[1] With the river behind you, turn right, to return towards the church on the pavement. After about 30 metres, take the narrow enclosed footpath signed on the left. This path emerges at a road corner. Go straight ahead to pass the Fox and Hounds pub to reach Church Street.
(A) The lay-by is next to an attractive riverside picnic area. Goods were transported on the River Avon, which joins the River Severn at Tewkesbury, and the wharf was on this stretch hence the road name, Dock Lane .
(B) On the right is the church. with its 161 ft high spire. It was built near the site of a Saxon monastery. Nearby is the old Rectory House, parts dating from the 15th century. It was the summer residence of the Bishop of Worcester. A path past the church leads towards Bredon Barn (National Trust) a yard of Manor Farm, often wrongly referred to as a tithe barn. At 124 x 38 ft it is one of the largest in existence.
Turn left and follow this road, passing a school on the left and almshouses on the right .
(C) Bredon Hancock’s endowed Church of England school was founded by a wealthy resident, Mr. William Hancock, in 1718. It can accommodate about 170 pupils and has quite extensive ground, including two playgrounds, a field and two forested areas.
The almshouses, the backs of which are seen on Church Street, date from 17th century and are set on three sides of a quadrangle facing the present B4080.
[2] At the junction with the B4080, turn left and cross to the opposite pavement. Continue along this road, passing the Pershore turn on the left, and Station Drive on the right, to reach Blenheim Drive on the right, turn right.
(D) The Birmingham-Gloucester Railway was constructed in the 1830’s and 1840’s and was linked to the London-Birmingham line at Camp Hill. The station was opened in 1841 and closed in 1965. The line now carries mainly local passenger services but is a major freight route, especially to South Wales.
Go ahead to where the road bends left. Leave the road , ahead to a signed ,enclosed footpath (by the Cotswold Close sign, After the gate, turn right . At the end of the field go through the kissing gate, cross the stile and go diagonally across the farm area to a gate and track, parallel to the railway line. Follow this, ahead due south, for 1.25km (0.75 miles).The path then follows the field edge round to the left and through a kissing gate to reach a footbridge. Go right, over the bridge, then cross a small paddock to a stile, partially hidden in the facing hedgerow. (Do not take the more obvious path to the right).
Over the stile, go ahead to the line of trees to join a path which comes across the railway track. Turn left and follow the field edge and the sizeable stream, called Carrant Brook, through one field gate to the end of the second long field.
[3] At the corner, ignore the stile ahead and the footbridge on the right, turn left and go towards a visible kissing-gate, due north.
(E) This ditch, a lot smaller than Carrant Brook, is the county boundary between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. It rises between Kemerton and Overbury and supplied power for mills at Kemerton and Aston. The two water courses join by Northway Mill and then join the River Avon near Tewkesbury.
After the footbridge, go straight ahead over two fields and stiles into an old orchard. Turn diagonally left to a stile into a copse. Then cross a footbridge to pass the stable and go to a stile in the right-hand corner. The enclosed path between houses leads to the road in Kinsham.
(F) In 1828, called Kingsham. Maps of the mid-C19 show lots of orchards in the area around the village. The railway would have been very important for transport of fruit and other produce to larger towns.
[4] Turn left and follow the road round to the right and ahead to the B4079. Turn left, cross to the pavement and go ahead to pass the last house. Take the path right, signed Kemerton Lake Nature Reserve. At the junction in the woodland, turn left, then after 50m turn right , through the trees to emerge on a fenced path . This crosses the wetland reserve and can be muddy at times.
(G) Kemerton Lake Nature Reserve There are several information boards explaining the history and development of the reserve and its importance for wildlife, flora and fauna. In summer, many resident waders nest here and the pools and scrape are an attraction for winter visiting birds.
[5] Keep to the footpath until it passes through a gate and becomes a track. Go ahead, hedge on the right, ignore a track right and footpath left, to a crossing footpath. Turn left through the youngish plantation, mainly birch, to a narrow gate. Follow this path alongside trees until it reaches the road opposite a bus shelter. Turn right then left, past post & phone boxes, towards Bredons Norton. There’s a seat on the corner.
[6] Follow this lane for about 400m then take the signed footpath, left, opposite Croft Villa. This passes between fields along a line of trees. At the next road, B4080, cross to a signed track, go ahead over the railway bridge, alongside then through trees, down over an old stone stile and up past some houses to emerge in Bredon village at the corner of Perwell Close. Take the first road right, Back Lane, and at the next corner, turn right onto the footpath where the route came out at the start of the walk. Along this enclosed path to return to the car park on Dock Lane.