(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 and walk down the tree-lined lane for 400 yards and cross the Painswick Stream at Wades Mill. Continue up the lane to the main A46 road. Take a few steps to the right then cross carefully and go through a metal kissing gate opposite.
Bear slightly right, up the hill, towards the middle of three houses beyond a couple of fields. When you reach the houses, turn right and walk out to the lane. Turn left and walk uphill to the junction in the village. To explore the old part of Pitchcombe, turn right; otherwise, to continue the walk, turn left along Lurks Lane.
(2) When the lane bends right towards the end of the houses, take the path on the left. After a short distance, beyond the last garden, turn right over a stile into a field. Follow the right-hand side of the field initially, then bear half-left down the hill to a farm bridge by a gate.
Once over the stream, walk up the opposite slope and pass just to the left of a sycamore tree with a large stone below it. Go right, through a gap in the line of trees, and then turn left, keeping on up the hill to the top left-hand corner. Over a stile, climb up to a gate and follow the lane to the left. Take the lower, left-hand, of the two roads and follow it out to the main village street and the Star Inn.
(3) Turn left and walk down to 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. 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.
(4) 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)
