Winchcombe to Seven Springs

15 miles / 24 km

Absolutely perfect weather today. Sunny & warm; but, not too hot.

The trail was a muddy in a few spots; but other than that it was a lovely day to walk across green pastures & through lush forests.

The hardest part on this the day was climbing 3 big hills.

The first hill was up to an ancient burial site named Belas Knap.

It was built in 2500 BC as a burial site where 38 ea. sets of human remains were found.

You can see how thin rocks were neatly stacked to create it.

A few other sites along the way.

The second big climb was up Cleeve Hill which at 1,066 feet high, it is the highest point on the entire Cotswold Way trail.

There is also a golf course that runs along its summit through which the Cotswold Way trail runs. The wide open space provided us with a huge vista to enjoy.

There are also free roaming sheep on the golf course.

Rules to follow on the trail:

The third & last hill took us through a beautiful forest called the Lineover Wood which has large lime & beech trees. Lineover means “lime bank”.

We ended the day at Seven Springs which is the headwaters for the famed River Thames.

Seven small rivulets emerge from the ground here which create the source for the River Thames.

In the stonework basin is a plaque that reads in Latin: “Hic tuus o Tamesine Pater septemceminus fons” which translates to “Here, O Father Thames, is your sevenfold spring”.