This page give full event details of the hiking weekend away - Cotswolds, Cirencester Gloucestershire. Please read it before you book on the weekend and again a week before the weekend.

The starting and ending date and time are shown in the event details on Meetup.

What we’ll do

Spend a weekend hiking near Cirencester, Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Leave Friday evening, hike Saturday and Sunday , return Sunday evening. Stay Friday and Saturday nights in Cirencester in budget accommodation at New Brewery Arts Centre.

A possible meeting/departure point for this weekend is 18:00 at Potters Bar Station, inside the station by the ‘Meeting Point’ sign but only if you have pre-arranged car sharing that leaves at that time. A different departure location and/or time may be agreed between car drivers and passengers, or you could travel independently.

COST AND PAYMENT

The cost of £49 includes:

  • 2 nights bed only budget accommodation @ £23 per night. There may be a reduction if you have individual membership of YHA England and Wales.
  • The standard South Herts Hikers event fee of £3 per person per event.

If it is your first event with this group then you don’t pay the £3 event fee but please note that if this event has a waiting list then priority will be given to members who have already been on at least one hike with us before.

Not included:

  • Breakfast or other meals
  • Transport

You do not need to pay immediately when you sign up but please do not sign up unless you want to make a definite commitment to go on this weekend. We need to book very soon while places are available so RSVPs are only open for a short time, to see whether we have sufficient numbers for the weekend to go ahead. When this is confirmed, we shall let everyone know that payment is due and how to pay and we shall book the accommodation. You are advised not to book travel tickets or make other commitments until your place on this weekend is confirmed and you have paid.

TRANSPORT TO CIRENCESTER

See aslo YHA Cotswolds web page

  • Kemble is the nearest railway station to Cirencester and is about 5 miles from Cirencester. There is a bus 882 from Kemble station to Cirencester but the last bus leaves Kemble at 19:00. You could take a train from Potters Bar, St Albans, etc. to London Kings Cross or St Pancras then underground to Paddington. If you catch the 17:36 from London Paddington to Kemble, that is scheduled to reach Kemble before the last bus at 19:00 but check times as train timetables change from 20th May.
  • National Express coach from from London Victoria Coach station direct to Cirencester. If you leave Victoria at 18:00 you should arrive at Cirencester at 21:10. The coach stops in London Road, Cirencester, 0.5 miles from New Brewery Arts. In April 2018, fares from £4 single were being advertised.
  • Own car or car sharing (if available) with other members on the weekend, 107 miles from EN6 1AJ to GL7 1HW. Leave South Herts area around 18:00, arrive Cirencester around 20:30 - 21:00. Use post code GL7 1HW for SatNav. For car sharing the suggested contribution at our standard Group rate of 7.5p per passenger per mile is £16 for the return trip, plus a contribution to parking costs.

CAR PARKING

There is no car park at New Brewery Arts. The closest pay and display parking is about 100 metres away in the Brewery Car Park which is free and unrestricted 6pm – 8am but after 8 a.m. Saturdays, parking is for a maximum of three hours. As we need to park in Cirencester all day Saturday, we need to use another long-stay pay and display car park nearby. On Sunday there is a small charge for the whole day after 10:00 a.m. but we won’t be parking in Cirencester on Sunday.

ACCOMMODATION

We plan to stay at New Brewery Arts in the centre of Cirencester. This is similar to YHA accommodation but it is not actually operated by YHA although a limited number of places can be booked via YHA. Depending on room availability, we may book places through YHA with a YHA members’ discount or we may need to book direct with New Brewery Arts without a discount.

Alternatively, you can book your own accommodation somewhere else in Cirencester but please let the weekend organiser know when you sign up for the weekend and please meet us at New Brewery Arts at 09:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday morning.

MEALS

The price for this weekend includes two nights accommodation bed only. You can either have breakfast for an extra charge in the New Brewery arts café, open from 9.00am or you can prepare your own breakfast in the small self-catering, communal kitchen.

There are shops nearby where you can buy food for a packed lunch or you can prepare your own packed lunch in the small self-catering, communal kitchen.

No evening meals are available at New Brewery Arts but you can either go out for an evening meal in Cirencester or prepare your own evening meal in the small self-catering, communal kitchen.

