Fairford Walks
The Gloucestershire town of Fairford is ideally located for exploring the Cotswolds Hills on foot. This walk takes you through the Cotswold Water Park before visiting the nearby town of Lechlade where you can enjoy riverside footpaths along the Thames Path.
The walk starts in the town where you can pick up footpaths heading south east to the series of lakes. After passing along Warren's Cross Lake you will come to Lechlade which is a nice place to stop for refreshments. You can also enjoy a nice stroll along the River Thames to the point where it meets with the River Coln.
The route then returns through the water park to Fairford, with a nice section along the River Coln to finish.
This route takes you through the eastern section of the park but the huge park also has a western section to explore. It is located between Swindon and Cirencester with more details and a map shown on our Cotswold Water Park Walk and Cycle Route. In Lechlade you can also pick up the Cotswold Canals long distance trail and enjoy more easy, waterside walking.
Buscot Park is also located nearby and has some lovely footpaths to follow around the grounds.
Fairford Ordnance Survey Map 
- view and print off detailed OS map
Fairford Open Street Map 
- view and print off detailed map
Fairford OS Map 
- Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking
Fairford Open Street Map 
- Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking
Walks near Fairford
- Cotswold Water Park - This fabulous attraction has numerous waterside cycling and walking paths taking you around the park's 150 lakes
- Lechlade River Circular Walk - This lovely circular walk takes you along the River Thames and through the countryside surrounding this pretty town in Gloucestershire
- Thames Path - Starting at the Source of the Thames at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, follow the iconic river through beautiful countryside and historic towns to the city of London.
- Buscot Park - Explore the delightful grounds and gardens surrounding this fine 18th-century house near Faringdon in Oxfordshire
- Cotswold Canals - Follow a series of delightful waterways from Framilode to Lechlade on this waterside walk through Gloucestershire.
The walk starts at Framilode, next to the River Severn and follows the Stroudwater Canal and the River Frome to the market town of Stroud - Bampton - This pretty village is surrounded by some lovely Oxfordshire countryside and is only a short walk from the River Thames
- Tadpole Bridge - This easy riverside walk follows a section of the Thames Path National Trail from the popular Tadpole Bridge Inn to the historic old bridge at Newbridge to the east.
- Carterton - This modern Oxfordshire based town is located in the western part of the county near Witney.
- Ampney Crucis - This small Cotswolds based village lies just to the east of Cirencester.
- Eastleach - This Gloucestershire village includes the settlements of Eastleach Turville and Eastleach Martin which sit either side of the River Leach.
- Southrop - This Gloucestershire village lies just to the south of Eastleach on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds.
- Lechlade To Kelmscott - This walk takes you along a lovely section of the Thames Path from Lechlade to Kelmscott.
Further Information and Other Local Ideas
Just to the west there's the villages of Ampney Crucis and Ampney St Peter where you can visit a series of noteworthy ancient churches.
To the north east there's Eastleach where you can enjoy two noteworthy Norman churches and an ancient stone slab clapper footbridge over the River Leach. It's another picture postcard place known for its numerous historic buildings and a colourful display of daffodils in the spring. Lovely Southrop can also be visited in this area.
Photos
The River Coln as it passes through Fairford.
Holiday homes, Cotswold Water Park. These attractive properties are part of the 'Watermark' development of lakeside holiday or second homes. The ones I've seen for sale are all so described from which I infer that there may be a covenant or planning condition that precludes their being used as full-time residences. They are also described as being 'New England' style.
Ski School at Cotswold Water Park. This is the Fairford Lechlade section of the waterpark- in the south western corner of the square.
Halfpenny Bridge, Lechlade
Entrance to gravel pits. The gravel extraction around Lechlade and Fairford over the years has resulted in many flooded lakes which now comprise the Cotswold Water Park. This scene is north of the river Coln, one of the headstreams of the Thames, and is well into Gloucestershire, not Swindon.
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River Thames at Lechlade