Crickley Hill; 25 June 2010

Today's ride could have been a very dull 3 Km very flat from Brockworth to Hucclecote then a reasonably staid 8Km home.  But that's not the way I operate.  That first 3 Km became a 20Km hilly ride.  You can see the route  here.


Allow me to set the scene.  This afternoon was Vic's sports day at school in which she came 3rd in her races with her house group winning overall so congratulations to the yellow team.  I was a spectator (and ran (poorly) in the dad's race).  Afterwards, I was to meet Tina at work for a joint bimble home.  However, I now have an hour or two spare so best not let this go to waste, this calls for a trip up to Crickley Hill - a one stop ride today.


Leaving Brockworth, I could easily ride straight up Shurdington Road but today is about avoiding the obvious so a lap of Bentham is in order before eventually heading up Shurdington Road and turning onto Leckhampton Lane.  Past St Peter's church and uphill through Leckhampton.  So far so good.  Almost a carbon copy (without stops) of this ride here.  Towards the top of Leckhampton Hill though, I turn off to Crickley Hill Country Park.  If the climb thus far hasn't killed you, the little access road into the country park probably will.  First, cross a wide spaced cattle grid, then up the 45 degree (or so it feels) slope and you will realise why the cattle grid as you ride through herds of cows before cresting where you are greeted with another cattle grid (sorry fillings) and one of the most stunning views across Gloucester.  If you live anywhere near Gloucestershire and haven't been to Crickley Hill, shame on you.  Apart from offering stunning views and good walking countryside, the country park is a site of nature conservation, geological & archaeological interest.  There is a well equipped visitor centre on site manned by keen and knowledgeable staff.  The site has been occupied since approx 3500 BC and excavations from 1969 onwards exposed an Iron age hill fort, wooden posts have been used to identify the location of the buildings and the embankment that would have circled the site is still very much in evidence.  I shan't write any more about this, rather here are a couple of pictures that don't do justice.

You don't have to go further than the car park to get this view.

 Looking across the valley with Chosen Hill in the middle distance

 You may just be able to make out the markers in the ground that show the location of post holes from the iron age settlement.  At the rear of the picture is the defensive bank.  Far left would have been the entrance.

 This is my bike parked at the entrance where the gatehouse would have been.

Before we leave the country park, I must regale you with a quick story from the recent history.  One winter when my daughter, Victoria, was very young and just started talking, I took her to Crickley Hill as it had been snowing and I hoped there may be proper snow at the top of the hill.  I was a little disappointed to find nothing more than a reasonably hard frost.  Undeterred, Vic ran around the site of the settlement like a loony in her spotty wellies.  Coincidentally, my brother and his wife were also on the hill so I had stopped and was chatting to them.  Excited to see Uncle Daz and Aunty Shaz Vic came running back in that slightly awkward way 18 month old kids do and put her arms up to me and said 'Daddy, carry, knackered'.  I really don't know where kids get these things from sometimes.

Leaving the country park, that access road is as scary going down as it is hard work going up.  Right at the end to the Air Balloon pub and in to Birdlip.  It's all downhill now through Witcombe, into Brockworth and on to Barnwood where a meet Tina from work and we take a jolly civilised bimble home.

Total distance - 34 KM

Average Speed - 25 KM/h

Weather - about 26C, Dry and sunny, wind from SW, about 10 KM/h

Painswick, Pitchcombe, Whaddon; 23 June 2010

From today's route and profile you will notice that I have eschewed the simple flat routes in favour of some of the local hills again.  And a delightful sunny day for doing so.  Also, after my last ride, I strongly suspect you are suffering from 'Russ visits church' withdrawal symptoms.

Leaving Brockworth, I head for Painswick where I have circumvented several times and promised a visit sometime.   That time is now.  My preferred route as I am sure you are aware is straight up the A46, Painswick Road, passing Prinknash Abbey, through Cranham and past the beacon.  Once you pass Painswick Beacon, there is a very satisfying downhill into Painswick until you realise that at some point in the near future you will have to go back up.  Right at the start of Painswick Road, some 4 Km ago there were signs warning that the road into Painswick was closed.  I took the risk that the footpaths wouldn't be and I would be able to use them.  The gamble paid off.  

