Trimpley Reservoir, Near Bewdley

There is a good sized gravel car park on the left hand side as you drive downhill along the narrow lane to the given start point. The aim is to then walk downhill to the river. This will take you across the Severn Valley Railway line across to the reservoirs and down to the river. I usually take a clear cut path through the woods that has a respectable slope as you go down the hillside. Good walking shoes are a bonus here. You cannot go wrong provided you keep aiming downhill. Within a few minutes you will reach a gated fence that lines the railway track. Excellent spot for photos if you have the time table for passing trains. Watch your dogs feet in the train tracks, just the right size to twist or catch them I always think. Over over the track you'll come up to a small reservoir. Keep your dog out of the water here, this is often full of blue-green algae. I usually take a left as I approach the first reservoir and you will soon be faced with a steep grass bank that takes you down to the lovely river Severn. There are a long flight of steps to take you down if you prefer a more stable means of getting down. Once down to the river you can walk either up or down stream as far as you like. Left (downstream) will take you into Bewdley direction, right (upstream) is my usual path and this goes a long way passing Highley and Bridgnorth. I also like to walk around the two reservoirs though am not confident in the water quality for the dogs, so prefer to walk along the river. When the river is a little lower it has quite a few 'beach' drop in spots for the dogs. Excellent for twig throwing and introducing young dogs to water. When in full flow you need to treat this river with respect. This is a great walk as there is a lot of flexibility in the route you pick once away from the car, and you can easily turn back once you've done enough allowing you to avoid repeating walked sections. The final hill back up to the car usual ensures you get there feeling you've had a good walk! A further note to say that there are also car parks on the right before this car park and these are ideal for walks into Eyemore woods, which is also very pleasant but quite different in scenery to the above walk. Enjoy. Nick Jones