Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
Walking northward along the Cotswold escarpment has certain advantages
and no shortage of advocates. For one thing the prevailing weather is at
the walker's back (but then so is the sun), and some of the finest views
are to be seen when approaching from the direction of Bath. The route be-
comes more rural the further north you go, and with it you gain a gentle
introduction to the essential qualities of the region. This means that, in
many ways, one steadily develops over the ensuing miles a deep aware-
ness of the intrinsic nature of the Cotswolds - both countryside and habit-
ation.
From Bath the route climbs onto Lansdown's broad-vista'd escarpment,
visits the first of many Iron Age hill forts, crosses a golf course and the
site of a decisive Civil War battle, then goes through a lovely bowl of fold-
ing hills to reach Cold Ashton. Between Cold Ashton and Tormarton there's
a knot of major roads, but these are soon left behind and traded for the
peace of Dodington Park where Capability Brown's handiwork becomes the
very tapestry of the walker's landscape. Old Sodbury leads by way of an-
other great Iron Age site to Little Sodbury, and from there to Horton on an
easy course over low-lying fields. However, near historic Horton Court the
way takes you up to a high plateau with hinted views through the trees
and a long green track to Hawkesbury Upton.
Between Prospect Stile and Pendean Farm a bridleway provides a hint of Bath below in
its basin of hills (Section 1)
