Heritage Open Day Walk - The Forgotten Past of Cleeve Common

Where Cheltenham's Races Really Began

Cleeve Common is the highest ground in Gloucestershire, and most people who walk it know it for the golf course, the grazing sheep and cattle, and the view over to the Malverns. What's easy to miss is that this open grassland was a working landscape for centuries, and this walk goes looking for what's left of it.

Local historian David Aldred, author of a full history of Cleeve Hill's common and its people, leads the route past the scars of old stone quarries, the sheep dipping pens once used by commoners grazing their flocks on the hill, and the ground where horses trained and raced before Cheltenham's meeting moved down to Prestbury Park in 1831. The walk covers a mix of gentle and moderate ground over three hours, with toilets and refreshments available at the golf club afterward.

Look past the fairways and there's a working common hiding in plain sight.

Free entry, though donations toward the Trust's upkeep of the common are welcome.

Friday 18 September 2026 · Quarry Car Park, Cleeve Hill Golf Course, Bishops Cleeve, Gloucestershire GL52 3PW · Starts 10:00am