Walk From Edge To Haresfield on the Cotswold Way
The walk from Edge to Haresfield is a special route across the beacon and through some lovely woodland. I used the local bus service to get to and from this walk, travelling from Stroud on the 66 bus this time. It is also doable on the 63 bus as well. The bus runs between Gloucester and Stroud, so you can start this walk from Gloucester too.
The Walk to Haresfield
Key sites and features of the trek through this area of the county.
Standish Woods
The National Trust manages Standish Woods, a beautiful hillside woodland area. The woods are popular with hikers, dog walkers, and mountain bikers. Various trails run through the woods, with plenty of views and wildlife.
Haresfield Beacon
Haresfield Beacon is a 0.73-hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire. It is great for walking or visiting to enjoy the views of the Cotswolds. The National Trust owns and manages the Beacon, with well-maintained car parks on site. It also overlooks another local woodland, Randwick Woods, which is great for walkers.
Haresfield Village
Haresfield is a small Gloucestershire village with a population of less than 400. It has a village pub, the Beacon Inn, and a church, St Peter’s. A foot crossing for the railway line makes it a popular spot for train spotters.
The Cotswold Way
The Cotswold Way is a 102-mile footpath that runs along the Cotswold Edge escarpment of the Cotswold Hills. It is a popular route for multi-day or week-long hikes through the area, or for day-long walks on sections.
The Cotswold Way runs from Bath to Chipping Campden, or in reverse, depending on where you wish to end. Villages and towns on the route include Wotton-under-Edge, Dursley, Stroud, Painswick, Cranham, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, Winchcombe, Stanway and Broadway. Highlights of the walk include Sudeley Castle, Cleeve Hill, Hailes Abbey, and the iconic Broadway Tower.
The Walk
After disembarking from the bus on the main road, I took a few minutes to admire the views of the valley and the hills opposite. After consulting the map, I headed down the narrow country lane that heads towards Randwick. This led to splendid views of farmland, hills, and the Whiteshill area of Stroud.
Standish Woods
After a while, you reach the marked footpath that lets you walk in the woods or downhill towards Stroud. This section is part of the famous Cotswolds Way long-distance walk that heads from Haresfield Beacon to Stroud.
The path into Standish Woods was easy to find, and the @aboutglos boots have clearly walked it many times. The walking path takes you into the woodland with occasional views of the valleys and beacon. Lucky for me, it was a quiet day, but more often than not you will see fellow hikers and off-road cyclists enjoying the trails.
This part of the walk is uphill through the woods and is pretty. In summer it is lush and green, but after autumn the views open up to more of the countryside. Plenty of wildlife is on view, including songbirds, squirrels, and other fauna.
Haresfield Beacon Views Galore.
After a good uphill walk, you arrive at Standish Wood Carpark. This attracts many dog walkers, and people come to enjoy the view. From the car park, a well-trodden path leads to the Haresfield Topograph.
The topograph is a to-scale structure of the surrounding area with places marked on it. This is a great place to see for miles, including towards the Severn Bridge on a cloudless day. The fields here have a few tufts of trees, and cows roam freely, grazing and minding their own business.
From here, the walk takes you towards the boundary marked by a Cotswold stone wall and the Shortwood National Trust car park. This takes you through meadows and is a great place to sit and watch birds of prey hovering above, waiting for dinner.
From Shortwood car park, a narrow footpath hugs the valley edge to the beacon’s highest point. This area has superb views of the Severn Estuary and local hills. I enjoyed a well-deserved beer to celebrate reaching the highest point of my day walking. The trig point is about 217 metres above sea level.
Some cows were loitering nearby, and I spotted some unknown mushrooms growing in the grass near the trig point. After enjoying a beer and packing up my rubbish, I readied my legs for the walk down to the village of Haresfield.
Downhill From The Beacon
Follow the Cotswold Way until you reach the farm buildings on the main road. You can walk down the hill either through fields or along the steep road into the village. I opted for the roadway, picking some chestnuts from the ground on the way downhill. The plan was to roast these with salt, and this came out well – an enjoyable snack in the evening.
On reaching the village, I turned left to the Beacon Inn, a pub near the railway line. The pub was pleasant, with comfy seats and some outdoor tables. A nice place to end the walk.
I had two options: walk the lanes back to Hardwicke, or walk through the fields to Gloucester Road and catch the bus. This bus can either take you towards Gloucester or back to Stroud.