 



No surprises but arriving at Painswick we stop at St Mary's Church.  The earliest parts of the current church, the North aisle and inner chancel date from late 14th century although they replace a Saxon church that was built on the site.  The main fabric of the church was modified and added to right up to mid 18th century, the nave and tower about 1480, the spire added in about 1632, and the south aisle was built about 1741.  On the 10th June 1883 (I missed the 127th anniversary by a fortnight), the church was struck by lightning, the tower suffering worst and masonry took out large chunks of the roof.  The masonry was faithfully replaced in its original position.  The church is also famous for the grounds.  Many of the tombstones being elaborately decorated by local stonemasons and date prior to 1860, when the churchyard was closed for burials. Subsequent interments took place in the cemetery on the slopes leading up to Painswick Beacon.  The churchyard, criss-crossed by footpaths, is also home to a number of well trimmed yew trees.  Folklore holds that the churchyard will never have more than 99 yew trees and that should a 100th grow the Devil would pull it out.  All the trees now have numbered plaques on them.  I shall leave it to you to do the count yourself although one record shows 103, another shows 100.  For it's small size, Painswick has a long and interesting history.  If you want to read more, you could do much worse than starting here.


Coming out of Painswick, I pass through Pitchcombe.  Let's split the name place up.  Pitch - old English word for slope of a hill.  Combe, again old English, this time for the uppermost part of a valley.  No great surprises then, this is uphill.  I decided to take the steep road through the village.  Not much purpose to that, there isn't much to see except for a cyclist struggling up a hill with his lungs in his throat.
The parish church of St John, Pitchcombe, is a little further North along the main road.  Pitchcombe, in common with Painswick, is a member of the Beacon's benefice which comprises of:
Painswick (just up above)
Cranham
Sheepscombe
Edge (just a bit further down)
Pitchcombe (right here)
Harescombe (passed by, not stopped there yet)
Brookthorpe 

Curiously, Cranham Pitchcombe, Edge and Harescombe all have parish churches called St John the Baptist.  I don't know if there is good reason for this.


The current church at Pitchcombe is early 19th century although stands on the site of a former Church known as the Pitchcombe Cradle which was built in 1376. The present church bell is thought to date from somewhere between 1350 and 1380 so possibly installed at the older church.

Carrying on towards Edge, I pass the Edgemoor Inn.  A quite unassuming nineteenth century purpose built inn, although it is, I believe a free house and last time I ate and drank there it was fine fare.  That aside, you won't find many pubs anywhere with such fantastic views as these offer over the Stroud valleys.


Next stop isn't very far away.  As previously mentioned the church at Edge is the church of St John the Baptist.  There doesn't seem to be so much information available for this church so I shall subtly sidestep my usual history lesson in favour of a bit of a moan.  This a beautiful church with a well kept graveyard and fabulous views.  However, it was like walking in to your houseproud aunt's living room.  There is an outer door that wouldn't look out of place at a correctional institution.  I may be wrong but I find it hard to believe that there is a big crime problem here.  There is also a sign banning anything other than fresh flowers and imploring you to ensure they are removed when they go over so that the grounds are kept looking nice.  I walked my bike around the gravelled path and I'm fairly sure someone will be tutting the tyre grooves soon.  It really didn't feel welcoming.  If the church is serious about encouraging people, this sort of thing must be addressed.  Still, here are some pictures 'cos despite all that, it is pretty.

Leaving Edge, I travel downhill.  This is a very fast 3Km or so, nice and twisty with some quite severe drops to add a bit of interest and would probably be a quicker route if the surface of the road wasn't quite so teeth-rattlingly rough.
At the bottom of the hill, at some 70 KM/h the brakes are called into action as I get to Whaddon where there has been a church since around 1200.  Curiously, the parish used to belong to the diocese of Worcester until 1540 when the diocese of Gloucester was invented; although at this stage nothing changed until some squabbling an fisticuffs in 1784 when the two diocese went their separate ways.  Very little is recorded of what was probably little more than a turetted hut until 1315 when the church was dedicated to St Maragret of Scotland (local lass then) when a big building project was initiated, being completed in the 15th century when the tower was built.

