In stark contrast to day three of the Cotswold Way, which was the shortest and wettest of the hike, day four of this adventure would be the warmest and longest. Grab a cup of tea, because this adventure journal post is almost as long as the hike!
We opted to join up a couple of sections from the Cicerone guidebook – and then some. Our itinerary was, in part, dictated by where we could get accommodation, as is often the case when planning long-distance hikes, even in reasonably populated and somewhat touristy areas like the Cotswolds. More specifically on this occasion, Fiona highly recommended the B&B she’d stayed in on her first Cotswold Way attempt – Forthay, close to North Nibley, is a little beyond Dursley.
Hiking from Painswick to North Nibley made for a very long but absolutely fantastic day. If there is one day of our Cotswold Way hike that sticks out in my mind as being indicative of the whole of the Cotswolds, this was it. We had open meadows, steep hills, big views, dense woodland, and two trig pillars. Oh, and the most impressive field of bluebells not located in woodland I’ve ever seen.
Our route included some fantastic features and views. Haresford Hill and Haresford Beacon with its 217m trig pillar, the gorgeous Standish Wood, King’s Stanley and Middleyard, Pen Hill, Stanley Wood, Buckholt Wood, Nympstone Long Barrow and Hetty Pegler’s Tump (what a fantastic name!), Cam Long Down, the market town of Dursley, Stinchcombe Hill and Drakestone Point with its 219m trig pillar, and finally Forthay just outside North Nibley. I said it was a packed day!
St Anne’s B&B, Painswick
To be honest, I didn’t sleep brilliantly at St Anne’s B&B in Painswick. I was too hot in the room, and found the bed to be a bit too soft for me. But it was probably more down to being in an unfamiliar environment than anything else. Still, I was comfortable, well rested, and not frustrated, so it could definitely have been worse. It’s just how it goes sometimes.
We got up, dressed, and sorted as much as we were able before we headed down to the dining room for our 7.30am breakfast. We’d let the owner know what we wanted the previous night – I had a big plate of eggs, mushrooms and baked beans to fuel my day – Fiona went for the full English. I also had tea, and a (very, very small) glass of homemade apple juice.
The Task Ahead
I’m not afraid to admit I was quite concerned about the task ahead. Twenty-one miles is a really – really – big day. And there would be a fair amount of elevation to go with those miles; 3,529 feet in a small handful of steep climbs spread out along the way. OS Maps suggested it would take us nine hours to complete. My adventure worries were real that morning, fuelled by getting less sleep than I’d have liked.
At least what I might have lacked in confidence for the day ahead was made up for in the weather forecast. It looked likely to be our best day of the week – a proper spring day in the Cotswolds. The complete opposite to the previous day with a bluebird sky, warming up within an hour or two to something that can only be described as perfect hiking weather.
And with perfect hiking weather promised all day, we were keen to get going…
Cotswold Way Day 4
Tuesday, Painswick to Forthay, 21 miles
We got ourselves sorted and left the B&B around 8.30am, first walking through the beautiful St Mary’s churchyard, complete with its half-timbered Lych Gate and 99 yew trees (no, I didn’t count them). The trees date back to the 18th century, although there has been a church here since before the Doomsday book was written in 1086. According to legend, the devil will never allow a 100th tree to grow in this churchyard.
There was a frosty dampness to the grass as we walked down through fields on the outskirts of this pretty little Cotswold village, but it was soon warm and toasty as the undulating nature of the day became clear.
Our first climb was up towards Edge, steeply up a lane, over a main road and up Scottsquar Hill. Here we chatted with a local couple who, now retired, walk up this hill every day. They made us feel very welcome on their patch; I hope when I am retired, I have the energy and motivation to get out for a daily hill walk!
Second Breakfast at Haresfield Beacon
We made our way onto National Trust land at Maitland Wood, which gifted us a very steep climb before becoming easier on the legs and lungs as the path worked its way up and down the contour lines through Halliday’s Wood and onto Haresfield Hill.
It was, quite frankly, glorious woodland walking – terrain and surroundings much like the previous day, but without the heavy rain and mud! Much, much nicer. Sorry Cooper’s Hill, but you lost this one. No question.
We came across a stone monument on the path through the wood. I looked it up later – this is the Cromwell Stone, dedicated to the lifting of the siege of Gloucester in September 1643 during the civil war. The Cotswold Way really is full of random historical markers like this, and it’s one of the reasons why hiking a long-distance trail such as this one is so interesting.
