Quick walk to great views - Dovers Hill, Chipping Campden

Briefly in Chipping Campden, we had an hour or so to spare, so we did this walk. It was great.

The Cotswold Way starts here, in the village centre. 

We followed the Way past a house where novelist Graham Green once lived.

The route got steep quite quickly, but never unmanageable. In the distance is the village of Broad Campden.

We  paused to look back at the rooftops of Chipping Campden

We were soon at the summit of Dovers Hill

There's some great examples of ridge and furrow up here - surprisingly, given the height of the hill

Dovers Hill is a well known viewpoint. There is a car park, but that would be cheating.

 
Other walkers at the toposcope. (It's not one of the best - not enough detail on it for me)

Sheep, the key to the area's prosperity in the middle ages, still graze the hillsides

View north towards Ebrington Hill, the highest point in Warwickshire

 We returned by the same route


...and 45 minutes after starting, we were back in Chipping Campden. Much quicker on the way down.

It's a glorious place with its honey-coloured Oolitic limestone buildings

...and the ancient Market Place

 ...with its intricate roof timbers. 

A pleasant walk, and only 3 miles. Plenty of tearooms and pubs for afterwards

Today's walk. Park in Chipping Campden and make your way to the Market Place. Follow the Cotswold Way signs out of the village. The road becomes a rough track, then a path. At the top of the hill, follow the Cotswold Way to the trig point and then further on to the toposcope. return by the same route. Choose a clear day for the best views. About 3 miles, with a small but steepish ascent at the beginning.

PS Chipping is the old English word for a market. And it's also the source of the word "cheap". Cheap Street in Leicester leads to the Market there (where Gary Lineker's parents used to have a fruit and veg stall)