Corsham to Biddestone Peacock Trail

1 Turn left and follow Beechfield Road to Valley Road and turn right towards Pickwick Road and left to reach the Hare and Hounds.

2 At the Hare and Hounds, cross the main A4 road and turn right taking the first turning on the left up Middlewick Lane past the allotments on your right to Middlewick House on your left.

3 Continue up the avenue of trees and turn left towards Hillsgreen Lodge. On your right can be seen Hartham House & Park.

4 Continue past Hillsgreen Lodge on to the gravelled road towards Pickwick Lodge Farm. This gravelled road was once part of the main turnpike road from London to Bath, established in the 1600s.

5 Keep walking in the same direction with Pickwick Lodge Farm on your left go through the kissing gate and follow the path to the end of the fence and then turn right going downhill though another kissing gate. Then taking care go steeply downhill to reach the bottom left of the valley floor. Go through the kissing gate and turn right, going uphill follow the track until you reach Weavern Lane. Turn left and continue along the lane until reaching a footpath on your right. Go across the stile and stay to the left of the hedgerow and follow the path to emerge onto a lane that arrives at Biddestone Cemetery. Continue ahead along The Butts 6 to St. Nicholas’s Church.

7 Continue past St. Nicholas’ Church and pass the Wellhead and Village Pump 8 to reach Turnpike Cottage. Carefully cross Church Road to the White Hart and duck pond 9a.

9b Continue past The Green and War Memorial to carefully follow the road and left down Chippenham Lane to view Biddestone Manor.

10 Retrace your steps back towards the village.

11a This vantage point opens up the picturesque vista of the 18th century cottages that surround the several grassed areas that form The Green.

11b Follow the path through The Green. Across the road and opposite the village pond is The Close, a large house with grounds set back behind a high stone wall.

Cross over into Church Road and to St. Nicholas’ Church taking care along the road.

Continuing past St. Nicholas’ Church take the right fork down Challows Lane where a huge Wellington Pine stands. Take the footpath on the right, over a stone slab stile to follow the footpath through two fields and a kissing gate to emerge onto the Slaughterford Road. Turn left.

Taking care, follow the road for 530m until you reach the junction of two footpaths on your left. Take the righthand footpath that goes diagonally across the large field, but due to constant farming, you may have to turn right instead and skirt the field to reach a stile in the hedge line.

Cross the stile and go diagonally right across the field to another stile in the hedge line corner adjacent to a gate.

Crossing the stile follow the fence line on your right to exit the field through a gate on to the Slaughterford Road.

Turn left and taking care follow the lane for 250m until turning left up a track to the bridleway on the right. Follow the bridleway through the woods and three gates to emerge onto Germains Lane. Turn right and follow the lane into Slaughterford. 12

Follow the lane around to the right past Brookside Cottage onto the elevated footpath passing an Edward VII post box, set in the wall, to the entrance of Slaughterford’s St. Nicholas’ Church 13. Enter the church grounds via the metal gate to visit the church.

14 Retrace your steps back to Brookside Cottage and take the footpath on your right for 150m to view the Rag Mill 15 & 15b and a little further on to the By Brook.

Retrace your steps back onto Slaughterford Lane and walk ahead to cross over the bridge over the By Brook past the entrance to Slaughterford Mill 16. Take the lane on your left and follow the By Way on your left to pass through the mill site.

The By Way emerges onto Germains Lane. Turn right and follow the lane past Ham Lane and Honey Brook Farm on your left to join Weavern Lane. Continue ahead for 1.3km until reaching a bridleway gate on your right. Go carefully downhill, turn right to reach Weavern Farm 17 on your right.

Continue left uphill following the track to enter the woods. Proceed uphill and turn left at a stone gate post, go carefully downhill. At the kissing gate go right uphill. Retrace your steps back to Pickwick Lodge Farm but this time turn right down Guyers Lane. Take the footpath on the left across two fields to reach the A4 opposite St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, passing Guyers House 18 on the left.

19 Turn left at A4 to Pickwick; take care crossing A4, and retrace walk back to Springfield Campus.

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