Welcome to Saxon Gate, Wickwar

Walking is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to travel sustainably, and Wickwar offers excellent opportunities to explore on foot.

The village is surrounded by an extensive network of public footpaths and bridleways, providing easy access to the countryside straight from your doorstep. These routes connect to nearby villages and rural landscapes, making them ideal for short everyday journeys or longer recreational walks.

For those looking for a guided starting point, the Wickwar Nature & Remembrance Trails offer clearly mapped short and long routes suitable for a range of abilities. These trails highlight local history and wildlife, helping people discover more about the area as they walk. Maps can be found at the Town Hall noticeboard or downloaded online. They are also highlighted in the Wickwar Discover Guide.

Just outside the village located between Wickwar and Hawkesbury Upton, Lower Woods Nature Reserve provides a beautiful setting for walking, with waymarked routes through ancient woodland and along the Little Avon River. This is a great option for nature walks, dog walking and family outings.

Walking with others
Local Ramblers groups offer regular organised walks in the area.

Southwold (Yate) Ramblers
If you’re looking to enjoy the outdoors, meet friendly locals, and discover the beautiful countryside around Yate, consider joining this group. They are a friendly and active group offering regular walks in and around Yate, the Cotswolds, Wiltshire, and South Wales.

Finding walking routes
People can access routes and inspiration from:

• Local trail maps and footpath information via Wickwar Parish Council.
• South Gloucestershire Council’s walking pages, including health walks and themed trails.
• Online tools and apps.

👉 Southwold (Yate) Ramblers

👉 Wickwar Parish Council Footpaths and Nature

👉 One You Move More South Gloucestershire Walking page for a range of walking information and routes

A segregated shared footway/cycleway runs alongside the newer developments to the south of the village, providing a safe off-road route as far as Poplar Lane. Beyond this point, there are no dedicated cycle paths, and cyclists must continue to the village centre using the existing road network.

As an alternative to the main road, quieter residential streets and rural lanes can be used, offering a more comfortable route to the High Street and local amenities.

Cycling is well suited to short local journeys within Wickwar. However, limited infrastructure and longer distances can make commuting to nearby towns more challenging, particularly for less confident cyclists.

Wickwar is surrounded by low-traffic country lanes, rolling hills and scenic countryside, making it ideal road and leisure cycling. However, these routes are not always direct or practical for everyday journeys such as commuting or accessing services in other towns.

To support cycling in the area, the Better By Bike website offers information on everything from free loan bikes and adult cycle training to trip planning tools, route maps, and local cycling groups.

South Gloucestershire Council also welcomes community input through its cycle forum and public consultations, working to make cycling safer and more accessible for everyone.

👉 Better By Bike
👉 South Gloucestershire cycling page

Wickwar Pump Track (Playing Fields)

Wickwar’s purpose-built BMX, scooter and cycling facility, opened in October 2025. It is suitable for all ages and abilities and provides a local, safe space for recreational cycling and skills development.

For those cycling to Yate (approximately 5 miles / 8 km), there are secure bike storage options available, including bike hangars and lockers, to help make commuting by bicycle more convenient and reliable.

Bike hangars with 6 spaces are available at Yate Leisure Centre (pay-as-you-go), and with 4 spaces at Yate bus station (subscription only). You can book spaces via the ParkMyBike app, with prices starting at £1/hour or £5/day, and subscriptions from £8/month or £72/year.

For regular commuters, bike lockers are available at Yate train station and Yate Park & Ride. These cost £44.10 per year, with a £39.90 refundable key deposit.

👉 Learn more and apply via the South Gloucestershire bike parking page

The Yate Community Bike Hub is a volunteer-run, non-profit initiative aimed at promoting cycling in Yate, Chipping Sodbury, and surrounding areas. Located at 16 North Walk, Yate Shopping Centre, the hub refurbishes donated bikes and redistributes them to the community at low or no cost. It also offers loan bikes, affordable cycling accessories, maintenance workshops, and community events like family bike rides and security marking sessions. Current opening times are Monday to Wednesday 2 – 5pm, and Saturday 10am – 3pm.

Whether you’re new to cycling or looking to get more involved, the hub provides a welcoming space to learn, connect, and ride.

👉 Yate Community Bike Hub website

If your bike needs a tune-up, repair, or general maintenance, there are several options to support cyclists:

Repair services

The nearest bike repair shops are in Yate. There are also mobile bicycle mechanics that cover the Wickwar area. For options, visit the maintenance & repairs section on the Better By Bike website to find a local repair service, or by searching online.

👉 Maintenance & Repairs – Better By Bike

Dr Bike sessions offer free bike safety checks and minor repairs. Mechanics inspect brakes, gears, tyres, and more, often fixing small issues on the spot. These sessions are held regularly in community events and public spaces typically during warmer months.

👉 Dr Bike sessions

Emergency Bike Repair Kits (EBRKs) are available at selected public locations across South Gloucestershire. These kits include essentials like tyre levers, patch kits, and pump, ideal for quick fixes while you’re out and about. In Wickwar, the kit is hosted at Wickwar Coffee Shop.

