This e-book has been laid out so that each walk starts on a left hand-page, to make print- ing the individual walks easier. When viewing on-screen, clicking on a walk below will take you to that walk in the book (pity it can’t take you straight to the start point of the walk itself!) As always, I’d be pleased to hear of any errors in the text or changes to the walks themselves. Happy walking! Walk Page Walks of up to 6 miles 1 East Bristol – Pucklechurch 3 2 North Bristol – The Tortworth Chestnut 5 3 North Bristol – Wetmoor Wood 7 4 West Bristol – Prior’s Wood 9 5 West Bristol – Abbots Leigh 11 6 The Mendips – Charterhouse 13 7 East Bristol – Willsbridge & The Dramway 16 8 Vale of Berkeley – Ham & Stone 19 Walks of 6–8 miles 9 South Bristol – Pensford & Stanton Drew 22 10 Vale of Gloucester – Deerhurst & The Severn Way 25 11 Glamorgan – Castell Coch 28 12 Clevedon – Tickenham Moor 31 13 The Mendips – Ebbor Gorge 33 14 Herefordshire – The Cat’s Back 36 15 The Wye Valley – St. Briavels 38 Walks of 8–10 miles 16 North Somerset – Kewstoke & Woodspring Priory 41 17 Chippenham – Maud Heath’s Causeway 44 18 The Cotswolds – Ozleworth Bottom 47 19 East Mendips – East Somerset Railway 50 20 Forest of Dean – The Essence of the Forest 54 21 The Cotswolds – Chedworth 57 22 The Cotswolds – Westonbirt & The Arboretum 60 23 Bath – The Kennet & Avon Canal 63 24 The Cotswolds – The Thames & Severn Canal 66 25 East Mendips – Mells & Nunney 69 26 Limpley Stoke Valley – Bath to Bradford-on-Avon 73 Middle Hope (walk 16) Walks of over 10 miles 27 Avebury – A Stone-Age Perambulation 77 28 Glamorgan – Mynydd Machen 81 29 West Mendip Way – Uphill to Loxton 84 30 Glamorgan – The Caerphilly Summits 87 1 First published 2000 Revised and reprinted 2000 Updated and reprinted 2001 Updated and reprinted 2003 Revised and reprinted 2004 Revised for e-book edition 2008 Updated August 2011 Revised and updated January 2012 Updated April 2012, March 2013 Researched and written by Geoff Mullett The contents of this e-book are believed correct at the time of printing and the author has tried to ensure the accuracy of the maps and route descriptions; nev- ertheless, the author cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions or for changes in the details given in this e-book or for the consequences of any reliance on the information provided by the same. So there! 2 Pucklechurch on your right, you get glimpses of the 17th century Moat Farm (and the housing estate that has sprung up around it). The wall continues as you take the first turning on the right, Kings Lane, the monotony of the stonework being broken by the wall pennywort and ivy-leaved toadflax that add a touch of colour to the grey stone. Keep to the metalled lane as it bears right, still with the wall on your right, then when you pass The Coach House on the left continue ahead on a crumbling surfaced track, this is still Kings Lane! As the lane degenerates into a path, it becomes muddy and narrow in places, but you finally leave it when it turns sharp left in front of a stile and old field gate . Climb the stile to the field beyond, which is usually ploughed or knee-high with crops. The landowner rarely restores the footpaths in these fields so a little care is required now. Cross the field half-left, passing under power lines and keeping to the right of the supporting pole. As you approach the far hedge, look for a yellow waymark arrow on the remains of an overgrown old stile; cross and turn right. In a few metres, you will reach a further stile at the corner of the field, climb this to reach a lane on a bend. Go right for 100 metres to where the lane turns right and here, ignore the footpath ahead Walk 1 – East Bristol through metal gates, but climb the stile on the left into a field. Once again, there is no path to guide you so be brave and head across the crops for the high ground and the Pucklechurch vista of Emerson’s Green opening out before you. Continue as the field drops away to hedges in the far corner and here, well hidden in the undergrowth is a stile . Start ‘Rose & Crown’ Parkfield Road, Pucklechurch (ST 696768). Distance 4 miles / 6.5km. Climb the stile and descend earth steps to a path that you follow into a thicket, Refreshments Pub at end of walk, nothing en-route. with a barbed-wire fence on the right. The path bears left through the trees, then Getting there B4465 runs east from Fishponds through Pucklechurch. Turn left opposite meanders before bearing left again to cross