Cirencester Park and town, Cirencester

The Cotswolds is one of our favourite places to visit for quintessentially British scenery. This easy circular walk takes you to a variety of the most beautiful sights in Cirencester, along characterful streets lined with independent shops, residential lanes featuring stunning Cotswold stone houses, and through the woodland and open expanse of grass at the perfectly manicured Cirencester Park. Once you circle back through the town, you’ll take in the magnificent St. John Baptist Church before heading back to the start of the route.

There are a handful of car parks and bus stops throughout Cirencester – as the largest town in the Cotswolds it’s one of the better connected ones. We recommend parking in Abbey Grounds Park car park as it’s a spacious, central spot for beginning this route, and Abbey Grounds is a great place to relax when you’ve finished exploring the town. Little ones and dogs will love running around the open field here, where you’ll find an ice cream van on sunny days, and there’s a path alongside the Abbey Lake where you can buy feed for the resident ducks and swans.

Cirencester Park, halfway along this route, is a fantastic place for a gentle walk. A charge to enter has been introduced in recent years – find up to date prices here. Dogs are permitted off lead in the parts that our route follow and they’ll love roaming through the woods adjacent to the main path. Should you wish to extend your walk through the Park beyond our route, you can find a map of the areas where dogs are permitted off lead here. There are dog waste bins dotted along the path and the long, open thoroughfare as you arrive through the Cecily Hill gates is perfect for endless games of fetch.

While Cirencester Park is one of the highlights of this walk, there’s more to enjoy when you leave the park gates. Heading down Black Jack Street you’ll find two of our most highly recommended stopping points for food and drink. The first is The Golden Cross, a very dog-friendly pub with a garden area that serves mouth-wateringly good pub food – they’ve even won awards for their Yorkshire puddings! The second stop is Knead, a small bakery that often pulls us in with its array of colourful pastries on display in the windows – you have to try the raspberry and pistachio bun! It’s perfect for a quick pick-me-up that you can takeaway and enjoy with a coffee in Abbey Grounds Park to end your walk.

If you choose to walk this route on a Monday or Friday you’ll find Cirencester’s charter market as you arrive at Market Place, by St. John Baptist church, with an array of independent stalls. Find out more about visiting the Cotswolds in our dedicated blog post.

Cirencester is incredibly dog-friendly! For more information on visiting dog-friendly spots in Cirencester, head to our Dog-friendly Cirencester blog post.