Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SECTION 7
Painswick to Middleyard (King's Stanley)
Distance
9½ miles (15km)
Maps
Harvey's Cotswold Way 1:40,000
OS Landranger 162 Gloucester & Forest of Dean
Area 1:50,000
OS Explorer 179 Gloucester, Cheltenham &
Stroud 1:25,000
Accommodation
Edge, Haresfield (+ ¾ mile (1km)), Randwick (+ ½ mile
(800m)), King's Stanley and Middleyard
Refreshments
Edge and Painswick
Open meadows, woodland shade, a sloping common scattered with birches, and some
of the finest views of the whole Cotswold Way make this stage memorable for its vari-
ety.
Leaving Painswick the route heads westward over undulating farmland, across the
Gloucester-to-Stroud road and up to Scottsquar Hill, with its quarry remains and a
clear view back to Painswick. It then passes along the edge of an extensive stretch of
woodland, broken here and there with occasional views north and west, before climb-
ing onto the jutting prow of Haresfield Beacon where a vast panorama, lit by the me-
anderings of the River Severn, lies stretched before you. This green belvedere invites
you to rest, to sit and enjoy its gift of space - a fine picnic spot. From Haresfield
Beacon the way now breaks to the south, making a short diversion onto a neighbour-
ing hilltop spur in order to benefit from more of the magnificent vista, before dropping
among ancient woodlands again, well to the west of Stroud.
Stroud dominates a bowl of countryside above the River Frome, but the route keeps
its distance and remains distinctly rural, passing through one or two outlying villages,
crossing the Stroudwater Canal and, at King's Stanley, ending in a final meadowland
stroll to Middleyard below wooded Pen Hill.
A longer, optional alternative route alongside the Stroudwater Canal and onto Sels-
ley Common has been opened, and this is described on page 80. However, it avoids
King's Stanley and Middleyard, where accommodation and refreshments are available.
From the lych gate on the New Street side of St Mary's Church in Pain-
swick, cross to the narrow Edge Road and wander uphill along it, enjoying
pleasant views off to the left as you gain height. After about 250 metres
turn left into Hambutts Field (owned by the Open Spaces Society). Wander
