Tea shop walk

Fairly flat walk with some good views of the heritage railway. Pass Hailes with its historic church and abbey before refreshments at Hayles Fruit Farm. The return follows the Cotswold Way, a direct and clearly signed route back.

Leave Back Lane car park via the far corner access into Cowl Lane. Turn right and follow the road to the High Street.  Turn left and follow the pavement to the junction with North Street.

Carefully cross and continue in the same direction down Hailes Street, cross Chandos Street and continue until you meet Riverside and a sign post A.

Turn left into Riverside (follow the signs for GWSR) to the junction, turn right to the end, here meet a footpath on your left.  Follow the tarmac path up the rise and bear right at a large tree to follow the path by the river on your right. Continue ahead (ignore a path on left) to emerge into an open area.  Turn left and follow the path to the road.

Turn right to follow the road to Greet, (you will need to cross onto the left side of the road by the school). Cross the bridge spanning the GWSR steam railway and arrive at a cross roads B.  Take the road opposite, Market Lane and follow this past Mill Lane on your left. Continue ahead for approx 160m and take a footpath on your right leading into a field. Cross the stile and follow the right hand field boundary until you meet a stile onto a lane. 

Follow the tarmac lane before turning left along a footpath beside a bungalow.  Cross a stile and continue ahead through a gate before bearing diagonally right to a stile in a fence. Cross and continue to the bottom left corner to meet a footbridge.

Continue ahead, over another footbridge before turning left and then right to follow the left field boundary.  At an electricity post turn left over a footbridge before turning right. Follow the hedge and in the field corner, turn left approx 30m to meet a stile in the hedge on the right C.

Carefully cross the road and go over a stile set back from the road.  Follow the right hand field boundary before crossing a footbridge on the right.  Turn left to follow the field boundary over two stiles. Follow the track under the railway and cross the stile ahead (do not turn into the field). Turn right to follow the field boundary to reach a stile before joining a track, the Cotswold Way D.

Turn left along the track to the road.  Turn right for approx 100m before turning left along the Cotswold Way. Follow the track, through a field gate and across a meadow to reach a gate by a lane.

Turn right up the lane to the end where the Cotswold Way turns up a track E. Follow the tarmac drive to Hayles Fruit Farm where there is a cafe and food shop.

After some refreshments, retrace your footsteps back along the Cotswold Way to point D where you joined the CW.You now will be following the Cotswold Way back to Winchcombe.

Continue straight ahead along the track to a junction and turn right F. Continue along the right hand field boundary to half way along the field before turning diagonally left to the far corner and a gate.  Go through the gate and follow the left hand field edge to the far side and a gate.  Go through and continue in the same direction to a bridge, cross and bear right to meet a stile on the left. Cross and follow down to a footbridge.

Continue following the stone track back to the edge of Winchcombe.  At the road G, carefully cross and bear left for approx 100m. Cross the same road again and go through a gate signposted ‘Riverside Path’. Follow the path to the far end, go down an alleyway to meet Castle Street.

Turn right and follow the pavement up to the High Street beside the White Hart.  Turn left, cross the road and enter Cowl Lane back to the car park.

© Winchcombe Walkers are Welcome 03/2025