Blockley - Cotswolds

Blockley – Cotswolds

Distance:               23km
Climb:                    1640ft
Duration:               1.5-3 hrs
Rating:                   Blue
Grade:                   3/5

It is peaceful plod through tranquil settings that never really deliver any real technical challenge or visual treat but somehow it still delivers on the good trail indicator.

This route is not, by any stretch, a technical challenge nor does it offer unending views of the Cotswold Hills. Blockley is a large picturesque village, set within a small valley high in the Cotswold uplands between Broadway and Chipping Campden; rolling hills thick with the infamous (famous with locals anyway) Cotswold mud and loose limestone.

Although there are generally not very many vistas of note the route is not spoilt as a result. The enclosed nature of the trail instils a feeling of remoteness simply because you cannot see anything but the immediate context. For much of the first half of the ride, this is predominantly trees.

You do emerge from the woodland for a few prolonged periods in order to legally navigate between certain sections of Bridleway. This scenic route takes in a number of villages, which add to the charm of the ride. On a bright summer's day its hard to imagine this being anything other than a beautiful place to ride.

The valley encircles Blockley and the route navigates its way around the top of this ‘bowl’, making one or two sharp deviations in toward the centre (Blockley village) to descend the hill - before making you climb back out again.

Starting in the beautiful village of Blockley – the route proper begins at Dovedail as you follow Blockley brook in to the woods. The Bridleway navigates along an historical route named 5-mile drive all the way to the A44.  Following a quick blast along the road, you’re back in the woods. Head straight through the belt and follow the bridleway back across to the return leg of 5-mile drive.

The climb out of Blockley is a stony track. It never gets too steep and traction was always good - the 2-kilometre climb up this tame gradient warms your legs up nicely.

This route is adapted from the guidebook ‘Mountain biking in the Cotswolds’ by Tom Fenton and has been repeated in MBUK magazine (GPS download available). Their published route follows the bridleways, however my route took a slight detour, at this point, in order to take in a couple of additional features and lengthen the ride slightly.

Following my initial climb I am treated to a fast and increasingly technical descent back in to Blockley (almost) before I head back up through Northwick estate (ensuring that I stick to the public rights of way as this is a managed woodland with active shooting on a regular basis).

The pass starts pretty tame but the gradient gets increasingly steep as it nears the summit before levelling off as you approach a minor road. I hadn’t appreciated how closely packed the contour lines were when I’d checked the OS maps before I’d set off. Anyway, what goes up must come down and after crossing the road the trail continues down the opposite side of the ridge.

The descent is shallower but longer. Technicality is low but you can get some serious speed once the ground dries. At the time of riding the trail conditions were still pretty soggy so mud spots had the unending habit of slowing me down. Alas, it was still good to get out and the respite from the climbing was welcome.

My current loop finally emerged from Northwick estate to the north and re-joined the 5-mile drive and followed the bridleway all the way to Broad Campden. The route then meanders around the foothills taking in Paxford before climbing back up through Batsford and descending down in to Blockley.

All the rain we have endured has again, as with most places I'm sure, turned the Bridleway in to a mud fest. The descent in to Blockley was disappointing, however Its worth noting that if one can find a sneaky way of reaching the lower gravelled section then it should be fun. One possible route is to navigate from the hilltop down through Pasture Farm using one of the farm tracks until the trail improves. In good weather this should be a fast and fun finale to the ride.




The actual highlight of the ride was, in fact, the post ride rinse. Courtesy of the bloated river passing through Blockley we were able to chuck our bikes in at a little access point (holding on of course) and repeatedly dumped them, like the stereotypical washer woman, to clean most of the mud off.  A great way to clear the mud and cow sh*t before loading the car.