Winchcombe and Belas Knap (5.25 miles)

This scenic and interesting little walk takes you from the delightfully unspoilt town of Winchcombe, along Cotswold Way routes old and new, and up to one of the area’s most intriguing ancient monuments - A combination of history and scenery that will leave you eager to discover more of the National Trail and the inspirational landscape through which it runs.

• Distance: 5¼ miles (Short cut route 3½ miles)
• Duration: 3 – 4 hrs (Short cut 2 - 3 hrs)
• Difficulty: Moderate, some steep sections and stiles
• Parking: Back Lane car park, GL54 5PZ
• Public transport: accessible by bus from Cheltenham and Chipping Campden, or Prestbury, Toddenham and Broadway via Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway
• Refreshments: plenty of places to eat and drink in Winchcombe

Points of Interest:

• Belas Knap Long Barrow - a particularly fine example of a Neolithic long barrow, with a false entrance and side chambers. Excavated in 1863 and 1865, the remains of 31 people were found in the chambers, some bones date back over 6,000 years. The barrow has since been restored.
• Sudley Castle - remains the only private castle in England to have a queen buried within the grounds - Queen Katherine Parr, the last and surviving wife of King Henry VIII – who lived and died in the castle.  Henry himself, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Queen Elizabeth I and Richard III have all played a part in Sudeley’s story. King Charles I found refuge here during the Civil War, when his nephew Prince Rupert established headquarters at the Castle. Following its ‘slighting’ on Cromwell’s orders at the end of the Civil War, Sudeley lay neglected and derelict for nearly 200 years.  Then in 1837, Sudeley was rescued by the wealthy Worcester glove-makers, brothers John and William Dent, who began an ambitious restoration programme, which was continued by their nephew, John Coucher Dent, when he inherited the castle in 1855 and his wife, Emma Brocklehurst.