Ramble Reports March 2025

We gathered just outside Wood Stanway on a bright frosty morning with a forecast of a dry day. After the necessary preamble, the group headed southwest into the hamlet and through Glebe farmyard at the start of the climb along the Cotswold Way. Looking back at several points Toddington lay below, and nearer, examples of ancient ridge and furrow farming land were seen mostly clearly. At the top we joined the Campden Lane track at Stumps Cross, one of many Christian waymarkers in difficult terrain erected between the 9th and 15th both as symbols and as reassurance to travellers.

Here, at the junction with the B4077, we walked almost due north along a minor road for some 600yards to take a footpath east along the northern edge of Guiting Quarry, part of the Stanway Estate owned by the Earl of Wewyss. Recently re-opened, the high quality Cotswold Sandstone used in the construction (and subsequent renovations of Gloucester Cathedral) is said by stonemasons to “ring like a bell” when struck.

Now heading northeast we passed through Carey’s Covert, across two (as yet) fallow fields to Taddington, a tiny hamlet with much interesting history, worthy of further study. As a snapshot, the village was on the White Way, Port Way and Stanway Highway and tolls were taken up to the 18th Century: the source of the River Windrush is located nearby. Excellent vegetables were purchased from “Pauline’s” and a relaxing coffee break was enjoyed in the warm sun.

A gentle eastward uphill path along a field’s edge led to wonderful stone slab stile and back onto the minor road crossed earlier. Turning northeast on the road we reached a track/byeway, continuing until meeting the Winchcombe Way and headed due north to a smaller path where, turning east to the edge of Lidcombe Wood, we turned south west and downhill past Parks Farm into the wood. The extremely rough and difficult track, hollowed out by heavy rains, led past an hydraulic water pump (a water ram, powered solely by water pressure opening a valve). A little beyond, a written and illustrated explanation of this engineering technique is helpfully provided in an old brick hut.

Now the track was wet but soft underfoot and led past Papermill Farm, the millpond of which is still extant. The mill mechanism crushed water-soaked disused clothes and other fabrics into very fine fibres, which when dried on a flat surface reconstituted into paper. Many such mills existed in the valleys of the Cotswolds, the only current business using this process (albeit electrically powered crushing) is Postlip Mill in Winchcombe.

From here we continued downhill to meet the B4077 again, this time westwards towards Toddington. We carefully crossed the road at a signpost to take the path due south across sheep–grazed meadows into the middle of Wood Stanway. A group visited the site of the first conduited public water supply to the village, installed in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

A marvelous walk in beautiful weather.

The group congratulated Janet on her debut as a leader, and looked forward to enjoying her next offering.

Lesley

6.2 miles