On a warm sunny day 21 members and 1 guest set off from Painswick. We walked through St Mary’s churchyard with its famous 99 yew trees, viewed the ancient stocks and then continued around the back of Painswick admiring the beautiful Cotswold buildings and the two donkey doors in Bisley Street.

We then walked towards Painswick House and entered fields, down then up again towards Holcombe, admiring the valley views to our left. We joined a lane, and after a coffee and photo stop in front of Holcombe House, we made our way across fields and woodland to reach a panorama of land between Gloucester and Cheltenham.

We followed the Wysis Way up onto Painswick Beacon where we enjoyed a lovely sunny lunch on the crest of the hill. We spotted the eight Dexter cows, a very tough breed, brought onto the Beacon by the Painswick Beacon Preservation Group to graze on the land, which is crucial to the local ecosystem as it helps remove the scrub

After inspecting the Beacon and magnificent views of the hills all around, with Gloucester Cathedral in the distance, we continued down over the golf course and besides the quarry on the Cotswold Way to eventually return to Painswick. Some of us went to The Royal Oak pub’s garden to enjoy a well earned drink.

Stopping at Holcombe House for coffee and a photo

Our usual gateman, Bob, doing his duty

Heading up to the Beacon

Lunch atop Painswick Beacon

One of the beautiful Dexters on the Beacon

Refreshments at the Royal Oak in Painswick