Up to Uley and its peaks
one of the few geographical facts that I remember from those late 1960s school days is that contour lines connect points of equal elevation. I remember an old geography teacher saying that if you walk along a contour line you neither gain nor lose elevation. The converse is also true insofar as tightly packed contour lines signify steep gradients and a walk that very quickly gains height. Look at the OS map showing the Cotswold village of Uley and the immediate impression is one of contours at every turn, with a height gain of some 400 feet on every side. This is most definitely a hill walk – you have been warned! Wikipedia is pretty matter of fact about the place. It tells of a village in the county of Gloucestershire situated in a wooded valley in the Cotswold escarpment on the road between Dursley and Stroud. This much quoted website goes on to talk of a current population of 1,100, which was much greater during the early years of the Industrial revolution when the village was renowned for producing what was known as blue cloth. The place name, recorded as euuelege in the Domesday Book, probably signifies a ‘clearing in a yew wood’. High above Uley lies Uley Bury, a spectacular Iron Age camp. This was the perfect defensive site, a 32-acre stronghold with virtual clifflike slopes on all four sides. Its two lines of defence - made by terracing the natural slopes then building a rampart on top of the upper terrace - must have made the hill fort impregnable. Today, Uley Bury is simply a place to stroll and relax and enjoy some of the best views in the area. To the west is the Severn estuary, while to the north and south the Cotswold escarpment stretches away in a quite dramatic fashion. Below lies Downham Hill, known locally as ‘Smallpox Hill’. This was the site of an isolation facility for victims of the disease in centuries past. Fortunately the walk passes around this lofty hilltop, but do not rest on those proverbial laurels. A couple of climbs lie ahead, that bring with them somewhere around 600ft of ascent. First is a short sharp climb on to Cam Long Down followed by a gentle ascent on to Cam Peak, with views that now encompass the Malvern Hills and the distant May Hill. Footpaths and quiet byways bring the walk back to Uley where the small green surrounded by jumbled houses and the Old Crown Inn, a setting overlooked by St Giles Church, may seem a quaint and peaceful setting in 2019, but it was not always this way. It is a long story but, back in 1792, a weaver by the name of John Teakle was accused of working for below the going rate and hence undermining local pay scales. Placed astride a large pole known as a ‘stringe’, Teakle was carried by a mob to nearby Owlpen and ducked in the mud. What of the Old Crown? This is a 17th-century coaching inn that has a number of real ales including always one-or-two from the local Uley Brewery just down the road. The food is always homemade, which will explain slight delays at peak times without a microwave oven in sight. I would recommend the Uley sausages from the local butcher, although ‘The Old Crown’ steak & Uley ale pie with puff pastry might just pip the bangers at the post! Getting there ■ Leave the A4135 in Dursley to follow the B4066 for 2½ miles into Uley. Park on the roadside in the vicinity of the Old Crown Inn. the OLD crown ■ With your back to the Old Crown, follow the B4066 to the left. In a few paces, follow a footpath on the right, signposted to Uley Bury and Whitecourt, which runs to the right of the local church. In 100 yards, just before the end of the churchyard and immediately before a bungalow, follow a path on the right up to a gate and hillside field. Walk uphill towards the top right corner of this field to a gate and woodland. Follow a path uphill through this woodland and, at the top of the woodland, keep left to a pair of gates, all the while following a ‘Cotswold Way Circular Walk’ marker. Beyond these gates, walk ahead to a junction on the top of Uley Bury. ULEY BURY ■ Turn left and, shortly, keep right to walk along the southeastern rampart of this hillfort. Beyond a gate, keep ahead to the southern end of Uley Bury. Continue following the edge of Uley Bury along towards the B4066. Beyond a gate by this main road, turn left to another gate and a junction. Ignoring the right turn to Coaley Wood, keep left and follow a path that drops downhill to Hodgecombe Farm. Beyond this property, keep left to a lane, turn right and, on a right-hand bend in 150 yards, with a barn ahead, cross a stile on the left. Turn right and follow the Cotswold Way, signposted to Dursley, uphill towards Cam Long Down. cam Long Down ■ Enter woodland at the top of the climb, turn right and then left to emerge on the open hilltop. Cross to the far end of Cam Long Down, drop downhill to a junction and follow the path ahead uphill signposted to Cam Peak. Drop downhill to a property on the left called Peak Lodge and, immediately past this property, cross a stile on the left and follow a path – initially alongside the property – for 250 yards to a junction. Continue ahead and, in 100 yards, where the Cotswold Way goes off on the left, keep ahead for 350 yards to the next junction. Bear right, ahead is a drive leading to a farm, and continue for 150 yards to a staggered crossroads of paths. staggered crossroads ■ Turn left and, in a few paces, right on to a bridleway. Follow this track for 350 yards to a road, turn left and walk along to a junction just past Hydegate Pet Resort. Turn right, signposted to Uley, and continue for 600 yards to a junction. Turn left on a road signposted to Uley village. Follow this road called Whitecourt to the left of a chapel and, in 150 yards, where the road bears right, keep ahead on a track to a gate and field. Follow the right edge of this field to a gate before following an enclosed path to the next gate. Follow the right edge of a field to a gate, cross a track and follow an enclosed path opposite back to Uley Church and the B4066. Turn left back to the Old Crown.