Also rather pretty just a few yards from the church is, what I presume, an old water pump that would have served the locals in the past.  On the subject of which, the water bottles on my bike are now empty and the pump non-functioning so a quick detour through Tuffley and home to refill.  From here, I still need to get back to my car which is in Hucclecote.  No problem, you might think, that's just a couple of miles away.  Oh dear reader, do you not know me yet?  A quick detour finds me riding through Upton-St-Leonards and up Nuthill, a short but sharp climb back on to Painswick road.  A quick photo stop at the top (photo at the bottom) before a quick descent into Brockworth and Hucclecote where the car is waiting for me.

Total distance - 38 KM

Average Speed - 26 KM/h

Weather - about 25C, Dry and sunny, wind from SW, about 10 KM/h

Elmore Back 16 June 2010

Today's ride was a little more than just Elmore Back but most of the rest of the loop we have seen before but the other way round. Not that I have cycled it backwards you understand, that would be foolish; I mean previously I took an anti-clockwise route, this time, clockwise. However, today, being a bright, sunny, warm day and I haven't been out for a couple of weeks, I thought it would be nice to have a relatively un-hilly bimble by the river and, surprisingly, didn't stop at any churches.  You can see the route here.

I left home and rode along Cole Avenue towards Quedgeley and crossed the canal at Rea bridge.  Turning left, the road is a gentle, near flat, well surfaced road.  If you look at the elevation, it is quite misleading and looks like a stonking great hill. The difference is actually only about 20 metres but this is as high as we go.  Riding conditions here are absolutely perfect, blue sky, warm but not scorching hot and just a hint of breeze so a reasonable pace is quite easy to keep.  This road leads to Longney and we pass the parish church of St Laurence.  Continuing on our clockwise route, the breeze is now gently blowing from the right.  4Km later and we meet the first turn off at a couple of houses known as Farley's End (honest) towards the river and the first dead end.  This road leads to Elmore Back.  The 'Back' isn't derived from 'Back of beyond' as you might expect but from ye olde English word 'Bec' meaning ferry.  It seems that for several hundred years there was a pub here called the Salmon Inn from which you could get a ferry across the river to Minsterworth.  It is the church at Minsterworth that you can see in this picture.  The ferry stopped in May 1941, I believe.  The route to the old ferry terminal (I presume) is now accessed along a stretch of footpath which I walked along but provides a bit of a pet hate of mine.  Apart from riding, I also enjoy walking and use these marked public footpaths and I am mildly irritated by the obstacles that farmers introduce.  In this case, there are a couple of stiles to cross (which I hoiked my bike over), the farmer whose land these footpaths runs alongside has run electric fencing and/or barbed wire around the perimiter fence and right up to the gates and stiles that provide public access.  Not preventing access but it would take just a wee slip and you'll be a bit uncomfortable.

The only way to go now is to retrace my path back to Farley's End and a left hander through Elmore before reaching my second and final dead end road leading out to the river.  Signed as Weir Green, this is little more than a farm track that again leads to the river which the Severn Way waymarked path follows.  Although there appears nothing of any great note here, it is a very pretty place and you could just sit by the river and soak up the sun.  A pub would go down well here so long as not too many people were allowed as it would ruin the peace.

Returning to the main road leads back to the road back over Rea bridge but I turn right back to where we started the loop in order to cross the canal at Sellars Bridge where the bridge is open to allow a narrow boat through.  From here, it is a quick run through Hardwicke and Quedgeley back home.





Total distance - 38 KM

Average Speed - 27 KM/h

Weather - about 23C, Dry and sunny, wind from NE, about 10 KM/h

Down Hatherley and Sandhurst 20th May 2010

Today's route can be found here.
A beautiful day, clear(ish) skies, warm and dry, in fact, a perfect day for bagging the rest of the churches that are members of the Seven Towers Benefice:
Boddington,
Staverton,
Norton,
The Leigh,
Twigworth.

That just leaves Sandhurst and Down Hatherley so we will go that way and take a look today.  Again, not a hilly day, couple of lumps but nothing drastic.

