The prettiest river walk in Yoxall, Staffordshire.

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The village of Yoxall in Staffordshire is perched on the River Swarbourn. This is a ten mile long stretch of water, a tributary of the larger river Trent. In recent months I’ve desperately missed water, seas, lakes and reservoirs all a little too far for me to remain local. A river walk in Yoxall was the perfect compromise to refill my cup. This walk is around 3 miles and took us just over an hour. Its fairly easy, well signposted but very muddy.

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The River walk in Yoxall route.

Start the walk in the village of Yoxall. You should easily find parking on one of the side roads but you’ll want to be close to the Goose Green community park and the Crown Inn. From Goose Green which has a helpful sign for the National Forest Way. Cross over the road (B5016) then cross the bridge over the Swarbourn. You’ll be heading towards Barton Under Needwood. There’s limited pavement on this part of the road so just be very careful with kids and dogs. You won’t be on it for long. As you reach the pretty black and whit house, take the small access road to the right of it.

Keep going down here until you reach Old Manor House Farm. Go over the stile and keep going along the next footpath. Pretty soon you’ll reach a metal kissing gate. Pass through here and into the open field and a rather welcoming stick man sculpture. Keeping him to your right continue through the next gate to the left of the field.

This bit gets a little steep and very muddy after rain. Wellies and slow and steady are worth remembering. If you fancy stopping for a good view, take the wooden steps to your left about halfway down this path. This takes you to a pretty covered viewpoint, a lovely place to stop for a breather or a picnic. Keep going on this path to the next wooden stile and the friendly were rabbit directing you on your way.

You have a couple of options here, it’s either left through the fields which is another lovely four mile route. You can check out the details of this walk in my other posts on Yoxall walks. OR to the right and the Yoxall river walk. Keep going across the field to the next stile. This is clearly marked with a wooden pole topped in yellow paint. Cross over this, making sure to glance down, you should see a cute wooden crocodile at your feet.

There’s also a nice wooden bench here. Ideal for a thermos of coffee to warm up or a picnic if you can spare the time.

We then skirted round the edge of this field, keeping the boundary to our left and the trees to our right. You’ll eventually get down to the river. Follow it along, keeping the water on your left.

You could veer off into the trees for a bit of hide and seek or just some pretty pictures.

Throughs the trees you’ll come to a path which takes you to the water station, you’ll see a green bridge. You don’t need to cross it but we stopped for a quick game of pooh sticks. Keeping the river and bridge to your left you’ll pass a lovely pond through the reeds. This was partly frozen when we visited in January and was so pretty.

The path then takes you back up through the fields meandering through the green until you reach the stile with the crocodile again. We got a little lost at this point and ended up walking round a field unnecessarily. Not a problem but just keep in mind you want to be heading slightly to your right.

Once you’ve reached the friendly crocodile it’s just a case of retracing your steps across the field to the were rabbit. Then back along the path and eventually into Yoxall village.

The Yoxall river walk details

The Yoxall River Walk with dogs:

Most gates and stiles on this walk are easily passable for dogs although we did have to lift Holly over one stile. Dogs can remain off the lead for a lot of the walk and there are plenty of sticks to throw near the river. Please always clean up after your dog. You’ll find a red dog waste bin at the start or end of your walk at the entrance to the Goose Green Park.

Length of walk: This one comes in at around 3 miles.

Walk duration: The river walk took us about an hour. We did get a little lost so you could easily shave off some time. If you want a longer walk then just add the fields walk when you get back to the were rabbit.

Difficulty: This is not a difficult walk at all. There’s a slight elevation on the second path but nothing too challenging. The mud is probably the most difficult part and I wouldn’t recommend it for wheelchairs or pushchairs.

Facilities: There are no toilets or cafes along this walk. As we’re currently in lockdown, all the pubs in Yoxall are closed for food and drink. Bring your own snacks and drinks or stop off on your way to Yoxall at the Foresters Arms for a take out pork bap and coffee.

Parking for the Yoxall river walk: To reach the village of Yoxall, put DE13 8NQ into your sat nav. This will get you to the crown pub, just find somewhere to safely leave your car on one of the side roads.

If you don’t have the time to follow this route, try this quick walk in Yoxall. At less that an hour this two mile walk is perfect if you’re short on time.

Make sure to pin for later for your next walk in Yoxall, Staffordshire.