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Cotswolds Info
A tall stone tower on a grassy hilltop silhouetted against a sky of billowing clouds

Helen Steed, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

North Nibley

The village under the Tyndale Monument, between Wotton-under-Edge and Dursley on the Cotswold Way: a tower you can climb for free, a church on a hill with a tower of 1632, a Grade II inn and the field where the last private battle in England was fought in 1470.

Nearest station
Cam and Dursley, about 4 miles; the Stagecoach 60 from Dursley stops at the Black Horse
Parking
On the street in the village (GL11 6DT); walkers report a small free car park on Old London Road above Wotton, 2km along the ridge, which fills on busy days
Best time
A clear day, for the view into Wales from the top of the monument
When it's busy
Fine weekends bring dog walkers and Cotswold Way walkers to the knoll; the village itself is never busy
Dogs
On a lead on the knoll when stock are grazing; the monument's stair is no place for a dog

About North Nibley

North Nibley is a village on Shankley Hill between Wotton-under-Edge and Dursley, and the tower on the edge above it is the landmark for this whole stretch of the Cotswolds. The Cotswold Way comes through the village street, and most people who stop here are walking it. There is a listed pub that may have closed, a church with a tower of 1632, and a quiet green where a battle was fought.

The Tyndale Monument

The Tyndale Monument stands on Nibley Knoll, the open grass of the escarpment above the village. S S Teulon built it in 1866 for the second Earl of Ducie in memory of William Tyndale, who first had the New Testament printed in English in 1526 and was burned at Vilvoorde in 1536. The tablet over the door says he was born near this spot. It is about 36m high and listed Grade II*. You can climb it, free: a narrow spiral stair of 121 steps, dark in its lower part, comes out on a platform with the Severn, the river bridges and the Welsh hills to the west and the Edge running away north and south. The Tyndale Monument Charity keeps it in repair. The door is generally open. If it is locked, the notice board tells you which cottage in the village has the key.

The year 2026 was the 500th anniversary of Tyndale's New Testament. On 31 January 2026 the Tyndale Society announced the Tyndale Trail ready to walk, about 28 miles of existing paths from his sculpture in Millennium Square, Bristol, to the monument, and on 11 July 2026 a commemorative bench was installed in the chapel garden in the village. Our piece on famous Cotswold people has more on Tyndale.

A tall stone tower on a wooded knoll above village gardens
The Tyndale Monument above North Nibley Photo: David Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

St Martin's church and Nibley Green

St Martin's, on the hill at the edge of the village, is listed Grade II*: a fifteenth-century core, a tower of 1632, alterations of 1836, and a chancel of 1859 and restoration of 1873 by J L Pearson. The churchyard is thought to hold a mass grave of the men who died at Nibley Green on 20 March 1470, when Thomas Talbot, Viscount Lisle, and William, Lord Berkeley, settled a family quarrel over the Berkeley inheritance with more than a thousand men between them. Lisle was killed, by an arrow the accounts say, and Berkeley's men went on to sack Wotton. It is usually called the last battle fought in England between private armies. The green itself, cleared from Michaelwood around 1300, lies below the village towards the Severn. The exact site is not known, and the village website puts the main fighting around Corner Farm.

A stone church with a pinnacled tower in a grassy churchyard
St Martin's Church, North Nibley

A morning here

Park in the village and climb Wood Lane, the short, steep track up the knoll. Climb the tower if the door is open, then walk south along the edge through Westridge Wood past the earthworks of Brackenbury Ditches, an Iron Age fort hidden in the trees, as far as the Jubilee Clump on Wotton Hill and back, about 2 miles each way on level bridleway. Carry a picnic: the village pub, the Black Horse, may have closed, so the nearest food you can count on is in Wotton-under-Edge.

