Cotswold Little Explorers

6.2 km / 3.8 miles

This delightful walk has fabulous views, interesting scenery for parents and kids,  past grazing sheep, orchards and ancient woodland, and historic Hailes Church and the ruins of Hailes Abbey.

A lovely moderate option, at just under 4 miles has some up and downs but nothing to significant, no real puffers or exposed paths and easily manageable for kids – there is also an amazing farm shop & cafe at the end which always makes this walk a firm favourite in our family!

Need to know

Parking: At the Fruit Farm Car Park, GL54 5PB. Parking is £2.50 (pay inside the farm shop) and is redeemable against purchases from the shop or cafe.

Facilities: Toilets are only found inside the farm shop for customer use only.

Accesibility: Stone paths, dirt, grassy and stone tracks, moderate inclines and declines. Stiles and gates. Not suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs or unconfident walkers.

Time taken: Walking time, 1.45 hours. In reality we were out closer to three hours, stopping to play in icy puddles, snowy feilds, and around giant knarly trees!

Food and Drink: The orchard kitchen at the farm shop is lovely- fab barista coffee and homemade cakes. The soups, sandwiches and cooked breakfast looked great too. In the summer you can pick your own strawberries and soft fruits here, too 🍓

Highlights: The limestone monument at the top of the hill (beckford camp) is called Cromwell’s Chair and is said to be the spot where Thomas Cromwell sat and watched Hailes Abbey burn in the 14th century due to that tyrant Henry VIII! The kids loved playing in the big tree roots at Beckford Camp, climbing the stiles and playing in the snow (we had a lovely blue sky winters day on our latest day on the trails).

Step by step

Step 1.

The route is pretty easy to follow.

Start by parking at the fruit farm and  walking back down the lane to the entrance of the fruit farm. To the left of the entrance is a cotswold way marker up a stone track (all uphill).

Follow this up, up, up until you reach a three way cotswold way marker, signposted Beckbury Camp.

Step 2.

Follow the signpost left across the feilds continuing a uphill trajectory until you reach the group of trees at Beckbury Camp, and just behind them, Cromwells seat.  It is waymarked at each gate.

Step 3.

From Cromwells seat, you retrace your steps and go back down the steep path through the trees to the cotswold way marker just before it. Here you will take a left, following the fence line (signposted cotswold way circular) and go over a stile in the corner of the field (its a bit hidden from view). Follow the edge of the woods through a few fields, bearing left, and eventually you will come out on to a field which is waymarked the Winchcombe way.

Step 4.

Follow the Winchcombe Way signposts over a few more fields (it is all now at low level) until you come to the road.

Follow the road past Hailes Church and the ruins of Hailes Abbey, all the way back to the fruit farm where you can stop for some well deserved refreshments!

This walk is generally pretty easy to follow and not many ways to deviate from the path – for more details see this amap and description from the National Trails website here.