Heading out of Hucclecote towards Churchdown again presents us with the closest to a climb as we go over the foot of Churchdown Hill, drop into the village and out onto Cheltenham Road East, toward Dowty and turn towards Down Hatherley taking us away from the hustle and bustle of the main roads and through some farming areas where we are warned of the possibility of cattle crossing. Soon, we are at the Down Hatherley Parish Church of St Mary and Corpus Christi, even my Latin stretches to that one.

According to the BBC Songs of Praise book (no, I didn't know there was one either), this is among the 30 favourite churches.  Dating back, at least in part to 11th Century, the perpendicular tower is 15th century although there was a Victorian major rebuild and renovation.  The church has put on some special events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the rebuild.  The field opposite, shows a well, peering into which shows there is still water in it, built and dedicated to Revd John O'Brian, rector from 1985 - 2003.  West of the church is the old school house, now converted to a house.

Leaving the church, we head on out towards Tewkesbury road, stopping briefly at Hatherly Manor hotel, reasonably famous in the locale as a hotel, wedding venue, conference centre and everything else a hotel should be.  This is in fact, an old seventeenth century proper genuine manor house and some signs of this still exist.  The garden is walled and there are the remains of a moat that would have some point surrounded the building.

We leave Down Hatherley and head to Tewkesbury Road, turning left towards Gloucester then right we turn in to Sandhurst.  Proper village roads, proper village traffic.  Again, the locals here don't seem to be familiar with other people coming the other way and there are one or two moments on some of the blind bends.  Undeterred, I take a lap of the village and soon find myself at St Lawrence's Church.  Nominally fourteenth century, the church was largely rebuilt in the mid 19th Century.  The church originally came under the control of St Oswald's Priory in Gloucester and they would have provided the ministry.  There is a board in the car park showing the results of a late twentieth century churchyard survey mapping out all the burials where this is possible.  The churchyard does house some very impressive eighteenth century sarcophagi that I hope you can make out in the picture.

Another feature of Sandhurst has long gone.  Up until the 1950s you could cross the river Severn by ferry between Sandhurst and Ashleworth on the other side of the river.  From the panorama below, you can just make out Ashleworth Church spire towards the left.  The road to the old ferry crossing is no more than a dirt track so I didn't take it to the river.  I shall however, in the not too distant future take a trip to Ashleworth where there is a pub at the location of the old port, imaginatively called the Boat Inn.

Apologies for the slightly dodgy light on the right of the picture.  Other things to note here are the Malvern Hills in  the distance, centre of the picture and to the right, not so far away, I suspect is Barrow Hill with the little tuft of trees.

The journey home is a simple and fairly quick one, following Sandhurst Lane passing the excellent White Horse Chinese restaurant where Tina and I enjoyed a most excellent non-Valentines meal this year, leads us out near the site of the old cattle market near to St Oswald's.  I take Estcourt Road, through Longlevens almost to the Golden Valley roundabout where I turn off through the housing estate to make a rare journey on a cycle path.  This is acyually a very nice path that joins Liddington Drive in Longlevens to Barnwood right by Sainsbury's and C&G where my good lady wife is still hard at work.  On to Hucclecote Road and I'm back where I started.


Total distance - 31Km

Average Speed - 29 KM/h

Weather - about 24C, Dry, Light southerly wind.

Coombe Hill, The Leigh, Norton 14 May 2010

I have a bit of a special treat for you, my loyal followers.  From this blog onwards, and possibly some backwards if I get round to it, you will be able to click on the route link to see the route and the terrain.

So to today's ride.  This is a sort of extension of my Staverton route, the outward part of the journey being very similar.  Passing Gloucestershire airport to Cheltenham Road East where I cross straight over.  Rather than turning towards Staverton Village I carry straight on through Hayden and eventually on to A4019 Tewkesbury Road, turning left away from Cheltenham.  This is a long, wide, largely straight and flat road providing a good couple of miles to stretch your legs and keep a reasonable pace for the length of the road.  So to my first stop at Uckington where we find Moat Lane which, you'll be surprised to hear, leads to a moat.  The moat is medieval in origin although none of the original buildings exist but there are a bunch of more modern properties inside, access is via a Victorian cast bridge.

