City of Bath Athletic Club

Cotswold Way Relay



Stage 3 Route


Stage

Start Point

End Point

Distance

Ascent

Start Time

3

Cleeve Common

Seven Springs

8.5 miles

370 metres

09:35 hrs

Start Point

The start will be made from the track heading uphill in front of the club house between the two lollipop signs.

It is a public golf course here, so you are kindly requested to keep noise to a minimum, and to park with careful consideration.
Please be sure to arrive a reasonable period of time before the start for registration, preparation and briefing. The race will start without you.

Parking

Parking must only be done in the Quarry Car Park, and not under any circumstances in the Golf Club Car Park. Park very carefully. This is a Golf Course. Be quiet, do not walk over tees and greens and respect the golfers concentration (they need it, alot, I understand). Please visit the clubhouse for coffees etc - we are here with their permission so its good to give them some trade.

Please park as close to other cars as possible in order to squeeze the maximum number of cars in here. If the Quarry car Park gets full, then you must go back down to the grass by the main road. There is often a walkers event here on the same day as our relay, so be prepared to be moved on by marshalls.

Where possible, share cars. The number of cars we use is the prime limit to the number of teams we can host. Try to avoid having to do a car drop - better to get a team mate to drive on your behalf and meet you at the other end. Parking is fairly plentiful at Seven Springs in the huge open car park on the A436 100 metres North East of the end of this stage - that's where to leave your car.

Former Years' Results

2004 Results

2005 Results

Forum

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Race Profile

A nice relaxing stage - short and not too hilly, other than Ravensgate Hill which tries to balance things out.

Race Route

Click here to view map

Description

Section 1

Follow the track up from the lollipops, ascending as you keep to the edge of the escarpment and up to the topograph. Then turning initially SW, keep to the high edge and pass the hill-fort, then starting to descend above a small wood, and into fields, well beneath the antennae, generally heading South.

Section 2

After the gulley ends, head sharp left up to the bottom of the woods, then across the field on the chalk path curving uphill to the left. Carry straight over, gaining height as you progress South. Maintain this direction 1000m until the quarries.

Section 3

Turn briefly uphill 50 metres, then down the track to the right. Where the farm road joins from the right, turn left onto a bridlepath for 200m. At the road fork left, slightly uphill, then right at the crossroads for a short sprint downhill. Where the road bears left after 600m, go over the stile in-front. Through the meadow slightly downhill, and straight over the eventual road via the stiles. Look for the half-left turn after 100m.

Section 4

Then cross the farm track, enter the woods, and enjoy the free ride down through the wood. At the bottom join the bungalow's drive, forking hard to the right, to rise up to the busy A40. Double back on the pavement using the 100m along the road to find a safe time to nip across. Find the path to rise into the woods, exiting at the top via a stile into a field. Maintain your ascent, and reenter the woods to the right when the path leads you in. Keep going straight through the woods to emerge into another field which you cross the middle of to the gate in the top corner. Now run along the scrubby path, which then invites you to the steep ascent of Ravensgate Hill on the thinnest path of the whole Cotswold Way. At the top of the hill look for the new signs as the route has changed here. Do NOT progress through the thin wooden strip.

Section 5

The route from here is according to the new posts in the ground, and not according to the route on Multimap. Having not gone through the wooden strip, keep the trees on your left, going around the end to emerge on Wistley Hill. Turning left, you run along a fence, looking out for the gate on the left half way along the fence. Pass through this, turning right continuing along the field edge but on the other side of the fence. Turn right at the corner and run down the hill. Keeping inside the field, turn left in the corner, now running towards another wooded strip. As you enter this strip, turn right on the track. After a few hundred metres, it emerges onto the road, where you immediately look for the gate/stile into the field, and run down towards the finish clinging to the field edge.