Charwelton, Catesby and Hellidon

Parking spaces are at a premium in the local villages, so the recommended starting point is just west of the railway bridge on Hellidon Road, Charwelton where there is an informal parking spot on the south side of the road. This is at the point where the Jurassic Way long distance footpath crosses the road. To get there take the turning for Hellidon at the cross roads on the A361 just north of Charwelton village.

If public transport is preferred there is an hourly bus from Banbury or Daventry on service 200 (but not on Sundays). There is a bus stop in Charwelton by the junction with Church Street.

[1] From the parking spot walk a few metres towards the bridge to find a bridleway signpost on the left. Be aware that there are two bridleways heading roughly north from the road. The one further away from the bridge is signposted as part of the Jurassic Way, but does not feature in the present route. Head across a grassy field to a footbridge over a small stream and then turn left to follow a grassy strip alongside the disused Great Central railway line. The railway formation is still owned by the Department for Transport and they do not welcome curious visitors.

You approach an area of woodland. The bridleway continues as a path alongside the railway perimeter fence. At this point the railway is in a cutting on the approach to Catesby tunnel. The tunnel portal itself is hidden by the vegetation which has grown up since the line closed.

Continue through a wooden gate onto a path between hedge and fence to reach a metal field gate. Go through and walk along the left hand edge of an irregularly shaped field. To your right is one of the ventilation shafts, visible above a bank of spoil excavated during the tunnel's construction. At the far end of the field you cross a farm drive and continue with a hedge on your left. Cross a footbridge and then walk straight across the next field to a second footbridge.

[2] Turn right and walk along the edge of a grassy field with a hedge on your right. Go through a gate and carry on in the same direction along the edge of the next field. Go through a second gate and enter a small copse. This brings you to a third, larger, field. Ahead you have a good view of Arbury Hill. Its summit is the highest point in Northamptonshire. Follow the hedge on your right to the next corner then turn left and walk alongside the hedge on your right. At this point you have joined a by-way although it is hard to see any difference on the ground. The track becomes clearer as you progress. Follow it across four grassy fields. Somewhere in the fourth and largest field you reach the point where the catchments of the Rivers Severn, Thames and Nene all come together. To your right you can see the ground dropping away towards the Nene, behind you to the left it drains into the Cherwell, a tributary of the Thames, and ahead you are entering the valley of the Leam, whose waters eventually join the Severn.

Go through a final gate onto a tarmac lane and turn left. Archaeologists have discovered that the village of Upper Catesby once extended to the point where you joined the lane. At the staggered junction with the Hellidon to Daventry road cross with care and continue straight on between the houses of Upper Catesby. Although the road stops at a gateway it continues as a private drive with a public footpath running along it. On the left you pass the site of Upper Catesby church, now very much overgrown.

[3] Where the drive turns left you carry straight on through a wooden gate. At this point you are close to the northern portal of the Catesby tunnel. Two footpaths diverge here and your route is along the one to the left. Looking north-west you should have a good view of the Shuckburgh Hills, over the county border in Warwickshire. The path is clearly defined between fences and takes you down a slope to the left of Catesby House.

(A) Catesby House was built in 1863 as a replacement for an older house in Lower Catesby.

Continue straight on along a private drive to join the minor road to Lower Catesby. Carry on along the minor road over a cattle grid until you reach a driveway on the right with a footpath signpost. Turn right onto the driveway and shortly turn left through a kissing gate into a grassy field. Walk down a tree lined avenue to reach a minor road where you turn left.

Walk south along a quiet lane. On your right you pass the distinctive buildings of the former coach house for the Catesby estate. After 200 metres you cross a stream which is in fact the infant River Leam. From this point the ground slopes upwards to reach Hellidon village after a kilometre.

[4] At a triangular junction turn left into Stockwell Lane. Follow this until you reach a telephone box on the left. At this point turn right into a lane with 2 tonne weight limit signs which slopes upwards beside the churchyard.

(B) Hellidon church  was restored and largely rebuilt in 1847 by architect William Butterfield whose other work includes the chapel at Rugby School and parts of two Oxford colleges. From the earlier build the tower is thought to be medieval and the south doorway carries the date 1591.

