Lansdown to Batheaston (Circuit of Bath Walk 1)

If starting from Lansdown Park & Ride EXIT via the back entrance. To find this path walk LEFT (L) past the toilet block and other single-storey buildings in the same location. Join the tarmac path to your left which runs down the fence line.

Follow this path round to the L and then onto a footpath towards Beckford’s Tower. After a short distance take the right-hand (RH) fork through a gate and then turn L. Stay on this path all the way along, taking the most well-trodden route past the Tower until you meet a final gate and pick up the main Circuit of Bath path. Turn L onto the Circuit of Bath footpath beyond 1.

Or if continuing from walk 4 carry on up the hill towards Lansdown Road. When the footpath meets the road turn L and use the pedestrian crossing to cross over to Granville Road.

Walk to the very end of Granville Road then bear L (not the hard left footpath) up a tarmac track as far as the stone arch into Charlcombe Grove Farm. Do not go through the arch. Keep dogs on leads for a while longer 2. In front of the arch turn L to some large metal gates and railings. Go through the pedestrian gate; this is the public right of way. Please close the gate after you.

Follow the track and at the wooden gates veer L onto a grass path alongside a hedge on your R. Follow the way markers through another gate then bear R to reach another gate. Go down a grassy lane to a set of steps taking you steeply down an open hillside.

Continue straight down the hill to a way-marker in front of an area of brambles. Follow the indicated path down and through a wooden gate in the field boundary. Follow the winding path downhill. Pass through a metal gate and once clear of the bushes, veer slightly RIGHT (R) to the gate at the bottom corner of the field, ignoring a free-standing kissing gate.

Go through the gate and turn R, go down a short track to meet a tarmac road. Turn L and after c.50m turn R into Church Street. Cross a stone stile at the end of Church Street and head down an enclosed path and two open fields. In the second field bear diagonally R down to the bottom. Cross the stream.

Turn R alongside the stream. After c.120m cross another stream again then bear L and walk diagonally up the steep hill ahead, aiming for the extreme RH house on the far side of the field. Dog owners beware- there may be sheep in this field.

Towards the top of the slope, bear L again and leave the field by the obvious steps, through the garden of Woodbine Cottage, (yes, this really is a public footpath!) Please close the gate after you to emerge onto a road in Upper Swainswick 3.

Go straight up the steep road ahead with Swainswick Church on your L. Bear R at a junction and continue through the village and continue to a ’Give Way‘ sign.

Turn R (signed ’Bath A46‘) and head down the hill. Cross the road with care when a pavement appears on the other side. Continue downhill and soon turn L under the A46. Bear L uphill. CAUTION: Beware of fast traffic leaving the A46. Just before meeting the A46 cross over the road and head up a lane marked ’Private Property – No Unauthorised Access’. After c.100m turn R through a gate.

Bear R uphill through the field. Where the field narrows, join an enclosed path on the LHS. Continue uphill, passing through a further gate to reach the flat top of Little Solsbury Hill. Bear R following the edge until you find the trig point.

From the trig point, continue on along the edge keeping the views on your R until you reach a National Trust sign. Turn R here down hill towards a gate. Pass through the gate and follow a lane all the way down hill to a T-junction. At the T junction turn L, continuing down hill until you see a footpath on your right.

Take the footpath diagonally across a field to a metal gate; through the gate go L and cross another field before descending some steps and turning R to rejoin the lane. Take care walking in the narrow lane. At a T-junction cross over and turn R, continuing downhill. Pass the Church of the Good Shepherd on your L and as the road bends to the R, take a narrow path and a flight of steps straight ahead 4.

At the bottom turn L onto Batheaston High Street. Use the crossing to cross the road, then turn R and after a short distance L into a car park.

From the road in front of the car park you can pick up a bus into Bath city centre where you can pick up the bus back to Lansdown Park & ride or else see travelinessw.com. Alternatively, to walk back into Bath navigate to the canal at Bathampton, via the footpath over the bridge on the far side of the car park. You can use the Circuit of Bath way markers to guide you. Then turn right and follow the canal all the way into the city centre.

Little Solsbury Hill

The top is 191m (625 feet) high and has been owned and managed by the National Trust since 1930. The sides, are owned and managed by Batheaston Freeholders Association. The two organisations work together very closely to look after the site as a whole.

Solsbury Hill was occupied as a hill fort during the early Iron Age. Archaeological remains suggest people lived here between 500 to 100BC. There would’ve been about 30 buildings made from timber, wattle and daub.

In more recent history, there is evidence of medieval field systems on the hill top, and the summit was still being used for agriculture well into the 19th century.

Mostly unimproved limestone grassland, in the spring and summer it is covered in wild flowers including early purple & pyramidal orchids. Keep your ears open for the remarkable song of the skylark,
a ground nesting bird which breeds here (so please keep dogs to the main paths).

The hill was also the inspiration for Peter Gabriel’s song “Solsbury Hill”.

Print navigation content