Coaley Peak Walks and Route Maps

A short walk around Coaley Peak, the picnic site and viewpoint on the Cotswold escarpment, where the ground drops away and the Severn Vale opens out towards the Forest of Dean. A topograph at the viewpoint helps you pick out what you are looking at.

Just after the start you pass Nympsfield Long Barrow, a Neolithic burial tomb from around 2800 BC whose chambers lie open to view. The route then runs close to Sandford's Knoll, a named hill a little way off the path, and into Stanley Wood, where most of the walk is under trees. The climbing is gentle, and it makes an easy leg-stretcher with a big view.

A longer woodland walk that begins at the Coaley Peak viewpoint, with its wide outlook over the Severn Vale, and passes Nympsfield Long Barrow, a Neolithic chambered tomb, almost straight away.

After that the walk is mostly in the trees. Stanley Wood, an ancient woodland in the care of the Woodland Trust, forms a large part of it, so expect shade and a quiet, enclosed feel for much of the way. Sandford's Knoll, a named hill, lies a little off the route early on.

There is one moderate climb through the middle of the walk and the rest is undulating. It suits a morning or afternoon among the woods of the Cotswold scarp.