The best city hikes and walks around Cotswold

The Monarch's Way is a well-known hiking / trail running route. Based on the route taken by King Charles II during the Civil War. This section is right by Cirencester Abbey and in the Town Centre. Nearby is "The Fleece" pub & restaurant, which also has some interesting history. The king is said to have stayed in room 1 while on the "monarchs way"

It’s a wide open space, with lake, wildfowl, children’s play area, bandstand and public toilets near the entrance by the church.

The remnants of a Roman wall. Access is free and unrestricted.

A nice little cafe, a little on the expensive side. I had a sausage sandwich for £6.50, that said it was a big portion on sourdough bread and tasty. The chef bought it out and stopped and had a nice chat with us. They have a nice sized courtyard "Secret Garden" out the back and they are more than happy for cyclists to walk their bikes through the cafe and out the back, where they can be left safely, there are not many places where you can to this in Cirencester and especially on a Sunday.

This yew hedge planted in 1720 is 13.1m (43ft) high and surrounds the house belonging to Earl Bathurst.

HISTORY OF MEON VALE This former Ministry of Defence site is situated in the heart of Shakespeare country. It was open countryside and farmland until the Ministry of Defence (MD) purchased the land in 1940 and used it as an army training camp. After the Second World War (1939 - 1945), the camp became a Central Engineers Depot. This consisted of a series of storage sheds and warehouses that used a rail system to connect to the Great Western Railway line. The Mob facilities closed in 1999. St. Modwen, the UK's leading regeneration specialist, acquired the site in 2004 and is now creating a mixed-use development providing residential, leisure and employment facilities. WOODLAND WALK The Greenway at Mean Vale is a one mile-long footpath and cycleway that runs from Station Road in the north of Campden Rood in the south of the site. It is an extension of the Stratford Greenway, the pedestrian and Sustrans cycle link that connects Long Marston to Stratford-upon-Avon. The Greenway runs through the middle of Meon Vale and provides members of the public with access to 25 acres of woodland that can be enjoyed and explored on foot and bike. WILDLIFE AT MEON VALE The woodland surrounding The Greenway is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including birds, bats, insects, grass snakes, butterflies, moths and doormice. They find food and shelter from the many species in the trees, plants and vegetation which grow here - including fruit and walnut trees and cowslips, knapweed, wild carrot and tansy plants. The Greenway follows part of the course of Quinton Brook, which also provides a valuable wildlife habitat. Much of the brook was previously culverted, so St. Modwen has removed the concrete lining and re-profiled the banks with native wildflower, grasses and herbs, to welcome even more wildlife to live here. Can you spot the water vole? They are a shy species and you might not see any, but Quinton Brook supports a large population of water voles, which are declining in the UK and are increasingly rare in Warwickshire. This is because of habitat loss and fragmentation as well as predation by the American Mink, which escaped or were released from fur farms in the 1950s and 1960s and now breed in the wild. The works to re-profile the banks provide perfect opportunities for water voles to dig burrows, while the long grasses and herbs provide them with cover and food. You may see wooden rafts in the brook which are called 'Mink Rafts'. These are used to monitor American Mink with the hope they can be eradicated from the area, thereby protecting our native water voles.

A great stop off in the centre of the town, especially on a hot day. Enjoy a coffee or cake or a sausage roll. Whilst you are there you can pay for a coffee for one of the local homeless people.

Beautiful church in Cirencester's central square. Dates from 1117.