Winchcombe Walkers are Welcome www.winchcombewelcomeswalkers.com

WINCHCOMBE

Walk 7 Winchcombe to Toddington circular walk

Viaduct A walk on undulating paths above the © OpenstreetMap contributors and WWaW attractive Isbourne valley to Toddington; St. Andrew’s Church returning near therestored steam Toddington D railway then via the Winchcombe Way. Cricket Opportunity to use public transport New Pavilion B4077 T o w n back from Toddington. Stanway House St. Peter’s Church GWR Stanway Distance: 9½ miles (15kms) C Station Stanway Watermill

y a W

e 0 0.25 mile n Duration: 4 hours B4078 r u o b 0 Is 0.5 km

Difficulty: fairly level,0 with minor0.25 rises0.5 mile

0 0.5 km R and falls; a few kissing gates and stiles i v

e r St. George’s

Isb Church ou rn Start/finish: Abbey Terrace, Winchcombe; e Didbrook grid ref. SP 025/282 E Wood Stanway OS maps : Outdoor Leisure 45 B Landranger 150

Refreshments: WinchcombeChurch (cafés, pubs) Greet (station café) Royal Oak Gretton B4362 Hailes Toddington (station café, pub) Hailes Church Church Stanley Hailes Pontlarge Wood Hailes Ascent : 527 ft (160m) River Isbourne Greet Abbey Prescott Pottery Hayles ay Fruit Farm ay Cups Hill W W Gotherington Stanley ld ld Leave Back Lane car park via the far wo o Winchcombe ts w Halt Station Hill Wood o s C t Climb GWSR Station o corner access into Cowl Lane. Turn right C

Manor T los Way ir and followG the road to the High Street. le Farm y B a ro o W k Turn left, carefully cross the road and turn ne Petrol r

ou Station b right into Castle Street, a steep hill leading Is Farmcote Herbs down to the RiverLangley Isbourne. Hill A 275 m Farmcote ire Way Glo ersh Langley ucest Hill Farm Farmcote Cross the river and take the signposted Church

k c

Stancombe a Gloucestershire Way on the left. At the r Farm T n

e Ha d r p gate, go straight ahead beside the riverve for ys m La a about ½ mile (0.8km), emerging on then e Tourist Information Centre C Nottingham Hill S al W Winchcombe t inc 279m Rushbury St. Peters Church W hc View towards the Cotswold escarpmentomb Broadway Road. Turn left over the road a e W House Winc y ay hcombe bridge spanning the River Isbourne before Way crossing the road into Riverside, turning Lodge St Kenelm’s ay Greet.W Ignore turnings to the left and Longwood d towardsW eToddington. l l Look out for a foot- ol Farm right into a cul de sac shortly afterwards. w Sudeley Hill Dryfield ts Langle 2 right.Co After the turning to Grove View, Farm path sign pointing right at a T-junction of Farm y Brook B463

e n Sudeley r the road becomes a track. Follow this tracks. u Walk towards a large cedar tree and bearo Castle b Apple Tree Is . R track as it rises gently towardsThe Home some farm C Turn right here and follow the path Pub 2 3 right to follow the tarmac path as it slopes Parks 6 4 B old Way otsw buildings B. along the drive, then pass through the gate C to the right down to, thenPostlip alongside, Mill Cricket C o r Club n on the left just before the house. Follow thePostlip river. The tarmac path bends to the d e Golf Club House a B Hall n e e ThereL are good views across the Isbourne & refreshments s the line of the fence for a short distance a m left but continue straight ahead along n o Sudeley Corndean e o r Lodge Farm Valley to the Cotswold escarpment, B and then bear right towards the footbridge r the stoney path to emerge into an open o o k Postlip you will see Toddington Church and over the Isbourne. grassy area. FarmTurn left and follow the path Rising Manor (wrapped in plastic) ahead. Sun up to cross a footbridge and Greet Road Parks Wadfield y Topograph a Cross the Farmbridge and take the obvious Washpool Farm W A. Turn right and walk along Greet e No Man’s b m Patch KeepCar parking going inc othe same direction along path about 30° left across the field Deadmanbury ch Road for about ½ mile (0.8km) past the for Belas Knap in Gate Woodbine W Newmeadow 2 the track, ignoring a footpath junction towards a pair of gates; take the right 3 6 Farm 4 Cleeve Common Source of medical centre, the senior school and B Castle y R. Isbourne Postlip Warren neara another set of buildings. Approx Rock W Winchcombe station to a crossroads. ld 286m o w WWaW hope you enjoy the walk, however the walk is undertaken at s Humblebee Breakheart t 200 metres further on, cross the stile on o Cottages Plantation C your sole risk and WWaW have no responsibility for loss, damage, Here bear slightly left off the main road the right. Go straight down the bank to a injury or interpretation. Every possible care has been taken to Southam Hill Barn Spoonley ensure the information given was accurate at the time of creation. 322m Farm well defined farm track. Turn left downhillWaterhatch . W Spoonley Villa Wood into Market Lane and follow it through Limehill S i ou ane n tham L Solitary ch Wood c T r e e o m b Belas Coles’s Hill 5 e