At the next road junction continue straight on, then, as the road bends to the left, go straight ahead into the entrance to a private driveway and follow a footpath sign pointing right. On the far side of the hedge turn left and walk up the left hand edge of a field. From the next field corner a short green lane takes you to a minor road where you turn right. After 100 metres turn left at a footpath signpost. This footpath runs across two arable fields and hopefully the route will be evident on the ground. You can take your general direction from the microwave tower visible on the hill top ahead. In the first field you should aim slightly left of the tower in order to arrive at a gap in the next hedge line. In the second field you again walk towards the tower and arrive at another gap, just left of a prominent tree.

Turn right along the road. This is a busy road so look out for traffic. After 50 metres turn left onto a tarmac farm drive with a bridleway signpost. At a track junction close to the buildings of Bromtrees Farm the bridleway continues straight ahead as a green lane. After 200 metres go through a wooden gate on the left and climb the slope towards the tower.

(C) The 118 metre tall reinforced concrete tower  was built in the early 1960s as part of the Backbone microwave network which carried both defence and civilian communications. Microwave communications only operate where there is a line of sight between stations. The Charwelton tower communicates with Stokenchurch to the south and Coalville to the north. Later the tower in Birmingham city centre was added to the network. Not surprisingly this is best viewpoint on the route. There are extensive views over south Warwickshire and in the distance you should be able to pick out the Malverns and the Lickey Hills. To the north there is Rugby cement works and possibly the outline of Bardon Hill, the highest point in Leicestershire.

[5] Go through a gate at the field corner nearest the tower. On the opposite side of a private road is a strip of waste ground covered with bracken. The path across this strip is at the left of the bracken covered area, along the edge of a small tree plantation. You emerge onto an arable field and should head straight across following the contours. Hopefully the path will be evident on the ground. As you approach the far side of the field you should be able to make out a waymarked gate in the far hedge. Go through the gate and straight on, to the right of the hedgerow immediately ahead. Pass to the right of a dilapidated barn and continue on through two more fields, passing through a field gate along the way. You should now see a second barn ahead. The bridleway runs immediately to the left of this building and then swings right, following the hedge, to reach a gate which is initially out of sight. From this gate the route ahead should be evident, running through three more grassy fields to reach a road.

Cross the road with care (it is the A361) and turn left. There is no alternative to walking along the road for 400 metres. Watch out for traffic and walk on the verge where possible. As you enter the village take the tarmac footpath that takes you gradually away from the main road and on into Chapel Street. At a junction turn left into Church Street and turn right when you meet the main road again.

Take a footpath that runs between garden fences on the left hand side of the road, just before a bungalow. You emerge onto an area of rough grassland. Cross this diagonally to reach a footbridge over the infant River Cherwell. Continue in the same direction to cross a private drive and go through a gate into a large grassy field. Some of the 'lumps and bumps' in the southern part of the field are thought to indicate that the medieval settlement of Upper Charwelton extended into this area. Along the northern edge of the field you cross the line of a two mile long mineral railway, with its own locomotives, which once ran alongside the Hellidon road to ironstone quarries near Bromtrees Farm. There is very little to be seen of this now. Head for the far left corner of this field where you cross a stile and turn right to return to waypoint 1.  (You may spot a gateway in the far hedge further to the right, but this is on a different route.)

In the medieval period Catesby Priory, a house of Cistercian nuns, was located in Lower Catesby. This was founded in 1175 and survived for 360 years until its dissolution in 1536. Subsequently a large country house was built on the site but a major re-organisation of the Catesby estate in 1863 saw this house demolished and replaced by the present Catesby House in a more elevated position. It is possible to visit Lower Catesby church, itself rebuilt in 1863, on part of the Priory site. The cottages nearby are thought to be a surviving part of the old Catesby House complex. Also surviving in the area are a number a clearly artificial ponds. These cannot be dated with certainty but probably originated as fish ponds supplying the Priory. The original site of the village of Lower Catesby was some 100 metres north of the Priory.

The London extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was constructed in the final decade of the 19th century. This was the last main line railway to be built before the HS1 Channel Tunnel link and was engineered to permit high speed operation. The M S & L changed its name to Great Central in celebration, but the line was never very profitable. Waggish shareholders complained that their Money Sunk and Lost was now Gone Completely. The section south of Rugby closed in 1966. 

The 2.7 kilometre long Catesby tunnel was originally planned as a cutting but the owner of the Catesby estate, Mr Attenborough, stipulated a tunnel to protect the environment around his house. It was also at his insistence that there are no access shafts or spoil banks on the northern section of the tunnel.

There are pubs in Hellidon and Charwelton.