A moderate route in Warwickshire. Check the GPS track on Outdooractive for full details of the route, waypoints, and terrain.
Starting Point: Roadside parking, Hunningham village (SP 375 683)
HS2 WARNING: The HS2 construction corridor passes through this area from around SP 340 703 onwards past Cubbington Woods. Check that paths are open before undertaking this walk. When this walk was completed all paths were open, and where any had been closed alternative routes had been created — but the situation may have changed. Terrain: Village road, bridge, Millennium Way field paths, Shakespeare's Avon Way, lane, Centenary Way field paths, road, farm track, field paths, HS2 construction area (check before walking), road crossings, woodland path, field paths, River Leam, road
A fine and varied circular from Hunningham that draws together three of the great named routes in this part of Warwickshire — the Millennium Way, Shakespeare's Avon Way and the Centenary Way — across a landscape that is quiet, pastoral and largely unspoilt despite the shadow of HS2 passing through one corner of it. The outward leg west on the Millennium Way is pleasant field-path walking, with the Shakespeare's Avon Way picking up through Weston under Wetherley and carrying the route north through agreeable countryside to Waverley Wood. The Centenary Way takes over for the longer westward arc to Stareton, the paths clear and the views open across the Warwickshire plain. The HS2 section requires a degree of vigilance — conditions may have changed since this walk was completed — but the construction corridor is crossed efficiently and the woodland path beyond it is a welcome return to quieter country. The return along the River Leam is particularly enjoyable, the river path easy and the discovery of the medieval moat site near Wappenbury Farm a small but pleasing reminder that this apparently unremarkable riverside corner has a longer history than it might at first suggest.