Discover Brocton: Trails, Nature and Architectural History

When choosing a hotel in Brocton, you can plan your trip around specific interests: signposted trails, landscape and architectural history. The routes described differ in their course and scope; woodland, valley and historic architectural styles offer further points of focus. This lets you tailor your search for a stay to what you would like to explore.

Compare routes by course and scope

The Staffordshire Tolkien Trail comprises three signposted routes. One circular walk passes through Brocton Coppice and into Sherbrook Valley. The Cannock Chase Geotrail is a 36 km circular route that passes Brocton. These details answer different planning questions: the Geotrail is described by its circular route and total length, while the Tolkien Trail description explains the course of the named walk through woodland and valley.

The Walton-on-the-Hill to Brocton Doorstep Walk follows Oldacre Lane to the village green in Brocton. Here, the road route and destination provide a specific guide to the walk. Compare these details with the length of the Geotrail when adding routes to your travel plans. Before setting out on the Doorstep Walk, you can check the current route, as conditions may change.

Woodland scenery and nature

Brocton Coppice is a 200-acre woodland with 600 sessile oak trees. It is an example of heathland oak-birch wood pasture with veteran trees standing in the open. This description brings together several features: the area’s size, the number of oaks and the distinctive wood pasture. Brocton Coppice is of national importance for its saproxylic species; 27 beetle species are currently listed for conservation.

Near Brocton, Chase Vista offers a viewpoint and walking trails through wooded and grassy areas. The trails start at a car park near Brocton Coppice. This brings different aspects of nature together: woodland with its veteran trees, and a viewpoint with trails through both wooded and more open terrain. If you would like to make the landscape the focus of your stay, these specific features can help you distinguish between the options.

Architectural history and surviving details

Brocton Hall is an 18th-century building. Its exterior features include a rounded, projecting centre to the front and a projecting Doric portico. A fire destroyed the top storey in 1939. Well-preserved moulded plasterwork and a contemporary stone cantilever staircase with an iron handrail have survived. Its architectural history therefore encompasses both a change to the building and specific interior details.

The dovecote near Brocton Hall probably dates from the 18th century and has a hexagonal plan. It is Grade II listed. Northwest of Brocton Hall, the ruins include a pointed Gothic arch, parts of tracery windows and several gargoyles. Brocton Mission Hall opened in 1891. These features offer different architectural points of interest: the design and interior fittings of the Hall, the plan of the dovecote and the Gothic fragments of the ruins.

Discover more destinations: Hopwas, Drointon, Ecton, Tutbury, Perton, Rolleston-on-Dove, Seisdon, Tamworth

For the broader travel overview: Staffordshire.