a low earth bank. Continue 30 metres the church into Parkfield Road. Park near the pub. further, going left, to climb a stile, emerging from the woodland to be confronted by a landfill site . head left and climb a stile onto path alongside the landfill site. Keeping the landfill on your right, walk down a wide gravelled path to a metalled A walk steeped in the industrial past – the remains of a busy railway line, coal mines and a brick- lane, now with a bund hiding further excavations ahead. works. Now, nature is fighting back with a profusion of wild flowers in spring and summer, bird- song, and rabbits in the woodland banks. There is a welcoming hostelry after a walk taking no more than 2 hours with one gentle climb. Note that in summer some stiles and stretches of foot- Turn right and follow the lane, bearing left after 100 metres, then continue to metal path may be overgrown. barriers and a cross-path where you turn right onto the Bristol to Bath Railway Path. Pucklechurch stands on a formerly important route from Bristol to London and The Bristol to Bath Railway Path was constructed in stages from east to west over the acquired its wealth from the many coal mines – small bell-pits in the 17th century period 1979-86. It runs along the trackbed used by the former Midland Railway until and larger mines in the 18th century that were scattered around the locality. The vil- its closure in 1966. This short section running north towards Westerleigh is in fact the lage was also known for the manufacture of felt hats and for the quarries producing main line from Birmingham to Bath Green Park. The ‘Pines Express’ thundered past coarse, black marble used for gravestones and chimney-pieces. this spot on its way to Bournemouth. From your starting point at the Rose & Crown, walk back towards the village along Where the route forks, keep right on the tarmac surface (the trackbed follows the Parkfield Road, crossing to the right side when prudent. Behind the high stone wall left, parallel path). Immediately on your right is an old colliery tip, now reverting to 3 Walk 1 Pucklechurch nature. The concrete fence posts on your left are the boundary of the railway which corner where there are two stiles; climb the one on the left and follow the path, at this point is veering away to the left. Continue along the path, passing derelict dropping down to leave the wood. colliery buildings and chimney . You are now standing on the site of the railway sidings that served Parkfield Colliery. This is the site of Brandy Bottom Colliery which was owned by Lord Radnor. It Opened in 1851, the shafts were sunk to a depth of 250 metres and 4 seams of coal opened in the early 1800s and along with Parkfield Colliery, closed in 1936. As well were worked. By 1936, the coalface was 8 kilometres from the shaft and practically as the brick built chimney, there are the remains of the engine house and the shell of exhausted. With increasing pumping costs, the colliery became uneconomic and was the horizontal winding house. The colliery winding wheel, over 5 metres in diameter, closed in August of that year. Only the chimney remains standing. can be seen a little further along the path. It is now in two halves on either side of the path but is easy to miss when hidden in the overgrowth of summer. Cross a more open area with the rusting hulk of a van on the right, pass a redun- dant stile and go ahead with the boundary of a house on your right and the railway Continue onward and just beyond the winding wheel, your path merges with the fence to the left. When you reach the driveway to the house, keep on the grass by trackbed on the left. Go ahead now past farm buildings on the left, then when the the left boundary, climbing a stile to leave the property. Now go ahead along the broad path splits, take the unsurfaced path on the left to cross the railway bridge (the drive, passing the chimney of Parkfield Colliery on the left, and a small reservoir railway path drops down to the right and ends at the road). Continue on the ballast opposite. Continue to the top of the lane where it makes a sharp right turn to path for 275 metres with meadows to your right and farm buildings on the left. Parkfield. After passing a more open area, the bushes and trees close in from both sides and here, look carefully for a footpath crossing the track and take it, going right to Ahead, the row of fifty cottages, Parkfield Rank, were built by the owners of colliery climb a stile into a wood.