Limekiln Hill

The walk up Limekiln Hill rewards you with proper Cotswold views - rolling fields stretching toward Cirencester in one direction, woodland and stone villages in the other. It's not a long slog; most people manage it in under an hour from the car park, though the final stretch does bite a bit if you're not a regular walker.

You're after the industrial heritage here as much as the landscape. The hill's name comes from the old lime kilns that once operated on these slopes - the industrial guts of the Cotswolds that most visitors miss entirely. There's not much left now, just the bones of the site, but it tells a story about how these hills kept the region's building trade fed for centuries.

Walkers will absolutely get their money's worth. The views genuinely do open up once you've climbed, and the path is well-trodden without being overcrowded. It's the sort of place families with capable kids will enjoy - nothing technical, just a proper uphill walk with decent payoff. Parents with toddlers will find it tiresome.

Free to visit, naturally. Allow a couple of hours if you want to linger at the top with a flask. Spring's lovely here, when the fields either side are newly green. Summer can be muggy under tree cover on the approach.

Based near Cirencester, you're minutes from several caravan parks - Hoburne Cotswold and Mayfield are both within easy reach if you're planning a longer stay. Combine it with a walk around Cirencester itself, or the Cotswold Water Park if you need something less vertical.