A walk along the MacMillan Way from Chastleton to Adlestop

By Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett

I’m going to recommend a walk along part of the Macmillan Way from Chastleton to the village of Adlestrop in Gloucestershire.

The Macmillan Way, is a long distance footpath, which was given its name to raise awareness of the work of MacMillan, an organisation that supports people affected by cancer.

This section of the walk is particularly interesting as you pass an Iron Age Hill fort, stroll through leafy woods as well as enjoying lovely views.

As you get towards the village of Adlestrop, at the fork in the road you may be surprised to see the name of the village written on a chocolate and brown coloured railway sign positioned at the back of a bus shelter. There’s also a bench with a metal plaque attached to the back rest. On closer inspection you will be able to see that there is a poem inscribed on the plaque which starts.

Yes I remember Adlestrop
The name because one afternoon,

Of heat the express train drew up there

Unwontedly. It was late June

The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat,
No-one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop – only the name.

You can read the entire poem in the bus shelter. The poem was written in about 1915 by Edward Thomas (one of the Dymock poets) just before he was tragically killed in action during the 1st World War. Adlestrop station is no more. It was demolished in 1966. The sign and the platform bench are all that remain of a station made famous by one chance stop, and the opportunity of a passenger to write a poem.

A walk into the pretty village takes you past honey coloured cottages and an attractive thatched Post Office. Head towards the church and you will learn of another famous writer who visited Adlestrop.

The Reverend Thomas Leigh, rector of the church in the late 18th and early 19th century, was Uncle to Jane Austen. Jane, her mother and sister Cassandra came to stay with him on a number of occasions.

And it’s probable that the grounds of Adlestrop Park and Adlestrop Rectory which you can see through the trees were landscaped by the great Humphry Repton and were mentioned in Jane’s novel Mansfield Park.

This is just a small village with some powerful literary connections. A stroll back to the village post office will enable you to buy some refreshments, teas and coffees and some delicious home made cakes.