(S/E) From the end of Hammonds Farm car park, turn left along the footpath that runs above the farm along the backs of the barns. In the far left-hand corner of the field, pass through a small wooded area between two stiles (with an owl carved atop the post on the second). Follow the left-hand edge of the next field to another owl-topped stile into Wades Lane.
(1) Turn left for a short distance, then take the footpath through a kissing gate on the right. Walk along the top of the first field then descend to a kissing gate and a stream crossing. In the next field the path starts out along the hedge on the right, then leaves it to cross the field and descend to another stream. Follow the path beyond, which emerges between buildings onto Pincot Lane.
(2) Turn left and walk down the lane, which descends a hollow way to Smalls Mill. Beyond the mill, continue up the lane to the A46. Cross carefully into Wragg Castle Lane, opposite. Walk up the lane until you reach Wragg Castle Farm.
(3) After the last building on the right, turn right along a track. Pass to the left of a modern house with dormer windows and go through the field gate at the end of the grassed area. Follow the fence to a further field gate, and cross the next field to a wooden stile. Walk along the top edge of the next field and join a farm track that leads to a narrow metalled lane (Jenkin’s Lane).
(4) Turn left and walk uphill until the lane meets the A4173. Turn right to the Edgemoor Arms, then cross the main road, up a few steps and through a gate on the signposted Cotswold Way. The Way winds upwards through an area of scrub and flowery grassland, obliquely crossing a series of contouring tracks and paths.
(5) Near the top of the hill, bear left to pass just to the right of a quarried outcrop of rock, where you descend some steps and go through a gate to a road. Cross straight over (past the National Trust sign for Maitland Wood) and follow the Cotswold Way as it bends left and descends through the trees.
When you reach a track at the bottom, turn left. Follow the track past a house, and past a turning (on your right) to a farm. Pass a barrier and an NT sign for Stockend Wood. Continue along the Cotswold Way for half a mile as it winds up and down through the trees until you emerge onto a road at a layby.
(6) Turn right and walk downhill to Cliffwell Cottages. Turn left off the road and take the path left of the driveway, passing the stone well-house on your left. Climb through the trees to the Cromwell Stone, where the path bears left and levels off to follow the contour until another road, by a farm.
(7) Take a few steps to the left, and then turn right through a metal gate, followed by a kissing gate. Climb the slope obliquely, then follow the path above the steeply wooded bank to a wooden kissing gate on your left. Beyond the gate turn right and follow the grassy path to the trig point at Haresfield Beacon.
(8) Having admired the view, turn left and follow the path along the earthworks of the Ring Hill hillfort. After a gate, pass to the right of an obvious earthwork, go through a gap in a stone wall and follow the path to a small car park.
(9) Turn right past a stone donations box and go down steps to a T-junction of paths, where you turn left. Follow this path below the wood to a wooden kissing gate, beyond which the path climbs through trees to emerge again into open fields. A shortcut continues straight on to Shortwood car park, but our main route follows the Cotswold Way to the right and heads out to a topograph with views back to Haresfield Beacon.
(10) From the topograph, turn left and follow the path across open land with scattered trees to the car park. Just before the road, turn right through a gap in the wall. At a three-way fork, take the leftmost (and highest) path. This proceeds through the trees and comes close to the top of the wood, before a gap in the trees on the right offers fine views over the Severn Vale.
The Cotswold Way continues to a five-way junction, where it bears right. Other paths cross or lead off from the main route, but the Cotswold Way is well-waymarked and generally obvious – a right turn by an old gatepost and a recumbent boulder serves as a useful reassurance that you are on the right track; shortly afterwards, a gap in the trees to the right gives good views to Haresfield Beacon. Continue straight on along the main path at a waymarked junction where three footpaths meet the Way.
(11) The path descends past some old quarries to a further junction marked by a line of boulders; walk past these then, before a bench, turn left onto an inconspicuous footpath that drops down to a stile into the corner of a field.
Walk along the woodland edge to a kissing gate in the field corner. Beyond the gate, zig-zag right and left down a steep slope to emerge opposite the church in Randwick.
(12) Go through the church gates and follow a footpath to the right of the building, which leads out of the churchyard and through a school play area and past the school. Climb steps to the road (The Lane) and turn right.
Pass the top of The Lagger then turn left onto a metalled path by a telephone kiosk. At a junction of paths, turn right, and pass between houses to emerge on a lane (Ocker Holl). Turn left then immediately right through a metal kissing gate onto a footpath along a fence and broken wall.
(13) After a wooden stile, follow the narrow path along the top of a wood for a short distance, then turn right down a steep path through the trees. On meeting a concrete-slabbed driveway, turn right and drop down to the road. Turn right to a bus stop before a road junction, where you turn sharp left into Ruscombe Farm.
(14) Beyond the farm buildings, go through two gates and walk down a track to a pond. When the track turns right, take a hedged track on the left that climbs the hillside and emerges in the corner of a football field. Walk to the left of the pitch to the end of the car park; turn right and walk out to the main village street in White’s Hill.
Turn right to the Star Inn and the church. Turn left into the lane before the church (Stokenhill). Ignore a couple of footpaths off to the right, then take the right fork when the lane divides.
(15) Walk between the buildings of Stokenhill Farm, bearing right beyond the farmhouse. Squeeze to the right of a gate into a field, and follow the right-hand edge down to the main road (take care descending the steep slope at the bottom). Cross a stile and cross the road carefully.
(16) Take a few steps to the right, past a bus stop, then turn left to cross the Painswick Stream at Rock Mill. Turn left after a row of houses on the left, then right through a gap in the laurel hedge. Bear left across a lawn to a stile at the far end, then turn right up some steps and over another stile.
Walk straight up the hill towards Hammonds Cottage, with Hammonds Farm away to your left. A final stile gives access to the lane below the farm; turn right and follow the lane round to the left past Hammonds Barn to return to Hammonds Farm. (S/E)
