Cotswold Little Explorers

NEED TO KNOW

5.6 k / 3.5 miles

PARKING: Park at the National Trust Car Park, Tinkley Gate GL10 3UH (chargeable £3 or.free for members) There is a cafe and toilets at this car park.

If you follow the brown signs from the **** you will be lead to an alternative car park, Buckholt National Trust Car park which is the other end of the woods and has no facilities, but this end is the starting point of the play trail through the woodland.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE? 2 hours walking time with our little angels age 6 and 4. Longer with snack and play stops.

EAT/ DRINK: Excellent National Trust cafe at Tinkley Gate, with a kids corner providing colouring, puzzles and games. As well as the usual offerings, they have a pizza oven cooking fresh pizzas you can enjoy with amazing views.

FACILITIES: Toilets at Tinkley gate cafe.

ACCESIBILITY: Steep sections and muddy in winter. Woodland dirt paths, gravel paths, can be rocky. Gates and stiles. Unsuitable for pushchairs.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Woodland, Rivers and Streams.Views of Woodchester Manor (Privately Owned), historic boathouse and pastures. Play trail and café serving freshly made Pizza.

National Trust map showing the trails

STEP BY STEP:

From the café, join the gravel path infront of you and head downhill. Keep following the path (signposted blue for boat house walk).

As you head in to the woods, turn left and follow the path through the woodland until you come to a junction. Take the left hand path, following it straight,past some small ruins and in to the pasture. As you make your way downhill through the pasture, go through the gate and cross the bridge over the pond as the boathouse comes in to view.

Here you can turn right to follow the boathouse loop around the pond, or left to join the pink trail taking you past the mansion and towards the woodland play trail.

Following the blue trail, walk along the edge of the pond, following the blue waymarked. This will take you over the footbridge and back along the other side of the pond in a loop.

Then retrace your steps back through the woodland to the car park.

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