A geographical quirk of living in the middle of the country is that half of our rivers flow northeast towards the Humber estuary and the other half flow southwest towards the Bristol Channel. The natural boundary that separates the two catchments is called a watershed. In the West Midlands the watershed lies along the ridge of the Lickey, Waseley, Clent and Rowley hill ranges. Rainwater that falls on the eastern side of these hills ends up in the North Sea via the Trent, whereas rain landing on the western side ends up in the Atlantic Ocean via the Severn.
For Terminalia 2024 we will celebrate this quietly mind-blowing feature by walking from the source of the river Rea to the source of the river Stour. The river sources are only 2.5 miles apart but the Rea springs on the east face of the hills and the Stour springs on the west so the two water courses have drastically different journeys, ultimately reaching the sea over 200 miles apart.
Josh Allen of Walk Midlands (and co-facillitator of this walk) argues that the watershed also forms a significant cultural boundary between the rural southern Midlands, "a land of Morris Dancers, part-timbered buildings, ancient earthworks, 12th Century churches and cider orchards", and the industrialised northern Midlands, "pockmarked by former collieries and industrial sites, redeveloped as warehouses, retail parks and Barrett houses". This is reflected in the very different mythologies associated with the two waters: the Rea as Birmingham's founding river, and the Stour's role in the fantastical legend of St. Kenelm, Prince of Mercia.
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Meet Andy and Josh outside the visitor centre of the Waseley Hills Country Park (B45 9AT) at 12pm, Friday 23rd February. No need to book, just turn up. This is a four mile walk via Romsley and finishing up at Hagley Road on the southwest tip of Halesowen (B63 1DT). This is a walk in the hills so be prepared for some steep sections and muddy conditions. Walking boots advised! Bring a packed lunch and some water. Due to the time of year we can't recommend ritual bathing but feel free to bring a votive offering of some sort. We aim to be finished by 3pm.
There are toilets and a cafe at Waseley visitor centre and there's a Harvester at the end of the walk. We can stop half way for a toilet break in Romsley too.The 63 and 61 buses get you close to the Waseley Hills Country Park entrance for the start of the walk. The 4H, 142A and 192 buses can be picked up at the end of the walk for connections to Hagley Station and Halesowen Bus Station. We can advise anyone who needs to get back to Birmingham!
This walk is part of Terminalia, a one day festival of walking, space, place and psychogeography on 23rd February. Terminalia was the festival of Terminus, Roman god of boundaries and landmarks. See what events are happening in other parts of the country here.
