Lure of the lakes
Jonathan Manning explores a different side of the Cotswolds on this gentle ride
Discover a different side to the Cotswolds on this ride with a watery theme. There are still all the favourites that make the area such a popular holiday destination. Exquisite villages with achingly pretty houses of honeyed stone? Tick. Blocks of peaceful broadleaf woodland? Tick. Acres of meadow grazed by the sheep whose ancestors’ wool made the Cotswolds so wealthy centuries ago? Tick.
But there’s also a crossing of the River Thames barely a mile from its source. It’s hard to believe this modest stream becomes the river that built London.
The Thames and its tributaries flow through the Cotswold Lakes, a vast area of more than 180 former gravel pits that have filled with water over the past century to create an enormous nature reserve and outdoor playground. Different clubs have taken over different bodies of water for waterskiing, sailing, paddleboarding, and angling.
Within the Lakes region, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust oversees Lower Moor Nature Reserve, which includes three lakes, two brooks, and ponds linked by boardwalks, hedges, woodland and meadows. The reserve is also home to the Dragonfly Café (open Wednesdays to Sundays 10am-4pm)
The 42 square miles of the Cotswold Lakes are now reasonably mature, which means it can be difficult to see the water from the road through the trees and hedgerows, although the calls of waterbirds are all around.
More than 35,000 birds overwinter here and the biodiversity is so important that 177 of the lakes are now designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. If you are in the right place at the right time, you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an otter or a kingfisher.
The only ‘Cotswold’ feature this ride is missing is hills – an omission that will delight many cyclists!
Directions
1. From Cirencester Park Club Campsite, cycle to the end of the access road. At the T-junction, go straight across and into an underpass under the dual carriageway. On the other side, ride a short distance to Chesterton Lane and turn left. Continue for about 1km.
2. 1.45km – After a zebra crossing, turn right along Somerford Road. At the first small roundabout go straight ahead, following NCN 45. Continue to a T-junction.
3. 2.3km – Turn right at the junction, using the cycle lane to stay out of traffic at the roundabout, and continue ahead, following cycle signs for Upper Siddington. Keep going to reach a crossroads.
4. 5.1km – Turn right at the crossroads to Ewen and Kemble. Stay on this road through Ewen and continue into Kemble.
5. 8.5km – Soon after entering Kemble turn left along Church Road. Continue to a T-junction by a war memorial and church, and turn left. Keep going for about 4km to reach a mini-roundabout in Oaksey.
6. 12.6km – Turn left at the roundabout along Somerford Keynes Road. Continue to a crossroads.
7. 18.3km – Turn left at the crossroads to Siddington, and stay on this road all the way into Siddington. Opposite Siddington Convenience Store turn left along Park Way. Continue to a T-junction.
8. 24.4km – Turn right at the junction, signposted Town Centre. The route is now retracing its steps. Go straight over the roundabout then turn left almost immediately along Somerford Road, signed to Army Reserve Centre. Go over the small roundabout and continue to a crossroads. Turn left along Chesterton Lane and, close to the end turn right to go under the underpass and follow the road back to the Club campsite.
You can download this route to your GPS device from our dedicated Strava page here.
About the route
- Start/finish: Cirencester Park Club Campsite, Stroud Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1UT.
- Distance: 27.4km/17.25m.
- Time: 2 hours.
- Level: Suitable for all cyclists. Easy riding and the route plots the quietest possible way out of Cirencester, but there is still some traffic.
- Terrain: Road all the way.
- Landscape: Farmed countryside, woodland, pretty villages and lakes.
- Refreshments: Dragonfly Café, Cotswold Lakes; The Greyhound, Siddington.
