Walk Earlswood Lakes to Wythall Via Clowes Wood

The walks around Earlswood Lake and the countryside near Wythall are lovely. I needed to find a new local West Midlands walk, so I went full zoom on Google Maps. Out popped Earlswood Lakes on the Birmingham/Warwickshire border, which was relatively local and simple to get to.

I decided the endpoint would be a chippy I have visited when dropping the dog off at the Hylton Hound Hotel kennels in Wythall. Game on; it was a sunny day. I packed the daypack, so off we go.

Birmingham to The Lakes Train

The train to the Lakes is the Birmingham-to-Stratford-upon-Avon service from Snow Hill Station in Colmore Row. The journey is pretty straightforward; however, you need to request to stop at The Lakes Train Station from the conductor. Note: the front carriage is the only one that stops on the tiny platform at The Lakes Train Station.

Map of the Walk From The Lakes to Wythall Train Station

The Lakes Train Station

The train station is small and rather charming, with a tiny platform and not much else. From the station, I walked down Cloweswood Lane as planned to reach Earlwood Lakes. This is a lovely country lane with nice big houses. One such house was selling some local produce.

On a table out the front were some local honey, bedding plants, pickled onions, and preserves. These looked great; however, with zero cash on me, I couldn’t grab some local Warwickshire honey.

Mereside Ponds Fishing

An unexpected sight at the end of the lane was a fishing club called Mereside Ponds with three small ponds. They have signs advertising fishing at £5 per day and looked rather busy. Also on the site is a cafe for refreshments. They are not very well advertised on the internet; however, I found a helpful site with information about Mereside Ponds and other local places to go fishing.

Earlswood Lakes in Warwickshire

They constructed the three lakes in the 1820s to feed water to the Stratford-upon-Avon canal. It took nearly five years to complete. Prisoners of war from the Napoleonic wars did the labour. The lakes are 20 acres in size and are fed by tributaries of the River Blythe.

The lakes are all being renovated and thus have signs warning visitors. There are also signs that dogs must be on leads around the lakes. There are also warning signs about the mud; it seemed to be the sort of mud that you could sink in.

Terry’s Pool at Earlswood Lakes

At the end of Cloweswood Lane is a clearly marked footpath with gates and a footbridge that leads you to the first lake, Terry’s Pool. Terry’s Pool was rather quiet along the footpath and seemed the least popular of the three parts of this section. It reminded me of mangrove swamps, which were havens for wildlife, and I spotted mallards, a grey heron, and a coot on the water here. In the trees were many songbirds, including bullfinches and robins.

Some trees also had bat boxes. I assume this may be a great place to spot bats at dusk. Terry’s pool ends at a levee, which is also a walkway separating the ponds; the next one is the Engine House Pool.

East Bank of Engine House Pool

The trail took us down the east bank of the Engine House Pool, which was a slightly busier path. There is also a beach here, with warning signs not to walk on it.

However, many small groups were sitting on the sand enjoying a picnic. I guess the signs are a general warning about deep mud, as it seemed to get muddy rather quickly in spots.

There were also Canal and River Trust warning signs about not swimming. The path ended at Malthouse Lane, a rather nice-looking residential street in between the Earlswood Lakes.

Windmill Pond & Sailing Club

After crossing Malthouse Lane, the path went to Windmill Pond, which looked rather interesting, as there was a sailing boat on it. A short way down the trail was The Sailing Club with a nice jetty and loads of boats. Earlswood Sailing Club looked rather nice, and on further research, they offer sailing lessons, training and also events.

The onward path was treelined for a while and was rather muddy, even on the sunny day. It was nice and quiet, though, just like I like it.

At the end of the lake were a few benches to sit and enjoy the views on Windmill Lake. This was also a handy and quiet spot to sit and enjoy a picnic. The views at this end were spectacular, with no glare in the afternoon, and it was rather quiet, which was nice. This end also had an empty beach.

I continued walking along the east bank and spotted some freshwater clam shells. This reminded me of the ones we used to find while swimming in the gravel pits when we were younger.

The rest of the path to the road had a rather clear stream alongside it, with lots of small fish calling it home.

