Walks from Cannock

Remarkable survivals (Pelsall and Pelsall North Common). Greenway paths, common land, woodland and field edges. Former mining country with industrial heritage; route follows McClean Way greenway on former South Staffordshire Railway.

Time: 4h–8h

Warnings: Follows a busy road for a sixth of the walk. Barbed wire fencing; complicated road sections with M6 Toll crossing.

Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).

Recommended: A place of quiet delight, and in autumn, a painter's palette spilled across the woodland floor; The Chase... is a place of enchantment. A tried-and-tested off-road walk through woodland nature parks, alongside a railway and brooks, over the open heath and forest of Cannock Chase, with brief, benign urban sections. Gentle climbs; no stiles, only gates and steps and bridges. A worn verge provides safe passage near Hazelmoor Farm. Crosses Cannock Chase, noted for its deer. Uses well-used local paths not marked on OS maps (look for Stookie's Alley and other unmarked turnings). A detour via Canrug-2 reaches the visitor centre.

Woodland: a quarter under tree cover.

Time: 3h–6h

Lunch: A choice of refreshment, a pub chain and a large supermarket in Hednesford mid-route, plus a detour to the Chase visitor centre.

Warnings: A sign on the Chase reports cattle as summer visitors.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

A mix of residential streets, canal towpath and quiet country lanes and with a brief section of field. Mostly flat with a few stiles and steps. Largely surfaced underfoot. Briefly follows the Forest of Mercia Way.

Time: 2h30–5h

Warnings: A fifth urban. A short stretch of country lane bends with a fair amount of traffic and no pavement.

Walk details: Slow Ways.