walk April DPS version.qxp_Layout 1 23/03/2023 10:21 Page 1
THE | WALK
A show of bluebells in Workman’s Wood
The bluebells of Workman’s Wood
This month’s walk by Andrew Swift takes us a few miles north of Stroud to a glorious beech wood on a steep-sided valley – it is here in late April to mid-May that the woodland treats its visitors to an intense showing of bluebells.
E
ach spring, from around St George’s Day (23 April) to midMay, many of England’s woodlands are transformed as bluebells come into bloom beneath the budding trees. The azure haze of this brief annual spectacle is one of the most beguiling natural sights this country has to offer, and you’ll find numerous lists online recommending the best places to see it. One spot that never seems to feature on these lists is Workman’s Wood, a few miles north of Stroud, yet this glorious beech wood, clinging to the slopes of the steep-sided valley of the Sheepscombe Brook, is among the hidden treasures of the Cotswolds. The National Trust (NT), which owns and manages the wood, admits as much on its website, telling us that it ‘is quiet and peaceful all year round, since it is not near a main road and access is not obvious, so it doesn't receive many visitors’. Although access may not be obvious, the tracks that thread the wood make for relatively easy walking – albeit with occasional steep and muddy stretches – and there is little in the way of stiles or other obstacles to worry about. Best of all, perhaps – which makes the lack of visitors even more puzzling – the easiest place to begin and end a walk through Workman’s Wood is by one of the finest traditional pubs in the Cotswolds. The only problem – if it can be regarded as a problem – is that, although the wood is threaded by a multitude of paths, and although there are numerous sets of waymarks, information on the trails they indicate is seemingly non-existent. On top of which, no map – not even the Ordnance Survey – shows all the paths. So, while I have suggested a 36 TheBATHMagazine | april 2023 | issue 242
circular walk that takes in its varied landscapes and habitats, there are many other options, and, should you find yourself heading along the wrong track, all you need do is to head back roughly the same way you came to return to the starting point. Sheepscombe lies five miles north of Stroud, and the network of lanes leading to it takes you through Slad, immortalised by Laurie Lee in his book Cider with Rosie. He lived in Slad until his death in 1997 and was a familiar face not only at the Woolpack there, but also at the Butcher’s Arms in Sheepscombe, where our walk starts (SO891104: GL6 7RH). There is limited parking in the lane near the pub, and at busy times you may need to park across the valley on the lane leading up to the church. To the left of the pub (opposite the gates to the vicarage) head up a steep lane which soon degenerates into a rough track. Carry on through a gate, continue uphill, and, when you emerge on Sheepscombe Common, bear left up a well-walked track curving diagonally uphill through an area scarred by quarrying. Over to the right you will see Sheepscombe’s cricket ground. Laurie Lee loved village cricket and was a great friend of Sheepscombe’s demon bowler and local poet Frank Mansell. Laurie bought the ground in 1971 in memory of his uncles who were founder members of the club, and the club still owns it today. After 125m, a gate leads into Lord’s Wood. Carry straight on (ignoring two turnings to the left) following bridleway signs, and, after 300m, you will see an ivy-covered wall ahead (SO892110). A left turn here would take you into Lady’s Wood, on the edge of the escarpment, and also carpeted with bluebells at this time of year. We, however, will