Woodchester Park & Lakes Circular

Woodchester Park sits within a steep-sided Cotswold valley near Nympsfield in Gloucestershire, where the National Trust manages a landscape blending mature woodland, open parkland and a chain of tranquil lakes along the valley floor. The 6.8 km circuit loops through the lower park, passing beneath the extraordinary unfinished Woodchester Mansion — a Victorian Gothic house abandoned mid-construction with its scaffolding marks still visible in the stonework — before following paths alongside the lakes and climbing through mixed woodland on the valley sides. The 141 metres of climbing comes in gentle stages as the path undulates between the valley floor and the upper woods, and the enclosed valley creates a sheltered, intimate atmosphere quite different from the exposed Cotswold wold above.

This dog friendly walk has limited off-lead potential due to moderate livestock presence in the parkland sections, so leads are needed through grazing areas and near the lakes where wildfowl nest. The woodland sections offer better freedom, with enclosed paths and good sightlines through mature beech and oak. The lakeside stretches carry rich scent from waterside vegetation, damp earth and the cool mineral air rising off still water, while the woodland floor shifts between leaf litter and exposed Cotswold stone. The sheltered valley makes this a good wet-weather option when the exposed hills above are bleak. Parking is available at the Woodchester Park car park on the B4066.