HEART-OF-ENGLAND
COUNTRYSIDE VIEWS
PANORAMAS AND LONG DISTANCE VIEWS

A view across South Warwickshire from Napton Hill. This shows the flatter and more open countryside of the South of the county. The photo was taken in late-August, when the wheatfields in this area had been harvested, and are stubble, or recently ploughed, as the fields at the right.

Views Up The Avon Valley The series of pictures just below shows panoramas and long distance views, mostly looking up the Avon valley towards Warwick. These are taken from 3 hilltops, at progressively further distances away from Warwick. Firstly, there are some pictures taken from Copdock Hill, near Hampton Lucy, 5 miles South of Warwick, and mid-way between Warwick and Stratford. Then there are some views from Loxley, a village on a hill overlooking Stratford, 9 miles South of Warwick. Finally, there are some views from Ilmington Downs, in the far South of the county, 18 miles South of Warwick.     Views from Copdock Hill, 5 miles South of Warwick The panorama above shows a view from Copdock Hill near Hampton Lucy, half way between Warwick and Stratford. The view above is looking up the Avon valley in the direction of Warwick. The River Avon itself is just visible, white, in the right centre of the picture. The red box shows Warwick. The picture at the left is an enlargment of the red box. You can match up the two trees and the hedge with the panorama above. In the enlargment you can see the tower of St Mary's Church, and the towers of Warwick Castle, between the two trees. This is a view of the River Avon further round Copdock Hill. There are small fields of grazing pasture on either bank of the river. There are cattle in the field on the nearside bank, and sheep on the farside bank.     Views from Loxley, near Stratford, 9 miles South of Warwick This is a view of Stratford-Upon-Avon from Loxley, a small village on a hill overlooking Stratford. The church spire in the centre of the picture is Holy Trinity Stratford. There are good views in several directions from here. The picture below shows the view looking up the Avon valley towards Warwick (ie to the right of this picture). In the picture above (and reproduced at the left), various church spires projecting above the trees show the locations of villages and towns. Easily visible in the picture above are churches at Hampton Lucy (H), Charlecote (C), and St Mary's Warwick (W).     Views from Ilmington, 18 miles South of Warwick The highest point in Warwickshire is on Ilmington Downs, in the far South of the county, 9 miles South of Stratford. This picture is taken from the highest point on the downs, 858 feet, next to a communications relay station. There is an almost uninterrupted view here, around 360 degrees. This photo shows part of the view looking South, towards the Cotswolds Hills. This photo shows a view looking North, in the direction of Warwick and Stratford. Most of Warwickshire can be seen in this picture. The houses visible in the foreground of the picture, at the foot of the hill, are in the village of Ilmington. At left is an enlargement of part of the view above, near the right centre. With the naked eye the tower of St Mary's Warwick, and the towers of Warwick Castle (18 miles), are easily visible, though not so easy to see in the photo. Compare this picture with the view from Copdock Hill. Beyond Warwick, and in almost the same line of site, the tall buildings of The City of Coventry (23 miles) can easily be seen with the naked eye, though hard to see in the photo. Slightly to the left, the Obelisk on the hill above Stratford is easily spotted, and below it, Holy Trinity Church Stratford, and behind that the town of Stratford (9 miles away).

A view showing the tapestry of fields, in South Warwickshire, from a track leading steeply down from Ilmington Downs. The area is very popular with walkers.

The picture below is a wide angle panorama, through almost 180 degrees, showing the entire view of the Avon Valley between Coventry and Rugby. At the far left lies Coventry, Kings Newnham is two-thirds the way along the picture, and Church Lawford is visible at the far right. Rugby lies beyond Church Lawford, to the right. Various woods are visible in the background, and the River Avon meanders back and forth across the picture.

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Edgehill Edge Hill is a tiny settlement of half a dozen houses, near the top of a steep escarpment on the East side of the Avon Valley. The escarpmemt rises about 350 feet above the plain immediately below. The place gives its name to the Battle of Edge Hill, the first major Battle of the English Civil war, fought on 23 October 1642, on the plain below the escarpment. There are potentially good views from the top of the escarpment, but there is a belt of trees along the top of the escarpment, which makes it difficult to get an unobstructed view. This unusual castellated buiding, known as Radway Tower, was built around 1742 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Edgehill. It is now a small Hotel, The Castle Inn.

There is a footpath starting near the Castle Inn, leading down the hillside. As this path drops below the tree line the full extent of the view can be seen properly. The view extends from the Ilmington Downs and Meon Hill in the South (pictured in the view here), right around the Avon Valley and across mid-Warwickshire, to Coventry and beyond in the North, and the Burton Dassett Hills nearby. Stratford, although quite near, is hidden behind Loxley Hill.

A view from the Clent Hills. This is the view towards Worcester and the Malverns. There are some more views from the Clent Hills on the Clent Hills page.

A view from high ground between Berkswell and Meriden. The white buildings on the horizon are Birmingham City Centre, 12 miles distant. This is the Meriden Gap, a very fragile green buffer between Birmingham, and Coventry, which is even nearer, behind us. This picture is taken from the Heart-of-England Way, a 100-mile footpath, running from the Cotswolds to Cannock Chase.

More countryside views:
Trees and Woods
Leafy Lanes
Churches
Living Churchyards
Shakespeare's Warwickshire
Rivers
Swans
Canals
Farmland and Farming
Village Greens
Country Cottages
Pubs and Inns
Index of Locations
Heart-of-England Main Page

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