A little further along Tewkesbury Road, we arrive at the junction with the A38 between Gloucester and Tewkesbury.  Also affectionately known as Tewkesbury Road.  This also is a flattish, straight road but in my experience it always seems to channel something of a headwind.   Right on the junction is the hamlet of Coombe Hill which is home to two disused chapel buildings.  The first is a former Methodist Chapel with a separate community building, dating back to the turn of the twentieth century with commemorative stones laid by some of the alderman and dignitaries of the day.  This has a small graveyard alongside but is now out of use and empty although there is a sign in the window indicating that planning permission has been sought to convert the properties into dwellings.  This led me to think.  The buildings are very nice indeed and will, I'm sure, make jolly nice dwellings, but what do you do with the graveyard?  Any property developers that know the answer, I'd love to hear it.

The second chapel, South of this one is more obscure.  A wooden framed building with absolutely no identification on it whatsoever.  Quite obviously it hasn't been in use for many years.  There is a fair amount of rubble, and undergrowth.  I have tried a bit of a Google search but can't find anything.  Again, if anyone can fill me in?

Between the two chapels and down a small lane running back from the main road is the terminus of a disused canal that runs from here to the river near Wainlode hill, a distance of just under 3 miles.  I understand that this was commissioned at the end of the 18th century with the intention of carrying goods to Cheltenham but local geography made this impossible so it quickly became redundant.  Here, it is now a nature reserve; in 1954 the canal was registered as a Site of special scientific interest.  It is the home of a number of rare and uncommon beetle species and two species of fly that have not been found anywhere else within the UK.

Back on the bike and heading South once more, we reach The Leighs.  A small village that loops off the main road.  The heart of the village, as one might expect is a church.  This is The Church of St Catherine and the first place in today's list of visits that is still in use for its original purpose.  The church belongs to the Seven Towers Benefice which also includes Boddington, Staverton, Down Hatherley, Norton (a bit further down), Sandhurst and Twigworth.  This is a mid thirteenth century church although it is suspected that the foundation may date back another 500 years.  The church is grade one listed and in constant need of maintenance.  Some of this has been funded by English Heritage as well as some sterling efforts on the part of the parishoners and local events.

I was fortunate in that when I arrived, there were stonemasons working on the fabric of the building and it was open so I took the opportunity to take a quick shufty inside. 

 The next little village / hamlet as we travel South is Norton, and not the British motorcycle marque.  Prior's Norton is on a bit of an uphill East of Norton and its rather delightful church of St Mary is easily visible from a bit of a distance on the main road.  Although much more difficult to see from the village itself, lending itself to the nickname 'The Disappearing Church'.  Most of the church was built between the thirteenth and fifteenth century and is Grade 2 listed.  It underwent a fair amount of renovation around 2000.  The church and its significant grounds and graveyard present themselves as immaculately kept and the views from the grounds across the Severn Valley.

The journey back takes us through Down Hatherley where there is another of the churches of the in the Seven Towers Benefice as well as a couple of other interesting sights but time is short so its a bit of a blinkered ride through to Cheltenham Road East and on through Churchdown, passing St Andrew's before returning to Hucclecote.

Total distance - 38Km

Average Speed - 28 KM/h

Weather - about 14C, Dry, Light southerly wind.  Overcast so it did feel a little muggy

Painswick, Brookthorpe via Spoonbend hill 26th April 2010

Several times I have been to or very near to Painswick now without actually going in to the village.  I have decided to skirt around the village and visit some of the surrounds and will (I promise) take a trip into Painswick and do Pitchcombe and Edge at the same time.  Truth is, I know there is a sod of a climb out of Painswick whichever way you go and adds some distance to the ride.  However, in an attempt to avoid the village, I was rewarded with some of the most spectacular views and an equally spectacular oddity.  More of that later.

