Chesterton, Harbury and Ufton. Warwickshire.

By car: If coming south on the B4452 from Ufton cross roads continue on the B road through the outskirts of Harbury to a point where it makes a sharp left turn. Carry straight on into Butt Lane which is signposted as the route for Chesterton and Warwick. Take the third turning on the right, Vicarage Lane, signposted Harbury only. South Parade is the first turning on the left and you shortly see the village hall on the left hand side. There is a car park behind the hall with access from Constance Drive. If there is a sports fixture or an event in the hall the car park may be full, but South Parade is wide enough to allow on street parking.

If coming east along Chesterton Road from the Harbury Lane cross roads on the Fosse Way you will enter the village through Temple End. Just past the school the route makes a sharp right turn into South Parade. Constance Drive is the first turning on the right.

It would also be possible to start from the nature reserve car park at Ufton Fields or from Chesterton church where there is space for parking at the roadside.

By bus: The 65 or 66 bus services provide an hourly service to Harbury from Leamington and extend to Daventry or Banbury. As an alternative the 63 and 64 bus services each run hourly to Ufton from Leamington with the 64 extending to Rugby. There are Sunday services on both routes at two hourly intervals.

[1] Walk away from the village hall past several sports pitches to the far right corner of the recreation ground where a footpath leads through the hedge line and out across a ploughed field to the right. Go through a gate onto a minor road and walk 50 metres to the right to find a footpath starting at a field gate on the left. Walk the length of two fields with a hedge on your left before crossing to the left side of the hedge to reach a kissing gate leading onto a road. Look out for fast moving traffic.

Cross the road and walk to the right along the verge. After 100 metres the road bends right and just beyond this point you go through a gate on the left into a grassy field. Your route goes straight out into the field. To keep strictly to the right of way you should first walk left alongside the hedge to a point where a waymarker indicates the start of a footpath. From this field you have a wide view to the south west and, on a clear day, you should be able to see Bredon Hill and the Malvern Hills on the sky line. Looking into the Avon valley the tower of St Mary's, Warwick should be in sight, although you have a better view of Warwick later in the walk. Closer to hand the distinctive Chesterton windmill sits at the end of a ridge.

As you descend a slope, the far side of the field comes into sight. Head for what appears to be the most prominent tree in the hedge line. In fact it is a few metres into the field beyond. Go through a kissing gate and head out into a ploughed field past the prominent tree. You should aim for a small stile at the far side, which marks the only crossing point of a substantial ditch. In a second ploughed field head diagonally right to a gate at the far right corner, initially out of sight. Should the path across these ploughed fields be obstructed your best alternative is to follow the right hand edge. When you emerge onto a minor road turn right to the church.

The church is normally open every day except Mondays and Tuesdays. (It should be open on bank holidays.) There are some interesting old tombs inside, and a modern stained glass window just right of the door shows the legend of Saint Giles being shot by an arrow that was aimed at a deer who had run to him for protection.

[2] Go through a wooden gate into Chesterton churchyard and follow the path leading to the church door. Go round the east end of the church to find a small gate in the wall in the right corner of the north side of the churchyard. You are now on a footpath which heads diagonally left over a grassy field to reach a stile and bridge over a small stream. Continue diagonally left over the next field, heading up slope towards the now boarded up Humble Bee Cottages. Go through a gate in the far left corner of the field and immediately turn right through a second gate. At this point you have joined a bridleway.

Walk straight across the next field towards a gate which is visible in the far hedge. There are two bridleways on the far side of the gate. You should choose the right hand branch. Once again the next gate should be visible in the far right corner.

