Seven Springs, Leckhampton Hill & Wistley Hill
We have always done a shorter version of the original “Boys” walk; always following a clockwise route but missing out Upper Coberley and Crickley Hill and always followed the Cotswold Way off Leckhampton Hill and Hartley Hill to get back to our vehicle and food at the Hungry Horse Pub at Seven Springs.
This year we thought it would be enjoyable to do an anti clockwise route and so the early part of our excursion saw us walking the Cotswold Way uphill northwards from Seven Springs to Hartley and Leckhampton Hills.
The Cotswold Way -
Just north of Seven Springs.
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here to see our
route, shortcuts and legend in a separate
page.
Nearing the top of
Hartley Hill with good views over
Cheltenham.
The walking was a lot easier than we expected - it
always seemed much steeper coming down - and
although the sun was out there was still a sharp
chill in the air as we went up the hill with the
views of Cheltenham gradually developing in front
and to the right of us. From the top we were able
to see very clearly many of the streets of the city
and the donut shaped GCHQ with so many cars parked
in its massive car park.
Cheltenham from Hartley Hill.
Parascending above Charlton Kings Common.
Alongside the path above Charlton Kings Common
there were a couple of dozen men with “parachutes”
ready to take advantage of the breeze and float
upwards and get even better views of the
surrounding countryside. However, we did not stop
to watch but continued to the trig point and then
the topographer near the top of Leckhampton Hill.
And then it was downhill to make use of one of the
many benches at the lower level of the hill where
we enjoyed coffee and the views of Cheltenham below
us and hills, including the Malvern’s, in the
distance.
The Trig Point on
Leckhampton Hill.
As always we stopped to look at the Devil’s Chimney
and noticed that a much more substantial barrier
had now been provided to stop people getting too
close to it and possibly having a mishap.
The Devil's Chimney -
Now with a substantial protective barrier.
From here we rejoined the Cotswold Way and followed
it south off the hill to the lane near Salterley
Grange. Here we turned left and followed the lane
to the top of the hill and then followed the
Cotswold Way to the right. However once on the path
we immediately went left off the Cotswold Way and
followed a track to the right of the hedgerow that
headed towards Hartley Wood and Hartley Bottom.
This part of the walk was new to us and was
generally less used than other paths we had walked
in the area. But it was very pleasant and not only
did we enjoy the countryside views but we noticed
to our left one of the parascenders in the sky.
Parascender seen from
path on way to Hartley Wood.
Our route gradually went downhill and, as the track
we had been following went left, we went straight
ahead through a gateway where the descent became
steeper. At the bottom of the descent was a
crossing of paths. Our route was straight on –
south east – along a grassy area between two lots
of woodland, with many of the trees looking
exceedingly tired and grey. Even the sunlight could
not improve them. Spring certainly was coming late
this year.
Hartley Bottom and
Hartley Wood.
Lifeless trees in Hartley Bottom.
A little bit further
on, as we came out from between the trees, I
spotted a fox but before Anne could see him he had
vanished into the wood.
Looking back towards
the "Hartley" Trees.
Having crossed a stile our path followed to the
right of the hedgerow until we came to the A436
about a third of a mile to the west of our starting
point. However, it was too early to think about
food so we crossed the road and followed the path
that took us to Coberley.
If you only have time for a short walk, after
crossing the road and taking the path towards
Coberley in about 50 metres there is a path left
that will take you to Seven Springs without having
to do so much road walking. This circuit is about 4
miles in length.
Every time we have walked through Coberley the sun
seems to shine. Today was no exception. At the
start of our walk, because of the morning chill, we
had wondered about wearing more clothes, but the
afternoon was turning out to be really beautiful
and as we walked eastwards along the road, which
was also the Gloucestershire Way, we were getting
very warm.
Leaving Coberley on
the Gloucestershire Way
We left the road and followed the Gloucestershire
Way when it turned right soon after Coberley Court
and the entrance to the Church, which was hidden
behind the roadside buildings. We now followed the
Gloucestershire Way past a small lake and soon
after followed the “Way” eastwards as it crossed a
field and headed to the A435 – the Cirencester
Road.
The Gloucestershire
Way just past Coberley Court.
Reflections in the
lake between Coberley and the Cirencester
Road.
Having crossed the road our path was straight ahead
over a field to Upper Coberley. On leaving the
field we passed through coniferous woodland before
emerging into the village, where we turned left and
walked along the main village thoroughfare and
admired the very expensive looking houses that were
being built, or being added to, on either side of
the road. At the junction outside the village we
turned left and could have followed the road, and
later a track that would have returned us to Severn
Springs. However we were keen to see some of the
Cotswold Way to the east of Seven Springs and, with
this in mind, we ignored the Gloucestershire Way
when it turned right across fields and took the
next footpath right, a few metres further on.
The route between the
Cirencester Road and Upper Coberley.
What was most noticeable about this area was the
number of electric pylons that crossed the
landscape. However, I did not check their routes as
well as I should have and having entered and left a
small wooded area we walked an about 50 metres in
the wrong direction. However, by relating our path
to the pylons shown on the map I realised the error
of our ways and were soon crossing a ploughed field
on course once more.
A small amount of uphill work and we found
ourselves on a track on the east edge of Chatcombe
Wood. This was a really delightful part of the walk
with the afternoon sun shining brightly. This
woodland was obviously very well cared for and
there were many signs of the timber being harvested
in a planned manner.
The start of Chatcombe
Wood.
The track soon passed a rifle range (shooting
school), evidence of numerous broken clay pigeons
could be seen, before we reached the A436 to the
east of Seven Springs. Over the road we went,
across a field heading for the gap in the woodland
(Wistley Plantation) beyond. At this point we were
nearly 300 metres above sea level so, as we came
out of the trees, we had wonderful views towards
the east of Cheltenham. We were now once more on
the Cotswold Way.
Just beyond Wistley
Plantation - back on the Cotswold Way
Turning left (west) we followed a signposted and
obvious path which skirted the top of Wistley Hill
and enjoyed the views north and west before the
path descended to the road at Wistley Grove.
Hartley Hill from Wistley Hill
A ray of sunlight on
our path through Wistley Grove.
We had expected a little bit of road walking after
Wistley Grove but our path was separated from the
road by hedgerow before it reached the crossing of
the A436 and A435. We were now back at Seven
Springs and as the Hungry Horse Pub stays open all
day we took advantage of its food and drink.
The total route was about 8 miles in length and the
map used was the Ordnance Survey Explorer Map – No
170 – for Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud.
