.gif)
Walk 3 - Pipehill Common
Along roads and tracks and across fields, Easy walking although some sections may be muddy. There are some stiles to climb. Distance 4.5 miles
1. In the Y&CC car park, face the Post Office and follow Hall Lane to the right.
2. At the bend, take Church Lane up to the church.
3. Take the path through the churchyard, continue down the hill and over the footbridge over the railway.
4. At the end of Station Road, turn left and immediately bear right.
5. Continue along Coppice Lane until it meets the main Lichfield to Walsall Road.
6. Turn left and follow the road, keeping well towards the verge as the pavement is narrow.
7. Just before the traffic lights, follow the path through the wood/heath which can be found amidst the trees near the last property boundary. This land is registered as common land and there is public access.
8. Follow the verge alongside the road to Burntwood and then turn left into Broad Lane.
9. As the track peters out, bear right along a footpath between hedges and trees.
10. Go diagonally right across the field towards the sewage works.
11. Follow the wire fence for a short distance and then turn left to go between the wire fences and tanks.
12. Cross the bridge (have a look for the minnows) and then
a) Turn immediately right and then cross the field heading for the stile in the gap. b) Cross straight over the next field. c) To cross the third field aim between the two telegraph poles beyond the next hedge (red-roofed house behind). d) At the field edge turn left and keep the ditch and fence to your right. e) Continue up the track to Gartmore and then turn right along Hall Lane.
a) Cross the field ahead keeping the large tree in the middle on your left. b) Cross the track and go under the railway. c) Bear slightly right to follow the track up to the lane. d) Turn right and retrace steps taken earlier.
Points of Interest
A. There were three early centres of population in Hammerwich, which means a place (wic) by a hill (hamor). Middleton was the area around what is now the village centre and the row by the post office was known as Middleton Terrace.
B. Hammerwich Wood, planted in 2002-4 by local landowners in conjunction with The Forest of Mercia, is the only large area of woodland in the Parish. Butterflies such as Meadow Browns are already appreciating the long grasses between the native trees which include Rowan and Bird Cherry. It will be interesting to see what woodland flora becomes established over the years.
C. Magnificent views over the countryside to Lichfield can be enjoyed from the railway footbridge which was raised in the 1960's to give extra clearance for the proposed, but cancelled, electrification of the line. In Station Road, there was a nailer's shop in 1824, one of several in the village. The 'duck pond' has been a popular destination for many generations of village children armed with crusts, but now the sight of Moorhens is more likely or even an occasional Kingfisher. It was also the venue for winter sports - in the days when we had proper winters. From here, Hall Lane swings left in an arc around the edge of Netherhole's field and nearby fields could contain a deserted village complex as it is thought that Netherton was the centre of population in medieval times. The triangular spinney bordered by lanes was the site of a defence manned by the Home Guard in the Second World War.
D. Two-thirds of the birds recorded in the Parish have been sighted on this walk. Here the old Alders provide a wonderful habitat for many creatures and all three Woodpeckers may be seen. The site of the first Nuthatch nest in the Parish in 2000 was recorded near the sharp right bend. Over towards the railway is the field that was the former village cricket ground.
E. The Wyrley and Essington Branch of the Birmingham Canal (1797-1954), fed with water from Norton Pool (now Chasewater) passed under a hump-backed bridge here where local 'lads' would go fishing. The Lichfield and Hatherton Canal Restoration Trust is working to re-open the route, originally built to serve the mines around Chasetown.
F. The introduced Turkey Oaks have prickly acorn cups. These trees, together with our two native Oaks, are hosts for alternate generations in the lifecycle of a gall wasp which is responsible for the deformed acorns on some of the Parish's most common hedgerow tree, the Pedunculate Oak. Further on an old milestone can be seen in the verge showing the miles to Lichfield and Walsall.
G. Pipehill Pumping Station originally consisted of two steam engines which drove the four borehole pumps. The water was then pumped to Barr Beacon reservoir from where it gravitated into the supply network. Fuel for the boilers was originally delivered by canal. The Canal Company charged the South Staffordshire Waterworks Company £1 per year for an easement allowing for the use of the wharf. The last horse-drawn barges delivered their coal in 1947. 1d (old penny for the younger readers!) was charged for each ton of coal unloaded. There is now a link by pipeline with Seedy Mill. A nest site on the front of the building was used by Kestrels for 15 consecutive years before the Virginia creeper was removed.
H. Here tolls were collected on the route into Lichfield for coaches, carriages, carts, wagons, packhorses and driven animals, from 1789 until the coming of the railway. Landowners could be fined for allowing traffic to cross their land to avoid paying. The income was used to maintain the road so wheeled traffic could use it, which in turn would promote trade.
I. Pipehill Common is a small remnant of a once far more extensive heathland. Small clumps of Heather and Cross-leaved Heath still exist and the current management involves removal of some of the tree cover so as to encourage the former vegetation. It is hard to visualise informal games of cricket here or the grazing of tethered horses. 'When the gorse stops flowering, lovers stop loving' - can be unromantically explained by the fact that there are two common native species of Gorse and there is always likely to be one in flower.
J. As the track becomes a footpath, ahead can be glimpsed the third of the old centres of the ancient village - Overton - more commonly called 'The Plateau' for obvious reasons. Around the next field are some young trees planted by HEG in 1998 - the first conservation work undertaken by the Group.
K. Before the left turn to proceed between the wire fences, the bright orange lichen on the post by the Oak tree is one of the toughest organisms on the planet and grows where nothing else can. This one probably feeds off nutrients in droppings from birds as they perch ready to catch the numerous insects attracted to the sewage works which was constructed in 1958 to serve Hammerwich and Burntwood. This is one of the best sites in the Parish for birdwatching. Hobbies bred nearby in 2001 and Tree Sparrows may also be seen. Above these fields Buzzards (front cover) are now a common sight having bred locally since 1998, the first fledging in the Parish in 2003.
L. The fields here have recently been sown with meadow grasses for hay and grazing for the rare breeds of Ryeland sheep and White Park cattle which may be seen. The farm is managed under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme which promotes a more sustainable agriculture together with nature conservation. Many metres of hedgerow have been planted and further new habitats created by re-profiling the ditches. Imagine...one morning, a steam train pulling to a halt within yards of this bridge...the fireman runs down the embankment...fills his cap with field mushrooms...a puff of smoke as it continues its journey to Wychnor Junction...where a delicious breakfast is cooked on the shovel in the fire of the engine...
