Corsham to Box Peacock Trail

1 Turn left out of the Springfield Campus and follow the path to the rear of the complex, alongside the sports pitch, outdoor gym, and skate park to reach Valley Road. Cross the road here and continue left down Valley Road until reaching the Potley Lane Bridge.

2 Retrace your steps back from the bridge and take the first left and go through the avenue of trees along Pockeredge Drive.

3 Continue through the metal gate at the end of Pockeredge Drive and turn left along the lane with MOD Corsham on your right and the reservoir on the left.

4 Continue along the lane until reaching the gates at the rear of MoD Corsham, turn left along Spring Lane and after 50m take the footpath on the right up the steps. Follow the path up through the woods and across the fields to emerge at Westwells.

5 Turn right and follow the road to the T junction of Westwells Road. Keep heading towards Neston and after 50 yards turn right on the lane alongside the old stone cottages. Follow the lane and turn right onto the footpath to the right of a metal gate to emerge on to the lane that leads to Wadswick Green Retirement Village entrance.

6 Cross the lane and go through the kissing gate on your left. Follow the footpath until emerging from the copse into a field adjacent to Roundwood Cottage on your right. Turn diagonally left and head to the right-hand bottom corner of the field to exit through a metal gate to another metal gate.

Keeping the wood on your right follow the footpath to emerge at Wadswick Airstrip. Do not cross the airstrip. Follow the footpath adjacent to the wire fence on your left to emerge on to the drive. Turn left and follow the drive to the front of Wadswick Country Store and Café. Make use here of the toilets and refreshments if required.

7 From the front main entrance of the store, head for the old stone cottages in the far distance, by taking the signed footpath exit at the far left of the car park and keeping to the right of the dry-stone wall for approx.100m. Cross over the stone stile and continue right through a kissing gate then a gate and across a field to emerge on the lane to the rear of Chapel Plaister.

Go to the right of the building to the Bradford-on Avon Road and the
front of the Chapel Plaister.

8 100 yards south towards Bradford-on-Avon on the opposite side of the busy B3109 road, is the entrance to Hazelbury Manor. Carefully cross the busy road here and make your way down the lane to Hazelbury Manor.

9 Turn left at the front of the Manor House following the footpath past the stable block on the left. Continue across two stiles to emerge on a bridle path with excellent views across the valley and out to Colerne on the horizon.

Turn right and follow the footpath to Box Hill Woods. Enter the woods on your left and then follow the path on the righthand edge of the woods adjacent to the fields on your right to exit on Quarry Hill road. Carefully cross the roads to the viewing point adjacent to Box Hill Common and Grove Farm.

From here, you can make use of the toilets and refreshments at the Quarryman’s Arms some 200 yards along the lane that weaves its way through the common, before returning to the viewing point.

10 From the viewing point, walk down Quarry Hill road, then right into the field through the wooden kissing gate and continue downhill. Go through a metal kissing gate, on your right slightly uphill is the remains of a half-hidden remains of a WWII pillbox built to defend Box Tunnel. Turn left and go downhill to cross a stile in the fence line on your left into Lacy Woods.

Walk straight through the woods and out onto the main A4 road at the specially built viewing platform to the western portal of Box Tunnel.

11 After viewing the tunnel portal, carefully cross the busy A4 road and turn left onto the railway bridge.

Continue down the A4 London Road. The house on your right with the blue plaque on, was once occupied by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry, author of “Thomas the Tank Engine” stories. Make use of the Birdhouse Cafe for refreshments and toilet.

Carefully cross Mill Lane near the Post Office and shop and continue past the terrace houses and turn immediately right onto the footpath which takes you down by Fairmead View Terrace and onto Mill Lane.

Turn left at Mill Lane, then under the railway bridge and alongside Box Mill to your right (now the Real World Recording Studios). Turn right just over the small bridge by the telegraph pole and continue along the public footpath beside the By Brook.

12 Keep heading alongside the By Brook over a footbridge, and then left through a gate into open fields.

13 Continue on the public footpath following the course of the By Brook over several fields to its junction with the lane near Saltbox Farm. Turn right down the lane and right again over the By Brook down to Drewetts Mill.

14 Continue past the mill and up the lane, which is steep in places, and take the bridleway on your left to the rear of Mills Platt Farm. Continue along the signed bridleway to emerge at the entrance of Lower Rudloe Farm. The views over the valley to the left towards Colerne are breathtaking. In winter, this section of the walk can become very muddy and rutted.

At the junction of bridleway and lane turn left and pass Folly Cottage to a T
junction.

Turn right at the T junction to reach the top of the hill alongside the A4. The imposing Rudloe Cottage which overlooks Box Valley was once home to Lloyd George’s Principal Secretary Albert Sylvester.

15 Turn back towards Corsham and take the path alongside Rudloe Cottage, the Gatehouse entrance and through the avenue of trees to reach the entrance of Rudloe Firs alongside the A4.

16 Carefully cross the A4 to take the footpath down the adjacent private road to emerge into the Rudloe Estate.

17 Head for the bottom left of the estate by continuing ahead on Prestly Wood Road, left on to Leyland Road past the Community Centre on your right, then take Toghill Crescent on the bend to the left past the bungalows to finally reach the B3109 Bradford-on-Avon Road. Carefully cross the road and take the footpath opposite, keeping the fields on the right and the new housing estate, Park Place, on the left. Carefully cross Park Lane to the footpath and turn left following the Park Lane pavement/cycle way towards Corsham, passing by Allen Road and Peel Circus.

18 & 19 Continue along Park Lane crossing Freestone Way and Masons Way to reach St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church.

20 Keep walking down to the end of Park Lane to reach the A4 mini-roundabout opposite the roundhouse. Turn right towards the Hare and Hounds public house A4 roundabout. Turn right down into Pickwick Road and then immediately right at the next mini-roundabout into the Valley Road. Cross the road and turn left down Beechfield Road to reach the Springfield Community Campus.

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