Enjoy a public footpath walk through beautiful north Worcestershire countryside and explore the rich industrial heritage of the picture postcard village of Belbroughton. Walking and spending time in nature are good for your mental and physical health!
Directions
4.5 miles (7.5km)
(Note for dog walkers – there are a number of stiles on this trail that larger/less agile dogs may struggle to get over)
Starting from Shut Mill Lane, next to Sling Pool (where there is space to park), head up the lane (Sling Pool to your right) to the junction ahead and turn sharp left up towards some houses. Take the concrete road up to the right towards Calcot Farm. There are fine views to the left across Worcestershire to the Malvern Hills and Clee Hill. At the top go through the kissing gate next to the boulder that was carried here in the ice age from Wales. Continue around to the right and through another kissing gate, and then descend down through two fields to reach a stile by the road. Shut Mill (1) is to your left.
Turn right and follow the road, taking the left, downhill fork. At the bottom go ahead onto a footpath that leads through the Sling Pool area before regaining the road. At the junction ahead, turn sharp left and look for a public footpath sign on the right. (2)
Follow the path across the fields to reach a stile onto the road above the Bell Inn. Go down and around to your right, then cross the A491 at the traffic lights onto Hartle Lane. (3)
Follow the footpath on the left-hand side of the road until you reach a side road to the right (Galton’s Lane). Taking care to cross the road, a short distance down the side road is the site of Galton’s Mill (4).
Return to Hartle Lane and follow this for about 100m looking out for a footpath sign by a stile on the right. Take the footpath across the field to another stile and then turn right to follow the path by the perimeter of the next field. Ahead are two mill pools and some houses. Keep to the path that follows the field perimeter around to the left, with the mill pond on your right. There are swans and other waterfowl here. (5)
Leaving the field at the corner, follow the path along the dyke that separates two mill ponds until you emerge at an area where there may be various items of farm machinery. Continue ahead and follow the path down to a stile, and across the next field to a stile by a gate. Go over the stile onto Dark Lane. Turn left and walk along Dark Lane. (6)
At the end of Dark Lane is a small green and across the road you can see the Belbroughton village sign. (7)
Go straight ahead, taking care crossing the road, to enter a narrow footpath that leads up between the houses, and then turn left to follow the path through woodland behind and above the houses that line the Belne Brook. Pass through two kissing gates. On your right is the entrance to some stables. Take a short walk down to your left where the Belne Brook flows under a bridge. This is the site of the Nash Works. (8)
Go back to the stables entrance then left along a narrow path between a wall and high hedge, until you emerge past some cottages onto the road where it crosses the Belne Brook. (9)
Cross the road onto the pavement and follow this to the corner. Continue straight ahead down Drayton road, past the information boards and beside Little Bell Hall Pool (now drained). Just before the corner ahead there are some gates on your left. Go through here onto the broad road/track and follow this to the end. (10)
Follow the footpath down to the right with a brick wall on your left, then cross the footbridge and follow the path on the right hand side of the brook. Cross over two stiles, the second of which brings you into the grounds of Drayton House. Keep to the footpath alongside the fence until you reach a gate at the end which brings you back onto the road at the hamlet of Drayton (11).
Key to Mill Sites
1. Shut Mill (site of)
A mill stood on this site in 1295 and it was initially used as a flour mill. It was later adapted for other purposes and was last used for bone grinding by George Dealey. It closed in 1886, the wheel was removed in 1920 and shortly afterwards the mill was demolished.
2. Newtown Forge (site of)
Shown on a map of 1800. It was Isaac Nash’s first scythe making venture in the area and in 1840 he employed two men. It closed in 1926.
3. Bell End Mill (site of)
In the late 1700s the mill was leased from the Noels (of Bell Hall) by J. Spurrier. For most of the 19th century it was worked as a flour mill by the Blundell family. Later it became a gristing mill and was eventually taken over by Isaac Nash for scythe grinding. It was demolished in 1963 to make way for the A491.
Bell Hall Mill (not shown on map)
A blade mill stood on a site about 200m from Bell End Mill in the 16th century. It was demolished in 1847 when the present road (Hartle Lane) was diverted from its initial route , which ran south of the Norman Chapel.
4. Galton’s Mill
A mill on this site was occupied by J. Savage in the 16th century and known as Savage’s Mill. It was used for corn grinding. During the Napoleonic wars it was used for gun barrel grinding for Farmer & Galton, the Birmingham firm of gun makers and became known as Galton’s Mill. Isaac Nash took it over in 1846 and it was used for scythe grinding until it closed in 1942. The building still exists and contains a cast iron mill wheel (not accessible), possibly one of the earliest survivng iron wheels in the Midlands.
5. Middle Mill (site of)
A forge existed here in the 19th century. Water power was still being used here in the 1950s, worked by Eddie Moore, last of a long line of a forging family. The mill closed in 1953.
6. Blade Mill (site not accessible)
William Hooper inherited the mill, as part of Yew Tree House estate, from his uncle, William Clinton, in 1781. It was worked by the Waldrons, but believed to be demolished before the middle of the 19th century.
7. Corn Mill (Yew Tree Mill) (site of)
Like Blade Mill, this was inherited by William Hooper in 1781. It was used for corn milling and fell out of use in the 1920s. It was used for fire practice in the Second World war and was demolished in 1947.
8. Nash Works (site of)
This was the centre of Belbroughton’s scythe industry and had originally been a water mill. Owned and worked by the Waldrons in the late 1700s, it was taken over by Isaac Nash in 1873. It closed in 1968.
9. Lower Belbroughton Mill (site of)
Used for the manufacture of coarse cloth or ‘Nogs’ in the 18th century, it then became a corn mill in the 19th century. In 1884 it was taken over by Isaac Nash and used for scythe and hook grinding until it was demolished in 1928. The stones from the site can be seen in the stream, near the bridge, wher you can also see the remains of the sluice gate.
10. Weybridge Forges (site of)
It was developed by the gunmakers Farmer & Galton in 1751, but had been a corn grinding mill before that. It was later taken over by the Waldrons and then Isaac Nash. The site is now covered by sewage beds and a commercial property.
11. Drayton Mill
It was used for spinning yarn for the Kidderminster carpet trade at the end of the 18th century. It was put to various uses before Isaac Nash took it over in 1865 for grinding and finishing. Its exceptional water power was used up to 1929, then replaced by a turbine. The building is still intact.
Belbroughton History Society 