Discover Barton Under Needwood

Barton Under Needwood brings together a marina, natural areas and historic buildings, offering different points of interest for your stay. If you’re looking for a hotel in Barton Under Needwood, it’s worth organising these themes according to your travel interests: trails through woodland and valley scenery, landscape development or architectural history.

Marina and Trails

The Silver Circuit starts at Barton Marina on Lichfield Road in Barton-under-Needwood, DE13 8DZ. Check local access arrangements before travelling. The route passes through Needwood Forest and descends into the Trent Valley. Barton Marina is home to more than 300 boats. From the marina, you can access towpaths along the canal and woodland trails. Another walking route is 1.5 miles long and circles the marina’s lakes and woodland.

The three walking options can be compared using different criteria: the Silver Circuit passes through woodland and valley, the marina walk is 1.5 miles long, and the circular route at Brankley Pastures is mostly flat, with gentle slopes. This gives you landscape, route length and terrain profile as distinct aspects to consider when planning.

A Changing Landscape

Tucklesholme Nature Reserve is a former gravel pit being restored as a wetland habitat. Brankley Pastures is a long-term project to transform farmland into a biodiverse wood pasture landscape. The projects differ in both their starting point and their goal: Tucklesholme involves a former gravel pit and a wetland habitat, while Brankley involves farmland and wood pasture.

Brankley Pastures also offers a family-friendly circular walk through the reserve. It is mostly flat, with gentle slopes. This means Brankley Pastures can be understood not only through its long-term landscape project but also through the specific profile of its walking route.

Church and Canal Bridge

The Church of St James in Barton-under-Needwood was built in 1517 by Dr John Taylor, chaplain to Henry VIII. The church is open daily during daylight hours. As access arrangements may change, please check before your visit.

Mill Bridge Number 39 on the Trent and Mersey Canal is a Grade II listed structure. The late Georgian canal road bridge is built of red brick and has a stone coping. It is single-span and has a towpath and a curved bridge profile. Single-span means that the bridge has one span.

At St James, the year of construction and the builder are key historical reference points; at Mill Bridge, these are joined by its listed status, its function as a canal road bridge and its architectural features. Barton Under Needwood therefore brings together two different approaches to architectural history: a church with a recorded date and a bridge described through its form and materials.

Discover more destinations: Silverdale, Newport, Hanchurch, Loggerheads, Leek, Great Haywood, Wetley Rocks, Rolleston-on-Dove.

For the wider travel guide: Staffordshire.