CREATE YOUR TRAIL ROUTE
If you intend to 'Explore With Arthur' your Trail Route will have been created for you but you will still need to Make your Plans
If you intend to 'Explore a place Near You' creating your route will be one of the most important things you do.
Now is the time to pour over a map of your chosen parish. Use an Ordnance Survey map if you have one or go to Google Maps or one of the other mapping sites on the internet. Many County Web sites have Mapping Service. In Worcestershire a map for every parish can be found here
USING THE MAPS
Take a good look at the layout of the parish, note the hills and valley, the watercourses and the woodland.
Look at how man has settled this area; Where is the village? Is there a church? Where are the schools? Think about how the place may have looked in Arthur's time, what features might he recognise, e.g. mills. fishponds and moats.
Think about the sort of things Arthur wants you to do in this place and plan a route that fits in with what you have to achieve. Do you have a theory about the place you are exploring, perhaps you think a farm is really old, think about how might be able to prove this.
If you know there is a church make sure that you include it in your trail because churches are often the oldest buildings in a parish, and they mostly have places to park.
Traditionally communities developed around the church. If you find a church standing alone think about what this might be telling you about the development of that community, in the
past and today.
As you plan your route keep in mind the age of the members of your group, don't be too ambitious, better to make two journeys than kill the whole idea by overdoing things. Build in a visit
to a playground or somewhere to sit down and rest.
Make a copy of your proposed walk, you might even choose to walk it in advance, just to make sure that it works for you. Give yourselves clear instructions and make sure you give a copy of these instructions to someone at home in case you have an emergency.