We picked off another walk from our OS Pathfinder Book this week, taking on a 9.5 mile circular route, starting in the ‘Chocolate Box’ village of Stanton. I was expecting Stanton to be busy with Cotswolds Tik-Tok tourists but that wasn’t the case. Another surprise was a well kept, empty, free car park in the village, provided by the local Parish Council. That’s a much appreciated rarity these days.
Stanton itself is beautiful with typical Cotswold stone cottages, some with thatched roofs, well kept gardens and quirky lanterns interspersed around the village. We couldn’t spend too much time there as we had a long hike in front of us but, just walking along the High Street as we left the village behind was a treat.
Shortly after leaving Stanton we walked through open countryside, following the Cotswold Way, until we arrived at Stanway. Stanway Manor House is located here and the 12th Century, St Peters Church. Both were closed although the Manor House does open to the public.
From here we walked past some small holdings before starting a long, steepish climb through Lidcombe Wood. It was a good punchy climb, but we don’t mind that. We were rewarded with some amazing views at the top of the hill as we left the woodland behind and came out in to open fields. A good stop for a cup of tea from our flask.
The path from here continued through large fields planted up with rape. The flowerheads were just emerging but I think in a week or two these fields will look amazing, covered in the bright yellow rape flowers. If the weather stays fine we may even return just to experience that.
The route descended from this point, through several more fields planted with rape, towards the village of Snowshill.
Snowshill itself is another typical, pretty Cotswold village, centred on a village green with a Victorian church and 13th century chapel. This was our first sighting of other tourists, when a mini bus arrived and a group of Asian tourists disembarked. These villages are popular with tourists and can become quite overrun in the summer. It’s a contentious issue with the locals.
We were visitors, just the same as the foreign tourists, but we didn’t stay long. We had our lunch in the churchyard and then continued the return route of our walk after a quick look around.
The route back to Stanton was across fields and through woodland, but mostly along a well kept, tinder track and bridleways so we made good time. The route climbed gently for some time but we were rewarded with some fabulous views, towards the Vale of Evesham, before descending back in to Stanton.
As we finished the walk we entered Stanton from the opposite end of the High Street. This part of the village was just as picturesque with even more ‘Chocolate Box’ cottages. Luckily we had enough hot water left in the flask for another drink as, other than a pub, there are no shops or cafes here.
This was a lovely walk. It’s not overly strenuous but we both felt those miles in our legs by the time we got back to the car. We’ll certainly be back to do this walk again. Maybe, sooner rather than later, as I really want to see those rape fields in full bloom.
All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2025 – All rights reserved.
Steve Hyde 