Donnington Castle - a Vital Civil War Stronghold

© The Automobile Association 2008. © Crown Copyright Licence number 100021153

1 Keep the toilet block on your right and walk ahead to a vehicle barrier and a sign for the country park. Veer right at the fork and pass between sunny glades and picnic tables and benches. Follow the track to a kissing gate. Beyond them the track curves gradually to the left and then runs clear and straight to a left curve. Pass a path on the right here and continue for a few paces to a bridleway.

2 Turn sharp right and keep left at the next fork, avoiding a path on the extreme left. Keep to the right of a wooden seat and descend the bank between bracken. Cut through the trees at the bottom to a galvanised gate and follow the path ahead as it upgrades to a track. Pass Honey Bottom Cottage and go straight ahead when the track bends right. Follow the path along the woodland edge until you reach a wooden kissing gate on the right.

3 Head down the field slope towards Bagnor, with the path clearly defined by a row of waymarks. Make for a gate and follow the grassy path to the road. Turn left, pass the Blackbird inn and follow the track at the end of the car park. Go through the kissing gate and take the tarmac path up over the A34 to a golf course. Keep left at the fork on the far side of the footbridge, heading towards woodland and an intersection. Cross the drive and follow a waymarked path on the right, threading through the trees. Keep the greens and fairways on the right. Emerge from the woodland at a gate and climb the slope to Donnington Castle.

4 Look for a gate behind it, leading to a track, and turn left. Pass between the timber barns of Castle Farm and bear left, down the tarmac bridleway. Re-cross the bypass and sweep right, following the drive as it dwindles to a track. Keep right at the fork and cut between fences. On the left are extensive fairways. Follow the track towards a house set against the trees and keep to the left of it.

5 Pass through a gate on to Snelsmore Common and go straight ahead at the waymarked junction. Pass beneath power lines and continue between bracken and gorse bushes. Keep right at the next fork and follow the waymark pointing towards the car park. A useful directional landmark is the fire control tower, seen on this stretch. Merge with another path at the next waymark and, within sight of the road and just before a stile, look for a galvanised gate on the left. Go through it and return to the car park.