Our Sunday rambles usually have three levels of walk, strenuous (A), moderate (B) or leisurely (C), led by Birmingham Ramblers group leaders. Join us and enjoy a great day of social walking with our friendly members.

Please note: Our walks are often on rough tracks and rights of way through fields, woodland and hills. Walkers should preferably wear walking boots and other clothing suitable for the weather. Unless otherwise described, please bring a packed lunch and refreshments for the day.

This Sunday walk has 3 levels of walk:

• A Walk: 11.8 miles with a total ascent of 1200 feet
• B Walk: Approximately 9 miles
• C Walk: 7.7 miles, 1 gentle climb of 260 feet over 1.3 miles

Walk leaders:

• A Walk: Peter Searle
• B Walk: Andy Bates
• C Walk: Eva Hyde

Walk details:

• A Walk: The underlying sandstone and sandy soil in most areas of Cannock Chase result in good drainage, which together with the many firm paths provides enjoyable walking conditions at times when other areas can be unpleasantly wet and muddy underfoot. This circular walk from the White House car park will keep to the east of the Sherbrook valley, going through Parr’s Warren, Haywood Warren, Abraham’s Valley, Birches Valley, Stony Brook and Brindley Valley, and passing through a variety of attractive woodlands and heathlands. There are no stiles on this walk. Bring a picnic lunch; there is no pub.
• B Walk: The B walk leaves the White House and heads north following the Heart of England way, keeping mostly to the open shrubland. On the way we pass the Glacier Boulder. We reach Milford for lunch, where there are public toilets, café and a pub. Hopefully all will be open. After lunch we head south east heading to the Devils Dumble, then following the Sherbrook valley for a short while before climbing up towards the rifle range. We Head south just before we get to the range towards the White House.
• C Walk: Starting at the White House, we follow largely gravel tracks through mixed and coniferous woods, and heathlands. We start by going beside a stream in Brindley valley and then to the visitors’ centre, past Stonybrook and Fairoak pools, to the Birches Valley Forest centre. From here, we climb gently towards a camp site, near Rifle Range Corner and return via Parr’s Warren and the Two Saints way to the While House. No stiles. Sorry no pub; café at the Valley Forest centre (at 60% of walk). Bring a picnic lunch.

There are a limited number of total places for the walks, which is set by the social distancing requirements on the coach. Whilst we hope that everyone will be able to be accommodated on their walk of choice, the allocation of places for each walk will have to be done on the day. No-one will be expected to walk at a higher grade than they prefer - thus, for example, if you prefer the B walk you will not be asked to join the A walk but may be asked to join the C walk. The booking form allows you to specify your preferred walk.

It will only be possible to join the walk by coach, which will be picking up at 09.00 at the layby at the side of St. Chad’s Cathedral, Queensway, Birmingham B4 6EU. The coach fare will be £15 with 3 options for payment:

• Cash on the day in an envelope with your name and the date of the walk. We are unable to give change for cash payments
• Cheque on the day, made payable to COBRA
• Bank transfer in advance of the walk

For payment by bank transfer the walk coordinator will contact you about a week in advance of the walk with bank details. For payments on the day, please ensure that these are placed in the payment box on the coach before the departure; this means that there will be no close personal contact nor any handling of the money when making the payment.

Note that you cannot pay the coach fare through our Eventbrite account. Your booking for the walk will still show £0.00 but you do have to pay the coach £15 fare on or before the day of the walk.

Bookings for this walk will close at 06.00 on Sunday 13 February 2022

General Information

This is one of several walks and activities offered by the Birmingham Ramblers. If you have found this page through a web search or other means and would like to find out more about the group then please visit the Birmingham Ramblers web site; new members are always welcome.