Every walk here starts with a view.

Free, any time · Highworth Town Trail app free on the App Store and Google Play · Map

Begin in the Market Place, where a weekly market has been held since the town's charter of 1206. The High Street is lined with handsome Queen Anne and Georgian frontages from Highworth's 18th-century heyday, and the whole town centre is a conservation area with 84 listed buildings. It's flat, short and easily done in under an hour — perfect with a coffee from one of the town's cafés. The free Highworth Town Trail app, from Highworth Town Council with Visit Highworth, will guide you as you go. Want the back story first? Start with our history of Highworth.

stmichaelshighworth.co.uk · Map

Tucked just behind the Market Square, St Michael's is Grade I listed and dates back to the 13th century, with much of the exterior from the 14th and 15th centuries. Inside you'll find a 15th-century font, an Elizabethan pulpit and a modern Millennium window. It makes a natural halfway point on any town stroll.

£5 per person, under-16s free with an adult — book ahead · 01793 764440 · visithighworth.co.uk · Shop/museum open Tue–Fri 10am–3pm, Sat 9am–2pm, closed Sun–Mon

If you'd rather have the stories told to you — including the mystery of the secret tunnels under the Market Place — Visit Highworth runs guided walking tours of the town. They last about an hour on a flat route and can be arranged for days and times that suit you. The Visit Highworth shop and museum sit in an old bank strongroom in the town centre. Ring ahead to book a tour.

Open access, free · Pentylands Lane, Highworth SN6 · Entrances off Pentylands Lane on the north-west side of town · Map

Pentylands lies just west of Highworth, off Pentylands Lane, with the old railway line along its southern edge and Bydemill Brook beyond the fields to the west. Expect open grassland framed by broadleaved tree belts — gentle, pushchair-friendly walking with plenty of room for dogs and children to roam. The land is owned by the borough council and cared for with the Friends of Pentylands Country Park, and thousands of new trees have been planted here under the Trees for Climate community forest programme.

About 4.5 miles (7.2 km), a couple of gentle climbs · Start: north side of Highworth (route postcode SN6 7DB) · Route guide · Map

A 4.5-mile there-and-back classic. From the north side of town, footpaths lead north-west past Crouch Hill, then pick up the Burford Stone Lane track near Pentylands Farm and follow it south-west into Hannington. The village is a pretty huddle of stone, and you'll pass Hannington Hall, a Grade II listed house built in 1653 set in pasture and woodland. Return the same way — uphill at the end, so save some legs.

About 8.7 miles (14 km), mostly level · Start: Market Square, Highworth · Crosses the A361 — take care · Route guide · Map

A longer, mostly level loop from the Market Square. It crosses the leisure centre grounds onto the farmland of Red Down, passes deer-farm pens before Stanton Fitzwarren (stone cottages and the Norman-origin church of St Leonard), then heads east across open fields to Sevenhampton — where Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, lived and is buried. The return leg passes Queenlaines Farm and Wrag Barn golf course. On a clear day you can see the Cotswold edge one way and the North Wessex Downs the other.

Free route maps and GPX files · slowways.org — Highworth

Highworth is a hub on the Slow Ways national walking network, with mapped routes to five neighbouring places: Lechlade-on-Thames (7 miles), Faringdon (7 miles), Ashbury (7 miles), Cricklade (8 miles) and Swindon (8 miles, with two route options). They're designed for getting somewhere on foot rather than looping back, so pair one with the bus home. Routes are checked by volunteer walkers — read the reviews before you set out.

About 7 miles one way, flat once off the hill · Can flood in winter near the river · Route on Slow Ways · Map

The Slow Ways route from Highworth to Lechlade-on-Thames is about 7 miles of field paths off the hill and across the Vale. Near Lechlade, paths cross riverside fields well away from traffic — peaceful walking, though the grass paths can be muddy and the meadows can flood in winter, sometimes badly enough to be impassable. Reward yourself in Lechlade, which has pubs, cafés and the handsome spire of St Lawrence's church.

On the Thames Path just upstream of Lechlade · About a mile from Halfpenny Bridge · Map

Tiny St John the Baptist at Inglesham is one of the treasures of the upper Thames — a largely 13th-century church much admired by William Morris, with a carved Saxon-era Madonna and Child inside. Nearby, the Inglesham Round House marks where the old Thames & Severn Canal once met the river, and where the Thames becomes navigable for powered boats. Both sit right by the Thames Path between Highworth's slopes and Lechlade.

5.75 miles (9.2 km), flat all the way · Start: Memorial Hall car park, Lechlade, off the A361 — the Highworth road · Dogs on leads at the locks · Route guide · Map

A gentle loop from Lechlade taking in the 18th-century Ha'penny (Halfpenny) toll bridge, riverside meadows where the Coln and Leach join the Thames, Buscot Weir and Lock with its Father Thames statue, and the 14th-century St John's Bridge. It's flat all the way with plenty of stiles and field gates. Dogs are welcome but must be on leads at the locks.

Walks every Sunday and Wednesday, 10am start unless stated · Grades from Very Easy to Very Hard · highworthswindonwalking.com

If you'd rather not walk alone, the local club walks every Sunday and Wednesday throughout the year, almost always setting off at 10am, with everything from very easy strolls to all-day hikes. Newcomers can join up to three walks before becoming members — just contact the walk leader in advance so they can welcome you. The club even lends maps and compasses to members. Get in touch through the enquiry form on their website.