Severn Beach station is not the most logical railhead for the Cotswolds but this route provides a varied spring ride in pleasant country, crossing from Gloucestershire to Wiltshire and ascending from river mud to limestone in geology and ages from Roman to twentieth century. Return from Yate station.

From New Passage I crossed the Severn Vale, pausing for early coffee and cake in Oldbury, then through Cromhall to Wickwar and up the first step onto the equally flat Inglestone Common where the Little Avon & Ladden rise to make their separate ways to the Severn, then up the further steep, but short, climb to the Cotswold Plateau at the Somerset Monument in Hawkesbury Upton.

After a pleasant lunch in warm sunshine in the courtyard of the Beaufort Inn, across the A46 and rapidly south past Badminton and over fairly level country through Alderton & Littleton Drew. The church at Littleton Drew has two fragments of a Saxon porch shaft in the porch. From there I turned south west to follow the yet older Roman road, Fosse Way, on good, modern, slightly meandering tarmac to West Kington, where the gothic church stands above the steep sided valley in which the village sits and is reached by a detour along a wide tarmac bridleway through a farmyard. Dipping fairly steeply into the village to cross the Broadmead Brook making its way towards the Avon near Bath, and climbing less steeply out the route settles onto the vast plateau, climbs Shire Hill to enter Tormarton from the south and cross back over the A46 at traffic lights, before descending through quiet fields to Dodington to enter twentieth century Yate from the south east and follow cycle paths to Yate station for the train back to Bristol.

As usual the very busy A46 constrains the route to a small number of direct crossings. Near Hawkesbury Upton the road is only two lane and gaps in the traffic do occur. At Old Sodbury the A46 is much busier with traffic for the motorway, but the traffic lights allow crossing. Note the arrangement where only cycles and horses may turn right, and pay close attention to the light phase. The B-road from Cromhall has light but fast traffic and Shire Hill approaching Tormarton from the south also has fast but light traffic, which can be difficult on the steep section out of the dip into the valley of the Broadmead Brook. This can be avoided by using the minor road further north to the crossroads at Turnpike Cottage. Approaching Tormarton along roads south of the motorway avoids the narrow busy road from Acton Turville north of the motorway.

Severn Beach has an hourly train service from Bristol during the day. Yate provides two trains an hour, unfortunately those from Worcester are currently operated by surplus class 800 with poor cycle accommodation. The Gloucester trains are generally class 165/166 with better spaces.

Inns in the area include the Beaufort at Hawkesbury Upton, the Ship at Luckington and the Rattlebones at Sherston. Morning cake and coffee in the community cafe at Oldbury-on-Severn.

River mud - equinoctial spring tide covering the foreshore at New Passage.

On the plateau edge: the Somerset Monument - commemorates the commander of the Household Cavalry at Waterloo.

All Saints Littleton Drew - a ninth century Saxon cross shaft fragment.

Saint Mary, West Kington  C13 origins, much rebuilt 1856

A dip in the plateau - looking back up the road down to West Kington

The limestone plateau - wide horizons on the road from West Kington.