4.5 miles. Start/finish: Podmoor (A442) which lies 3 miles south of Kidderminster. There is a Garden Centre/Cafe with a car park in Whitlenge Lane, DY10 4HD or alternatively, there is limited roadside parking in the village. Alternatively, you may choose to start the walk at the Plough, Shenstone, WS14 0JN (O) Terrain is good on footpaths, tracks and through fields. Stretches on minor roads. Some of the footpaths are not well marked but the benefits of the walk are worth the effort.
Follow the footpath (A) that runs to the left-hand side of the Garden Centre until it meets the main path. Turn right and follow the path as it runs behind the garden centre, down a slope and eventually meeting a bridge across a stream (B). The path then cuts across two fields and stiles. It then turns right and then runs parallel to a hedge, gradually ascending. Before you meet the farm on the right (C) turn left along the track. The track follows a straight course through two gates after which it gently climbs through a cutting until it meets a road (D). Cross the road into the next field and cross the field heading slightly to the right of the house. The path drops into a cutting at this point but there is a stile in the dip and you can see the next stile by the road straight ahead and to the right of the house (E).
Cross the A442 carefully and go through the small iron gate. The path follows an arc around the tennis court (F), across a field and through another gate. Turn right and then left following the track, past the pond on your right. Follow the track as it runs beside the field boundaries (ignore the gates to the right). When the track bends sharply to the right, go straight on through the gate and look out for the stile on the right (G) which you will cross. The path now crosses diagonally across a ploughed field but you can see the next stile on your left (H). Cross the stile and once again cross diagonally across the ploughed field. Once you are a little higher you can see the gate in the corner of the field. After crossing the field (I), you will follow the small road to the right. a short distance to Cakebole House Farmhouse on the left (J). The path goes round the side of the house and into a field.
Diagonally opposite you can see an opening in the hedgerow (K) which is where you will head for. The path crosses a field but you may prefer to take the small track to the right a short distance before turning left. At the next stile (K) you will again head diagonally across the field (the path is very difficult to make out) and then to the left along a hedgerow. You will head toward the gap in the hedge (L) where there is a stile. Over the stile and the footpath follows a good track up a gentle gradient where excellent views are afforded of both Worcestershire and the Black Country. The path now turns to the right before it meets the road (M). Cross the road and follow the next path through the thicket and onto a field on the left hand side of the hedgerow. The path descends and meets another path. Turn right (N), crossing the hedgerow and look out for the gap in the fence which leads you to the tarmac service road in Shenstone.
Follow the road to the right until you meet the road junction. Go straight on and the Plough (O) is on your left. A superb three-roomed Bathams pub. The path now turns to the left following the road at the end of the Plough car park. Follow the small road and at the junction, turn left. Ignore the path to your right and follow the track (bounded on either side by an iron fence) until it turns into a tarmac road. Ignore the footpath that crosses the road; just keep straight on until you meet the road junction at Holly Cottage (P) where you will turn left. Follow the road until you meet the footpath on the right over a metal gate (Q). The path through the field starts a short from the gate, close to a second gate on your left.
It follows a course towards the Malvern Hills which can be seen in the distance and heads towards the corner of the hedgerow (R) that comes from the left. At the corner of the hedgerow, continue in the same direction as previously (now parallel to the hedgerow) until it turns to the right. At this point, you will cross the hedgerow. The path goes straight on into the dip and eventually runs parallel to another hedgerow until the road it met (S). Cross the road and follow the well-marked path by the right-hand side of the greenhouse and then across a ploughed field. Once you have crossed this field you are back where you started.