Miserden - Caudle Green - Miserden

Jenny Beal

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This walk starts from the remote and picturesque Cotswold village of Miserden and goes down through the sloping pasture of Misarden Park to a peaceful lake hidden in the wooded valley below the village. On the way down there are lovely views across the valley to the restored Jacobean manor-house and gardens. The walk then follows a permissive path along the valley bottom beside the lake and later, by a tiny stream. We cross a ford (using a footbridge) before climbing up the side of the valley to the Caudle Green road. After a bit more downhill and then some steep uphill, we soon reach the tiny unspoilt hamlet of Caudle Green with its lovely traditional Cotswold stone cottages.

The return route to Miserden Village goes down through woodland, back a short distance along the bottom of the valley, crossing the ford again and then uphill on a winding park road (no public vehicle access) through idyllic pastureland dotted with huge old trees.

The valley and woods of Misarden Park are full of wildlife at all times of the year. There are foxes, three species of deer, a good variety of woodland birds and waterfowl on the lake in winter. Woodpeckers can be heard drumming in spring and you may even be lucky enough to see a kingfisher flashing across the lake or a grey wagtail bobbing around on the edge. Wildflowers abound in spring and summer, including several species of orchid.

England - South West England - Gloucestershire - Cotswolds

Features

Birds, Butterflies, Flowers, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Lake/Loch, Pub, Wildlife, Woodland

1/26/2020 - Dennis Johnson

Beautiful easy walk with varied wildlife to see all the way around. The directions are very good as well but obviously the paths can be pretty muddy around winter time

1/29/2016 - Christiana Awojinrin

A great little walk with features that kept all of us, including an 11 year old, interested. There were little makeshift bridges, deer herds, a very pretty little lake in a valley, sluice gates with an ancient mechanism, a few steep hills, glimpses of the lovely manor, a wee ford and terrific views. We completed this walk in early January (2016) and, although the weather was clement, it had rained earlier that day so there was quite a bit of mud to contend with. I've listed a few points of caution on the route - all due to the dampness of the grass and ground. I've related them to the waypoint numbering of the walk details on this website: 6 - To join the small path running alongside the bank of the stream, you have to make a tiny stepped descent from your original path. Take care here as roots and wet grass/mud can make the going a little dicey. 9 - Although short, the ascent up this grassy slope is quite steep. If attempting it after or during rainfall, do make sure that you have good treads on your shoes! Some of us slipped a few times, but tended to fall forwards onto our hands rather than go sliding down the slope. The hill is a fun, mini challenge and you feel quite a hero when you reach the top! 11 - Where the wood turns sharp right, you climb over a higher than usual stone stile into the wood. The landing stone of this stile was very slippy following the rain and two of our party did, consecutively, end up on their rumps - luckily without causing themselves injuries. Please do assist younger or infirm folk as they descend the far side of this stile. *** I hope that the above points don't deter you from doing this walk. We greatly enjoyed our time and we are determined to do the walk again in spring so that we can enjoy a picnic by the lake and the sight of trees and other plants in full leaf.

1/3/2011 - Debra Richardson

This is a really fabulous walk within beautiful and surprisingly varied countryside and a lake we never knew existed. All directions are easy to follow. The uphill climb across the field at this point may be quite a challenge for the less mobile, but it is quite short. The walk back into Miserden is also quite uphill intensive but is on tarmac and the views were well worth the effort. The redwood trees were impressive and the lake teaming with dragon flies when we were there. The village pub in Miserden does good food and the landlord was very amiable. Thank you for sharing this walk!