A easy route in Warwickshire. Check the GPS track on Outdooractive for full details of the route, waypoints, and terrain.
Starting Point: Roadside layby, Edgehill (SP 371 462).
Terrain: Road crossing, car park path, farm path, field path, lane, ridge path, Macmillan Way, Centenary Way, coppice, road crossing, lane, village road, stile, steep field, farm path, Quarry Road, A422 roadside Notable features: Upton House (NT), Home Farm, Sugarswell Lane, Sunrising Hill ridge, Lake Harrison viewpoint, Macmillan Way, Centenary Way, Edgehill Covert, The Castle pub Edgehill, Grange Lane, Ratley, Ratley church, Motte and Bailey, Uplands Farm, Battle of Edgehill 1642 IMPORTANT: The return section along the A422 from SP 374 456 to SP 371 460 follows a wide verge, but this is a busy road — take great care throughout this section.
A thoroughly enjoyable circular walk along one of the finest ridge sections in Warwickshire, steeped in history at every turn and offering some of the best views in the county from the Sunrising Hill escarpment. The approach through the grounds of Upton House and across the fields to Sugarswell Lane sets the scene pleasantly before the climb to the ridge delivers the walk's finest moment — the view north across the vale that was once the floor of Lake Harrison, a prehistoric glacial lake that covered much of the English Midlands. The ridge path northeast on the Macmillan Way and Centenary Way, skirting Edgehill Covert and Farm, is fine walking with wide views on both sides, and the detour to The Castle pub at Edgehill is well worth it — Sanderson Miller's extraordinary folly tower marking the spot where Charles I raised his standard before the first battle of the Civil War is one of the most remarkable buildings in Warwickshire, and the views from the ridge are outstanding. The descent into Ratley — a handsome village with its Norman Motte and Bailey earthwork and ancient church — and the return across the fields via Uplands Farm complete a walk that packs an impressive historical punch for its modest distance. A brilliant walk on a brilliant ridge.