Saturday 12th June 2021
Last Easter I started walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day walks and by the time of this walk I had reached Dowdeswell on the A40 road east of Cheltenham. Good weather prompted me to resume my trek along the Cotswold Way so I drove down the M6 motorway and parked at Barrow Wake where there are awesome views across the Vale of Gloucester. My only aim at the start of the walk was to get back to Dowdeswell so I turned off the main road onto the Gloucestershire Way that initially passed through dark woodland where there were many wildflowers before emerging onto wide, open fields that were never going to be as interesting as the escarpments on the Cotswold Way, but were decorated with many flowers including buttercups and red clover. After descending into a valley filled with sheep I followed the bottom for quite a while until I realised that I was going the wrong way so I had to backtrack to the point where I had entered the valley and take a path that crosses the northern slopes. Although this was rather annoying, the path I should have been on was so much better as it was covered in wildflowers of all sorts.
After passing through the village of Coberley I reached Upper Coberley where the first house I saw was generously ornamented with many flowers of many colours and was a fabulous sight and later on I even saw my favourite wildflower: spotted-orchids. These sights and waymarking for a Cotswold Way alternative encouraged me to keep going as I turned north and came off the route of the Gloucestershire Way to follow a bridlepath into Chatcombe Wood. I could hear gunshots ahead and soon I could even smell it as I passed close to Ian Coley Shooting School and thankfully I eventually reached the safety of the road. After passing over Wistley Hill I came out onto the escarpment overlooking the Chelt Valley with the Cotswold Way passing by where I was standing. Unfortunately the point where I had previously left the trail was at the bottom of the valley so I had to find a way down the steep hillside until I found the route of the Cheltenham Circular Footpath that took me down a ridge all the way to the bottom of the valley.
The weather had been rather overcast throughout the morning, which was a blessing as it had kept things cool, but as I turned onto the Cotswold Way to resume my trek, the sun came out and it started to get very hot. Slowly, I toiled up the steep path through Lineover Wood with the good surface underfoot helping to carry me all the way back up the hill until finally the gradient eased and I followed the path that keeps to the edge of the steep escarpment precipitously above the wood. Although very steep, this was a thrilling climb and by the time I reached the point where I had emerged onto the edge earlier I was happy to stop for my lunch and enjoy the great views before me that were now lit by the bright sunshine. The Cotswold Way from this point was an absolute delight as it largely keeps to the edge of the escarpment. After passing around Wistley Hill the trail crosses a saddle before climbing up to Hartley Hill passing through an area of seemingly dead gorse that lined the edge and whose brown leaves were visible from a long way.
I thoroughly enjoyed the walk along the edge of the escarpment as it passes through stunning scenery often on rocky ground as I climbed up to Leckhampton Hill with extensive views out west over Cheltenham and Gloucester. Passing the trig point that marks the highest point on Leckhampton Hill, I rounded the corner beside a rock formation known as Devil’s Chimney and began to descend onto a road. This brief dull section soon had me climbing again along a track and up a road until eventually the trail finally passed into more dramatic scenery to follow the escarpment edge through lovely woodland and into Crickley Hill Country Park. The fabulous views continued when I emerged from the woodland as I walked around the dramatic hill until eventually the trail turns sharply east and with my back to the views I gradually descended to the main road finally climbing back up to the car park where I had started the walk.
This was a fabulous walk with very hot weather in the afternoon that quickly drained the energy out of me and left me rather numb to the stunning views that were constantly to my right as I made my way along the escarpment. The Cotswold Way was at its best on this section and was an absolute delight to walk along despite the hot weather. I was in awe of the tremendous scenery that I saw on this walk, so it was tragic that it would be many months before I returned to the Cotswold Way.
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