Bledington - Lower Oddington - Bledington

Ron and Jenny Glynn

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Leaving the peace of the village green at Bledington, which is disturbed only by the quacking of ducks at play on the stream there, the walk takes in part of the village, along narrow streets and passing delightful cottages and houses of stone, before entering a small cemetery which leads out into open country.

Panoramic views across the wonderful Cotswolds appear very soon and tracks and bridleways take the route past farms and isolated dwellings, through fields and pastures. It follows streams and brooks and crosses them with footbridges. It leads through woodland and alongside banks and ditches and always one is aware of the vast beauty and peacefulness. The village of Oddington is skirted, but can easily be visited with just a short distance added on.

Other villages and hamlets can be glimpsed in the distance along the route, adding interest and enhancement to the ever-changing, delightful scenes, where the work of man's hand manages to combine perfectly with nature.

England - South West England - Gloucestershire - Cotswolds

Features

Birds, Church, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Pub, River, Wildlife

7/24/2021 - John Merrick

A lovely walk for a Summers Day but with a few issues towards the end: The path between WP10 and 11 eventually passes an immaculate Cotswold stone house where the owner has fenced off the path which has become very overgrown (I mean chest high). It is passable but we exited with many scratches to arms and legs. Between WP14 and 15 the path remains as per the OS map but the landowner has constructed triangular wild life areas in the corners of the fields. The path traverses these areas but again they are not maintained and are now impassable because of the Haw/Blackthorn briars. I would advise walkers to head straight through the wood for the Diamond Way at WP13. I would imagine that this section of the Diamond Way would be extremely muddy after rainfall, as it was quite 'wet' even after the heatwave of July 2021!

12/30/2015 - David Smith

With a rare decent day forecast during 'Chrimbo-limbo' I decided to give this route a try, along with the pubs at Lower Oddington and Bledington. Given the sheer amount of rain we have had this month the route was as muddy as expected. Still passable, but slippy and slow going in places. The sun was shining and if the ground had been drier this walk would have been excellent with perfect Cotswold villages, pubs and churches at either end. My boots were so muddy I didn't dare go in the pub at Lower Oddington, but will return. After returning to the car and changing my footwear, The Kings Head at Bledington was ideal for a post-walk refreshment. One point to note, at WP9 there is no longer a clear path across the field, however just head diagonally up the field towards the large silver double-gate in the top left corner and the route becomes clearer from there. Thoroughly enjoyed the walk and will be back in the drier months to enjoy it some more !

8/17/2014 - victoria fox

We did this walk on 17/08/2014, it was a lovely sunny day, we had no problems with any muddy tracks as we have had a great dry summer. We just wanted to let you know that there is no longer a stile at 8 and also the stores at Bledington are no longer there. This is a very nice dog friendly walk, we stopped at the lovely & very dog friendly pub on the Bledington Village Green for a couple of drinks.

10/30/2012 - Ron and Jenny Glynn

The incessant rain of this year has caused slippery, muddy conditions underfoot everywhere, but we don’t feel any issues have arisen due to this walk having been originally written some time ago. WM 3 does not say to cross the 2nd FB, but we've now added that it is passed before reaching the next WM to avoid confusion. The Cotswold Wardens have erected a great many new structures in the area, and new gates and footbridges are much in evidence on this walk. We saw 2 groups of walkers when we were on this particular walk, and the comment that "it clearly is not walked" is wide of the mark. It is a wonderful walk made better now by the sterling work of the wardens.

10/22/2012 - David and Chris Stewart

Thanks to Ron and Jenny for updating this walk, October 2012. Walkingworld Admin

7/3/2012 - Saira Jackson

We did this walk in June 2012. I guess this was written some time ago as it wasn't a pleasant experience. The whole way from No. 12 to the end was an unpleasant slippery muddy path following the rainy months we have had this year. The footpath at No. 8 was completely overgrown and impassable. We had to continue up the road to Upper Oddington and rejoin the walk at No. 11. Between No. 5 and No. 7 we were wading through long grass as the footpath hadn't been cut through and the path clearly isn't used. Also at No.3, don't cross the 2nd footbridge mentioned, go on a short way, through the gate to turn right at No. 4. Apart from that Bledington and Upper Oddington were lovely little villages and the church is worth a visit.