In fact, this section was done from Coberley to Gloucester so in reverse according to the guidebook and in fact, as became apparent during the walk, against the intentions of the signposting team! Coberley is a pleasant enough small village nestled close to the main 'A' road leading from Andoversford to the Air Balloon and down to the Motorway. It is remarkably quiet there, which must come as a great relief to the villagers. Leaving the village and out onto the fields the first decision point is soon reached. A distinct path arrives in a large field with apparently three paths leading roughly in the right direction. No real clues so I followed what looked like the best one - wrongly as it turned out! Either way, there is a good climb up to the top and I figured it would give me a better idea when I reached the ridge. Emerging onto a small lane, not marked on the guide I realised I had taken the wrong path so dropped my sac and extracted the OS Map to relocate myself. Okay, no worries, just a bit far to the left, easily corrected. I could see the main Cirencester Road to my left which I knew ran down to the Air Balloon.

Walking across the ridge I turned at the first path to (I thought) pick up the route again - wrong! Following this I came out to another road. The guide seemed to want me to continue straight ahead but it didn't make sense. Map out - okay, actually right and follow the lane where I would *definitely* pickup the path again. Success this time and I followed the way across some fields to a small copse which emerged onto the main road. A short walk and rather dangerous road crossing at the incredibly busy Air Balloon and I was into Crickley Park. The guide mentions following the Cotswold Way, which I did, having walked that I knew the route it took across the site of the old hill fort. The Cotswold Way is not followed for long - it turns sharp right around the hill fort, the Gloucestershire Way drops straight off the edge past a Limestone Rock, known as the Devils Chimney.

At the bottom is a small lane where the Way crosses with a rather vague direction sign. More guesswork which again turned out to be wrong and I found myself sliding down a muddy slope and across a fence onto a small lane. Map out! Ok, I worked out a route that would take me down to meet the Way at Little Shurdington, or so I thought. I arrived in the village and walked through, assuming (wrongly again) that I was now on the correct path. The route in the book lined up reasonably well so I was happy. Out onto Shurdington Lane, I had to turn left, then right at the path. That matched, but I did think at the time that the path seemed further down than I was expecting. The reality was that Little Shurdington has two roads. I should have turned right, then left, not left and then right!

A footpath took me across a field, all seemed well, I even identified the path on the map and matched the Electricity Pylon with one in the field. Eventually my path was blocked by a fence. I had to be on the other side of a wide stream. Several options were considered before stepping in and striding across! No wet feet so that was a result. This path led me straight into Badgeworth where I again picked up the right path (really right this time!) which led me out to cross the M5, then the main Cheltenham to Gloucester Road via a tunnel. There is a slight detour but there is no way that road can be crossed any other way, it is far too busy.

The route skirts around Staverton Airfield - obviously moved a little since the guide was written as Normans Brook is now on the right and not the left as shown in the guide. Emerging from here and crossing the road, the way skirts around the Golf Course, at which point I decided lunch was required so found a small bridge on which to sit - I couldn't see any benches so made the most of the bridge. Watching the golfers and listening to the constant buzz of light aircraft and helicopters I couldn't help thinking that the Golf Course must be one of the noisiest! After lunch I packed away and set off around the course, passing several benches along the way! How annoying. At some point the 'Glevum Way' is joined and followed into Gloucester. Where there are no Gloucestershire Way markers, follow the Glevum Way.

Finally the Golf Course comes to an end at the amusingly named Frog Furlong Lane which is crossed, followed by several more fields before a final lane which leads down to the River Severn. At this point, the rain that had been forecast for early evening started (it was early afternoon). I put my Rab Kinetic on, the rain was light enough for that to deal with. From here, the Severn Way is followed into Gloucester and the end of my day. My total mileage came in at just over 18 which was as expected. This section is declared at 12 miles but the addition of the section from Coberley to Crickley and a couple of detours accounted for the rest.

It is pretty clear that the route is not well signposted which is a shame but then the guide was written in 1996 and revised in 2007 so even the new version is more than 10 years old. A set of OS Maps would be strongly recommended