Grade - Moderate, with a couple of gentle climbs
Map - OS Landranger 163 (Cheltenham & Cirencester) or Pathfinders SO 82/92 1066 (Cheltenham)
and SP 02/12 1067 (Stow-on-the-Wold)
Suitable for - Families if taken easily!
Duration - 2½ hours (3½ hours if visiting Belas Knap)
Start - Stockwell Common parking/picnic area, Cleeve Hill, Grid Ref. 985269 (Click
here for start point map and here for detail) or parking area near transmission masts
at Grid Ref. 994248.
Refreshments - Golf Club house at end of walk - open to the public.
It's no wonder that Cleeve Common is a favourite with walkers - it has the highest
point in the Cotswolds at 1,083 feet and is the largest area of open and unenclosed
'high wold' existing within the Cotswold area. There are many footpaths and other
rights of way that cross it but these are fairly irrelevant as many other paths and
tracks meander across the Common and walkers can wander freely. A golf course is
present which covers most of the Western part of the common, so beware golf balls!
The views from here are extensive and panoramic - there are few places in the Cotswolds
where a magnificent vista is available from the car park! - and on clear days there
is a big, big sky. This walk takes a tour around the common, paying a visit (if wished)
to another fascinating feature - the prehistoric barrow of Belas Knap.
I am reliably informed that the common is sheep-free between October half term and
Easter (roughly during GMT) So when clocks change - dog owners stay away or take
a lead. (My thanks to Judy for this info.)
Before starting the walk, take a few moments to admire the view from the car park
on its western side of the road (Just below it is a picnic area). here are far-reaching
views across the Vale of Gloucester, with the Malvern Hills plainly visible. Who's
that waving at you from the top of Great Malvern? Me, of course!
Seriously, a half-decent pair of binoculars will enable you to pick out many details
on the Malverns on a clear day. When you have had your fill of this magnificent view,
cross the road almost opposite Stockwell Lane, which is about fifty yards down the
hill, (look for the telephone box) and climb a stile by a gate to gain entrance to
Cleeve Common (See Pic. 1).
From here bear right to follow a rutted track which climbs gently upward. Follow
this for about three hundred yards and look for a green, indistinct track bearing
off left and heading more steeply uphill. Don't worry at this point if you have found
exactly the right path - the aim is to ascend the hill and pick up another deeply
rutted track which is virtually unmissable (See Pic.2).
As you crest this small rise you will see dead ahead the transmission masts which
are visible for miles around (See Pic. 5). Here follow any one of several paths that
head toward the masts - just keep forward and you will get there eventually! This
is the highest and most exposed area of Cleeve Common, often breezy, and if you're
here mid-week you can almost have the place to yourself. It's a fine, even-paced
walk over to these masts, giving you time to appreciate the many wild flowers which
abound - in August, Harebells galore! - and listen to the breeze and not much else.
Upon reaching the masts, bear left to follow the line of a low wall and fence over
to your right. Very soon you will reach the other car park which is an alternative
start to this walk, at Grid ref. 994248. Keep straight ahead past this, keeping the
fence to your right, soon passing another Trig. pillar which gives dire warnings
of the penalties for vandalism of same.
This is the highest point on Cleeve Common, though the OS map interestingly gives
a spot height some 4 metres above this some third of a mile to the North-East! Whichever
is correct, there is a wonderful feeling of openness about this area, with the loudest
sound usually being the wind through the grass or the skylarks which abound hereabouts.
Keep forward along this line until a metal gate is seen in the fence ahead, directly
facing you. Her turn left, (See Pic. 6) crossing some scrubby grass to soon pick
up the line of another field wall coming in from the right.
Continue forward, heading gently downhill, until another gate in the wall is reached
with an obvious white-painted post bearing a waymarker being evident a few yards
to your left (See Pic. 7). Here a choice can be made. If you would like to visit
the prehistoric long barrow of Belas Knap, see the next paragraph - if not, skip
the next paragraph and continue your tour of the Common.
To visit Belas Knap, turn right through the gate to here leave Cleeve Common. You
have now joined a section of the Cotswold Way, the long-distance path that runs from
Chipping Campden to the City of Bath. Keep straight ahead along a broad, obvious
path with a wall to your right, then continue between fields to descend to Wontley
Farm.
