Best Places to Visit Near Cheltenham
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit near Cheltenham are Devil's Chimney, Belas Knap Long Barrow, Breakheart Quarry, Cheese Wharf, Buscot Weir, Symonds Yat Rock, Puzzlewood and King Arthur's Cave.
Cheltenham is a graceful spa town on the western edge of the Cotswolds, with the hills rising close on one side and the Severn vale spreading out below. Some of its treasures are on the doorstep: the leaning limestone pinnacle of the Devil's Chimney stands just above town on Leckhampton Hill, while a short way northeast above Winchcombe the ancient burial mound of Belas Knap crowns a Cotswold ridge.
Venture further and the variety grows. Southwest toward Dursley, the wooded hollow of Breakheart Quarry has softened into a nature spot, and away to the southeast the young Thames offers gentle swims at Cheese Wharf and Buscot Weir.
Head west into the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley, and you can gaze down on a great river loop from Symonds Yat Rock, wander the mossy ravines of Puzzlewood, and step into the ice-age chambers of King Arthur's Cave. Pinnacle, barrow, quarry, river, viewpoint, wood and cave all lie within easy reach.
Here are eight places to visit near Cheltenham.
Devil's Chimney
Photo: Michael Dibb via Geograph.org.uk
Visit the Devil's Chimney Just above Cheltenham on Leckhampton Hill, this thin pinnacle of limestone juts out from the quarried face on the Cotswold edge. It was left behind when the hillside was cut away for building stone, and now rises alone from the slope below the crest, a curious spike of rock standing proud of the hill.
A walk up the hill brings you right to it, with wide views opening over Cheltenham and the vale as you climb. The surrounding slopes are open access land threaded with paths, so it is easy to make a longer ramble of a visit, and being so close to town it suits a spare afternoon.
Belas Knap Long Barrow
Photo: Gisela Blee via Geograph.org.uk
Walk up to Belas Knap A little way northeast of Cheltenham, high on a Cotswold ridge above Winchcombe, this Neolithic burial mound humps whale-backed across the hilltop, edged with a neat drystone wall rebuilt to show its original shape. At one end a false doorway of two tall stones and a lintel sits in a curved forecourt, a blind entrance leading nowhere; the real chambers open instead from the sides and far end, low stone rooms where the dead were laid more than five thousand years ago.
Reaching it is a free, uphill walk of about half a mile from the lane, across fields onto open common, rewarded by wide views over the Cotswold country.
Breakheart Quarry
Photo: Charles Drown via Geograph.org.uk
Explore Breakheart Quarry A day-trip southwest toward Dursley reaches this disused Cotswold quarry, now grown over into a woodland nature spot on the hills above the town. Once dug for the pale local limestone, it is wrapped in trees today, its old rock faces showing among the woods and laced with paths for walkers, along with a rougher course for mountain bikers.
A short but steep climb up from Dursley brings you into the quarry, where you can study the layered stone, hunt for fossils and follow trails through the trees. Birds and shy animals like badgers and deer share the ground, and the higher edges look out over the Severn vale below.
Cheese Wharf
Photo: Steve Daniels via Geograph.org.uk
Swim at Cheese Wharf Over to the southeast, a day out on the young Thames near Lechlade, Cheese Wharf makes a low-key spot for a river swim. A grassy glade opens onto a deep pool on a bend of the water, with an old concrete wharf along the bank and a rope swing hanging over the river.
The name harks back to the days when cheese was loaded onto barges here to travel downstream to London. It is a quiet, unfussy stretch of the upper Thames, on the road toward Buscot, and pairs neatly with the weir just along the river for a lazy day by the water.
Buscot Weir
Photo: Des Blenkinsopp via Geograph.org.uk
Cool off at Buscot Weir Just along the river, at the little National Trust village of Buscot in Oxfordshire, this weir spills the Thames into a broad, slow pool below. Grassy banks and a meadow run alongside, and it has long been a well-loved place for a river swim on a warm day.
The setting is gentle and pastoral, with the old stone village close by. People come to swim, picnic and paddle in the calm water above and below the weir, with a car park and tea room a short walk away.
It is a classic corner of the upper Thames, the sort of place made for a slow afternoon.
Symonds Yat Rock
Photo: David Martin via Geograph.org.uk
Take in the view at Symonds Yat Rock West of Cheltenham, a day-trip into the Forest of Dean, this rocky viewpoint stands high above a great loop of the River Wye on the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire border. From the clifftop, reached on a short walk from the car park over a footbridge, you look down on the river winding far below.
The spot is best known for its peregrine falcons, which have nested on the cliffs across the valley since the 1980s and are watched through wardens' telescopes in the breeding season, alongside buzzards and other birds of prey. A cafe stands by the car park, and an Iron Age fort's banks lie on the hill.
Puzzlewood
Photo: Pauline E via Geograph.org.uk
Wander through Puzzlewood Close to Symonds Yat near Coleford, this ancient woodland attraction is built around scowles, a maze of deep, moss-covered rocky gullies and outcrops left where iron ore was dug from the limestone in Iron Age and Roman times. Over a mile of paths, laid out in the early nineteenth century, wind among twisted trees and shaded ravines and cross little wooden bridges, giving the wood an otherworldly air that has drawn film and television crews for productions from Star Wars to Doctor Who.
There is a cafe, play areas and animals on site, and it welcomes visitors right through the season.
King Arthur's Cave
Photo: Philip Halling via Geograph.org.uk
Step inside King Arthur's Cave Also on the day out west into the Wye Valley, this limestone cave hides in the woods of the Great Doward near Symonds Yat, high above the river. A broad platform fronts a double entrance that leads into two chambers cut in the rock.
It is an important ice-age site, dug from Victorian times onward, where the bones of cave lions, hyaenas, bears and reindeer have turned up alongside early stone tools. The name comes from legend rather than any record of the king himself, and the cave is free to walk into through the woods, an atmospheric finish to a Forest of Dean and Wye Valley wander.
FAQs
What can I see close to Cheltenham without a long drive?
Close to Cheltenham, the Devil's Chimney on Leckhampton Hill sits just four kilometres out, and Belas Knap long barrow above Winchcombe is only around eight, both reached on short hillside walks.
Where can I go wild swimming near Cheltenham?
The upper Thames southeast of Cheltenham has two gentle spots close together, Cheese Wharf near Lechlade and Buscot Weir, both easy places for a warm-day river swim.
Is Puzzlewood good for families?
Yes. Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean, west of Cheltenham, has a cafe, play areas and animals alongside its mile of paths through mossy ravines, making it an easy family day out.
Conclusion
From doorstep landmarks to far-flung day-trips, the country around Cheltenham serves up an unusually broad choice. On the hills right above town you have the Devil's Chimney and, a little northeast, the ancient barrow of Belas Knap.
Range wider and the mix only deepens: the wooded hollow of Breakheart Quarry near Dursley, gentle Thames swims at Cheese Wharf and Buscot Weir to the southeast, and, out west in the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley, the soaring view from Symonds Yat Rock, the twisting paths of Puzzlewood and the ice-age chambers of King Arthur's Cave. Pinnacle and barrow, quarry and river, viewpoint, wood and cave give you plenty to string together over a weekend.
Whether you fancy a short stroll or a proper expedition, these are the places to visit near Cheltenham.
