Wyre Forest and River Severn from Upper Arley

Hi highburyanne and KatHodg,

I just altered the walk description again following your feedback. Thank you for sharing your valuable opinion!
I hope that will be better for the next walkers.

Enjoy your walks

Date of walk : 25/06/22
Clarity of route description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Point 1. The footpath didn't seem to be signed at this point - we had to ask someone if it was the correct turning
Point 3. The path seems to peter out - it would be better to say keep on in the same direction
Point 5. We lost the path down to the Dowles Brook - not clear if it was straight on at a crossroads of paths - we only found the way again because we knew we had to head downhill

Last half of the walk was easy because we knew the way anyway. A delightful walk - really beautiful. Deer, butterflies and lots of flowers. Map was helpful

Date of walk : 23/06/21
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beautiful walk although we decided to walk it in reverse so we could have lunch in one of the pubs on the way round ( too close to breakfast to walk it the correct way)
I'd read the reviews & knew it would be a little tricky mastering some of the points but I did use Google maps occasionally to tell me where we were on the map...we were always further back than I thought!
We didn't exit the forest where we should have entered but in fact came out further up the road...luckily just past the pub.
The walk was very interesting & it was a beautiful day

Date of walk : 09/06/20
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

The instructions need work. Instruction 1, caused confusion with both my wife and I and another couple of walkers. Instruction 6 is equally vague and needs sorting out.
The walk it self is really good and we enjoyed very much.

Date of walk : 20/05/20
Clarity of route description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Excellent walk, lots of interest and a good length.

Only slightly confusing bit was near the start when you turn left off the road after Arley Station. The bonus was we saw a roe deer :-)

Date of walk : 06/07/19
Clarity of route description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good

A very pleasant walk but a lack of signposting upon entry to the Wyre Forest meant taking the wrong route of three possible paths. This complicated and extended the walk. For the benefit of others when entering the forest near St Andrews church it is the wider path to the right which will lead to the Dowles brook and the river Severn back to Arley.

Sorry to read that...
Thanks to your comment, we can do changes to improve the quality of this walk

Date of walk : 04/05/19
Clarity of route description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

My husband and I tried this walk a month ago and had to walk a section of it again yesterday as the instructions were not clear enough.
At point 2 the instructions say turn right then right , when in fact the path you need is on the left !
At point 5 , as others have said , there are multiple tracks to follow to Dowles Brook. The one you need is ahead and to the right following it downhill and this track changes to concrete towards the end.
At this point the following could improve the instructions:-“At the end of this path there is a way marker in blue , turn left here until you reach a turn on the left way marked Geo Park Way in green. At the end of this track is the B4194.”
It’s a nice walk once you know where you’re going !

Date of walk : 19/02/19
Clarity of route description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Walk interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Very enjoyable walk and no problems with route, however I would make the following comments.
(1) this point is not difficult to find as the road bends right and our path is on the left. note that the main path follows the edge of the woods,however the one you want branches off to the right after a few yards climbing up through the woods at about 25 degrees to the edge of the wood Leaving the wood, it crosses a field to the top left hand corner and re-enters woodland to join a track to the road.
(5) I only saw the sign at the start of this path, and it was easy to follow at the start however after a little way, numerous paths cross the one you want. We kept on route by heading for the sun,but use of a compass or sat-nav .is recommended unless you have better sense of direction than I do.
The walk took us 3 hours, plus a stop for lunch by the River.(both over 80 years old)
We did have the 2.5 inch map to refer to.

Sorry to hear you struggled with this walk. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve the walk description, please do let us know...

Date of walk : 25/10/18
Clarity of route description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

This is a very pleasant walk which we will certainly attempt again as we missed out a significant section. We found the directions to be a little unclear on a number of occasions. With hindsight it is probably easier to complete the walk in reverse by turning left just after the pedestrian bridge crossing the river and following the river to the major road. This gives a better opportunity to join the road at the correct point to continue the walk on the other side. Sadly we missed out this whole section and found ourselves walking down the busy road which is not recommended.

Sorry to hear you struggled to follow this walk route. If you have any suggestions of how we can improve the walk description, please let me know and we will make the changes so it is clearer for future walkers

Date of walk : 05/05/18
Clarity of route description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

This is a very pretty area of Worcestershire and there is plenty of interest on the walk, with the herritage railway, river, forest and countryside. After crossing the railway however, we couldn't find the signed footpath on the left. There were several gates, some leading to private property but no obvious or marked footpath. So we continued further up the road and attempted to join the route later. However, after finding the gate on our right and crossing a field we found ourselves at a locked gate. A lack of which direction to head in the field was missing from the description. On entering the Wyre Forest a little later on the walk we were severely hampered by a complete absence of yellow waymarks and multiple sets of paths. We persevered but eventually found ourselves at a scrapyard with 5 loose dogs excitedly protecting it. We tried another route and found ourselves in a steep ravine which we managed to cross but then found ourselves needing to trespass through a derelict plot to reach the footpath the other side. We never managed to find and follow Dowles Brook except from a distance. After reaching the B4194 the route was very simple to follow, and the river walk was very enjoyable with steam trains passing regularly, canoeists on the river and the Victoria Bridge view. Cream tea on the other side of the river or a pint at the local in Upper Arley are a great way to finish.

Date of walk : 29/04/18
Clarity of route description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Walk interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Didn’t do the forest bit but walked down the Severn to Bewdley and got the train back. A great way to spend a few hours. Had a good snack in Mugs pub at Bewdley