A walk with a view - and three masts. Cleeve Hill, Gloucs

Walks with great views for minimal effort always appeal to me. And this walk is one of them!

Starting off at the public car park by Cleeve Hill Golf Club,..

I followed the Cotswold Way for a short distance southwards (ie towards Cheltenham).

Leaving the Golf Club behind,

...the view was soon extensive

After a few hundred metres, I took the left hand fork (you can just see the Cotswold Way curving round the hill in the distance)

My route was the Winchcombe Way and it's fairly well marked  (after the fork though, that bit you have to work out for yourself). That's it on the right, heading straight towards three radio masts on the horizon)

Two miles in, my lunch stop with a great view

The path continued...

...and I turned off it towards the radio masts, looking grim in all the cloud.

From there, I rejoined the Cotswold Way, but this time heading northwards, back to the start. The sunshine was so dazzling I coud barely see Cheltenham through the trees

The way descends a bit, but the waymarks are fairly clear.

Cheltenham and its surrounding hills - the sun  disappeared again at this point!

I hadn't realised how hilly it was round here - I should pay more attention to contour lines really!

Cheltenham Race Course in fleeting sunshine

The ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort ahead

It's large, and well-preserved.

The Malverns framed through the earthworks 

Continuing on the path, more panoramic views

There were lots of seats all the way along this ridge. I was sorry I didn't have time to try them out!

Rain threatened in the distance (towards Wales)

This trig point is also the highest part of the Cotswold Way.

There are a few scars where stone has been quarried. The person on the skyline gives an indication of scale

And back to the car park, which is in another quarry.

This was a really nice walk, with good views almost throughout, easy way-finding and not too much climbing. I recommend it. If you ever have to go to Cheltenham, leave yourself an afternoon to do this

Today's walk: Park at the car park by the Golf Club (not in the Club itself, but though the gates just afterwards). Follow the Cotswold way until the path forks after a few hundred metres. Then follow a clear stony track for around two miles. You're going the right way ifyou're heading towards the 3 radio masts. Near the masts, turn off towards them and through the small car park, down the road. Then turn left onto a path (signed Cotswold Way, but the post is rather hidden). This descends through woodland for a while and the climbs back onto the ridge. The actual Cotswold Way is difficult to make out in places as there are so many paths, but just choose any path along the ridge and you'll get back to the start.