👉 Emergency Bike Repair Kits (EBRKs)

Service Y8 (Eurocoaches)
This minibus service runs a circular service both clockwise and anticlockwise between Yate and Wotton-under-Edge:

Yate shopping centre – Wickwar – Cromhall – Charfield – Kingswood – Wotton-under-Edge – Alderley – Hillesley – Hawkesbury Upton – Horton – Chipping Sodbury – Yate rail station – Yate shopping centre

Pick it up from the High Street and recognised bus stops along Sodbury Road in Wickwar.

It runs 8 journeys during the day on weekdays and 6 journeys on Saturdays.

Change at Chipping Sodbury or Yate for onward journeys to Bristol.

Change at Charfield for Stagecoach West service 60 for Thornbury, or change at Wotton-under-Edge for Dursley.

👉 Visit our Routes and Timetables page to find your service

This is an on-demand minibus service operating in the West of England outside Bristol and Bath city centres. It runs without a timetable or route and is booked ‘on-demand’ through the WESTlink app or by phone. It is well used in and around Wickwar.

Wickwar is in the Yate rural WESTlink zone. This zone is bordered by the M5 and M4 motorways, and the Gloucestershire border. It includes Charfield and Tortworth to the north, Acton Turville to the east and Frampton Cotterell to the west. The area has been expanded slightly around Lyde Green to take in the Bristol & Bath Science Park and Park & Ride site.

Via the Wotton shared zone, you can also get to Katherine Lady Berkeley school, and Wotton-under-Edge for local amenities such as the local doctor’s surgery and shops.

Via Yate rural and other shared zones, you can also travel to Yate and Chipping Sodbury, the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol Parkway station, MOD & Filton Abbey Wood, Southmead Hospital, and Wotton-under-Edge.

WESTlink operates Monday to Saturday, 07:00 to 19:00. It is closed on Sundays & Public Holidays.

Demand for WESTlink is high, especially during the morning and evening peak times. To help secure a ride, it is recommended that you book your outward and return journeys from 7am on the day before you wish to travel.

Please note that proposed journeys will not be offered if they can be made by a fixed route bus or train service.

Visit the website below or call 0117 457 8561 for a specific journey request.

👉 To find out more about the service including fares and pricing

👉 Yate shared WESTlink zone

👉 Wotton shared WESTlink zone

There are two approved bus service change dates in the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority. These typically happen in April and September. There may be timetable changes to improve punctuality and reliability, or frequency changes to reflect demand. Occasionally routes change. Details of bus service changes and disruptions can be found on the travel updates page, on the WEST website, the one-stop website for travel information across the West of England.

👉 Travel Updates
👉 WEST Homepage

The nearest train station to Wickwar is Yate Railway Station, located approximately 5 miles southwest (8 km) at 6 Station Road BS37 4PS.

Trains run regularly, north to Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa from platform 1, and south towards Bristol Temple Meads from platform 2.

You can reach Yate Station in several ways:

• Cycling: Takes approximately 25 minutes. Bike parking is available at the station.
• Bus: The Y8 is a direct minibus service from Wickwar via Chipping Sodbury. Journey time approximately 18 minutes.
• Driving: Limited pay parking is available at the station.
• Park & Ride: You can park free of charge at the Yate Park & Ride site and walk about 8 minutes to the rail station.

👉 Yate train station GWR

Cam and Dursley railway station is 13 miles (20km) north of Wickwar, a 25-minute drive. It is on the main line between Bristol and Gloucester so fairly well connected for local and longer distance travel. Trains typically run in each direction every hour.

👉 Cam & Dursley train station GWR

Charfield railway station is currently under construction near the centre of Charfield village, just off Station Road. Located approximately 4 miles (6.5km) north of Wickwar, the station is expected to open in spring 2027.

Once operational, the station will provide a convenient and reliable rail connection:

• South to Bristol – for employment, education, shopping and leisure
• North to Gloucester – with access to further destinations
• Easy connections to the wider UK rail network via key interchange stations

This will offer a quick and sustainable alternative to travelling by car, helping improve access to nearby towns and cities.

There will be a car park and cycle parking facilities at the new train station.

👉 Charfield Train Station – Commonplace

Yate Park & Ride is situated on the western edge of Yate on the A432 Badminton Road. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There is ample parking accommodating up to 198 cars. This includes 38 EV charging bays and 13 disabled parking spaces. Car parking is free to users taking onward journeys by bus or train.

There is a 40-space covered two-tier cycle storage facility, and 6 cycle lockers.

Regular buses call in, or just outside, the Park & Ride site.

Please note that there are no toilet facilities available at the Yate Park & Ride site.

👉 For further information visit our dedicated Yate P&R page

• By bike, a 20-minute journey along the Wickwar Road. Please note that this is a main road and may be more suitable for experienced cyclists.
• Take a 10 minute journey on the Y8 bus to the Wickwar Road bus stop just before Chipping Sodbury High Street.
• Directly by WESTlink.

