Cheryl and her two girls set off on a 7 mile family bike ride from Charlton Kings to Churchdown and have written about their adventure below.

This ride is 7 miles - mostly flat, setting off from GL53 9AX, (but you can join this route anywhere along the way!).

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We set off from our home in Charlton Kings at 12.30pm. At 12.32pm Polly complained her legs were tired and at 12.33pm the girls had an argument about who would be in front. It was going to be a long long day!

However, as we left Charlton Kings and headed towards Leckhampton, the mood lifted, the sun shone and I hoped I had enough snacks and wouldn’t get us lost! We entered the long alleyway that starts at the junction of Moorend Road and The Avenue towards Leckhampton.

Turning right at the end of the alleyway onto Old Bath Road then next left onto Naunton Park Road, then left again onto Naunton Lane before turning right onto one of our favourite roads in Cheltenham - Naunton Crescent - whilst admiring the lovely colourful houses and feeling like we could be in Notting Hill!

We continued through Leckhampton, crossing the Bath Road and heading left onto St Philips Street, right onto Andover Street and left onto Andover Road (you can take any of the lovely streets around this neighborhood - but keep an eye out for the one ways!).

The road leads to the Landsdown Road and at the Texaco roundabout, you can join the bike lane (Route 41), then use the crossing a bit further along to cross and continue on the bike path (heading the opposite way to the traffic on Landsdown Road). You can continue on this bike path all the way past TGI Fridays (there is no need to turn off despite some cycle signs telling you to).

Shortly after TGI’s there is a pedestrian crossing and a cycle sign to Gloucester pointing to the other side of the road. Once across, you are led onto a side street (Campden Road, leading to Miserden Road) which we found nice and quiet after the Landsdown Road. It goes on for a while but felt safe and there are pavements if you prefer.

At the end of that lovely, quiet stretch, you will need to cross Whittingdon Road and head left on the cycle path that runs beside the Gloucester Road, then under the subway (ignore the sign that says the subway is closed and ignore the diversion signs - that’s only for crossing the Gloucester Road, which you don’t need to do). Come up from the Subway and continue on the same path, passing KFC and Travelodge.

Continue straight and follow the bike path sign which leads onto a small side street, then turn right at the end onto Hatherley Road and continue on the bike path (following the cycle route sign to The Reddings/Route 41). Continue on the bike path past B&Q and keep going, heading left onto Grovefield Way.

Shortly after the Mini showroom, there is a traffic light crossing, cross over and head onto North Road West. This becomes a lovely country lane, but please note there is no pavement or cycle track on this stretch.

At the end of the road, turn right onto Badgeworth Road and head under the bridge. This road is busier and doesn’t have a pavement - but its a very short stretch. Turn left onto Elm Garden Drive. This is a lovely long, pretty stretch which does eventually turn car free (although we didn’t see any cars anyway). We stopped for some snacks along here and even saw a bunny rabbit pass in front of us!

The path comes to and end and you head round to the right, onto the road (please note there is no pavement). Turn left at the end onto Bamfurlong Lane (here we used the pavement as we went over the bridge).

Take the next left - which takes you into the airport. Huge excitement here from the girls! We had actually cycled to an airport, quite amazing! We’d been hearing the planes overhead for quite a while - and now we were finally here. We spent quite a while here enjoying some snacks and watching the planes/helicopters landing and taking off. Next time I might even take a picnic!

When I was finally able to drag my plane-spotting daughter away from the excitement of the airport, we headed to the left and continued on Route 41 on the cycle path, which then lead us to a road (where there was a pavement) and then eventually onto a bike path. The path continues, follow it round to the left (there is a hidden Route 41 sign) and follow the path under the bridge (the A40 is above).

The last stretch to Churchdown is a lovely cycle lane through beautiful countryside. We took a well-earned rest at the park when we arrived. The skate/bike park looked great too, although we didn’t try them this time. Maybe next time!