Circular Walk from Onecote

Another trip to Staffordshire for a walk. We drove to Onecote (pronounced “on cot”) and parked near the church outside a large house associated with the Robinson family who survived 53 days in an inflatable dinghy after their yacht was sunk by killer whales near the Galapagos Islands. After walking down this road for a short distance, we followed a footpath sign saying Mermaid 3 ¼, Mixon Mines 1 ¼” which led to the farm Onecote Grange. The route led past the really nice farmhouse and along a cow muck strewn section onto a track leading to the former Mixon Mine. This was a good track and had been tarmaced and as we continued along the track we spotted a heron flying which landed nearby.
We reached another set of farm buildings with what looked like an anti-aircraft gun from WWII pointing up the track! Anyway, the immediate surroundings didn't match the map or the guide book description: there was a large pool which wasn't on the map and no obvious continuation of the path. We investigated various options until Karen found a section of path leading through a short section of conifer trees and a stile. We crossed over the stile into pasture land and dropped down to the young River Hamps and after crossing a footbridge, had a lunch stop.
After a number of stiles and gates we reach the old abandoned farmhouse of Black Brook Farm and then a track leading to the road we had driven along to Onecote earlier. After crossing Butterton Moor, we followed a lane down into the village of Butterton. Near the village pub, The Black Lion, we dropped downhill to a ford with a stone footbridge immediately afterwards we passed through a gate leading along a footpath which crossed through thirteen narrow fields connected by squeeze stiles and past another abandoned farmhouse.
From here we followed uphill on continuing pasture land until we followed more moorland and after a drink break we reached a road leading back to Onecote and where we had parked earlier. Another nice walk, this time about 5 ½ miles long.