Once on Haresfield Hill we found our first of two trig pillars for the day, where we had our second breakfast and a lovely relaxing boots-off break. The views from our 217 metres above sea level spot were nothing short of stunning – right across the Severn valley and well into Wales. Spectacular.
Bounding Through Standish Wood
After our second breakfast we continued from the trig pillar around to the topograph and its 360-degree viewpoint. There were some muddy bits through the woodland, especially after the previous day’s rain, but generally it was just incredibly beautiful. There were loads of dog walkers here, making use of the car park at Shortwood, and it was lovely to see everyone happy to be outside.
I think Standish Wood was one of my very favourite stretches of the whole Cotswold Way. What an amazing woodland it is, and one I know I will be returning to when I fancy a woodland walk in future. We were in it for a quite some time, passing a handful of other people, but in the main it felt like Fiona and I had the whole place to ourselves.
The Cotswold Way follows the wide easy trail through the middle of the woodland – well signposted, easy going underfoot. There was nothing but trees all around, it was quiet, and quite simply a wonderful place to be walking. I bounded along with a spring in my step, I was loving life.
Left Behind
We eventually came out of the woodland just after Randwick, where we sat at the top of a beautiful dandelion covered meadow (weeds are beautiful, too) for a short break. It was here Fiona realised she’d left her waterproof pack cover hanging on one of the pegs at the B&B. Oops!
She called the B&B and arranged for the pack cover to be sent to her home, but it did provide a bit of added anxiety as it was unlikely we were going to get all the way to Bath without another wet day. Eek!
We were now heading towards lunch; I had found a café thanks to a quick gander at Google maps when planning each of our hiking days, in particular thinking about how much food we would need to carry with us. I was hungry and looking forward to a nice coffee!
A Split in the Route
We wandered mostly downhill for a mile or two, through farmland, some of which was incredibly muddy with a series of stupid narrow stile gates that were a pain to get up and over. The guidebook calls these ‘squeeze stiles’, and I can certainly see how they get that name. Nowhere near as bad as the slot stiles up in Swaledale in Yorkshire, though – so neither of us complained about them too much!
Once on the outskirts of Stroud, we passed a posh school before reaching a bridge over the Stroudwater Canal. The Cotswold Way gives you options here, with two different routes available on the official path. One option is to take the scenic route alongside the canal and up over Selsley Common, and the other is to head through Kings Stanley.
We chose the latter, because the mileage on this already big day would be a bit kinder – I really must go and do the canal and Selsey Common section this summer, I’m told it’s an excellent part of the trail. There must be a circular walk I can do on a sunny Sunday to double check if we made the right choice on our Cotswold Way adventure.
The Boho Collective
We walked along the road for a short distance before heading out onto fields behind the houses of King’s Stanley along incredibly muddy footpaths towards Middleyard. We took a slight detour (less than half a mile) to the Boho Collective café for a sit-down lunch. It was signposted from the Cotswold Way, and was very easy to find. This was a pre-planned stop on day four, and with 9.5 miles done by just after midday, we felt we deserved a proper stop.
I don’t mind admitting that my large latte and delicious lunch was far (far) superior to sitting on a very wet bench at the top of Cooper’s Hill eating a slightly soggy sandwich the previous day!!! But at the same time, it’s the wet picnic I remember with most fondness. How strange I am.
Looking at my journal all these weeks later I realise just how short our break was that lunchtime. At the time it felt like a lovely long stop with my boots off (don’t worry, we didn’t sit inside the café!). We were only there for half an hour, leaving to tackle the second half of our biggest day on the Cotswold Way at 12.45pm. In fairness, we still had a very long way to go, and we were nicely fuelled up.
The Second Half
First up that afternoon was Pen Hill, Stanley Wood and Buckholt Wood. We were on the edge of hill here, with trees all around but also views from the escarpment across the vast valley. It was another really long stretch of woodland walking, quite hard going in places thanks to some steep ups and downs and a lot of mud.
As with the whole Cotswold Way so far, while there were a number of equally well-used paths and tracks running through the woodland, any of which could be considered the main path, the signposting was clear and easy to follow, and we could make good progress.
