3,5 & 8 Mile Pub Walk/Run from The Swan, Betley, Staffordshire

Today on Run Adventurer, we are just south of Crewe, hopping over the border from Cheshire into Staffordshire at Betley. It’s a beautiful village with some really pretty buildings. There has been a settlement here for a long time with a mention in the doomsday book and a 13th Century Royal Charter for a weekly market. Some famous people have passed through over the years staying at Betley Hall and Betley Court including Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Elizabeth Gaskell and Elizabeth Tollet. The medieval church is also worth a visit, it was restored by George Gilbert Scot, the gothic revival architect whose work we’ve seen before at Sandbach.

Loop 1

For our first loop we head over the fields and up the lane towards Balterley and over the fields from Balterley Hall back into Betley its a little under 3 miles.

Loop2

For the second loop we head south down the track to Betley Common, crossing the West Coast Mainline and back across the border into Cheshire at Blakenhall. We then head over the fields towards Checkley and loop around to an alternative starting point at Wrinehill where the Crown and the Hand and Trumpet pubs are worth a visit. Finally we head around Betley Mere, some wet ground left over from the last ice age and a site of special scientific interest and back into Betley.

Do one loop or the other or both, or just sit back at home and watch the video from wherever in the world you are and enjoy a little virtual tourism.

The Route

Turn left on the main road passing The Swan, pass Betley Hall Gardens and take the path on the right and follow it over the fields to Back Lane. Turn right and follow it towards Balterley. Turn right down the drive of Balterley Hall and then at the hall turn right around the back of the barns, now turn left down the bank and across the field. Head straight on through the wood and up the bank in the next field then bear right. At the next field bear left to Bowhill Lane and turn right, follow the lane back to the village, continuing onto Church Laneand then right onto Main road by The Swan. Now turn left into Common Lane and follow the track. After the track turns right look for a fork in the path and turn right down a driveway and past some stables then left out to the field. Head straight on up the rise then bear left, follow the track to the train line turning right over the bridge and follow the track to Den Lane. Take the path opposite and bear right. At the next field cross and follow the line of trees in the next field coming out on Mill Lane at Blakenhall. Turn left and take the next path on the left which cuts through the bottom of someones garden. At the field bear right and then at the next field go through the gateway on your left and straight on to the end of the field. Now turn left and follow the path around the next field and straight on to the farm track where we turn left. Follow the track around the corner and take the path on the left head up the field, you go through the next gateway on the left and continue right up the other side of the same field boundary then over the stile and left. At the next field bear diagonally right aiming for the pylon and then at the track turn right and then left at the next field aiming for the next pylon. Now cross the railway at the bridge and follow the track to Wrinehill. Turn left on Den lane then take the path right, where the path forks bear left then head down to treelined and left following the path around the edge of Betley Mere. At the far side cross into the field and head diagonally right across the field which comes out on Common Lane where we turn right back to the starting point.