If there is an easier way to get to Painswick Beacon, it is the way I went today and have indeed ridden before.  Leaving Hucclecote, along Ermin Way and continuing up Painswick Road past Prinknash Abbey.  Carrying on, I pass the road to the Beacon passing Catbrain Quarry.  The next road on the right leads towards Painswick golf club, anyone who knows me knows that this will be of very little interest.  The imaginatively named Golf Club Lane is a narrow little road, yet Google Street View did take their car that way, and passes the cemetery with its own chapel.  This, unsurprisingly, is my first stop.  A curious little chapel sits on the West edge of a substantial cemetery.  I can see little information on the cemetery or the chapel although a glance around the site confirms that there have been burials there since the mid 19th century and is still in use; it appears to me that the chapel is from the same era and, I presume, is purpose built as a cemetery chapel rather than ever having performed any other church function.  A squint through the windows shows that the chapel in the southern part of the building (on the right in the second photo) is still in use, the third picture being a rare internal shot by my blog's standard was taken through the window that you can see my bike under.  The other half of the chapel seems to be occupied by builders and maintenance paraphernalia.  Leaving the cemetery grounds and continuing along Golf Club Lane, a reasonably flat section of road, I am on the other side of Painswick Beacon.  Turning right onto Stockley Way and the road takes a gradual uphill climb again to the entrance road back up to the top of the Beacon.


A few hundred yards further and I take a left turn into Sevenleaze Lane.  This is another single track road and a road with which I am unfamiliar.  This road passes through Cud Hill Common from where we have some of the most beautiful and panoramic views north over the east part of Gloucester, including Hucclecote from where the journey started, and further on with a good view of the Malverns on the left of this picture round to Cleeve Hill on the right; in the middle distance is Chosen Hill.

Slightly further on and we have the oddity I alluded to at the beginning.  Detmar Blow, who bought much of the land in this area in the 1920s chose to be buried a couple of hundred yards along the lane towards Edge.  He erected a folly which frames the view of the cathedral in Gloucester (although you can't see that in my photograph).  Apparently, a choir from the cathedral sang at his funeral atop the hill.  The top of the folly is inscribed with Psalm 121 v. 1 and reads "I lift up my eyes to the hills; where does my help come from" and, ignoring any religious beliefs you may or may not have, sit a while in the folly (although you'll have to crawl under the barbed wire if you come from the road) and just take it all in.





Carrying on along this road, you will find yourself on Stroud Road.  Turning right takes you back towards Gloucester.  A long downhill but with such a surface that you will find your teeth are rattling out if you go too quick.  A few patches of recent tarmac provide a couple of hundred yards of relief.  Soon you will find yourself in Brookthorpe heading towards Tuffley.  The road surface smooths and the ride still quick and far more pleasant.  However, we will cut this short and stop at Brookthorpe.  A very small wooden sign points into what appears to be a private drive.  On it is simply written 'Historic Church".  I can't pass that by.  Although I have travelled this road many times in the past unaware of its existence.  The church in question is St Swithun's, Brookthorpe, sitting behind Brookthorpe Court.  Dating back to around 1250, I think we can confirm its claim to being historic.  A notice in the church porch also informs us that there are records of incumbents dating back to 1260.  The church was extensively renovated in 1892 at which time the North Aisle was added.  The church is no longer in use but is still consecrated and is managed by the Churches Conservation Trust. As well as the church, there are a number of tombs in the grounds that are also listed.
I've also thrown in a picture of some of the etched graffiti around the doorway as well.  There are a number of other places of interest on or near this ride, as ever, but only so much time.  I notice today that it takes me near on two hours to do what is one hour in the saddle.  It's just too easy to be taken in by some of these churches or other buildings or even to simply sit in the sun and admire the view.

Still, time waits for no man and I have ten minutes to get back to Barnwood where Tina, my good lady wife, will be finishing work and we will take a casual bimble home together.  Is there a better way to spend your Monday Afternoon?  If there is, I don't think I know it.

Total distance - 35

Average Speed - 26 KM/h

Weather - about 18C, Warm and dry, Gentle Easterly wind.

