Winchcombe to Dowdeswell (Cheltenham)

Day 3

Walk Distance: 11.1 miles

Total Ascent:  1,040 feet

NEWSFLASH:  £500 now raised for charity.  A big thank you to all our sponsors and please keep the donations coming.

Once again we planned to do this walk in reverse as public transport options made this a more viable alternative.

We drove to Cheltenham where I had made an arrangement to leave the car at the George Hotel for 3 days and then took a taxi to the start of the walk about 3 miles away at Dowdeswell reservoir.

There is nothing like a steep uphill climb to get stiff joints moving, and that is exactly what we got as we climbed the hillside parallel to the Dowdeswell Wood Nature Reserve. High voltage power cables crossed the path at several points, and, judging by the sizzling, it seemed that Cheltenham was exerting a severe drain on the National Grid.

The humidity of the past two days had gone and a fresh breeze had cleared the air.  After 90 minutes we reached the summit of Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds at 1,038 feet.  The 360degree view from the triangulation point was magnificent, including Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, the Severn Vale, and in the far distance the mountains of South Wales.  

Continuing across Cleeve Common the panorama included views to Sudeley Castle and Winchcombe still some 5 miles distant.  The area was littered with prehistoric earthworks and disused, grassed over quarries.

Another steep climb followed through some beautiful woodland.  The path then passed Belas Knapp, a restored Neolithic chambered long barrow. It was constructed around 3,000BC and when first excavated around the middle of the 19th century four separate chambers were found, containing more than 30 skeletons.

Finally, after so much climbing, the path began to fall, and on tired legs we covered the last 3 miles to Winchcombe.  We missed the 5pm bus. Despite it being tantalisingly in sight we were simply not able to run to catch it.  How cruel! The 1 hour wait for the last bus of the day was spent sitting on a bench by the war memorial nursing our wounds and reflecting upon our achievement.  30 miles down; 73 to go!!