Wildlife at Earlswood Lakes

At the end of this section, towards the main road, were some rather informative posters about the wildlife that call the ponds home. There was also a map of the fishing areas you can use, as well as the rules of the ponds. Species in the lake include:

• Pike
• Tench
• Perch
• Roach
• Carp
• Bream

The area’s wildlife includes many birds and insects, many of which you can see. These include:

• Jay
• Green Woodpecker
• Bullfinch
• Kingfisher
• Stoat
• March Marigold
• Peacock Butterflies
• Comma
• Great Crested Grebe
• Moorhem
• Grey Heron
• Damselfly
• Brinston
• Daubenton’s Bats

The signs were rather educational and highlighted the diverse habitat at Earlswood Lakes. The next phase of the walk was along the road at the north end of the lakes. This had magnificent views, but I was glad to get off the road again at Earlswood Engine House.

Earlswood Engine House

The Earlswood Engine House is a Grade II-listed building and was built in 1823 to house a beam engine used to pump water from the lakes into the canals. However, the original beam engine was replaced by an electric one in 1936. It is a rather nice brick building with a Welsh slate roof.

The West Path

Along the west path were several popular beaches, with people enjoying the sun despite the many signs. This was the busiest path up to Terry’s Pool. From Terry’s Pool, the footpath went quiet, and not a soul was in sight, just the way I like it.

Here was rather remote and popular with coots and mallards. Also, we heard the distinctive sound of the woodpecker doing his business; sadly, I could not see the bird. However, signs show the green woodpecker calls this area home. Towards the bottom of Terry’s Pool, there is a path into Clowes Wood Nature Reserve.

Clowes Wood Nature Reserve

The next phase of this walk took us through Clowes Wood Nature Reserve, a pleasant woodland area. Komoot noted that it has many trails running through it, separated by the railway line. However, works meant that crossing the railway into “Big Clowes Wood” was not possible. Clowes Wood was the first reserve owned by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, thanks to a donor in 1974.

Habitats in Clowes Wood include heathland, woodland and wet meadow, and it’s a delightful place to explore. There are streams running through with wooden footbridges to help visitors enjoy the space.

While exploring, we spotted remnants of shelter-making, including small bivouacs and lean-tos. There were also many types of trees, and apparently later in the year it is home to many species of wildflowers and birds. Further research shows that foxes, badgers, muntjac deer, and brown hares all call this place home.

We navigated through the woodland to reach the trail leading to Forshaw Heath Road.

Walk From Clowes Wood to Forshaw Heath Road

After exploring the woodland, it was time to head onwards. This required crossing the field to Forshaw Heath Road on a specific footpath. This was easy to find with Komoot and had a thin gate to fit through to reach the farmland.

The field had a well-trodden path through it that was easy to follow. The views of the farm fields were splendid. This was a short path that led to the road, which you needed to walk along for about 100 metres.

Walk Across Fields From Forshaw Heath Road to Wythall

The final countryside leg of this walk was from the road through lots of farmland towards Wythall. We walked through this during the golden hour. However, clouds spoilt the spectacle, but I would love to revisit to see the sunset on a clearer day.

The path passed through various fields that were easy for me to follow. However, there were signs to ensure you followed the path. This path takes you downhill towards the visible railway line and is rather pleasant.

At the railway line, there is a bridge/tunnel underneath it. Upon seeing the walkway, my first thought was of the Stephen King movie IT. Anyway, this was an uneventful passing through. There were no clowns or balloons.

The path then continued up the hill alongside Fulford Heath Golf Club. This path was tree-lined, and it followed a stream. To make it easier for hikers, wooden bridges spanned sections of the brook. Hey presto, we were in the village of Wythall.

Wythall, Birmingham

Wythall Fish Bar was to be the place for tea tonight. I opted for a humble pie and chips, and they were delicious to eat in the station while awaiting the return train to Birmingham city centre.

Review of The Earlswood Lake Walk

This was a delightful walk near Birmingham, with the first part in open countryside. The area certainly delivered and was a pleasant place to spend time. Although some lakes were busy, the other trails were rather peaceful, especially in the woods and farmland back to Wythall.