Tormarton - Dodington Park - Hinton - Tormarton

Sean Meek

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Tormarton is a small Cotswold village in South Gloucestershire close to the M4, dating back to Roman times. It appears that people have lived in this area even longer, as five bodies thought to be 3,000 years old have been found here.

The Cotswold Way passes through the village and the walk begins by following the national trail northwards, descending into the grounds of Dodington Park. The large manor-house at the centre of the country estate is privately owned by Sir James Dyson, founder of the company that makes vacuum cleaners and cannot be seen from the walk. However, the grounds are impressive enough, designed by Capability Brown in the 1760s. Here you will see one of the great panoramic views of the Southern Cotswolds.

At the bottom of the Cotswold Edge, the walk heads south, leaving the Cotswold Way for the time being, passing through fields and underneath the M4 to another small village, called Hinton. The walk then climbs back up the Cotswold Edge, offering great views once again and rejoins the Cotswold Way, following it back to Tormarton. There are two pubs to choose from on the walk: The Major's Retreat at the start and end of the walk in Tormarton and The Bull at Hinton, towards the end of the village. Both pubs serve food at lunchtime and in the evening.

England - South West England - Gloucestershire - Cotswolds

Features

Church, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Pub, Public Transport

6/13/2015 - Ruth Jackson

I did this walk today. It was enjoyable but it has clearly been a long time since the walk was submitted to the website, an entire golf course has sprung up! At point 11 the path is completely overgrown to the point of being invisible. I had to wade through with vegetation up to my armpits and my dog above my head! The stile at point 12 has disappeared completely along with the waymarker and at point 13 there is a golf course! I ended up having to walk along the edge of the golf course until I could get to the road and then walk back to pick up the route again from point 14. Then at point 15 the bridge is almost impassable due to vegetation and a fallen tree. I have reported the poor state of the paths to the council. Finally a warning to dog walkers. At point 16 there is some farmland owned by a fairly unpleasant farmer who stood and watched as his herd of cows and horned bullocks stampeded myself and my dog. Even when I let my dog off the lead and she legged it the cows kept coming for me. A fast sprint and dive over a stile saved me by a whisker! If you have a dog I'd strongly recommend finding a route around that field rather than through it. After that the rest of the walk was quiet and enjoyable.

7/29/2013 - KAY SWIFT

Very clear instructions. One small climb which meant it was an easy walk on a very hot summer's day. Not a lot of interest but nevertheless the walk was enjoyable.