Cotswold Way - Birdlip

 I left Winchcombe with a belly full of crumbly cheese and walked through the fields to Belas Knap Long Barrow. From a distance it looked like a long hilly mound, but it is actually a Neolithic burial chamber with a false door at the front. Encircled by a drystone wall, entrance was from the side. It’s believed to have been built around 3000 BC with four different chambers and a circle of stones in the centre. The chambers were discovered to contain the remains of human skeletons from the Bronze Age. 

 

Much as I enjoy open fields and the cool breeze, I get most excited when I see woodland such as the one that I am approaching. I reached a timber gate hinged on a drystone wall with purple wildflowers to my left and a ‘common hawthorn’ tree to my right. The red berry-like fruit called ‘haws’ found on the tree are an important food source for birds and the petals used to be a common cooking ingredient in medieval England. For the next mile, the trail narrowed as dappled sunlight filtered through the foliage of the woodland. Low lying shrubs and grasses lined the path with the occasional fern making an appearance.
 

Back in the daylight, the path led me to Cleeve Hill with its expansive views across the countryside, towards Cheltenham and Bishops Cleeve. At 1,080ft (330m), the hill is the highest point in the Cotswolds. Nearby is the ‘Single Beech’ or ‘lonely beech’, the highest tree in the Cotswolds. A memorial wall surrounds the tree, with plaques in memory of those who were fond of the area.

Passing the Prestbury Hill Butterfly Reserve, it is known for the musk orchid and the bee orchid, and the southern portion of the reserve is home to more than thirty different species of butterflies such as the Duke of Burgundy that can only be found in England and the gorgeous Peacock with its eyespots and burnt-orange wings.

Descending to Dowdeswell Reservoir, one of few places where clawed crayfish can still be found, I continued through Lineover Wood. Known for its beech trees, this native beauty of southern England was used for furniture making and its nuts were roasted as a tasty treat and pressed for oil to fuel lamps.

Winding my way over farmland, I passed by the hamlet of Seven Springs, where a contentious discussion continues to take place as some believe it is the true source of the River Thames. Back up the hill with more gorgeous views of Cheltenham and the Severn Vale, I follow the escarpment onto Leckhampton Hill, and its distinctive limestone rock formation known as the Devil’s Chimney.

The rest of my journey on this section took me over a few more up and down hills, past the Crickley Hill Country Park with its many trails for outdoor exploration and plenty of woodland to get lost in. I finished my trip at the local pub in Birdlip and settled on a hearty chicken, mushroom and leek pie and elderflower spritzer with a dash of grenadine.

 

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