 |
| Stanway House's impressive gatehouse |
From the postcard-pretty village of Stanton, follow the Cotswold Way across the fields south west towards Stanway House - a handsome and extensive Jacobean manor house built from golden Cotswold stone. After you round the corner, you are confronted by the extraordinary three-storey gatehouse with its lead-paned windows and towering gables. When you hit the road, follow it east, taking care until you join a bridleway heading north east that climbs steadily up through Lidcombe Wood, overlooking PaperMill Farm. In the woods, you might hear the churning of a pump, which uses gravity to power a 300-foot fountain in the grounds of Stanway House. At the top of the lengthy climb, you will emerge from the woods and onto an exposed hill top at an altitude of about 300 metres - the top of the Cotswold escarpment. A track north west enables you to rejoin the Cotswold Way and descend steadily back through the fields down into Stanton. It is a short climb through the village up to the Mount Inn. After this satisfying and stimulating five mile round trip, you'll deserve a drink.
8/10
 |
The solid stone houses of Stanton - a beautifully-preserved Cotswold village
|
|
 |
The path down the Cotswold Way back towards Stanton
|
