[1] Leave the layby at the left end, past the school. Go along the tarmac path by the main road and look for a path on the left opposite the top of Pit Hill. The waymark post says it is 2 miles to Wappenbury. Follow the track to a waymarked path junction just beyond a huge flooded quarry on the left. Take the left fork, which goes round the edge of the quarry for a short distance then heads dead straight through Bubbenhall Wood to emerge behind some houses. Continue in the same direction, left of a shed, between fences and between houses to a drive.
[2] Turn right along the gravel drive, through the gate indicating the entrance to York Farm. When the gravel track goes right, go straight ahead to a gate in the hedge opposite. Turn left immediately before the gate along a path enclosed by a wire fence on the left and a hedge on the right. Go along the right edge of the next field to a finger post in the corner. Turn left, following the signpost that says Wappenbury 1 mile. Go downhill to a marker post you can see 100 yards away in the right hand hedgerow which indicates a bridge where you cross a small stream.
Look closely at the angle of the arrow on the far side. Follow it half left over the brow of the hill and then down to a stile in the far left corner. Follow the left edge of the next field to a footbridge on the left which goes back over the stream. Go uphill across the field to the edge of the wood opposite. Turn right to the corner of the wood. Head downhill across a large open field, with extensive views ahead. Aim towards the white house which is at a road junction. Cross the main road and follow the road signed to Wappenbury, then take the road on the right signed to Wappenbury Church.
(A) The tiny and attractive village of Wappenbury is now a conservation area. The name derives from Wappa's Burgh, or Wappa's fort. Wappa, presumably being a person of some importance around here at one time. A look at the OS map shows clearly that there was a rectangular Iron Age fort which almost surrounds the current village. The banks can still be seen in various places if you look carefully. Archeologists found four Romano British kilns from 350 AD in the fort, and some evidence of occupation as far back as the 4th Century BC. The fort probably controlled a convenient crossing place over the river Leam. The village was once much larger but was overrun by the plague in the 13th Century, when over 200 people died. The village never really recovered, and some of the bumps in the fields are the remains of long since demolished medieval houses.
In the graveyard, the small squat obelisk on your left as you approach the church door is the grave of Sir William Lyons, the founder of the world famous Jaguar Cars, still a major employer in nearby Coventry and Castle Bromwich. He spent his later years living in Wappenbury Hall until he died there in 1985. The pleasant little church is normally open.
[3] Fork right at the church, then right again past white bungalows on your left. Go ahead down the track and left through a bridlegate when the path goes straight on over a stile. Go down to a bridge over the Leam. Go straight across the next field and follow the bridleway along the right edge of two more fields to emerge on the road in Hunningham.
Cross a stile just beyond the road junction on your right. Follow the path over four stiles at it crosses horse fields heading straight for the small church ahead. Cross a footbridge and go ahead to a gate just left of the church and up to the road.
(B) The village of Hunningham derives its name from being the homestead of Hunna's people. It has a tiny church, with a small wooden bell tower, sitting in a pleasant position on the banks above the River Leam. The church was built in the 13th Century after locals were frequently unable to get to the mother church at Wappenbury when the river was in flood. The village has a small nature reserve, accessed through a gate on your left towards the far end of the village. It is an area of grassland maintained as a traditional hay meadow and is full of wild flowers in the summer.
[4] Turn right through the village. After a left bend, when a road junction is in sight, turn sharp right on a path in front of a garage. Go down the right edge of the field and cross a slightly rickety stile in the far right corner. Continue downhill for 50 yards and turn left through a kissing gate. Continue along a large field with the Leam on your right. On entering a second smaller field go up to a gate in the far left corner. Follow the right edge of the next field. At a path junction, fork right, going downhill, still alongside the hedge. Go through a kissing gate and turn left alongside a wire fence. At the far end of the field go over a steel and concrete bridge on the right that crosses the Leam.
(C) The river Leam rises just over the county boundary in Hellidon, Northamptonshire, and makes a slow and meandering journey westwards to the town it gives its name to, Leamington Spa, before flowing into the Avon just beyond.
[5] Follow the path up through trees to a field corner. Continue ahead in the same direction with the hedge on your right. Immediately beyond a telegraph pole go right through a gap. Ignore a second smaller gap immediately on the left and go ahead with the hedge on your left in the same field as the wires, which gradually angle off to the right.
At the end of the field go ahead through a gate and along the left edge of the next field. Go through a gate on the left just in front of a small brick barn then immediately go right through a kissing gate at the far end of the barn. Go to the far right corner of the next field and continue uphill with the hedge on the right to the top of the next field. Ignore the gate in the right corner and take an enclosed path in the left corner that leads to a road.
(D) The walk just clips the west edge of Weston Under Wetherley, but does go past the impressive 13th Century church. The Under Wetherley part of the name derives from the village being below Waverley wood on the hill beyond. The spelling of the wood and the village having diverged over the centuries.
[6] Cross over and turn left along the road, pass the church and carry on to a black and white Bungalow on a sharp left bend. Take a path just right of the bungalow starting by double gates. (The waymarks can be a bit overgrown here.) Follow the left edge of three fields, enjoying views opening up to the right of where you were earlier.
You are now following Shakespeare's Avon Way, an 88 mile long distance path following the river Avon from its source near Naseby in Northamptonshire to where it joins the Severn at Tewkesbury. Later in the walk you will see signs for A Coventry Way, a 40 mile circular walk around Coventry, and the Centenary Way, a 98 mile tour around Warwickshire designed to celebrate the centenary of the county council.
At a small young plantation, swing left and then right and go ahead across the next field to just left of a lone tree. Pass through more young trees then aim slightly right to a kissing gate under a tree in the right corner, a little to the right of a protruding hedge corner. Follow the left edge of the next field and go left through a gap just before the end. Follow the hedge on your right as it swings left to the point where it swings sharp right again after 20 yards. Go half right across the field to the far corner where you emerge onto a road.
[7] Turn left along the road until you reach a Road Narrows sign above a 50mph sign. Take the waymarked path on the left. It keeps close to the road for a short distance then goes left of a wooden fence and gets more enclosed as it goes downhill to arrive on a gravel drive by houses. Go straight ahead on the drive to a road. Cross over and take the stile opposite. Follow the left hedge across two fields. On entering the third, turn sharp right and follow the right hedge to the far corner. Cross the stile then almost immediately cross another stile on the left. Continue along the left edge of the next field to another stile. In the next field go half right to three consecutive stiles just left of a white house to reach a road.
[8] Take the path opposite. Go through the gate on the right after 20 yards and go left alongside the hedge to soon find another gate on the left. Go through and turn right uphill with the hedge on your right. When the path becomes enclosed follow it as it goes down to a drive and on to a road. Turn left and follow the road downhill. As it swings to the right, look for a path on the right just before it swings left again. Follow the enclosed path till it reaches a stile leading into an open meadow. Continue across two fields to a gate just right of the church tower that leads into the graveyard. Go through the yard and ahead along Church Road to a junction. Turn left, then right at the next junction, then right up Pit Hill back to the main road, with the layby just to the left.
Bubbenhall, is a large and pleasant dormitory village with a mixture of modern and old buildings. The church sitting in meadows above the river Avon makes a beautiful sight at the end of the walk. There are two pubs in the village should you require refreshments. The village name derives from Bubba's Hill. I wonder if Bubba knew Wappa and Hunna, who we encountered earlier?