[3] Go through the gate onto a minor road. Take care as this road sees fast moving traffic. On the far side, a little to your right you should see a post with a footpath waymarker. The path leads over fields with a hedge on your right, going through a series of kissing gates. After a couple of grassy fields you come to a ploughed field and this section can be muddy. With the outskirts of Harbury in sight you cross a bridge over a small stream and walk along a fenced footpath to reach a road, where you turn right. This part of Harbury village is known as Temple End as land here was once the property of the Knights Templar. The older buildings along the route, many dating from the seventeenth century, were originally farmhouses and farmworkers' cottages. Most would originally have had thatched roofs. You may spot examples with brickwork above the stone. Replacing a thatched roof with tiles generally involves raising the eaves and by this time the local building stone was no longer freely available. Immediately on your right is Temple House, then there is New Stone House, constructed on the site of cottages destroyed by the only bomb to fall on Harbury during World War 2. Further along on the right is Pool Farm, still with its thatched roof. Once this roof extended over farm buildings as well and was said to be the longest thatched roof in Warwickshire. On the left is the Old New Inn, itself a former farmhouse. Turn left and follow Farm Street to reach its junction with Mill Street.

[4] Turn right and after 50 metres go over a stile on the left which is just past a garage. This footpath leads to a gap half way along the right hand hedge. Go through and follow the path along the far side of the hedge to reach a stile. Continue on a fenced path, with more stiles than may seem necessary. At one point you cross over a farm track, which can be muddy. Eventually, after ignoring a path going to the right, you have the railway cutting on your left. The path continues alongside the cutting to a gate leading onto a lane. Turn left and cross a bridge over the tracks.

On the far side of the bridge you pass farm buildings on your left. Continue straight ahead up a slight rise. Just in front of a metal gate you find a waymarked footpath leading left through trees. Follow this path around the edge of the farm complex to reach a metal gate giving access to a track heading north out of the farm. Walk along this track until it ends at a field gate and then continue in the same direction over two grassy fields, keeping the hedge on your right.

You pass an isolated house and go through a kissing gate in a field corner to reach a footpath junction. Turn left and almost immediately go through a second kissing gate. Turn right and follow the hedge line. To your left you can see into the the Avon valley and, if the light is good, you should be able to identify landmarks in Warwick and Leamington. Look further to the right for the spire of Coventry cathedral. The outline of the Lickey Hills should appear on the sky-line beyond Warwick.

Continuing in the same direction as before, you go through a kissing gate and walk the length of a grassy field to reach a gate. Go through the gate to find yourself at a bend in a minor road. Walk straight ahead along the road towards the houses of Ufton. Ufton still has a working farm on its main street but the majority of houses are of a fairly recent date. On the right side of the road 1 and 2 Ufton Fields are thought to form the oldest house in the village, dating from around 1400 but considerably altered since. Further on Colbourne House is a 17th century building and a former manor house.

[5] The centre of the village is marked by the church and the White Hart pub beyond. These are on the far side of the busy A425, but there is no need to cross the road to continue on the present route. Turn right at the roundabout and walk along the pavement for 150 metres to find the start of a footpath on your right, part of Warwickshire County Council's Centenary Way route. Walk down a track and continue straight ahead on a path beside allotments. Go over, or round, a stile and walk along the right hand edge of an arable field. At the far corner of the field follow a path through rough ground to reach a metal gate giving access to Ufton Fields nature reserve. Turn right and follow the surfaced track that runs round the reserve. For a more extensive view of the nature reserve you could instead follow the track to the left, rejoining the main route just before the car park.

You reach a path junction with an exit to a road on your right. Do not go towards the road but continue left on the path in the reserve, passing Alder Pool on your left. Go out of the car park entrance and turn left along the minor road. As you walk along the road you have a view to your left of the Northamptonshire Heights and Napton and Shuckburgh Hills. Continue on the road as it bends left and then take a footpath on the right, just before the boundary of a large white house. Walk along the left side of a large field. Ahead you may be able to see Bredon Hill on the sky line and to your right you have a view of the Avon valley. As you are now 10 metres higher, your view is rather more extensive than on the outward leg.

Go through a kissing gate into the next field and maintain the same direction as you walk diagonally across the field to another kissing gate. Follow a wooden fence on your left down a slope. Just after a right turn in the fence go over a stile and follow the other side of the fence. The waymarked path goes through a gate into a paddock and out through a second gate onto a lane which formed part of the outward route. Turn left and cross the railway bridge, then head straight up the lane into Harbury village. As you pass a white painted brick house on your left, look back at the gable end wall to see a prominently placed fire plaque, a reminder of the days when insurance companies run the fire brigades.

