Minchinhampton and Box - Miles without Stiles

With your back to the churchyard take the road alongside the common with houses on your left. When the road ends continue along the grass path until you reach a road. Cross the road 1 and carry on between the houses and the Iron Age bulwarks on the right. Keep alongside the wall as far as the last house (Westfield).

Where the wall turns left carry straight on, heading for a large house on the far side of Windmill Road 2.

Cross the road in front of the house (Windmill Place), turn right and shortly left at Windmill Lodge to rejoin the common, with the wall on your left. Continue to follow the wall passing a stone stile to playing fields. Follow the line of the wall to two trees and a seat at a road 3. (If you don’t fancy a climb at the end of the walk turn left along the road for a short cut back into town. Mind the traffic.)

Otherwise cross the road and go ahead downhill on grass towards a row of houses. Your target is the house on the left of the row with eight tall windows (see picture). It was the studio of a stained-glass artist, Edward Payne, whose work can be seen in the church of Saint Barnabas which you will soon pass.

Walk to the right hand corner of the house 4 where a stone squeeze stile takes you down a walled path through a second squeeze stile to a road where you turn left and soon reach the church (see more on page 2 of the PDF). After 200 metres follow the road left and immediately first right 5 on a track signed “to Longfords.”

In 100m turn left through a low kissing gate and follow the wall on your right through a series of kissing gates with views across to Gatcombe. After the last gate drop down to a metalled lane at Forwood 6.

Turn right and left and left again for a view of Minchinhampton on the hilltop ahead.

Walk uphill on the lane. Once past the steepest section you follow the town pavement ahead to crossroads 7 and into the high street. At the war memorial turn left into Bell Lane and back to the car park.

Print navigation content