page_title: Monarch's Way
section_title: Worcester to Stratford-upon-Avon via Boscobel (180 mi, 290 km)
hierarchical_section_title: Monarch's Way / Route description / Worcester to Stratford-upon-Avon via Boscobel (180 mi, 290 km)
caption_attribution_description: The Monarch's Way picks up the closed Anson Branch Canal. This section of the Monarch's Way follows the canal system through the heart of the Black Country .
context_page_description: The Monarch's Way is a 625-mile long-distance footpath in England that approximates the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after being defeated in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester via Bristol and Yeovil to Shoreham, West Sussex.
  All of the footpath is waymarked. The waymark is yellow and shows a picture of the ship Surprise above the Prince of Wales three-point feathered crown which is superimposed on a Royal Oak tree in black.
  The route is shown as a series of green diamonds on the Ordnance Survey 1:25000 maps and of red diamonds on its 1:50000 maps.
context_section_description: A memorial near Powick Bridge commemorates the thousands of Scots who perished in the Royalist cause at the Battle of Worcester. Powick Bridge saw both the first and last engagements of the English Civil War. From here the footpath follows the banks of the River Teme and River Severn across the battlefield to enter the 'Faithful City' of Worcester . The King watched the battle unfold from the tower of the cathedral before fleeing with Colonel Charles Giffard of Chillington and others.
  The Monarch's Way leaves the city past the Commandery, now a museum, on the towpath of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal then crossing to the Droitwich Canal, to Droitwich. Heading north it passes Chaddesley Corbett and Hagley on its way to Stourbridge. Here it joins the towpath of the Stourbridge Canal negotiating the four locks at Stourton to join the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. Continuing north along the canal to the Bratch Locks at Wombourne to pick up the trackbed of the former Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway now the South Staffordshire Railway Walk to Oaken. Leaving the railway the northerly route continues passing Pendrell Hall and Boscobel to White Ladies Priory. The King was hidden overnight in the house by Richard Pendrell.
  The next part of the route traces the King's unsuccessful attempt to cross the River Severn to escape into Wales. Leaving White Ladies and the nearby Pendrell home at Hubbal Grange the route turns west via Tong to Evelith Mill and Kemberton. Reaching Madeley it became apparent that the river crossings were well guarded and the King spent a night in the 'Royal Barn' before beating a hasty retreat. Retracing the route through Norton and Beckbury to Boscobel House where the King hid in an oak tree to avoid capture. A descendant of the Royal Oak stands in the grounds of the English Heritage property.
  An alternative plan was hatched for the King's escape and the path now heads east. Crossing the grounds of Chillington Hall and using sections of the Shropshire Union Canal and Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal it reaches Moseley Old Hall, now a National Trust property, where the King was hidden in a 'Priest hole'. From Moseley Old Hall the King left in the night for Bentley Hall with Colonel Lane. The Monarch's Way passes Northycote Farm and Essington before entering the fringe of the urban West Midlands. The route follows the Wyrley & Essington Canal the 'Curly Wyrley' and the ancient forest at Rough Wood to reach Bentley Hall at Bentley, West Midlands.
  The Monarch's Way picks up the closed Anson Branch Canal. This section of the Monarch's Way follows the canal system through the heart of the Black Country using Walsall Canal, Wednesbury Old Canal, Netherton Tunnel and Dudley Canal to Halesowen.
  Bromsgrove, Headless Cross, Alcester, Wootton Wawen, Snitterfield, Welcombe Hills Country Park
  Finally following the canal until it joins the River Avon in the centre of Stratford-upon-Avon.
caption: Monarch's Way following the towpath of the Anson Branch Canal
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