Jacksons Bank near the village of Yoxall in South Staffordshire is a beautiful wooded area owned and maintained by the National Forest. Part of the Duchy of Lancaster’s Needwood Estate this stunning woodland is part of the National Forest Way. It’s a delightful place for a short walk which can be easily extended if you have extra energy.
I do love a good walk with the added incentive of a pub on route and this walk passes one of my favourite. The Meynell Ingram Arms is the perfect place to stop for a drink or lunch whatever the weather with cosy fires in winter and a great beer garden in Summer.
The Jacksons Bank Circular Route
Begin the walk at the main Jacksons bank Car Park, post code DE13 8RG. Enter the woods with the picnic benches to your right. If you’re bringing food, this is a lovely place to stop. We actually celebrated my Dads birthday during lockdown here and it was absolutely perfect! Here you’ll also find a map of the National Forest and the noon sculpture, a pretty cool piece of woodwork.
Follow the path for around ten minutes, it’s a bit of an incline but not too tough. When you reach a fork in the path take the right turn which will direct you further up into the woods. Keep following this next path round which will loop you back down and to the left. Once you get to the bottom of the woods again, you’ll see a narrow path leading towards a small building through a gap in the hedge.
Follow this and you’ll come out to a quiet access road. Follow this past some lovely houses and barns and you’ll reach a stream. There’s a bridge option or a ford which cars can cross. The ford is obviously more fun if you have wellies on and also a great place for a paddle on a hot day.
Turn left once you’ve had enough of the stream and keep going along this road. It is very quiet but keep an eye out for cars and tractors and stay to the side. You’ll pass farms, fields and gorgeous country homes. We sometimes take a detour into the fields if we want to add more to our hike.
Keep following this road until you reach a T junction. Here you’ll need to turn left, continue on until you reach The Meynell Pub. Do stop here for a bit, it’s a great country pub.
Once you’re fully refreshed, cross over the road from the Meynell and head up the hill away from the pub. You’ll pass fields on either side, cross back over the stream and hit a pretty challenging up hill road hike back to the Jacksons Bank car park.
You can see a map of the walk here.
How to make the walk longer: You can easily make this walk from Jacksons Bank longer by adding a loop up to Hoar Cross from the Meynell pub and back.
Duration of walk: This is an easy walk so perfect for little kids or when you just want a quick outdoor adventure. If you keep up the hike it should take you around an hour. But it really does all depend on how long you spend in the pub!
How to get to Jacksons Bank: Jacksons Bank is easy to get to on Brackenhurst Road, just off the A515 from Yoxall.
Where to park: Park in the official Carpark, postcode DE13 8RG
Jacksons Bank with dogs: This is one of Holly’s favourite places for a walk. She loves all the new smells in the woods and chasing squirrels and birds in the trees. She’s always welcome in the Meynell. We always pop her back on a lead during the road sections of the walk.
Facilities at Jacksons Bank, Staffordshire: Apart from the lovely picnic area there are no facilities on this walk. You’ll need to pop into the Meynell for toilets and refreshments.
For some other great pubs, all within 20 minutes drive of Jacksons bank take a look at this list of pubs near Hoar Cross.
Good instructions, and description of the walk. Brilliant photos. Map of the route would have made it even better.
Thank you so much, Jacksons Bank is a lovely spot for a walk. Great point about a map of the route.