Next the Cotswold Way treated us to a couple of very impressive Long Barrows, with some spectacular views between them. The first of which was Nympstone, which is quite impressive, although the stone wall at the front is (of course) a reconstruction. Raised in around 2800BC (so old!), it was excavated in the 19th century when 13 skeletons were found alongside flint arrowheads and pottery. It’s now looked after by English Heritage, but as with Belas Knap back on day two, there is no charge to visit.
Spectacular Views
The view from just after the long barrow was nothing short of spectacular, and warranted a short bench-sit-down for a drink and snack. Always look out for those viewpoint symbols on the OS Map, they are an excellent indication of where might be nice for a picnic. From this one we could see what the rest of the day looked like – Cam Long Down was clear on the landscape ahead of us, as was Stinchcombe Hill, and we could also see the Tyndale Monument which would be our first stop the following morning.
The views over to the Severn crossings were also clear, we really had hit the jackpot with the weather today.
The second long barrow is a very slight detour from the Cotswold Way. Hetty Pegler’s Tump was also excavated in the 19th century, when silver coins were found. It was named after (because I know you want to know…) Hetty and Hester Pegler, as they owned the land when it was first discovered in the 17th century.
Boots-off and Bluebells
We walked through more woodland and very steeply down into the valley. It was time to tackle Cam Long Down, which was yet another example of where the Cotswold Way creators decided the path should always go up and over rather than around if such an option existed.
It was an incredibly sharp climb to get the top. Thankfully not particularly long, but heart-poundingly steep! The hillside here contains another hillfort – Uleybury – but this one has never been excavated.
The legend of Cam Long Down is quite the tale… apparently this standalone hill was created when the Devil, mad at the people of Gloucestershire for building too many churches, set about damming the River Severn to drown everyone. The Devil put a lump of the Cotswold escarpment in his wheelbarrow, but got bored on his way to the river, and so dumped the hill here instead. Love it.
We stopped for a boots-off snack break on the top of the hill, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the amazing views all around us. Fiona and I chatted about our favourite moments of the Cotswold Way when we were on our way into Bath on the last day, and I quoted this as being one of mine. There was just something so perfect about that particular sit-down that sticks in my mind.
On our way down Cam Long Down, which was much easier than walking up it, we walked past the most amazing display of bluebells I think I’ve ever seen – certainly growing in a meadow (rather than woodland). Just gorgeous. What a day.
Through Dursley
The Cotswold Way goes right through the middle of the market town of Dursley. Having sung the praises of the impeccable signage on this National Trail so far, it was here that things broke down and we had to check the map – several times – to get us through and out the other side.
We didn’t really think much of the town; maybe it was because we’d spent the day up on the Cotswold edge away from concrete and cars, or maybe it was because we still had four miles left to walk and just wanted to be through the town and on our way. We stopped to use the public toilets, and headed out towards Stinchcombe Hill. Well, we started along the wrong road first, before having to backtrack a little and go the right way.
The route up the hill starts on a lane which has a 20% gradient (ouch), before picking up an equally steep path through woodland. It dumps you out on a flat-ish top at Dursley Golf Club (they love a hilltop golf course in the Cotswolds, this was our third of the hike so far), before taking you on a tour around the top of this hill.
I know a lot of Cotswold Way hikers take the shortcut across the hill, but we decided we would turn right to follow the path around the edge. I mean, why not, right?! It’s a very pretty hill, that’s for sure – there’s some dense woodland, the surprisingly large stone Tubbs Shelter, and of course a trig pillar to bag.
Drakestone Point sits at 219m, just two metres higher than the trig we bagged at Haresfield earlier in the day. There’s also a beautifully carved stone seat here – a prime example of ‘where there’s a view there’s a bench’.
Forthay B&B
As we started to descend Stinchcombe Hill through farmland, we could just about make out the B&B we were aiming for that evening. Shortly before we reached North Nibley, we left the Cotswold Way to head to Forthay, along a tricky footpath on the side of a hill, which was no match for the well-kept paths we’d been walking on all day.
We had the loveliest welcome at Forthay Bed and Breakfast. We were glad to take our boots off and leave them in the porch to air out, before being shown to the lounge where we were brought iced water, tea and the breakfast menu for the following morning. It had been a very long day hiking, and we were both ready for an evening relaxing.
This was a return visit for Fiona, who had a good experience here on her first Cotswold Way attempt a couple of years ago. Our room, up on the top floor of the B&B, was spacious and very comfortable, with a large ensuite shower room, and views across the countryside from the Velux windows.