At the Hall Lane junction carry straight on along Church Terrace. The church may be glimpsed above trees to your left. At the next cross roads you reach Harbury's Bull Ring, which was the market place in medieval times. Corner Cottage, with a plaque claiming a date of 1577, was formerly the Bull Ring Stores and the smaller building to its left was once a branch of the Midland Bank. To find Harbury's commercial centre today, with pubs, a chemist and two supermarkets, you would need to make a short detour along High Street.

From the Bull Ring continue in your previous direction along Ivy Lane. The terraced houses on the right were built by the Harbury Co-operative Society to provide improved living conditions for working people. Ivy Lane ends at its junction with South Parade. Ahead of you is the village hall. Cross over and take the path on the left side of the village hall hedge which leads to the recreation ground. 

The three neighbouring villages of Chesterton, Harbury and Ufton have developed in very different ways. Chesterton was depopulated as early as the fifteeenth century to make way for sheep farming. Harbury had the disadvantage of light and quick draining soil, earning it the nickname of Hungry Harbury. Even so it continued to support a large population of agricultural workers. The open fields here were not enclosed until 1779. Ufton was part of the endowments of Coventry Priory from 1043 until the dissolution of the priory in 1538. After a few years it was purchased by Sir John Spencer of Wormleighton and Althorp and became part of his commercial farming enterprise.

Chesterton Church now stands in impressive isolation in the fields. The now vanished hamlet of Church End surrounded it during the medieval period but the main focus of the village always seems to have been further west, near the present houses in Chesterton Green. There has been a church on this site since the 12th century and the present building dates largely from the 14th century. The embattled parapet adds to its distinctive appearance. In the north wall of the churchyard there is a magnificent gateway which was was once linked by a pathway, very much along the line of our walk, to Chesterton House, home of the Peyto family who were lords of the manor. This was a fine Stuart country mansion built about 1650 and thought to be inspired by designs by Inigo Jones who is best known for the Banqueting House in Whitehall. The distinctive Chesterton Windmill was part of the same phase of construction. Chesterton House stood on the hillside near the Humble Bee cottages but there is little to see now as the land was ploughed after the demolition in 1802, although it has since been returned to grass. 

By the ninetenth century Harbury had a fast growing population, working in limestone quarries and on the railway as well as in agriculture. Among the efforts to improve living conditions was the formation of  the Harbury Co-operative Society in 1863, one of the earliest co-operative societies in Warwickshire. In 1871 agricultural labourers in Harbury held a public meeting to press for an improved wages. It was, however, left to their counterparts in Wellesbourne to set in train the process which led to the foundation of the National Agricultural Labourers Union. Today the village is a vibrant and prosperous community. 

The Great Western railway constructed a line past Harbury in 1850. The railway cutting, which was entirely dug by hand, was said to be the largest in Europe at the time. Land slips caused problems for thirty years until the cutting was widened to create more gently sloping sides. Presumably the cutting was too deep to allow a station to be located next to the village. Instead this was placed further east, near Deppers Bridge.

Ufton is well known to travellers on the A425 for the steep hill with the church at its summit. The church dates mainly from the 14th century, although the door in the south aisle is older, probably reused from an earlier building. In 1677 Scotsman John Snell, having purchased tha manor of Ufton with almost all the land in the village, left it in trust to provide financial support for graduates of Glasgow University to continue their studies in Oxford. There have been many distinguished Snell exhibitioners, the best known being the economist Adam Smith.

Ufton Fields is a former quarry where limestone was extracted for use in the cement industry. This quarry produced high quality white Lias limestone. As quarrying finished in the 1960s pine, alder and poplar trees were planted to establish woodlands which have since matured as other species seed themselves. In 1972 the area was donated to Warwickshire County Council and it is now managed by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. The former industrial site is now a wildlife haven, particularly noted for butterflies, dragonflies and other invertebrates. Areas of lime rich grassland support populations of wild flowers now scarce elsewhere, including four species of orchid.