lived in the tower, which is still a private house. On your right you catch sight of Thurlaston windmill, built in 1794 and operational until 1919. It was converted to a private residence in the 1970s.

Go through a metal gate and straight ahead along Church Lane, with the church on your left. You emerge on Main Street near waypoint 1.

 

 

POI information No details available.
Notes

Dogs are not permitted on the Draycote Water perimeter track.

Acknowledgements No details available.
  • Biggin Hall Lane
    Biggin Hall Lane
    By - John Clift
  • Cowslips on Draycote Meadows
    Cowslips on Draycote Meadows
    By - John Clift
  • Western Dam on Draycote Water
    Western Dam on Draycote Water
    By - John Clift
  • Alongside Draycote Water
    Alongside Draycote Water
    By - John Clift
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