[1] From the western end of the lay-by, take the lane which turns right downhill, passing through Westley Farm. Immediately beyond the last stone barn on the left and before the gated entrance to a cottage, turn left through a wooden farm gate on the left. Cross the field to the stile on the far side, beyond which, the path drops steeply bearing slightly left into a thicket; keep going left to emerge in a valley.
[2] Look for a wooden finger post directing you slightly right and up the slope ahead with wire fence and bushes to your left (the valley bottom is down to the right). Keep to the fence as the path turns left and continue your ascent until you reach a stile on the right, climb this to the lane. Turn right and walk downhill crossing the Gloucester to Swindon railway, then the disused and overgrown Thames & Severn Canal, beyond which turn right, following the footpath and walking between a tiny River Frome on the left and the canal on your right. Notice the remains of the canal lock by the bridge, one of many you will pass as you walk the 4 kilometres of towpath to Daneway.
(A) Opened in 1789, the canal was built to link the Thames at Lechlade with the Stroudwater canal, which connected with the River Severn at Framilode. 44 locks were needed to carry the canal over the Cotswolds, as well as a 4 kilometre tunnel. In its heyday, 70-foot horse-drawn narrow boats carried a variety of freight from iron ore, coal and limestone to dairy produce and textiles. Competition from the railway and constant leakage saw the closure of first the tunnel in 1911, followed by the eastern section in 1927 and the remainder in 1933.
[3] After 1600 metres, pass through a kissing gate and cross the canal by way of a bridge. Continue now on the southern bank of the canal, soon to see the meandering River Frome in meadows to your right. Eventually, take a footbridge with metal handrails to the north side of the canal.
[4] Walk a further 550 metres and you will find yourself on the road opposite the Daneway Inn.
(B) The inn was built in 1784 for the mainly Irish immigrant labourers who constructed the canal. The quantities of alcohol they consumed and the subsequent strong language meant that separate hostelries had to be built for them so as not to offend the local inhabitants! The Daneway is worth visiting, if just for a packet of crisps, so as to view the magnificent, Dutch-carved fireplace. Daneway House, further up the road is a fine old dwelling, the oldest parts dating from the 14th century.
The walk continues along the road behind the pub, signposted Edgeworth and Miserden. Opposite the entrance to Daneway House look for a footpath sign on the left, pointing back left. Go over the stile and take the path that climbs up and round to the right, ignoring the lower path continuing ahead. Climb another stile, then a few yard ahead on the right, a third stile in a wire fence, beyond which the path climbs to trees. Once through the trees, you are in a meadow; go ahead to a stile on the right of a metal farm gate
[5] Go over, into a field and follow the left boundary. The field you are crossing is huge and the first part can be very muddy in winter, but keep more or less to the left until you eventually reach the far corner with a metal farm gate on the left. In front of you, is a small wooden gate accessing the back garden of a cottage; pass through and walk ahead, down the side of the building to reach a lane via a set of steps. On the lane, turn right and walk for about 450 metres to a road junction; go straight ahead through a gated bridleway then through a second gate into a field then a third 10 metres further on.
[6] Follow the hedge on the left to the far side of the field where you pass through another gate then follow a track down into woodland. Ignore paths left and right, but keep to the sunken track running downhill between old, moss-covered stone walls until a stream is reached. Cross the footbridge, go through the wooden gate ahead, then climb the track bearing up to the right through mainly beech trees. As the ascent eases, follow the track round to the left ignoring the track on the right. A few metres further on the left, partly hidden in the undergrowth some distance away from the path, is a dilapidated brick building which houses a hydraulic ram, used to pump water up from the stream below.
[7] When you reach a bridleway running across your path, your route is to the right, but look left first, beyond the gate with the blue waymarks. The fine house in the distance is Pinbury Park once home to the poet John Masefield.
(C) Born 1 June 1878, Masefield became the 15th poet laureate in 1930. After serving as a merchant seaman aboard a large sailing vessel, he worked at menial jobs in the United States and then returned to England to make a living as a journalist. Although two of his early poems, “Sea Fever” and “Cargoes” are enduringly popular, his reputation seems to have declined in recent years. He died on 12 May 1967.
Take the bridleway to the right and in a few metres, where the track swings back to the left, continue ahead to cross a long meadow with a row of mature trees to your left. At the far end, you enter woodland and pass through a wooden gate. Ignore a gate in the wire fence to your right, but walk ahead to leave the wood, reaching the boundary of a meadow]. Here, the path veers up to the left, through a wooden gate and then runs parallel to the meadows, arriving in Sapperton village..
(D) The church, although not ancient, should be visited to see the beautiful woodwork, some of it from an Elizabethan manor which has long since vanished. More than 20 bench-ends have quaint carvings on them, the work of a craftsman of Shakespeare’s day. There is also an old gallery, an Elizabethan alter table in the panelled sanctuary, and carved oak chairs decorated with roses and heads.
[8] Take the tarmac footpath running down the left side of the churchyard, going left at the first turning. Pass two cottages on the right, turning right down the path at the side of the second one which leads you via a kissing gate onto downland. Continue roughly in the same direction, by dropping down the field to the left to reach a stile. Beyond the stile, you find yourself on top of the portal of the canal tunnel.
[9] Cross over and walk down the far side to view the tunnel entrance and read the information board. Continue the walk by taking the narrow path running up to the left, (don’t follow the canal towpath). Turn right at the top of the rise onto a broader track which leads to a road. Cross over and continue on the track ahead which climbs bearing left then right with tracks either side. Your undulating route passes through coppiced woodland initially, then through older oak and beech woods. This is another area where you can expect mud after rain. Shortly before reaching a road, you’ll pass a circular brick structure on to the right of the path; this is a ventilation shaft for the railway tunnel passing beneath your feet. At the road, cross over and take the footpath ahead climbing steeply. At the top of the ascent you will meet a path running parallel to the wall ahead.
[10] Turn right, to walk with the wall on your left, soon emerging from the woodland and mounting a low wall to a field edge. Follow the path across the field climbing a stile midway, and another stile to get out of the field and onto a road on the outskirts of Frampton Mansell. Over the road, look for a squeezer stile, beyond which a narrow path runs between houses to a field. Walk along the field edge with a wall on your right to another road. Here, walk left for a few metres then take the bridleway on the right.
[11] After 650 metres the track turns left into a farmyard; continue ahead for 350 metres, with the farm buildings then field wall to your left, eventually passing through a field gate onto a lane. This was the start of your outward route earlier in the day, so a left turn and a five minute walk will find you back at your starting point.