Staverton, Boddington, Barrow 15th April 2010

The three villages that we are looking at today are all within a loop of about 6Km so most of the riding was to get to and from this loop through familiar territory and without stops.  Seeing as how the terrain is largely flattish, this gave me a chance to stretch the legs a little.  I also feel I must apologise for the quality of the photos.  I don't know if it was a bit of a funny light, crap camera or crap photographer but they do largely seem a little washed out.

The outward leg leaves Hucclecote riding towards Churchdown along Churchdown Lane.  Churchdown hill here is just about the only climb for the day and that's no more than about 4% for a couple of Km.  A quick downhill takes us through the East of the village, exiting onto Badgeworth Lane.  A left here and we are heading towards Staverton and our first stop at Gloucestershire Airport.  When I was a kid, this was called Staverton airport and used to host an annual air display which must have finished in the 1980s from memory.  We would sit on the grass banks between the road and the airport, far too tight to pay to go in, lean backwards and exclaim 'Whoooooaa' every time an aircraft went overhead.  The airport is used as a museum for aircraft back to the Second World War, some of which were (still are?) serviceable and would have been a part of the display.  The airport served as a training base in the war and the in air refuelling technique was developed here.  Now much of the activity are pleasure flights although there is a significant helicopter centre used by the emergency services.

From the airport, crossing Cheltenham Road East into Old Gloucester Road leads us into the village of Staverton.  I'm guessing that for many centuries prior to the airport, Staverton was an inconspicuous farming village.  Based largely on the premise that it still is an inconspicuous farming village.  It is separated from the airport by about 1Km and isn't really on the road to anywhere.  Still, being me, I hunt out the local church.  And I have to say, the Parish Church of St. Catherine is one of the most unusual buildings I think I have seen. You have to hunt it down a bit.  It is in a lane that leads to nowhere but the church and you can't see the tower from the locale because the tower is barely higher than the roof of the main body of the church.  Indeed from a distance it looks sort of Lilliputian; a full grown chap could bump his head on that.   The church is 13th Century and is of cruciform shape although has quite obviously undergone some fairly serious modifications in successive years and even centuries.  Interestingly, in the porch, there is a list of the identified incumbents of the parish of Staverton with Boddington back to 1297.  The graveyard shows plenty of graves of just a couple of families and a couple of stones identifiable as early 17th century, although plenty I couldn't make out. The bottom picture here does seem to flatter the height of the tower.

Heading North out of Staverton, you soon come to Boddington, the parish of which incorporates Barrow where we shall go next.  It is also, curiously, home to an RAF base which, even more curiously, is rumoured to have underground links to nearby GCHQ.  The couple of kilometres between the two villages is dead straight between farmland on both sides.  I also noticed that it seemed to channel a fairly chilly Northerly wind.  At the end of the road, at a sort of unmarked junction, I am greeted by St. Mary Magdeline Church, naturally a member of the same Benefice as St. Catherine although a very different building.  Very few details to hand but it is 12th Century, which I reckon is just a bit older than its sister church in Staverton, although the tower, chancel and porch were rebuilt in the 14th century.  The entire church is of locally quarried stone.









This stone is set in the porch entrance.  I would love to think that the mark on it was from the original stonemason doing a 'this way up' but I strongly expect someone will shatter my illusions.







So, as promised to Barrow.  Fairly prominently, there is a large lump in the ground, I don't know for sure, but maybe this is the barrow from which the village gets it name.

Otherwise, the village is still largely agricultural although an ever increasing number of the buildings are being converted to dwelling properties.  That being said, it still has its fair share of quaint little thatched places.
Following a dead end dirt track (on purpose this time) there is a lake just off the road.  However, I am unable to get to it as it is across a footpath and it is a little rough so I will have to visit that walking some time.  However, at the end of the lane was my destination, a bridge to nowhere over the river Chelt which, at this place, seems much more attractive than it does in Cheltenham.

Back tracking along my dead end path, I rejoin the road and complete the Barrow loop back onto the road between Staverton and Boddington.  Back through Staverton and towards Cheltenham Road East where I turn right and, for the return journey, I pass through Churchdown along Parton Road and back onto Churchdown Hill before returning to Hucclecote.

Total distance - 26Km

Average Speed - 27 KM/h

Weather - about 12C, fine, bit overcast, North wind.