Here turn left along another track which ascends and bears right to follow the left-hand
edge of fields with later a wall on your left. After passing between hedges, look
for a footpath sign on your right which directs you to 'Belas Knap, Humblebee, Winchcombe'.
Turn along this narrow path to follow it along the left-hand edge of a field, with
a hedge to your left, to make directly for Belas Knap.
A stone stile gives access to the enclosure and the Barrow, some five thousand years
old, can be inspected at close quarters. As there are information signs around the
Barrow, I won't repeat them here! Suffice it to say that Belas Knap is well worth
the visit - the sense of immense age is an almost palpable thing - after all, it's
very nearly as old as the great pyramids of Egypt.
When you have looked your fill, simply retrace your steps to re-enter Cleeve Common.
To continue your walk, turn left by the gate (or straight ahead if returning from
Belas Knap) following the direction indicated by the waymarker arrow on the white
post mentioned above (See Pic. 8).
This again is the Cotswold Way, which here enters Cleeve Common and makes an almost
complete cicumnavigation of it to leave not far from the masts you so recently visited!
At the top of this small rise ahead watch for another post which indicates a right
turn to be made.
After turning, you will see stretching away from you a line of similar white posts,
each topped with its arrow-headed waymark. From here it is simply a case of following
these posts along a broad (although in some places rather indistinct) path. Although
this is a fairly straightforward route, take notice of the direction that the arrows
point, as this in places differs from what may seem the obvious route. (See Pic.
9, 10 and 11)
After a fairly level stroll, the path drops quickly, to then contour around the shoulder
of a hill, bearing to the right and dropping again to run along the upper right-hand
flank of a steep-sided valley (cleeve, yes?). Another waypost appears, (See Pic.
12) indicating a turn sharp left, which takes you steeply down to the bottom of the
valley.
Bear right along this track, ascending steadily, (See Pic. 3) until a metal bench
, just off the path, comes into view near the edge of the hill, which here drops
away sharply. Sit down. Take a rest. This is Cleeve Cloud, one of the finest viewpoints
in the Cotswolds.
From here can be seen in detail Cheltenham racecourse, home of the Gold Cup, and,
in the distance, the massive bulk of Gloucester Cathedral, with the Forest of Dean
as a shadowy, faraway backdrop. Having regained breath, rejoin the rutted track and
follow it as it eventually fades out over a small summit (See Pic. 4), ignoring any
waymarkers (you're on a Common, OK?).
At the bottom, turn right to continue down the valley with a tiny stream to you left,
(See Pic. 13) crossing it at a shallow point where another waymarker can be seen
on the opposite bank, then following the bank down until a dammed pool is reached.
By the way, if the stream is to deep to cross without getting wet feet, as it can
be after rain, simply stick to the right-hand bank until the pool is reached, then
cross by means of a small footbridge.
Notice here the old sheep-wash below the dam, now long disused. From the dam, continue
along the valley, the path now level and bearing to the left, to leave the valley
behind. Shortly you will arrive at a path junction. Here, just ahead, will be seen
another waymarked post signed 'Cotswold Way, new route'.
By all means follow this path if you're feeling heroic! I've been that way once or
twice and let me say that the route is perfectly straightforward - it's just very
steep indeed, probably better than 30 degrees of slope. So, if you don't mind steep
hills, simply follow the track to the top of the hill, then follow waymarks across
the golf course until the club house is seen. I'll meet you there! For lesser mortals,
bear right at this point to follow a broad and obvious track (See Pic. 14) which
leads off by a wall on you right.
Follow this as it trends gently upward until a fork is reached. Take the left-hand
branch which heads uphill for a short distance to meet another track crossing it.
Turn left here through a metal gate to follow an enclosed track which heads again
gently uphill. At a path junction keep ahead until another metal gate is seen. Pass
through this to re-enter the Common proper with the golf course to your left and
continue, still climbing gently, until the golf clubhouse comes into view (See Pic
15).
This is open to the public and on a hot day (such as it was when this walk was recorded!)
provides a very welcome source of refreshment, with either alcoholic or other beverages.
The path continues past the clubhouse, now descending gently until a stand of trees
is seen ahead. Bear right just after the trees to circle to the right around a small
private parking area to see the stile and gate you entered the Common by just ahead.
Climb this and turn right, to gain your starting point a few yards along the road.
