The Heart of England Way is a long-distance walk of around through the Midlands of England. The walk starts from Milford Common on

Cannock Chase Cannock Chase (), often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed by Forestry E ...

and ends at Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds linking south Staffordshire through

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

to east

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

(or

vice versa References

Additional references * * {{Latin phrases Lists of Latin phrases, V ca:Locució llatina#V da:Latinske ord og vendinger#V fr:Liste de locutions latines#V id:Daftar frasa Latin#V it:Locuzioni latine#V nl:Lijst van Latijns ...

). It crosses seven others: the Beacon Way, Staffordshire Way, Two Saints Way,

Arden Way The Arden Way is waymarked by the Heart of England Way Association and forms a circular walk to be enjoyed with the rest of Heart of England Way and the European route E2. Rural in character, the route traces old paths and routes through the ...

, Cotswold Way, Oxfordshire Way, and

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996. The ...

. It is maintained by the Heart of England Way Association. On 3 April 2021, Richard Antrobus set a new record, north to south, nonstop of 19 hours 47 minutes. Food and water was provided at prearranged places to comply with Covid restrictions in place at the time. Diversions due to construction of HS2 were followed with the final distance covered being 104 miles. This was confirmed by two separate trackers carried for the entire route. On 20 July 2013, Ultra Runner David Hollyoak set a solo course record of completing the entire length of the Heart Of England Way (south to north) nonstop in 25 hours 11 minutes. The run is corroborated by having a relay of runners to run sections with him all the way.

Places on the way

* Milford *

Castle Ring Castle Ring is an Iron Age hill fort, situated high up on the southern edge of Cannock Chase (The Chase), Staffordshire, England. It is the highest point on The Chase with an elevation of 242 metres (794 feet). It is near the village of ...

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

* Drayton Bassett * Shustoke * Meriden * Berkswell *

Balsall Common Balsall Common is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, England. It is situated 4.75 miles (7.5 km) northwest of Kenilworth, west of Coventry, east of Solihull and to the southeast of Birmingham, to which it serves a ...

* Rowington *

Henley-in-Arden Henley-in-Arden (also known as simply Henley) is a town in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The name is a reference to the former Forest of Arden. Henley is known for its variety of historic buildings, some of which date ...

Alcester Alcester () is a market town and civil parish of Roman origin at the junction of the River Alne and River Arrow in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England, approximately west of Stratford-upon-Avon, and 7 miles south of Reddit ...

Bidford-on-Avon Bidford-on-Avon is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire, very close to the border with Worcestershire. In the 2001 census it had a population of 4,830, increasing to 5,350 at the 2011 census. History Rykn ...

* Upper Quinton * Mickleton *

Chipping Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...

Longborough Longborough is a village and civil parish north of the market town of Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire. The parish population taken at the 2011 census was 471. The village is about east of the A424, around west of the Fosse Way ( A429) ...

Bourton-on-the-Water Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village had a population of 3,296 at the 2011 census. Much of the village ...

Gallery

References

External links

Heart of England Way

Photos taken along the Heart of England Way on geograph.org.uk
{{Transport in Gloucestershire Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in Staffordshire Footpaths in Warwickshire Footpaths in Gloucestershire