CAWTHORNE is a popular village with various amenities on the edge of Cannon Hall estate.

This walk begins from the village centre.

At the end of Church Street in the village centre turn left on Hill Top, and follow the road around to curve down past the school.

Just beyond, turn right on unsurfaced Dark Lane to the cricket field.

Through a kissing-gate on the left a path shadows the hedgerow away.

At the end it passes through trees into Cannon Hall Park.

At a firm path ahead, turn right over Daking Brook amid cascades and lakes.

Immediately over, leave the path and turn left through parkland on the stream edge, later enjoying views of the hall, now a museum.

At the end you enter a car park, with a cafe opposite: turn right on the road.

When it swings right keep left on Jowett House Farm road.

Turn right along the farm’s near side on a track to a gate/stile, through which keep on a rougher track along the farmyard edge.

At a gate by the last barn a grassy track runs with a fence on your left.

When this fades as the fence turns off, bear right to merge with a beck.

Cross at a gate/stile to resume beneath a gorse bank all the way to a stile into Deffer Wood.

A good path heads away, soon reaching a crossroads with a broader path.

Advance on to merge with a broader track rising from the left.

Keep straight on, reaching a T-junction.

Bear left up this, from here on ignoring any branches.

Your track rises consistently to ultimately approach the wood edge on your left, then swings more steeply uphill to arrive at gates where you join a road.

Turn briefly right past a few houses to a junction, and take a gate/stile on the right to follow an enclosed path re-entering Deffer Wood.

Turn left on the broad way, ignoring a right branch and dropping down to merge with a level track.

Turn right as far as a T-junction with a descending track. Cross onto a short path running to the wood edge.

Over the stile, head away along a hedgeside, being joined by a track to reach a stile/gate onto a road.

Cross to another stile, and bear left to the next.

Over this bear sharper right, parallel with the fence towards Cannon Hall Farm.

From a stile to its left, slant left down to another stile.

Head away past a barn, and with a fence on your right you meet several stiles, alternating between either side of the fence as you walk along.

Ultimately you reach a stile/gate into trees.

The enclosed path shadows a streamlet away, joining Daking Brook to reach a bridge at another confluence.

Across this remain on the main way running right, now with the lesser stream to a ford and clapper-type bridge.

Don’t cross but take the broad way straight ahead, climbing to re-enter the village.