[1] Facing towards Worcester, take the footpath to your right at the far end of the lay-by and go over the footbridge and follow the river on your right for 0.5 miles until you see the railway bridge crossing the river about 200 yards to your front. Now bear left away from the river and across the slope of a small hill until you reach the railway. DO NOT cross the railway but continue north- eastwards with the railway on your right until you reach a small stream, footbridge and a board walk. Continue forward across the next field to go between houses and along a narrow alley to reach an estate road. Turn left and in 200 yards at a T-junction turn right along a minor road. In 50 yards turn left up another minor road (Claphill Lane) and in about 600 yards, just past the last big house on your left, take the footpath to your right along a farm track. In 100 yards bear slightly left across the field to reach a stile above the Worcester Ring Road. Cross the ring road with care and climb the bank to another stile. NB the path continuing forward was temporarily closed for about 600 yards in Sept 2013 during the construction of a new housing estate. The official diversion goes left alongside the ring road soon sweeping right alongside the A4103. The closed section comes in from the right at the end of the building site on the right and where established houses start on both sides. It is not clear what the future line of the path will be, so a description of this section will need to be added once the development is complete.
(Alternative routes: If still closed there is a more attractive option than the official diversion on an unofficial but much walked path. Do not cross the stile, but turn right with the ring road on your right. Soon, on passing an avenue of trees on the left, turn left along the edge of a field with the line of trees on your left. At the bottom left corner of the field go through a gap and out onto a track where turn right to regain the proper walk. This route is shown on the RamblersRoutes map for this walk. A second alternative route, also shown, turns off Claphill Lane further back and uses a Public Right of Way.)
[2] From the end of the official diversion continue along the A4103 towards Worcester and turn right down the first estate road. In about 250 yards turn right down Farmbrook Close. At T-junction in 50 yards (NB the unofficial alternative joins here) turn left down track and follow to end with lake on your right. Bear right after lake and follow railway on your left. Go through tunnel under ring road and keep near the hedge on your left to reach road by pub. (NB the second alternative joins here). Turn left and follow road over railway bridge and round to right. Where road bends to the left continue forward down cul-de-sac road with school on your right. In about 600 yards at T-junction turn left and in 100 yards take footpath on your right over stile. Follow this footpath through orchard, over a couple of stiles and footbridges for about 600 yards until you see, across the field to your front, the elevated ring road. Go under the ring road using the tunnel near the wood on your left and continue to the far side of the next field and over the farm bridge. Follow the farm track to reach the old road at the Powick old bridge.
(A) The English Civil War. The old bridge across the Teme at Powick was the scene of one of the very first skirmishes between Royalist and Parliamentarian soldiers in the English Civil War in 1642 in what became known as the Battle of Powick Bridge. It was a short, sharp, but decisive cavalry engagement that resulted in a victory for the Royalists and showed the Parliamentarian cavalry their shortcomings, setting the tone for the early stages of the conflict. The more famous Battle of Worcester later on in the war, in 1651, was fought in part in much the same locality close to the River Teme.
(B) Victorian power station - Powick Mill. A former water mill, next to Powick Bridge, was converted in 1894 to become the world's first combined steam/hydro electric power station. Electricity from this provided about half the city of Worcester's needs. The Powick site continued generating until the 1950s. When it closed, it was converted into a laundry and has since been converted into residential apartments. The site was chosen as a mill site from at least the 11th century, and very probably earlier than that. The mill leat was dug in 1291. A succession of water mills replaced each other throughout the Middle Ages and into the 16th century and later.
Turn right over the bridge and almost immediately left to take the footpath that goes through the flood tunnel of the Powick new bridge and onto the ham. Follow the river on your left for about 200 yards and then bear diagonally right, initially to the right hand end of a fence and eventually to right hand end of fence line near ring road bank and through a gate.
[3] Continue with the elevated ring road bank on your right and in 400 yards do not go under the large flood gap under the road on your right, but go into the narrow end of the field and cross the stile in the far left corner. Turn right and keep with the ring road on your right for half a mile until you reach a gap under River Severn road bridge. Turn right over ladder stile and under road bridge and follow path along river bank for 300 yards. At second stile, opposite the Yacht Club, turn right over ladder stile and forward over next stile into large field. Continue forward (ignore path left along hedge) to stile by farm gate 50 yards from right hand end of hedge. Cross next two very long fields, passing through a gate between them. If the second field is in crop keep on the left hand edge alongside a stream to the footbridge in far left corner. Do NOT cross footbridge but turn right along hedge for 100 yards to find a kissing gate to left of a large electricity pylon. Through the gate continue forward to middle of field (where it narrows) and then turn right to go through stile next to farm gate in hedge. Follow hedge on your right gently uphill for about 700 yards to farm track. Cross and soon enter churchyard of Powick Church.
(C) The church in Powick village was used by the Royalists, in 1651, as a lookout point as it commanded elevated views over the surrounding countryside and Powick Bridge and its approaches. Its tower has a lot of pockmarks from small bore cannon balls which were fired by Parliamentarian gunners to deter the Scottish Royalist forces using the tower. They extend up the south face of the tower from as low as head height up to the top.
Go through churchyard, past left hand end of church and continue forward to exit on far side of church yard. Turn left [do NOT go down bank] to find lane leading to main road.
[4] Cross main road at traffic lights by garage, turn left along the road and soon take track on your right between houses. Go over a stile and pass across the front of a pumping station on your left to a stile at the far end of its frontage. Over this second stile follow a gently climbing wooded bank, for 600 yards. By bench seat, turn left over stile and across field, with a hedge on the left initially, to join minor road. Continue forward along road for 200 yards and where road bends left, cross stile to your front. Follow right hand hedge to stile/gate and then cross centre of next field to stile into garden. Continue past stables and down house driveway to reach minor road. Turn left and in 50 yards turn right over stile. Cross field towards the right hand end of trees to your front. Go over a stile just below a large tree and down a very steep bank to stile a little to the right of the end of the wood on your left. Follow right hand hedge in next field to cross stile and then bear diagonally left to far left corner of field. Follow right hand hedge through next field to join the River Teme on the right and reach a farm gate and rough track. [NB At this point there is a choice between the official path line and a permissive path the landowner would like you to use until you reach the road. It is easiest to follow the well waymarked permissive path by turning right down the farm road. However if you wish to use the legal right of way you need to turn left up the track, through another farm gate and then turn right across the centre of a large field to gates in far fence, keeping the wood to your left]. Turn right on the track and follow it round a left hand bend. Where the track turns right, continue ahead between hedges to join a minor road and turn right. Follow for 0.5 miles to reach A4103 main road. Turn right and over the bridge is the lay-by and your cars.