Town Maps, Walking & Cycle Routes and Podcasts

Local Walks

There are numerous wonderful walks around Shakespeare Country. 

Some of them have been published in book form and are available from our online eShop .

The National Trust  have set a number of walks based around the properties that they run:

• Packwood House to Baddesley Clinton walk
  
• 8 miles (12.9km) - moderate
  
• Beautiful walk through Arden countryside, taking in two tranquil Warwickshire properties
• Upton House and Gardens: ley line walk
  
• 5.5 miles (9km)
  
• Circle Alfred Watkins's Cotswold ley line for a taste of Civil War history

Podcasts

Podcasts are downloadable audio files which you can listen to on your computer or on an MP3 player such as an iPod.

Talking the Walk, a series of podcasts for Shakespeare Country, take you to the heart of some of England's loveliest historic towns:

• Compton Verney
• Shipston on Stour
• Southam
• Warwick
• George Eliot Country - Driving Tour
• George Eliot Country - Walking Tour
  

They are made to complement the Heritage Walk maps - not as traditional audio guides to get you from A to B - but to add colour to the history and life of the place. You don't even need to do the walk to enjoy them!

Local Cycle Routes

Three cycle routes have been developed by Stratford-on-Avon District Council to encourage leisure and recreational cycling in the District. These routes link historic towns and villages with places of interest, usually using quieter lanes and roads. Each route is signed and has a handy guide to take with you, which contains information about the places you will visit and a map of the route. The three routes can be downloaded below:

• The Cotswold and Feldon Cycle Route
• The Shipston-on-Stour to Moreton-in-Marsh Route
• The Shipston-on-Stour to Southam Route

For routes around the rest of Warwickshire see below:

• Stratford Cycle Network (pdf, 679Kb)
• Warwick and Leamington Cycle Network (pdf, 2.5Mb)
• Nuneaton Cycle Network (pdf, 396Kb)
• Rugby Cycle Network (pdf, 2.1Mb)
• Coventry Cycle Routes

National Cycle Network Routes

The National Cycle Network is a comprehensive network of safe and attractive routes to cycle and walk throughout the UK, being coordinated by Sustrans, the UK's leading sustainable transport
organisation . About a third of the network consists of traffic-free paths and the remainder follows quiet lanes or traffic-calmed roads.

The National Cycle Network in Warwickshire is being delivered through joint working between Sustrans, Warwickshire County Council, District / Borough Councils and other partners.

There are two completed National Cycle Network routes in Warwickshire and two more are currently under development:

• Oxford - Stratford-upon-Avon - Birmingham
• Stratford-upon-Avon - Warwick and Warwick - Leamington- Rugby: 'The Lias Line'
• Warwick - Kenilworth - Coventry - Nuneaton (under development)
• Rugby - Coventry - Solihull - Birmingham (under development)