A moderate route in Warwickshire. Check the GPS track on Outdooractive for full details of the route, waypoints, and terrain.
Starting Point: Roadside parking, Meadow Road, Wolston (SP 412 758).
Terrain: Road, path, bridge, Centenary Way, village road, A428 crossing, woodland path, Twelve O'Clock Ride, park drive, country park tracks and trails (variable) Notable features: Wolston, Brandon, Centenary Way, Twelve O'Clock Ride, Coombe Abbey, Coombe Country Park, hotel, abbey ruins, lake, woodland trails
A fine out-and-back walk from the quiet village of Wolston to one of Warwickshire's most magnificent historic estates, following the Centenary Way through the pleasant countryside north of Brandon before joining the atmospheric Twelve O'Clock Ride through the woodland to Coombe Abbey. The walk through Brandon is pleasant and straightforward, and the transition from open farmland to the formal woodland of the Twelve O'Clock Ride is a satisfying shift of character that builds anticipation for the destination ahead. Coombe Abbey itself — a Cistercian foundation of 1150 with its extraordinary Gunpowder Plot connections — is one of the great historic houses of Warwickshire, and the surrounding country park with its lake, formal gardens and woodland trails rewards as much time as you can give it. The return on the Centenary Way is straightforward and pleasant, retracing the outward route with the comfortable knowledge of familiar ground. A thoroughly enjoyable walk to a thoroughly extraordinary destination.