Distance: 8 miles

Difficulty of the terrain: medium

Get the route: via Ordnance Survey Maps or download the GPX. file from Dropbox

Walk from Halesowen to Hagley via the Clent Hills, St. Kenelm’s Pass and Clent village begining from the Mucklow Hill bus stop beside the entrance to Leasowes Park.

The Story

Route Notes

Getting Back

At the Foot of St. Kenelm’s Pass

Clent is a distended, chocolate box pretty village in northern Worcestershire, nestled on the western slopes of the Clent Hills. Its name purportedly comes from an Old English word for “rock” which makes sense given its topographical situation in one of the hilliest parts of northern Worcestershire. Bizarrely prior to an early effort to tidy up county boundaries in 1844, Clent was in Staffordshire, despite being entirely surrounded by Worcestershire. The story has it that Staffordshire seized the land from Worcestershire by force in the early medieval period prior to the Norman Conquest.

Approached from the Black Country over the Clent Hills, Clent village’s historic centre is reached down St. Kenelm’s Pass. This wooded cleft descends from the saddle of the Clent Hills, the midpoint between the range’s two summits, both of which stand more than 300 metres above sea level.

St. Kenelm’s Pass is named after the mythical Mercian boy king Kenelm, who so the story goes, was murdered at the place where the River Stour rises beside St. Kenelm’s Church on the western edge of Romsley. The Pass is named after the story and its strong association with Clent. During the middle ages when the “cult of Kenelm” was at its height, and Clent was one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in England, devotees used to walk from St. Kenelm’s Church, possibly down St. Kenlem’s Pass, through Clent village, and then south east to Winchcombe in the north Cotswolds, where the murdered regal saint was supposedly laid to rest. Modern versions of the route have been created in recent decades.

Route Notes

Get the route: via Ordnance Survey Maps or download the gpx. from Dropbox

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This walk from Halesowen to Hagley via the Clent Hills, St. Kenelm’s Pass and Clent village begins from Mucklow Hill from the bus stop beside the entrance to Leasowes Park.

Upon alighting the bus turn left and head down a ramp into Leasowes Park.

Once in the park, turn left picking up the line of the former Dudley No. 2 Canal, which was partially conserved in the early 1990s, following it across the park.

On the far side of the park continue along the line of the former canal, until you enter a small late 20th Century housing estate, and come out beside the Hagley Road, Halesowen’s southern bypass. It is here that you first glimpse the Clent Hills.

Upon reaching Hagley Road turn right and follow the road downhill past the ruins of Halesowen Abbey.

Presently you reach a major roundabout where you cross Grange Road which leads back towards Halesowen town centre. Here the pavement ends, so rather than walking along the side of a dual carriageway, turn right and walk a short way along Grange Road, to the mouth of Dogkennel Road which runs through Halesowen’s southern suburban fringe paralleling the Hagley Road. 

Walk straight along suburban roads, many named after places in rural Worcestershire, until you reach the the Hagley Road again.

Here you cross the road and head along a stretch of pavement until you reach a waymarked footpath towards the Clent Hills in the distance. Descending a bank through trees you cross a stream, and head across a meadow on the far side.

Keep on straight ahead along this path approaching the edge of Uffmoor Wood.

Cross a driveway immediately below the Clent Hill’s twin peaks and follow the path up along the edge of the woods.

At the top of the woods cross a meadow managed by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust to reach St. Kenlem’s Well beneath St. Kenelm’s Church. This is the canonical source of the River Stour.

Exit the churchyard onto the road, and turn left, before turning right and walking a short distance uphill to reach a footpath running uphill towards the tree line summit of Walton Hill the taller of Clent’s two peaks.

Walk uphill along this path. There are spectacular views back across the south western Black Country and towards Birmingham city centre from near the top.

Upon reaching the upper boundary of the field clamber up some steps onto a tree lined lane.

Turn right on this lane and walk past one of the National Trust car parks for the hills to reach the top of St. Kenelm’s Pass.

On reaching the summit of the pass turn left and begin walking downhill through the trees towards Clent village.

Continue quite some distance, taking care as you walk because it is a public road, although visibility at a distance for motorists is generally reasonably good.

Presently you pass the first houses in Clent and the Vine Inn pub.

Soon you reach the crossroads in the centre of Clent where St. Leonard’s Church and a scattering of shops including the Jaipur Cottage curry house stand.

Turn right at the cross roads and head north past the lowest slopes of thr Clent Hills, the Fountain Inn and Ruskin Mill.

Soon you turn off the road to the right heading along a bridleway.

Here you join the North Worcestershire Path where you turn left and cross the parkland surrounding Hagley Hall.

You approach the north eastern edge of Hagley, then turn left along a road lined with houses along one side.

Soon you reach more central parts of Hagley and continue walking straight across a series of main roads towards the station.

Presently you reach the village’s station.

This is where the walk ends.

Getting Back

From Hagley Station frequent trains run back towards Stourbridge and Birmingham (then on towards Solihull and Stratford-upon-Avon). Trains also run south towards Kidderminster and Worcester. From Stourbridge it is possible to get buses to many destinations, whilst Birmingham has trains to all key centres in the Midlands and beyond.