A sunken track climbing through woodland
Wood Lane, the track up the knoll Photo: Bill Boaden, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Walks from North Nibley

The Cotswold Way's eleventh section, Dursley to Wotton-under-Edge, 7.3 miles (11.8km), passes through the village and climbs the knoll to the monument. The National Trail notes a permanent diversion at North Nibley, so follow its signs where they differ from older maps. Our two circular walks come at the monument from Wotton: Wotton Hill and the Tyndale Monument is an easy 3.5-mile (5.8km) ridge loop from Old London Road, and Wotton, the Tyndale Monument and Coombe Hill is an 8.5-mile (13.5km) loop with three climbs that drops through the village and comes back by Waterley Bottom; carry food, as neither pub on the way can be counted on.

Food and drink

The Black Horse Inn on Barrs Lane, the village pub, is an early eighteenth-century building with early nineteenth-century additions, listed Grade II, and the bus stop outside is named after it. CAMRA reported it closed in November 2023 and its website no longer works, so it may be closed: check it is open before you rely on it. The New Inn at Waterley Bottom, a mile and a half north-east down a lane, says on its own website that it has gone into hibernation and is closed for now. Wotton-under-Edge, 2 miles south, has the Royal Oak and the shops. The village website lists no shop in North Nibley.

A village spread across a valley seen from high above
North Nibley from the top of the Tyndale Monument

When to come

A clear day is everything here. In haze the climb is just a climb. The paths up from the village are steep and muddy after rain, so spring and autumn after a dry spell are best, and winter gives the sharpest views. The village holds an annual music festival and an open gardens weekend. The village website has the dates. Walkers on AllTrails report loose stones and mud on the ridge paths after rain, and plenty of dogs off the lead in Westridge Wood on fine weekends.

Last verified 1 November 2026 by our editors

Grassy paths along a hilltop edge in warm light with a town in the vale

Part of

The Cotswold Edge

The western escarpment, where the wolds end in a wooded edge above the Severn vale: Winchcombe and Sudeley, Belas Knap, Cleeve Hill and the Cotswold Way along the top.

  • Village houses below a steep wooded hill
  • A white-painted inn beside a lane in sunshine
  • A stone house with a walled garden on a lane under a wooded hill
  • A village and fields seen from a hilltop under a blue sky
  • A grassy ridge path with a distant stone tower on the skyline

Things to do in North Nibley

See all
A low glass-fronted building with a slate roof beside a white-rendered house marked Dursley Town Council, under blue sky

Museums and galleries · Dursley

Dursley Heritage Centre

A volunteer-run museum opposite Dursley's Market House, telling the town's story from cloth to Lister engines, with an early Pedersen bicycle, open four mornings a week.

  • Shops and painted houses along Market Street, Wotton-under-Edge, with cars parked down one side

    The Electric Picture House, Wotton-under-Edge

    Historic houses and heritage · Wotton-under-Edge

    A 100-seat cinema on Market Street, Wotton-under-Edge, opened in 1913 in the old Crown Inn and showing new films and live theatre, ballet and opera screenings.

    Rainy days · Family-friendly

    Verified Nov 2026

  • Rooftops of a town under the escarpment seen from a hillside

    Wotton Heritage Centre

    Museums and galleries · Wotton-under-Edge

    The Wotton-under-Edge Historical Society's museum, archive and information point in the old fire station on The Chipping, open four days a week.

    Rainy days · Walker-friendly

    Verified Oct 2026

  • A tall Tudor hunting lodge above a formal garden

    Newark Park

    Historic houses and heritage · Wotton-under-Edge

    A Tudor hunting lodge of about 1550 on the edge of a valley above Ozleworth, near Wotton-under-Edge, restored by the American architect Bob Parsons and now the National Trust's, with a three-level garden, 700 acres and wide views.

    Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · Walker-friendly

    Verified Oct 2026

Where to stay in North Nibley

See all
  • A long stone farmhouse with roses on its walls, across a lawn

    Forthay Bed and Breakfast

    B&B · North Nibley

    A late seventeenth-century farmhouse B&B with four rooms for two in the hamlet of Forthay, below the Tyndale Monument at North Nibley, on the Cotswold Way.

    Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly

    Verified Nov 2026

  • A wooden glamping pod with a patio, deckchairs and a picnic table on a lawn

    Hunts Court Huts

    Glamping · North Nibley

    Two glamping pods and a shepherd's hut for two, each with its own wood-fired hot tub, on a working farm at Forthay, North Nibley, by the Cotswold Way.

    Hot tubs · Walker-friendly

    Verified Oct 2026

Where to eat and drink in North Nibley

See all
  • A white-painted pub with hanging baskets beside a lane

    The Old Spot Inn, Dursley

    Pubs · Dursley

    A traditional pub at the foot of Stinchcombe Hill in Dursley, on the Cotswold Way, a CAMRA National Pub of the Year, with cask ales, a garden and lunch every day.

    Walker-friendly

    Verified Nov 2026

  • Sunday roasts with Yorkshire puddings and sides on a wooden table, seen from above

    The Royal Oak, Wotton-under-Edge

    Pubs · Wotton-under-Edge

    A neighbourhood pub and kitchen on Haw Street, Wotton-under-Edge, serving pub classics from South West producers, open Tuesday to Sunday from midday.

    Family-friendly

    Verified Oct 2026

  • A fried fish dish with spiced sauce and greens on a white plate

    India Zones, Dursley

    Restaurants · Dursley

    An Indian restaurant with a licensed bar on Long Street, Dursley, open from 5pm Tuesday to Sunday, with a vegan menu and collection orders.

    Verified Nov 2026

Walks in and around North Nibley

All walks starting here
  • A tall stone tower on a grassy hilltop silhouetted against a sky of billowing clouds

    Cotswold Way: Dursley to Wotton-under-Edge

    Walk · Starts in Dursley · 4 hrs, 30 mins · Dog-friendly

    A 7.5-mile (12km) one-way walk on the eleventh section of the Cotswold Way, moderate and about four and a half hours: from Dursley round the rim of Stinchcombe Hill, down to North Nibley, up to the Tyndale Monument and along the ridge to Wotton-under-Edge.

  • A tall slender stone tower with a domed lantern, framed by dark trees against a blue sky

    Cotswold Way: Wotton-under-Edge to Hawkesbury Upton

    Walk · Starts in Wotton-under-Edge · 4 hrs, 45 mins · Dog-friendly

    A 7.8-mile (12.6km) one-way walk on the twelfth section of the Cotswold Way, moderate and about four and three quarter hours: from Wotton-under-Edge up past Newark Park, along Wortley Hill, through Alderley and Lower Kilcott to the Somerset Monument and Hawkesbury Upton.

Sights in and around North Nibley

All sights
  • A tall stone tower on a grassy hilltop silhouetted against a sky of billowing clouds

    Tyndale Monument, North Nibley

    Sight · Monument · Wotton-under-Edge

    The Tyndale Monument is the tower on Nibley Knoll above North Nibley, built in 1866 by S. S. Teulon in memory of William Tyndale, translator of the first printed English New Testament. Grade II*; usually open to climb, free, with a key nearby if locked.

  • A clump of pines silhouetted on a grassy hilltop against a blue sky

    Jubilee Clump, Wotton Hill

    Sight · Viewpoint · Wotton-under-Edge

    Jubilee Clump is the walled ring of trees on Wotton Hill above Wotton-under-Edge, replanted in 1888 for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee on a spot said to have been first planted after Waterloo: a landmark and viewpoint on the Cotswold Way. Free.

  • A tall pinnacled church tower and long nave beside trees under a blue, cloud-flecked sky

    St Mary's Church, Wotton-under-Edge

    Sight · Church · Wotton-under-Edge

    St Mary's is Wotton-under-Edge's Grade I parish church, with late thirteenth-century arcades, a six-stage fourteenth-century tower, the brasses of Thomas, Lord Berkeley and his wife, and an organ bought in 1800. Open daily.

