Castle Combe and Slaughterford

Located within the Cotswold Hills, with its rolling hills and picturesque villages, the Cotswold Hills were designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB) in 1966.  Castle Combe is a quintessentially English village often named as the ‘prettiest village in England’. It has featured regularly as a film location, most recently in The Wolf Man, Stardust and Stephen Spielberg’s War Horse. It was also used in the original Dr Doolittle film. The village has a rich history and the houses are made up of the honey coloured Cotswold stone, typical for a village of this area.

Today’s walk is a circular route starting and ending at the 14th Century market village of Castle Combe, that has a mix of both meadows and woodland.  We start by following the Bybrook River upstream to West Kington, before heading south, passing through North Wraxall, before we rejoin the Bybrook River in Slaughterford.  From here we then follow the valley of the Bybrook River back up to pretty market village of Castle Combe.

Micro Events – IMPORTANT, Please read the following before you sign up to this event:

• Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, even if they are extremely mild, or who lives or is in a support bubble with someone showing symptoms, is asked not to attend. This is in line with the government’s coronavirus advice.
• All are required to practice social distancing – staying 2m (not 1m) apart at all times, including the lunch stop.
• Unfortunately, there won’t be any planned pub / café stops en route or at the end, and please don’t share sweets or snacks with others – we’re sorry!
• Public transport use to the start point is discouraged, as this is a non-essential journey. 
• Please bring your own hand sanitising gel for your own use throughout the day. Use of face coverings is at your own choice.
• On walks, one person to hold open gates and allow everyone to walk through – so minimising surfaces that multiple people touch. 
• Be aware that opportunities for toilet stops may be minimal if facilities are closed.
• Each person can only attend one OutdoorLads event a week.
• Please, please cancel at your earliest opportunity if you are unable to attend or are unwell, so that we can allow others to take up these valuable event spaces.
• Much as it's difficult - no handshakes or hugs!

Micro Events Participation Statement

OutdoorLads draws your attention to the fact that travelling and being away from home increases the risk of receiving and transmitting Coronavirus, whilst it is present in the UK. You are likely to choose not to participate in OutdoorLads events whilst there is a risk of Coronavirus transmission. However, should you choose to participate in OutdoorLads events whilst the risk is present, you must be aware of and follow the law and government guidelines, both when travelling to and from events as well as when participating in events.

Please note that every person participating should be aware of (and accept) that those members perceived as ‘in charge’ or leading the event are not experts,  do not need to be experts, and are not regarded by OutdoorLads, or themselves as experts, but are amateurs with some experience in the event type and who are happy to impart their knowledge.  Any advice given should be considered with this in mind by the recipient.

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Please see our website for more information including an FAQ about our micro events.

Please see our website for more information including an FAQ about our micro events.

Photo Credits: All photos taken by Colin Day and permission is granted to OutdoorLads for further use.