T

ake any road out of Tetbury and you’ll be cruising along quiet country lanes within five minutes. But if it’s pretty pubs and prahper ale you’re after, head past the church and freewheel down over Bath Bridge.

Coasting along with the summer smell of fresh-cut grass wafting across, it’s not long before you’re arriving at the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it village of Shipton Moyne, where traffic amounts to the occasional tractor.

It’s also home to the strangely named Cat and Custard Pot pub, where the ale of choice is Wadworth 6X – brewed down in Wiltshire, in Devizes. On sunny days, you can sit on the wall outside and watch people on horses clip clop past.

Suitably refreshed, pedal onward through Easton Grey (the village that time forgot) and on to Sherston, for a plate of Malmesbury Gold sausages and spring onion mash at the 16th-century Rattlebone Inn (01666 840871).

Post-lunch, you take a peaceful back-road over to Westonbirt Arboretum – which is awash with pink, white and purple blossoms each spring – then on to the nearby Hare and Hounds Hotel, which serves the best lemon drizzle cake in the world (fact!). It’s now just an easy three miles back to Tetbury…

Distance
13 miles approx.

Stop and See
Westonbirt Arboretum (01666 880297) is awash with scenic walks that thread their way through one of the biggest collections of trees in the world.

Eat, drink, sleep
Delicious local food, lip-smacking beers and well-kept, comfy rooms await at The Priory Inn (01666 502251).

Rent a bicycle
Go-By-Cycle (07970 419208).

This route and over 50 others feature in a book entitled Matt Carroll’s Escape Routes , a hand-picked selection of stunning cycle rides around England. Published by Punk, priced £16.95.