ARRIVAL TIME FRIDAY

Please note that the New Brewery Arts reception closes at 8 p.m. which is much earlier than in YHA properties. The weekend organisers will arrive before 8 p.m. Friday evening and check in. If you are included in our booking then it should be possible for you to arrive any time up to about 22:00 if you give the weekend organiser your full name and address before the weekend so that we can book you in. You will also need to take some form of ID, (see below).

HIKING PLANS

These are the hikes that are planned but the plans may be changed if necessary, e.g. due to adverse weather conditions.

Saturday

On Saturday, we start from New Brewery Arts in Cirencester then we hike through Cirencester Park on Broad Ride then Bath Ride. Cirencester Park is a large forest-style garden, which was laid out in the 1700s. It occupies 3,000 acres (1214 hectares) to the West of Cirencester. The park is privately owned but it is open to the public free of charge, from 08:00 - 17:00 for visitors on foot and on horseback by kind permission of the 9th Earl and Countess Bathurst, as well as the trustees of The Earl’s Fund.

After leaving Cirencester Park, we join the Monarch’s Way then we take a short detour to the spring that is the source of the River Thames. Returning to the Monarch’s Way, we continue back to Cirencester. The total distance of Saturday’s hike is 10.8 miles (17.4 km), nearly all on footpaths. There are some gentle hills with a total of 166 m (544 ft) of ascent and descent.

Sunday

On Sunday morning, if we have enough cars to fit everyone in, we plan to share cars to drive from Cirencester 7.5 miles west along the A419 to a parking area at the top of Cowcombe Hill near Chalford. Go past the entrance to the Cotswold Gliding Club then just before a roundabout, there is an off-road parking area on the right (nearest post code for Satnav GL6 8H, OSGB Grid Ref SO 910019). There is no right turn so go all the way round the roundabout, come back and turn left into the parking area.

From the starting point we hike via Cotswold villages of Frampton Mansell and Waterlane to Bisley for an outdoor lunch stop in the village with refreshments available at The Bear Inn. After lunch we continue south on the Wysis Way via Bournes Green to Oakridge and back to the starting point. The total distance of Sunday’s hike is 8.2 mls (13.2 km), nearly all on public footpaths. It is quite hilly, with a total 406 m (1,332 ft) of ascent and descent.

Before leaving for home, we may have afternoon tea at a café or tea shop if there is one open.

Maps

The photo album for this event on Meetup includes Openstreetmap maps of the Saturday and Sunday hike routes. If you want to bring Ordnance Survey maps to follow the routes you would need three of the Explorer 1:25,000 series, Explorer OL45 The Cotswolds, Explorer 168 and Explorer 179 so probably best to get them from a library. Alternatively if you use the less detailed Landranger 1:50,000 you only need one, Landranger 163, Cheltenham and Gloucester.

PLACES OF INTEREST

Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

YHA web page for YHA Cotswolds

New Brewery Arts own web site

Cirencester Park

The Bear Inn, Bisley (for Sunday lunch time)

What to bring

For the weekend

Overnight bag or rucksack with wash kit, night clothes, change of clothes. Towels are provided at New Brewery Arts but are not normally provided at YHA accommodation. For further details, please see South Herts Hikers Info Page ‘C’ Staying in YHA Accommodation.

For the hikes

Hiking boots with good grip (footpaths may be slippery or muddy in places), suitable outdoor clothing for weather conditions including an extra layer to put on for outdoor stops and a waterproof jacket in case it rains. Drink essential, packed lunches recommended. Further details on South Herts Hikers Info Page ‘A’ Lowland Hikes

Important to know

You need to bring some form of ID, see https://www.yha.org.uk/terms-and-conditions section 3

Questions when you book

When you sign up via Meetup, you will be asked:

  • Are you taking our accommodation or booking independently?
  • Are you male or female? (We are using single-sex dormitories on this weekend)
  • Are you a YHA member?
  • Are you travelling independently or would you like to join car sharing (if available)?
  • If you would like to join car sharing, would you be a driver or a passenger, what time can you leave and from where?

Details last updated Sun, 15 April 2018, 8:34 PM