Odd Down to Lansdown (Circuit of Bath Walk 4)

Leave Odd Down Park & Ride in the direction you drove in, towards the roundabout. If you are continuing on from Walk 3 continue straight across Sulis Manor Road, to stay on Combe Hay Lane. At the roundabout follow the pavement RIGHT (R) then cross Sulis Manor Road, turn R and then LEFT (L) into Combe Hay Lane. Pass buildings of St. Gregory’s School until you reach a T-junction with A367 Bath- Radstock Rd. Turn R and cross the road at the pedestrian crossing. Turn L and then R into Old Fosse Rd.

After c.80m turn L into Kilkenny Lane, soon passing Bristol View on your L. Take care on this narrow road. Follow the Lane for over 1km until the bottom of the hill, just after Kilkenny Cottages 1. Turn R through a gate into a field. Follow the edge of the field, keeping the hedge and wood on your R, to reach a gate and track. Cross the track and go through the gate opposite.Look for the way marker post on your diagonal L and head towards it. Descend gently down the shallow valley.

Continue through a gate. Then look out for a gate on the L into the wood. Go steeply up the path and carry straight on, ignoring all cross tracks. This path can be very slippery when wet. Leave the wood through a gate. Bear slightly R across an open field to a gate opposite. Go through the gate and follow the track through the next two fields, keeping the hedge on your R. Go through a final gate 2, then turn L and follow the road into the village of Englishcombe.

At the grassy triangle, fork R. Continue downhill and then go R immediately after the Old Vicarage onto Church Lane. Follow the lane as it curves round to the L and look for a footpath through a gate on your R. Take this path into a field. Bear L skirting the wooded area ahead, which surrounds a pond. Keep this secluded pond on your R, then head across the field down to a gate beside a metal gate.

Go down a short track, then up into a field, this dip can be very muddy most of the year round and can be difficult to pass without waterproof footwear. Go uphill and keep the hedge on your L. At the top, stay on the high ground and follow the field boundary down the hill, keeping the hedge on your L, to a gate in the far left-hand corner of the field.

Go through the gate and turn L over a concrete bridge. Ignore the gate on the L and continue along a narrow path alongside the stream on your R, soon reaching a road. Turn hard R along the road. Pass Clays End Farm and then Buttercup Barn Day Nursery, both on your R. Turn R at the crossroads 3 and follow the lane downhill to the main road. Cross the road with extreme care to the gate in the fence directly opposite. CAUTION: there is good visibility in both directions here but beware of fast-moving traffic.

Go straight ahead towards Bath Mill Lodge Holiday Park along a tarmac driveway, keeping the stream on your R. Turn R over the first wooden footbridge and follow the path uphill. At the clearing, keep L, ignoring the
steep path uphill. Continue to meander uphill to an old metal gate. Pass through and turn L to reach a concrete path. Continue past houses and after approx. 60 metres turn L through a metal gate and down into the wood. Continue through the wood and eventually into a field. Turn L to skirt the field and head past the information board. Continue straight downhill then turn L through a gate to head steeply downhill to the main road.

Cross the main road, which can be busy, with caution, and turn L. Walk a short distance and turn R at the blue ‘Bristol and Bath Railway Path’ sign 4. Follow the path through the wooded area and head up to a set of steep steps to the tarmac cycle path above. At the top of the steps, turn R to cross over the bridge.

Shortly after the metal barriers, turn L and head down a concealed narrow path which soon meets the tow path. Turn R and continue along the riverside path.

Continue straight. Walk over the wooden bridge and continue under the low stone bridge. Turn R, and follow the way markers through the car park of The Boathouse Pub and up to the edge of Newbridge Park & Ride. Here you can head into the Park & Ride to pick up the rest of the section another day or continue on to Lansdown Park & Ride.

Route to Lansdown Park & Ride

Follow the footpath up towards the rowing club which will be on your L. Turn L immediately after a wide gap in the fence and follow path, keeping the fence on your L. Follow the path round to the R up a grassy slope to some steps and then uphill through a belt of woodland to reach a metal gate. Go through gate, Oldfield School is directly opposite you, turn R onto the pavement of the A431 – Bitton Road. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing. Turn R and then L into the enclosed path on your L which takes you up past the school.

Follow the footpath to where it emerges onto Penn Hill Rd and turn L. Carefully cross the road at the bollards to the pavement on the other side. Turn L and continue. Just after you cross Frankland Close, carefully cross the road to a metal gate. Pass into the recreation ground through the gate and take a hard R parallel to the road. Pass through a gate to re-join the main road. Turn L, walk along the pavement, passing the entrance to Southlands. Just past the bus shelter, go down Penn Hill Road and continue down this short narrow lane. At the bottom of the lane, cross the road via a zebra crossing to a pharmacy. Turn R and then after a short distance turn L up Trafalgar Rd 5. At the top of Trafalgar Rd bear slightly R into ‘The Weal’.

Continue up ‘The Weal’ for about 150m then turn R into Blind Lane. CAUTION: This lane becomes increasingly rough and narrow and wet underfoot. Look out for loose stones and projecting or overhanging branches. Use the hand rails. Follow Blind Lane up to and through a gate at the top. Bear slightly R and head up the hill through the field to a gate in a hedge – Beckford’s Tower is on the skyline to your L. Pass through the wooden gate beside a large metal gate and follow the enclosed path with the hedge on the R.

At the end of the path, turn L, through a tall metal gate and go uphill into Primrose Hill Community Woodland. Follow the path directly uphill and through another metal gate at the top. Follow the footpath ahead and through the next gate. Carry on along the right-hand edge of the field uphill into large field. Halfway up the field, cross a tarmac track and continue uphill.

About 30m before reaching the trees bear L as instructed by the way marker then the path levels out. Walk for c.200m parallel to the tree line on your R. At the end of the field 6, to continue on the Circuit ignore the gate on the L and continue uphill, and follow the enclosed track to Lansdown Road. Or to continue to Lansdown Park & Ride take the path to the left which runs beneath Beckford’s Tower all the way to back to the rear entrance of the car park.

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