We had been invited over to our daughter’s for a bit of a barby and to help get my miles in, I decided to walk over. The shortest route is around seven miles but that’s along some busy roads so not very enjoyable.
Checking on Plotaroute, I devised a route that would be mainly along the canal and through a water park.
Getting to the start of my walk involved short bus journey followed by a short walk along the busy A452 before I could join the Birmingham & Fazeley canal at the Tyburn House.
Not long after the start of the canal section, I spied , across the water, an old telephone box – obviously not in it’s original place.
I seem to remember, that previously, this location had an old Midland Red bus stop.
From the telephone box, I descended three locks towards Minworth then continued on the flat for around three miles to the somewhat spread out Curdworth flight of another severn locks.
Between the two flights, I had to pass through the Curdworth Tunnel. The grade 2 listed tunnel is only around fifty seven yards long and is the only tunnel on this canal.
At Curdworth lock number seven, I left the canal to follow the route of Seeney Lane to the small hamlet of Marston. This used to be quite a rural, rutted track but has been upgraded by HS2 and is now a hard packed road.
At Marston, I took the Old Kingsbury Road through Kingsbury Water Park to emerge at the foot of a flight of steps up to the church of St. Peter & St. Paul and the centre of the village.
I made a stop at the local Co-Op for some bit for the barbecue and a can of pop to rehydrate myself, before the last third of a mile to my destination.
Total distance was 8.35 miles which I walked in 2:09 – average pace of 15:30 per mile. This is the fastest walk for quite a while. On of my mile splits was UNDER fifteen minutes.
The knees were a little sore but not too bad and now a couple of hours later all feels fine. When it comes to bed time; that’s when I’ll know how it’s affected me.