NEW! Murhill Quarry circular

We recommend you use a map with this description, either on the OS Maps smartphone app or an OS map such as the Bradford on Avon Walking Wheel map.

The walk starts & finishes at Explore BoA (Tourist Information) in Westbury Gardens next to the Town Bridge and follows in an anti-clockwise direction. There are three short, but fairly steep climbs.

Start with your back to ExploreBoA and turn left to walk towards the river. Pass through an opening in the high stone wall, walk along the edge of the car park and over the footbridge to cross the river. Turn left down the slope at the end then walk up through the churchyard of Holy Trinity and along the very short Church Lane. Turn left into Barton Orchard and after passing the last house turn right up wide steps onto Belcombe Road which you follow for about 500 metres, passing Belcombe Court on your right.

At the bottom of the long hill bear off left towards Avoncliff. After about 400 metres, just after the tree lined stream cross a stile into a field and go diagonally to the top left corner and cross the stile onto the track. (If there are cattle in the field you may prefer to walk along a further 50 metres to climb the rough, stony track).

Continue for a short way up the track then turn left onto another track; at the end you’ll have lovely views down onto Avoncliff and along the Avon Valley. Pass through the kissing gate and turn immediately right to climb a delightful enclosed path; further along you’ll have even more great views.

Pass through the squeeze stile by the Winsley Cricket Club ground and continue ahead (sometimes there are alpaca in the field on the left). Turn left in front of the Village Hall and at the road turn left again, to walk along the pavement (when you arrive at the road you’ll see The Seven Stars pub over to your right, a good stop to refresh yourseves). Pass the Dorothy House Hospice Care Centre on your left, then a small playing field. Take the road on the left, Quarry Close, alongside the playing field. The tarmac road bears right, through a parking/bin area then becomes a footpath. (Although you can’t see it, the disused Murhill stone quarry is in the woods over to your left). Keep straight ahead, then turn sharp left down a narrow and fairly steep footpath through woods, passing the quarry face and mine entrance as you approach the bottom.

At the road turn left then almost immediately right to descend some steps, then continue on down the steep, tarmac road; after about 250 metres this becomes a narrow path. (This road and then the path more or less follows the line of the rail track that took the stone down to the canal, look out for the remains of the iron rails as you near the bottom). At the bottom you reach the K&A Canal at Murhill Wharf.

Turn left alongside the canal as far as the bridge, known as Elbow Bridge. Climb up onto the bridge, cross it and turn left onto the canal towpath which you now follow all the way to Avoncliff. Cross the aqueduct (If you’re lucky the No 10 Tearooms might be open, well worth a visit).

You have a choice here; you could avoid a steep climb and return to BoA straight along the canal towpath, then pick up the route at ** below. You’ll need to go under the aqueduct then back up to the towpath.

Take the winding road ahead that climbs steeply up (you’ll be following the green waymarkers of the Walking Wheel for a little while from now on). At the third bend go straight on up through the kissing gate onto a lovely sunken path, this joins a short section of access road. Continue up to the road then turn left (you now stop following the green waymarkers) to follow the road for half a mile.

Soon after passing a stables with a horse riding menage you’ll see a 5 bar gate ahead on the left. To the left of this there is a pair of small, wrought iron gates at the entrance to a little bungalow set back from the road, go through these. The right of way passes to the right of this bungalow, through the garden. Cross a stone stile into a field, then another stile; keep to the left of the wooden telegraph pole then drop down, over another stile across a small field then cross a final stile to a field with the canal at the bottom. (If you’re here in the early summer it’s a lovely wildflower meadow so look out for cowslips then wild orchids).

At the bottom of this field turn right through a kissing gate and continue ahead keeping the canal on your left. Go through another kissing gate by the canal overflow, along a short, rough section of path and cross over the wooden footbridge.

**Turn right at the bottom to follow the canal towpath as far as the Tithe Barn (well worth a visit). Just before the Tithe Barn turn off left down some steps onto a gravel path, go straight ahead and past the stone footbridge (Barton Bridge) to join a tarmac footpath that continues straight on, under the railway bridge and alongside the River Avon. When you reach the public car park cross it diagonally left to the road, then turn left and you’re back where you started.

There’ll be plenty of cafes and pubs in town for you to enjoy some well earned refreshment.