Coaley peak to Selsely Common Walk

11.2km / 7 miles ( 3.5 miles each way)

HIGHLIGHTS: This gorgeous spot on a beautiful hill top has amazing panoramic views of the Severn valley to the Forest of Dean, lovely woodland, and even the remains of the Nympsfield long barrow to explore. This is a bit of a longer one, but a good choice for tiring put older kids!

We walked this with our kids age 8 and 6 in January – it was a good day, but due to the length of the trail and the winds at Coaley Peak and Selsey Common I would reccomend this walk with kids in the summer when you can properly rest and play at Selsey common and get an ice cream at the end at Coaley Peak car park 😊.

NEED TO KNOW

PARKING: Free parking available location: GL11 5AU.

TYPE OF WALK: Linear walk through meadows and woodland with amazing views.

ACCESSIBILITY: The path that follows the Cotswold way to Selsey Common has stiles, gates, and some moderate/steep inclines/declines. Not suitable for pushchairs or wheelchairs.

An alternative path from Coaley Peak to Selsey common, which follows a similar route higher up the hillside, has recently been improved and is marked by the sign below:

The path was wide and relatively flat, with some moderate ups and down but not rocky, no roots and not slippy or boggy anywhere ( we walked in early January). I feel I would have managed this with an offroad pushchair, but getting through the gates from the Coaley Peak area to the woodland may have proved tricky (there were access poi ts from roadside laybys along the route in various places however).

FACILITIES: No.

Other options; Tinkley Gate National Trust has toilets and a lovely café, and is only a 5 minute drive from Coaley Peak.

EAT/DRINK: Bring your own food and drinks.

Tinkley Gate cafe is a 5 minute drive away (from Coaley Peak).

There is also a new cafe called Caper located at the Bristol & Gloucester Gliding Club (Nympsfield, GL10 3TX) which google showed we passed close by when walking the accessible route, so leaving the trail and heading to the road to pop in here may be an option to.

There is often a ice cream van in the Coaley Peak car park during summer weekends, a great reward for the kids after we have walked them hard on this trail!

STEP BY STEP

At the car park, turn right along the path and walk past the Nympsfield long barrow remains. Bear right a the fork in the path, the path to follow is signposted as the Cotswold Way.

You will soon enter woodlands (Stanley Woods.) Continue on the path through the woodland, bearing left at the fork through the kissing gate. After a short flight of steps, continue straight along the path and go through a second gate. Bear left again at the fork, go through a third gate.

At the fourth gate, go through, then follow the path bearing right. Continue straight through the crossroads along the main path.

Further along, bear left at the fork and the continue straight through another crossroad. Here you will reach another kissing gate. As you come out of the woods, continue to follow the path bordering the woods through some fields, cross over two stiles.

When you reach the metal gate at the end of the path, take a right to start heading downhill. Continue along the main path which becomes small and windy. Continue down some wooden steps, through the crossroads following the signposts for the Cotswold way via Selsly Common.

Go down some more steps, over a stile and keep following the path to your right.

Cross the road straight ahead and head in to the woodland, follow the path as it bends right, it here becomes quite steep. Once you reach the top of the hill, go through another gate and continue on the path straight ahead. Leaving the woods, you will emerge on to Selsley Common.

Here you can enjoy the views of Selsly Common, maybe stopping for a picnic if the weather is nice! The route back is the way you came; just turn around and retrace your steps. There is a circular path that takes you back to Coaley Peak but we tend to avoid this due to overgrown stingers on a section of the path, and prefer to turn around and head back the way we came.