We walked the 15-minutes into North Nibley to eat at the Black Horse Inn that evening. I had the chicken burger with hash brown and nacho sauce (don’t judge me, it was delicious), followed by fruit crumble and custard (because custard is the correct accompaniment, isn’t it, Fiona?!). It was good food, and a relaxed atmosphere.
In an attempt to remind us just how small the world is, we met a couple in the pub – who were also staying in the same B&B – who happen to live down the road from Fiona in Cumbria and knew her neighbours. And yes, I’m now singing that terrible Disney song in my head as I write the rest of this journal.
Reflections on Cotswold Way Day 4
Day four walking the Cotswold Way was a biggie. On our way back to the B&B after dinner I my phone reported I’d walked over 53,000 steps, which is, quite frankly, ridiculous. Those steps included a bunch of really steep ascents and descents, two trig pillars, a town, some really old graves, a golf course, and miles and miles of woodland.
It took us all day. I mean, of course it did! We left Painswick at 8.30am and wandered into Forthay something after 6.30pm – definitely a full day out. I don’t mind telling you that my legs, feet, back, and everything else ached by the time we reached our digs for the night, and I sunk into the armchair in the guest lounge and worried I’d never get back out again.
While it was a very long day, it was also a really fantastic one. One of those occasions where and theory comes into play (read Weekly Blog Episode 122). It was incredibly challenging for my body and mind, a real mental and physical effort which drained my energy and made me a bit emotional at times. AND it was also a happy day full of small and big wins, and feelings of accomplishment and contentment. Adventures do this to me, especially when I have to work hard for them.
I said at the top of this post that if there is one day of our Cotswold Way hike that sticks out in my mind as being indicative of the whole of the Cotswolds, this was it. We had a little taste of everything the Cotswolds has to offer – and then some. I mean, there were even two Devil legends! A core hiking memory, for much better reasons than day three!
Highlights
Picking my top moments of this highlight-filled day hasn’t been easy – but I’m going to pick two. The first was the section through Standish Wood. Quite simply glorious woodland walking; smooth underfoot, fast, pretty, quiet and peaceful. It went on for long enough that we really felt the benefit of being amongst the trees, but not so long that it felt like we weren’t making any progress.
The second has to be that boots-off break on Cam Long Down. We still had five or six miles left to go (I guess), and another big hill to climb (which we could see ahead of us), but we took our time to sit down for a good while, take in the views and soak up the sun.
That moment, when we weren’t actually moving, epitomises what hiking is all about for me. An opportunity to really enjoy the countryside, to be in the view rather than just looking at it, and to clear the mind of everything except the moment you are experiencing. Not just a highlight of day four, but a highlight of the whole hike. And one which would certainly help get me through the rest of the miles into Bath.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. I didn’t think much to Dursley, it was busy and built-up and hard to navigate (and was the location for our only wrong turn of the whole 100-mile hike). I also very much disliked the muddy squeeze stiles on the hill down to Stroud, that was an unpleasant mile or so.
In Need of a Rest
Thinking back, I also realise now how much I resented – still resent – that footpath around Stinchcombe Hill; it just seemed to go on forever, and I’m saying that having walked that section of the Cotswold Way before (with Allyssee back in 2019). I was every bit okay with doing the Cotswold Way-proper, including the tour around the plateau there, but what a illogical bit of the trail that is.
It didn’t help that it made up the last couple of miles of a big mileage day. We were both tired by this point, and did our best not to just wish we had finished alreay. Thankfully, the views from Drakestone Point were suitably impressive, and at least I don’t have any inner conflict about taking a shortcut!
I went to bed that evening feeling content in every way, but absolutely in need of a rest. I desperately hoped for a better night’s sleep, one which would allow my body and mind to properly recover ready for another full day of hiking. It’s hard not to end such a physically challenging day outside without feeling a bit emotional, and worried that you’re simply not going to want to put your boots back on in the morning.
But the overwhelming feeling as I drifted off into my dreamworld was one of personal satisfaction. It felt like I’d broken the back of the Cotswolds, that with 70-ish miles of the Cotswold Way hiked, including a mammoth 21-mile day, the rest would be so doable. Honestly, that sunshine really did make the day.
You’ll have to come back for the next instalment in my Cotswold Way adventure journal series to find out how that went…
If you have any questions about the Cotswold Way please do let me know.