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Footpaths and National Trails
I live in Cheltenham while i'm at uni and although its surrounded by greenery it seems pretty hard to actually get out of cheltenham, away from the busy roads and run in the country. The only way to do it by road is to run along dodgey country roads that dont have a pavement and im not really the biggest fan of that.
A few of us want to be able to run to Gloucester and back or at least run it one way as there is another university campus there which has showers etc so could either bus it there and run back, run there shower and bus it back or run there have a rest then run back.
The only way to cross the M5 without a car is on a suicide run crossing 6 lanes of traffic or along public footpaths and national trail routes. I've got an ordinance survey map of cheltenham and gloucester and it shows plenty of routes you can take, but many of them cross farmers fields or use what looks to be private roads into farms. I looked on google maps and although some paths accross fields are clearly visible, some do not show up at all.
As they are listed on the OS map as public footpaths and national trails which are for recreational use and long distance walkers are you allowed to use them or would you get scary farmers chasing you with shotguns shouting "GET ORF MY LAAAAAAND!"
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haha its funny you should see that, im actually looking at it right now, 26.25 miles in total! I've found a "cheltenham circular challenge" file online that shows the course in 4 different sections with instructions on how to get around each of the 4 sections. I guess you can certainly go on all these footpaths without a real problem, but does anyone know if its the same for all OS lised footpaths?
thanks for the info anyway
If it is a public footpath then you are allowed across farmers land.
I use public footpaths a lot for running. Never been shot at yet.
Thats good, i just didnt want farmers getting shitty with me if they see me running accross or through their farms... obviously as long as i stuck as close to the proper routes as possible and not scaring any livestock they may have.
Last time i tried it i got chased by a herd of cows
I walk past the animals so as not to scare them or get chased by them but apart from that I run.
Remember to be careful around calfing or lambing times.
They are getting better. I use one in the middle of nowhere in Kent and many years ago it was barely signposted but I've noticed that it is now very well marked.
I think the footpath committees are really making an effort now to keep footpaths maintained and signposted.
That was my downfall, was towards the end of summer and right smack bang in the middle of the calfing season; chased by a herd of cows by this time very late at night, getting dark and not really knowing where i was... had to do an epic 150m sprint accross the muddiest field ive ever been in then leap accross a cattle grid... but believe it or not that wasnt the worst part of the run that night!
I'd obviously learn the route beforehand (in daylight this time) and see if its ok and manageable but as the cheltenham circular is a proper event and even official marathon route then im sure it cant be all that bad! Might even try and walk it a section at a time if i manage to get all my uni work finished. Will probably more of a spring/summer thing i guess, i assume a lot of footpaths get very muddy over winter
You can run to and from Gloucester entirely on pavements by running through Churchdown. When I used to live over there I used to frequently run home from work that way. It's also very easy to get out of Cheltenham to other sides for example there are pavements to Leckhampstead then you can go up into the hills using tacks and footpaths and pick up the Cotswold Way.
Agree with Popsider that not all paths are signposted and many are overgrown. If I'm running a new off road route I take the map the first time so I be sure where the path is supposed to be. On OS maps public rights of way are marked by various types of intermittant green lines. Other tracks are marked as dotted black lines, but these are not necessarily public and you may not always be able to go on them.
I do most of my runs on footpaths and I just love it. Don't worry too much about getting lost - Ive been lost loads of times and it helps you to find new routes! I can't take a map with me as I can't see it without the specs and can't see where I'm going with them, so I look at the map at home and make a note of landmarks - i.e at x miles there should be a lane/church etc.
Getting wet and muddy is one of the joys of running off road all year round, as is seeing the changing seasons. If you do it now you'll watch it go from autumn leaves and conkers to frosts, then in the spring the snowdrops start blooming followed by bluebells - you don't see that running on the road.
Thanks for the advice P1, good to get some local knowledge, most university students dont stray too far from cheltenham highstreet and if they do its on a bus and so dont really know anything other than large A roads! I might have to give churchdown a go soon!
Sun when you put it like that it sounds great! i'm not affraid of a bit of mud, i have entered Tough Guy in january so a little bit of mud will be good for me i think! Would be cool to see the landscape change through the seasons though.
Bear thats a great idea, i would never have thought of asking the local Ramblers association on advice about routes etc! Thanks!
I plotted a route of the Cheltenham Circular on mapmyrun with help from some very shoddy directions i found online (they were like TL after 50m, then SO until a farm then TR until you get to...) and my OS map, looks like it would be a complete nightmare to learn and its literally fieldhopping for a lot of it but im more than up for the challenge, its more incentive to get all my work done so i can go out into the country and run!
I'm in a running club within university although it is very small (only started this year) and most runners seem to be complete beginners or very new to running. Like with me they are all students who arn't from the area so our knowledge of routes; especially off road ones is very limited unless we have explored them ourselves... mainly main roads/leckhamton hill so far.
I did look up the Cheltenham harriers running club but to join the university running club instead because it was free (poor student) and they meet locally, i wouldnt really be able to get up to the golf course for their runs (they meet there too, unless they run together!?)
I've never heard of the Almost Athletes; will have to check them out!
@Sore Toes, they sound really helpful and its good that they kept you informed while they were resolving the issue! Hope i dont run into anything like that though... i'd probably just try to jump/climb/crawl around it somehow
Hi Boyddie, Ref the Cheltenham Circular Challenge course, you questioned, in your piece, under 'Footpaths and National Trails' as follows 'I guess you can certainly go on all these footpaths without a real problem. But does anyone?' The answere is YES, so much so that the Gloucestershire County Council has replaced 25 stiles with kissing gates in recent times. Why not get out, it and see for yourself. As students at Gloucestershire University you can use your bus passes. Get a bus to the Racecourse (or park a car there) and start running/walking. When you finish the Panorama section at Barlands just walk down the road a bit and catch the bus back. Should you manage to finish the Escarpment at Brizen then again catch the bus back to the Racecourse. As for getting as far as the end of the Meadows to The Pheasant (beer break time) then the bus into Chelt and another to the Racecourse. Finish with the Villages if you can and report back about how clear the route is and how difficult you found it.
The Cheltenham Circular Path is nationally accepted and as such the decals posted, showing the 'oak tree', also 'Glos County Council and Cleeve Vale Rotary Club' have white direction arrows by them.