Distance: 7 miles

Difficulty of the terrain: hard

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

Walk through the hilly countryside between the west Worcestershire villages of Abberley and Martley, around the edge of Woodbury Hill famed for its ancient ramparts and along a short stretch of the River Teme.

The Story

Route Notes

Getting Back

Owain Glyndŵr’s Most Easterly Redoubt

Situated just south of the slightly taller, far longer, Abberley Hills in west Worcestershire, Woodbury Hill is another tall prominent hill in west Worcestershire.

It lies around five miles south west of Stourport-on-Severn not far from the village of Great Witley near the ruins of Witley Court. Woodbury Hill, which has dual summits, not unlike the Clent Hills, but on a smaller scale, stands 276 metres above sea level at its highest point.

Woodbury Hill has been a scheduled ancient monument since 1923. The hill holds this status because of the remains of an Iron Age hillfort which lie amidst its wooded peaks. From its summit there are commanding views across the River Teme valley, giving an indication of why ancient people in what is now west Worcestershire wanted to develop a stronghold of some sort on a prominent point nearby from where you can see for miles.

The hillfort on top of Woodbury Hill consisted of a single rampart and a ditch. Thousands of years after it was abandoned the hill was occupied again by a military force. Woodbury Hill represents the furthest advance inside England undertaken by Owain Glyndŵr’s rebel Welsh army in the early 15th Century. The Welsh occupied the summit of Woodbury Hill while an army sent by the English king occupied the Abberley Hills on the far side of the valley.

This confrontation between the Welsh and English armies in west Worcestershire occurred in 1405. The two armies did not fight. Instead they occupied their opposing hill tops waiting for the other to attempt to force a fight. Eventually the Welsh army, short on food, departed Woodbury Hill and headed back west into Wales.

Owain Glyndŵr’s revolt continued until 1409 when the English recaptured the last castles that he had his followers held. Glyndŵr himself, however, got away. He is believed to have died in hiding in 1416. Memorialised in amongst other places in the name sometimes given to the ancient hillfort and Woodbury hillfort itself, the anglicised Owen Glendower’s Camp.

Nor was this the last time that Woodbury Hill was used for defensive purposes. During the British Civil Wars in the early-to-mid 1640s local people assembled there and formed a “Clubmen” band. An irregular force like a militia of a guerilla group dedicated to attempting to keep the armies of both sides out of the area around Woodbury Hill, even publishing a manifesto: The Woodbury Declaration.

Route Notes

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

I create the Walk Midlands routes via Ordnance Survey Maps Explorer enabling me to take them on my phone. Subscribe yourself via the banner above.

This walk from Abberley to Martley in hilly western Worcestershire, via the foot of Woodbury Hill, begins from the bus stops outside Abberley post office. It primarily follows the Worcestershire Way long distance footpath.

Upon alighting the bus head south away from Abberley village towards the western end of the Abberley Hills along the A443.

Approaching the wooded western end of the hills and the sign for the neighbouring village of Great Witley turn right along a bridleway past the base of the Abberley Tower which stands on top of a bank to the left. This forms part of the Worcestershire Way. On the right there are views north towards the Clee Hills in southern Shropshire.

Soon you cross the grounds of the former Abberley School and reach a road on the far side beyond a set of grand sandstone gates and a sandstone lodge.

Once on the road turn left and walk a short distance until you pass a short row of old cottages. Here there is a lane on the right which you turn down and walk along.

Soon on the left there is a gate out into a field. Turn left into the field and follow a well worn path uphill.

At the top of the hill there are spectacular views and you pick up a path running along the top of the hill.

Presently you enter woodland and descend to a lane paralleling the ridge.

Walk a short distance along the lane, and then turn left heading uphill along a steep slope back to the top of the ridge and the hilltop hamlet of Birch Berrow.

Pick up the lane through Birch Berrow and head downhill, picking up a wide footpath down through the trees.

Soon you reach a lane where you turn left, and follow the road around through trees, past the base of the wood crowned, deeply historic, Woodbury Hill.

You walk around the fenced off perimeter of a deep, water filled quarry, and pick up a footpath running uphill through trees, ascending another ridge.

Joining a bridleway you walk along the ridge approaching the village of Martley, before descending through woodland.

Upon reaching a lane pick up a footpath on the far side running downhill towards the B4204. 

Cross the main road and on the far side follow the path across a couple of fields to reach the River Teme.

On reaching the Teme turn left and walk along the bank for a short distance until you reach a footpath marker pointing uphill.

Past a stand of trees you reach a lane lined with a scattering of houses which you ascend.

At the top of the hill you pick up a short stretch of path leading along the edge of the field. Partway along the path you reach a sign which marks where the Malvern geological fault runs beneath you.

Soon you return to the lane and turn left, walking straight towards the edge of Martley.

You follow the road into the heart of the village.

Presently just beyond The Crown pub you reach the village post office, convenience shop and petrol station, where the bus stop lies.

This is where the walk ends.

Getting Back

At the time of writing in May 2026 Martley was served by four buses each day towards Worcester in the early afternoon on weekdays and Saturdays. The bulk of the buses were in the early part of the afternoon, with a later, final service departing at 18:11. Worcester is a major public transport hub including frequent buses services north across Worcestershire towards the West Midlands conurbation, south towards Bristol across Gloucestershire, south towards London across the Cotswolds and west towards Hereford via Malvern.