Discover Bagendon's Hidden Landscape

Follow this self-guided trail to discover some of the stories found in the Bagendon landscape. These stories have been, and continue to be, written by generation after generation of people who live and work here. You will encounter Iron Age blacksmiths, Romano-British elites living in villas, Saxon church builders, First World War soldiers and modern farmers. They give today’s landscape its Cotswold character, from fields and traditional buildings, to trees and wildlife.

Distance

2 miles / 3.22 km

Duration

1 hours

Difficulty

Unsurfaced paths, basic fitness

Mobility aid rating

Pushchair friendly

Shape

Circular

Route description

Descriptions of what can be seen on the walk are on the downloadable PDF.

Start

Address

St Margaret's Church, Cirencester GL7 7DU, UK
View start on Google Maps

OS Grid Ref

SP011066

What3Words

demoted.emulating.successor

Refreshments

Available at nearby Bathurst Arms.

Navigation

1 Walk along the road past the red telephone box. You will pass some fine old ash trees, identifiable by their black buds and clusters of lance-shaped leaves. Old trees like these are full of hollows, cracks and rot holes that are important for invertebrates, bird nesting sites and bat roosts. Stop when you reach the triangular adult and child pedestrian road sign on the right hand side of the road.

2 Walk just a little further along the road until you reach the dry stone wall on your right.

3 Stop at the little inturned gateway on the left-hand side of the road.

4 Walk further along the road. Look at the skyline to your right, where the trees grow, to spot one of the earthen rampart boundaries of the oppidum. Turn left at the T-junction and walk uphill.

5 Continue up the road, along the line of the oppidum boundary, until you can look through a gap in the hedge on your right for a view of the landscape.

6 Continue until you reach the crossroads.

7 Turn left at the crossroads to follow the road signposted ‘Bagendon’. Stop where you can see fields either side.

8 Carry on along the road and down the hill until you reach Bagendon’s war memorial by the road junction.

9 Turn left to make your way back to the start.