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A guest blog from Lesley Sainty

My husband and I love getting outdoors and walking and after having Ed, we would strap him into the carrier and continue to enjoy long routes. Now that he’s older, this is impossible as he’s too heavy to carry but too small to conquer a 4-5 miler.

What’s the alternative? At the age of nearly 3-and-a-half, Ed is now pretty good at walking around 1-2 miles (some piggy-back carrying is often required near the end!) So, I’ve put together a list of 10 walks – some are tried and tested, some have yet to be walked.

Crickley Hill, Birdlip (pictured). Great views and woodlands where you can just go in and play or do a circular walk. See earlier blog post re. the Gruffalo’s house! Find out more

Belas Knap, Winchcombe. If you drive up the hill following the signs you can park in a lane. From there the walk is up a hill but not too far. The 5000 year old Belas Knap is a Neolithic Long Barrow which children can explore. Find out more

Uley Bury, Uley We are going on this tomorrow but it’s a 2 mile walk with an Iron Age hill fort and great views. Find out more

Sharpness Canal, Sharpness. Pram-friendly canal walk. With a café along with route. Find out more

Bourton-on-the-Water. Great to walk through the village, but if busy, there are a chain of lakes that lie just outside of the village.Find out more

Chosen Hill Nature Reserve. Woodlands with lovely bluebells. Find out more

Cleeve Hill. Park in a number of places and climb the big hills. Amazing views. Find out more

Leckhampton Hill/Devil’s Chimney. Lot’s of walks and places to park with great views. Find out more

Alney Island Nature Reserve. Near to Gloucester on the banks of the River Severn. Lots of wildlife. Find out more

Cotswold Water Park. Lots of places to explore. It even has it’s own beach. Or you can walk around the lakes. Café stops. Find out more

Huge thanks to Lesley for this article.

For gorgeous local photography you can follow Lesley on Instagram @lesleysainty