(S/E) The walk starts from 'The Fleece Inn', Hillesley (ST769 896). With your back to the Fleece Inn, turn left and walk forward up Chapel Lane. Continue up the lane, passing – Albany Cottage on your left, onto a crushed stone path leading to a gate; with a wooden stile to the right. Cross through the gate into the field.
(1) Continue along the left-hand boundary hedge to a gate, go through the gate onto an unmade-up path. Continue along the path, uphill into a wooded area - Mear's Plantation. Continue upwards through the wood, to the top of the track - approx. 250 m.
(2) At the top of the track turn right (ST773 892) and follow the wood boundary until it joins a field. Continue ahead, following the left-hand boundary hedge to the end of the field. Do NOT follow the track around into a second field. Look for a wooden stile on your right. Cross over the stile onto a narrow path bounded by a field fence on the right. Follow the path past a house - Splatt's Barn (ST770 888). At the end of the barn turn left onto a track running alongside a wood. Continue along this partially made-up track until it meets a road – High St.
(3) At the meeting of the track and the road (ST771 880), turn left and follow a broad track for approx. 45m, then turn ½ left and follow a track down between hedgerows. Continue along this track – the Monarchs Way, as it begins to go downhill through woods (Splatt's Wood and Frith Wood) and into Long Combe. The Monarch's Way route runs down the left side of Long Combe. Follow this route until it exits, via a gate, onto a road - Kilcott Road (ST 785 892) is part of the Cotswold Way
(4) Turn left and continue along the road, passing several houses and cottages along the way. After approx. - 0.75Km look for a 'fingerpost' waymarker on a verge on your right, at the entrance onto a lane, indicating the Cotswold Way (ST779 897). Turn right and cross a bridge over a stream. Continue along this lane for a further - 180m approx. At the end of the lane (ST781 898) there are two gates, pass through the wooden gate on your left and continue along the track through several gates to the village of Alderley.
(5) At this junction (ST769 908) turn right to continue along the Cotswold Way, past houses, to a road junction at the end of this road. Cross directly over the road into - Winter Spring Lane. Follow the surfaced portion of Winter Spring Lane for - 40 m approx. Stay on the left side of the lane. Look for a Cotswold signpost/footpath marker post, as the lane begins to bear right (ST771 910). Follow the footpath downhill.
At the bottom of the hill, the path turns left and crosses a stone bridge. Follow the path through a gate and into a field, continue ahead into a larger adjoining field. Turn ¼ right, look for a short footpath marker post approx. - 20 m to the right of a single telegraph post. Use the footpath marker post as a guide to cross the field to a kissing gate (ST767 916). Go through the gate onto a road – Hill Mill Road. Turn left and follow the road down past houses, onto - Alderley Road.
(6) Cross over the road, look for a permissive path to the right of a fingerpost (ST 766 916). Continue ahead, through a small copse, up a slight hill, into a field (ST 765 917). Turn left and follow a well-worn path around the edge of the field for -160m approx., to a wooden marker point at (ST 764 916), here turn left, use steeps cut into an earth bank to gain access to the next field. Here continue forward along a footpath that runs diagonally downhill, towards the left corner of the field, to a gate.
Pass through the gate and follow the hedge-line downhill to the bottom of the field to a 2nd gate. Pass through the gate onto a private drive. Turn slightly left, look for a bridge over a lake. The route continues over the bridge, and up steps cut into the bank on the far side, leading to a stile at the top. Cross over the stile (ST764 912) and into a field beyond.
(7) From the stile (ST764 912) continue ahead, following a line of young trees to a copse at the far side of the field. Cross into the copse via a stile. Follow the footpath through the copse to a second stile. Cross the stile into the next field. Follow the boundary fence round to the right and downhill, to a bridge, over a small stream. Cross the bridge and follow the footpath round to the left through a small copse to a wooden stile.
(8) On reaching this wooden stile, do not cross over it, but turn ½ left and walk approx. - 18m to a wooden bridge over a stream. Cross the bridge and continue ahead to a wooden stile. Cross over the stile into the field beyond. From this stile walk forward to a plank bridge at (ST 76 905).
Note: - The plank bridge is difficult to find, particularly in summer. As a guide to finding the bridge from the edge of the field; walk forward approx. - 130m to the 2nd telegraph pole in the field, turn ½ right, walk forward to the edge of the field, the plank bridge is in the general vicinity. Cross the bridge into a large adjoining field. Use the footpath; if it has been reinstated, up the hill, to waypoint 9. If not reinstated; retrace steps back to the farm track, turn right, and continue uphill along the track to Waypoint 9.
(9) Turn ¼ left at the corner of the field (ST 767 899), and follow a footpath to a kissing gate approx. - 50m, go through the gate into the paddock. Follow the footpath across the paddock to 2nd kissing gate. Go through the gate onto a road - Alderley Road, turn right and follow the road back to - The Fleece Inn, Hillesley - approx. 230m.
