Overview

This is one of our series of "Dave's legacy walks", in memory of David Wicks-Stone. See here for more details about Dave, and his other walks.

This is a 11.7 kilometer (7.3 mile) circular walk from Lansdown Park and Ride, going to Prospect Stile, North Stoke, Upton Cheyney, Beach, Hanging Hill, and back.

The walk offers many fine views over Bath, the countryside south of Bath, the Mendips, and over to Bristol, the Severn estuary and South Wales, particularly from the Lansdown Playing Fields (stages 1 and 14), Prospect Stile (stage 3), the path to North Stoke (stage 4) and Hanging Hill (stage 11).

Parking is available at Lansdown Park and Ride, Lansdown Road, Bath BA1 9BJ.

Start point

Lansdown Park and Ride

Grid Ref: ST 73123 68016

Postcode: BA1 9BJ

What3Words: wires.petty.task

Parking

There is usually ample parking. The start point details given above are close to the toilets, a convenient meeting place for a group.

Note that there is now a charge for using this car park without using the park and ride buses, see: https://travelwest.info/park-ride/lansdown-park-ride/#site-and-parking-info-1

Buses

Regular buses to and from city centre, including weekends.

Map

Directions

When embarking on this walk, is important to always be appropriately dressed and equipped for the conditions, and to carry, and know how to use, a suitable map for the walk.

The following leader's notes for this walk are intended to supplement the map of the route, and only give an outline of the main stages of the walk. They do not provide a turn by turn guide, or describe every obstacle that may be encountered. Things may well have changed since Dave planned the route. The numbered paragraphs correspond to the waymarks shown on the accompanying map.

Note that late in 2021, following a lengthy consultation process, there were significant changes to the footpaths around and across Bath Racecourse. This walk follows the updated paths, which may differ from the footpaths shown on OS Maps.

Several sections of this route involve walking on roads. Please follow the rules for pedestrians given in the Highway Code, https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians.html

1. Enter the playing fields behind the car park, and cross to the footpath, which runs along the hedge on the opposite side of the field. A fine view over the city of Bath and the Avon valley can be enjoyed immediately. Turn R, and walk along the edge of the field and through WKG.

2. On reaching the busy Lansdown Lane, cross with care and go through the MPG opposite. Follow the path ahead, bearing slightly right, approaching Bath Racecourse. After around 250 m, the path turns left, and follows the perimeter of the race track, with the Racecourse boundary wall on L.

3. Follow this path for some 1.5 km. Half way along, the path gradually bears L, leaving the perimeter of the race track, and heads straight for Prospect Stile, cutting off the corner in the boundary wall, but still keeping that on the L. Prospect Stile offers very fine views to the SE, S and W, including Bath, Salisbury Plain, the Mendips, Bristol, and of course Kelston Round Hill in the foreground. A toposcope illustrates various points of interest.

4. Go through the WKG and follow the path down towards Kelston Round Hill, passing through two very high WKGs. At the crossroads after the second WKG, turn R and follow the descending path to North Stoke. The first section of this path in particular can be very muddy in wet weather. Note: this path is a bridleway, and is often used by mountain bikers.

5 On entering the village, keep straight ahead past phone box, follow the lane as it turns R, and take first side turn on L onto a track, before the post box set in a building wall. After 100m the track turns L and two paths leave the track on the R. Take the second of these, marked as a footpath, entered through the MKG on the far side of the stream.

6. Follow the footpath as it drops through Pipley Bottom, with several gates and a bridge over the stream at the bottom. The path now rises, going straight ahead for some 50m (don't turn L at the post with yellow waymark arrow), then bearing L towards a WKG. It now crosses the next field, then rises once more, coming out on a lane. Turn L and follow North Stoke Lane as it rises to Upton Cheyney.

7. Turn L into Marshfield Lane, then almost immediately turn R into Wick Lane. Continue along this for some 300m, ignoring the turning on L (Mill Lane).

8. The footpath to Beach leaves Wick Lane through a garden gate between the first cottages on R, approximately 170m past Mill Lane. This turn is very easy to miss, as the entrance looks like a private path, and the footpath sign across the road from the gate is often overgrown and hard to notice. Behind the cottages, the path goes over a stile and proceeds across several fields, always keeping beside the hedge on the left. Eventually, after some 900m, the path goes through a MKG and then runs between railed fences, gradually widening to a track and then a metalled drive. After passing Beach House on the R, go through electrically operated gates (button on R), and reach Beach Lane.

9. Turn R onto Beach Lane, continue steadily uphill to T junction with Marshfield Lane, ignoring a minor lane on the L.

10. Cross to footpath opposite, and climb steeply up the sunken track. The line of this path is initially very clear, but after passing through a prominent WPG, the line is less clear. The path initially bears R, then L at a yellow waymark arrow on a post, then immediately R again. Always continue uphill, taking particular care on two very steep banks. At the top of the hill, the path joins the Cotswold Way at Hanging Hill. There is a prominent banner here indicating a site of the Battle of Lansdown, with a noticeboard describing the battle.

11. Go through the MKG by the banner and noticeboard, immediately pass a trig point, then follow the wall for some 400m. Go through WPG, and descend and turn L onto a track.

12 This track skirts to the L of a golf course. Continue straight along this path for 1 km, ignoring any side paths, always with the golf course on your R, till you reach the entrance road to Bath Racecourse. After crossing the entrance road, keep straight ahead to the golf club, now crossing the course, staying to the L of a line of conifers, as indicated by waymarks.

13. Arriving at the golf club, go straight across the busy car park, and follow a short footpath to a MKG, coming out on a strip of grass by the very busy and fast moving Lansdown Road. Turn R and walk past the Charlcombe Inn, then immediately turn R through another MKG back onto the Racecourse. Turn L, then follow the perimeter of the race track for some 300m as it bends R, and approaches a wall beside Lansdown Lane. Follow the wall until you reach the MPG.

14. Go through the MPG, cross the busy Lansdown Lane with care, and retrace your steps across the playing fields to return to Lansdown Park and Ride car park, behind the hedge visible across the playing fields.