3

4 W C Knap A P o s t a o Ellenborough Stone y tsw ol Park Hotel Blocks d W ay GWSR Station Queen’s Wood

Cheltenham Radio Dew pond Race Course Masts . 330m Wontley Farm (Disused)

Prestbury No ve rt on

Pittville Lane gate and pass through this, then turn before the Abbey (signed Winchcombe immediately left through a gate. Follow the Way / Cotswold Way). Cross the field well-worn path across the field towards a and merge on a road (Salter’s Lane). Turn white roadside direction post on the right on Salter’s Lane, shortly afterwards B4077 road. turning sharp left along a track (signed Cotswold Way) follow the Cotswold Way Cross the B4077 road with care and back to Winchcombe. walk up Church Lane for about ¼ mile Hailes church (0.4km) to a Y junction. Take the left To reach the start point of this walk 1139–51. Early English windows were fork to visit St Andrew’s Church. Our from the junction of Puckpit Lane added in the 13th century, along with the walk takes the right fork. D Look for the and Broadway Road, simply walk over wall paintings. There is a medieval bestiary path which ascends the bank on the right Isbourne road bridge and up Hailes Street. and some fine heraldic arms. almost immediately. Take this path into a Alternatively, you may retrace your field then carry on in the same direction outward route beside the river; look out The Abbey itself was founded in 1246 by towards a barn to meet a concrete track for kingfishers – you may be lucky! Earl Cornwall in thanks for being saved (which can be very muddy in winter!). from a shipwreck. It had a famous relic (The bus service is provided by Marchants – a phial of, allegedly, Christ’s blood. This Turn left along this track, passing a Coaches. www.marchants-coaches.com). attracted large numbers of pilgrims before house on your left. Carry on in the same the monastery was destroyed in 1539. direction, through three gates, then climb a stile at the Broadway - Winchcombe Points of interest. road (B4632). © Winchcombe Walkers are Welcome 2019 Winchcombe and Toddington Turn right along the verge towards the stations roundabout at New Town. You may Part of the volunteer-run Gloucestershire return to Winchcombe by bus (see note Warwickshire Railway. Following the at the end) from the nearby Pheasant closure of the British Rail line in 1976, Inn, or from the stop on the road to enthusiasts bought the trackbed, relaid Tewkesbury.

To continue the walk, turn left at the roundabout towards Stow. Walk along the right hand side of that road (B4077), passing the garden centre and the station entrance.

Cross the railway bridge, pass the houses on your right, then turn right at a footpath Winchcombe station sign into a field. Bear slightly right and walk along by the railway through several the rails, and repaired rolling stock, fields for about ½ mile (0.8km) until you locomotives and buildings. Regular steam reach one of the lanes passing through and diesel-hauled trains run on the line. Didbrook. See www.gwsr.com for more information.

Turn left along this lane for about ¼ St Andrew’s Church, Toddington, mile (0.4km) to the triangle of lanes in the third church on this site, was the centre of the village. You may divert commissioned in the late 19th century here to St George’s Church, a short by the third Lord Sudeley. The first Lord distance to your left. The walk continues Sudeley and Lady Sudeley are sculpted by turning right at the triangle. At the inside the building on a Gothic altar tomb. right hand bend a short distance ahead, Toddington Manor, owned by Damien go through a gate E and follow the Hurst, is nearby: its plastic wrapping has direction of a footpath sign towards the been in place since 2006. right hand corner of the field. Turn right at the junction of paths here onto the St George’s Church, Didbrook, Winchcombe Way. was rebuilt in the late 15th century for the then Abbot of Hailes. It has a Walk along the track, following it where it Perpendicular tower, while its interior was bends right to meet a road. Turn left opened up in a restoration in the early along the road, and left again at a road 20th century. It has attractive stained glass. junction to arrive in Hailes. There is a lot of historical interest around the church Didbrook village has many medieval cruck and the abbey. cottages and Elizabethan buildings.

Go past Hailes Church, and turn right just Hailes Church was built in the period