History of North Nibley

Henry II gave Nibley to Robert Fitz Harding, ancestor of the Berkeleys, and it was the Berkeleys' quarrel with the Talbots over that inheritance that brought two private armies to Nibley Green on 20 March 1470. The accounts were written long afterwards, by John Leland in the 1540s and John Smyth of Nibley around 1586 from what old men told him, and historians treat the details with care; Peter Fleming and Michael Wood's Gloucestershire's Forgotten Battle (2003) is the modern study. The lawsuit the battle failed to settle was not ended until the reign of James I, by Rudder's account. Smyth, steward to the Berkeleys and their historian, lived at Nibley House, which his descendants rebuilt around 1763.

William Tyndale's birthplace is not recorded. The monument's tablet says near this spot, and that is as far as the record goes. In the 1860s North Nibley argued for Nibley Knoll against Stinchcombe Hill as the site for his memorial and won. The foundation stone was laid in May 1863 before a crowd the local paper put at 10,000, and the Earl of Ducie opened the tower in November 1866. Rudder, writing in 1779, says the people were chiefly employed in rug making and the cloth trade, and reports Sir Robert Atkyns's count of about 1,000 people in 200 houses at the start of the eighteenth century.

Questions about North Nibley

Is the Tyndale Monument open?

Generally, yes, and it is free. The door is usually open. If it is locked, the notice board at the tower says which cottage in North Nibley holds the key. Inside, a narrow spiral stair of 121 steps, dark in its lower part, climbs to the top, so take a torch and go carefully. It closes now and then for repairs, which the village website announces.

How do you get to the Tyndale Monument?

On foot only. From North Nibley (GL11 6DT) the track up Wood Lane climbs steeply to the knoll. The gentler way is the level ridge bridleway from the small free car park on Old London Road above Wotton-under-Edge, about 2km through Westridge Wood, which our Wotton Hill and the Tyndale Monument walk follows.

What was the Battle of Nibley Green?

The last battle fought in England between private armies, on 20 March 1470, between Thomas Talbot, Viscount Lisle, and William, Lord Berkeley, over the Berkeley inheritance. More than a thousand men between them fought on the green below the village; Lisle was killed and his men were routed, and a mass grave is thought to lie in St Martin's churchyard. The exact site is unknown.

Is there a pub in North Nibley?

Possibly not. The village pub, the Black Horse Inn on Barrs Lane, an eighteenth-century listed building on the Cotswold Way, was reported closed by CAMRA in November 2023 and its website no longer works, so check before you plan a walk around it. The New Inn at Waterley Bottom says it has gone into hibernation and is closed for now. Wotton-under-Edge, 2 miles south, has several pubs.

Is North Nibley on the Cotswold Way?

Yes. The eleventh section, Dursley to Wotton-under-Edge, 7.3 miles, drops off Stinchcombe Hill, comes through the village street past the Black Horse, and climbs the knoll to the Tyndale Monument before running south along the edge to Wotton. The National Trail has a permanent diversion at North Nibley, so follow the waymarks rather than an old map.

Getting to North Nibley

By car
On the B4060 between Wotton-under-Edge and Dursley, 2 miles north of Wotton. Park on the street in the village with care. There is no car park at the monument.
By bus
Stagecoach West 60 (Dursley, North Nibley, Wotton-under-Edge, Thornbury) stops at the Black Horse about every two hours, Monday to Saturday. No Sunday service.
By bus
The Robin, the county council's bookable bus, stops at the Black Horse and on Barrs Lane. Book online, by app or by phone, from two weeks to an hour ahead.
By train
Cam and Dursley station is about 4 miles away. From Dursley bus station the 60 runs on to the village; the current timetable does not show it calling at the station itself.

Access

The monument is reached only on foot, by steep paths from the village or the level ridge bridleway from Old London Road, and its spiral stair of 121 steps is narrow and dark. The lane through the village is level.

Distances from North Nibley
Wotton-under-Edge2.3 mi
Dursley2.9 mi
Cam and Dursley station3.9 mi
Tetbury10.6 mi
Stroud13.2 mi
Bristol23.5 mi
Map of North Nibley
© OpenStreetMap contributors

Places near North Nibley

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