• Travelling from Wickwar to Southmead Hospital by public transport requires several connections and relies on Wickwar bus times. Journey time is approximately 1.5 – 2 hrs.
• Directly by WESTlink.
• If you are eligible for community transport, Green Community Travel are piloting a Southmead hospital shuttle bus. It is now running one day per week. The fare journey will be £15 door to door return (£2 more if no bus pass), in a fully accessible minibus. It is £5 to become a member of this scheme. For more information, please visit their Facebook page, or email [email protected], or call 01454 228706.
• Driving or taxi approximately 14 (22km) miles via Yate or 17.5 miles (28km) via Falfield and the M5. Journey time approximately 30 – 35 minutes.

Y8 minibus service running a circular service both clockwise and anticlockwise between Yate and Wotton-under-Edge:

Yate shopping centre – Wickwar – Cromhall – Charfield – Kingswood – Wotton-under-Edge – Alderley – Hillesley – Hawkesbury Upton – Horton – Chipping Sodbury – Yate rail station – Yate shopping centre

It runs 8 journeys during the day on weekdays and 6 journeys on Saturdays.

You can get there by:

• Cycling: a 20-minute cycle ride along the Wickwar Road. Please note that this is a main road and may be more suitable for experienced cyclists.
• Bus: a 12-minute journey on minibus service Y8, alighting at Morrisons.

?Yate train station is located approximately 5 miles (8 km) southwest of your development at 6 Station Road BS37 4PS. You can get there by:

• Cycling: Takes approximately 25 minutes. Bike parking is available at the station. This option may be suitable for more experienced cyclists.
• Bus: The Y8 is a direct minibus service from Wickwar via Chipping Sodbury. Journey time approximately 16 minutes.
• Driving: Limited pay parking is available at the station.
• Park & Ride: You can park free of charge at the nearby site and walk about 8 minutes to the station.

Many online maps and journey planners can help you find the best routes and travel options. Use digital tools like the WEST Journey Planner, traveline south west, or the Better by Bike route planner to plan your journey by bus, train, walking or cycling.
You also have an opportunity to request personalised travel planning (PTP) in the annual travel survey and by attending our travel events.

To find out about fares, ticketing and travel cards for public transport in Wickwar, and throughout the West of England region, the WEST website now provides a fares calculator when looking at the routes and timetable section and selecting your route or using our Journey Planner, or you can visit the dedicated fares page.

If you’re of state pension age or have a qualifying disability, you may be eligible for a Diamond Travelcard.

👉 South Gloucestershire Council bus passes

Green Community Travel is a charitable non-profit organisation that provides safe, affordable, and accessible travel for individuals or groups who are unable to use public transport and who would otherwise have no other way of getting around. For further information, including how to become a member and charges, visit greencommunitytravel.co.uk or call 01454 228706.

Yate Shopmobility Service is a charity-run service designed to help those with limited mobility access the shops and facilities. Based in Yate Shopping Centre – 44 West Walk beside the library, it offers mobility scooter and wheelchair hire (manual and powered). Free daily hire for those who possess any English bus pass (a small membership fee is required), with low-cost hire for others. For more information on the scheme and opening times, visit Yate Shopmobility or phone 07749 954275.

There is currently no car club based in Wickwar. The nearest car club provision is at Lyde Green Park & Ride, operated by Enterprise.

Additional car club options can be found by looking at car club schemes on the WEST Car Club web pageor explore regional platforms to see if services are available nearby.

There are currently no public electric vehicle (EV) charging points within Wickwar. However, nearby options are available at Waitrose Chipping Sodbury, Yate Shopping Centre and the Yate Park & Ride.

Up-to-date information on the nearest charging points can be found on the South Gloucestershire Council EV charging webpage, which includes details on charger availability, types, and access arrangements.

👉 South Gloucestershire Council EV charging page

Contact South Gloucestershire Council via their website or calling their customer service line by phoning 01454 868000.

For bus service feedback, lost property or any other queries related to bus services, please contact the bus operator.

South Gloucestershire Council and the West of England Combined Authority manage different parts of the region’s bus information and infrastructure. Please visit the Service feedback page to find out who to send your query to or complete the online form.

Contact South Gloucestershire Council via their website or calling their customer service line by phoning 01454 868000.

Cycling
Practical support is available to help you travel more sustainably!
During the warmer months, you can take advantage of free services like Dr Bike, cycle training, and bike maintenance workshops – all designed to help you feel more confident and keep your bike in great shape.
Visit South Gloucestershire’s Eventbrite page where you can browse and book activities.

For more offers, including Borrow a Bike scheme coordinated by the Roadshow team at Bristol City Council, visit the WEST website and access the travel offers form to apply.

Or find out about events offered by the Yate Community Bike Hub such as the Dr Bike sessions, cycle maintenance courses, Rusty Riders, community cycle rides and the Wheels to Work scheme.

If you’d like more information about the Travel Plan or sustainable and active travel options in your area, please email [email protected] and a member of the team will be happy to assist you.