Castle walk
(4 miles)
Berkswell Parish used to be in Warwickshire.
The dominant lord was based at Kenilworth Castle that was sometimes in the direct possession of the crown and at other times had its own Lord.
One such was Robert Dudley 1st Earl of Leicester and a favourite and suitor to Queen Elizabeth 1st.
This walk has a good café, Time for Teas, on Sundays you can also get mulled wine and Harrington's next door to lovely cakes
on Castle Hill (road) opposite the car park about 50 metres up the road. It is open selling take away tea/coffee and food which can be eaten on Castle Green. A good end to a walk.
This walk starts at the car park in front of the castle opposite Castle Green. Park your car there.
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Starting the walk
This walk is fairly flat with some muddy spots in winter. Trainers should be ok in summer but boots/walking shoes in winter.
The walk starts in Purlieu Lane. You can get to that in two ways. Either take the small path on the north side of the car park shown by the castle walls.
Follow it down but bear right as the castle walls swing off to the left.
You need to get to the lane and then turn right. Alternatively, from the car park, cross over the road, and go left on the pavement. After 50 metres you will see a lane (Purlieu Lane) on the other side of the lane. Carefully cross the road and go down this track. See number 1 on the map
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Follow this track/lane up the hill and it will then turn into a footpath going down the other side of the hill. This brings you to “The Pleasance”. (Number 2 on the map).
There is a tourist information sign explaining the Pleasance at a wooden kissing gate. Here you go straight across the track, keeping the Pleasance on your right.
You will walk on a grass field and in the near distance you can see a kissing gate with a post with a yellow cap. That is your route. There is a wooden plank bridge over a bit of water. Not great because the bridge is not quite long enough. There are some logs to help you across some mud.
In the summer there is a “pop-up” tea shop at Pleasance farm across the field to your right where tea/coffee and great cakes are served in July to September on Saturdays and Sundays. They use an old Sheppard's hut in the garden of the farm house.
Simply follow the footpath signs until you enter some large arable fields. This is a very typical and great country walk. You keep the hedge on your right and on your left are big open fields. You might see deer and almost certainly pheasants. They will run across the fields and call like Velociraptors from the film Jurassic Park, but being under a foot high they are no threat.
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A great field walk with or without velociraptors
Follow the field boundary until you find a track crossing (point 3 on map) where you turn right up a small rise. When you hit the metalled road turn right again. This is Chase Lane. Very little traffic because it is a no through road serving a few cottages and Honiley Farm.
Walk down Chase Lane with the wood on your right.
Walk for about a mile until you come to a row of 3 cottages on your right. These are Chase Cottages although the first of the terrace calls itself “Saddlers Cottage”.
You take the footpath to the right opposite the last of these cottages (No 1 Chase Cottages ). There is a finger post sign saying “Purlieu Lane 2/3rds mile”. In the distance you can see Kenilworth Castle and you walk in straight line, with the odd bend, back to it.
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Glowering Kenilworth Castle
When the path hits Purlieu Lane and you are almost back to where you started.
