The Cotswold Way (12 days, 11 nights)

Arrive Chipping Campden and stay overnight. Chipping Campden is a traditional market town, with preserved historic features dating back as far as the 14th century. It is also one of the earliest examples of deliberate town planning with a charter from King Henry II to set out a plan of the town.

After leaving the town, the trail takes you out onto the Cotswold escarpment with stunning views from Dover’s Hill. This is where the annual ‘Olimpick’ games were held in 1612, with leapfrog, wrestling and shin-kicking events happening each year. The walk continues across the fields to Broadway Tower and then through the village of Broadway with its historic connections with the Arts & Crafts movement. Stanton is built entirely of Cotswold stone and will be your rest stop for the night.

Stay overnight in Stanton. Luggage will be transferred. Please note Stanton is a small village, so if no accommodation is available, the walk will be extended slightly to the next village of Stanway or Wood Stanway. 

After a steep climb up onto the escarpment, you will be rewarded with magnificent views across the Vale of Evesham towards the Malverns. Passing the Iron Age hill fort of Beckbury Camp, the Trail continues through farmland into the Cotswold town of Winchcombe. Stay overnight in this “Walkers are Welcome” certified town and explore its Neolithic, Roman and Medieval past. A highlight of the village is Sudeley Castle & Gardens, the only private castle in the UK, and final resting place of Catherine Parr, Henry VIII’s final wife.

Stay overnight in Winchcombe. Luggage will be transferred. 

Leave through the Sudeley Estate, climbing steadily to the ancient Neolithic long barrow of Belas Knap to Cleeve Hill – the highest point in The Cotswolds. The route continues across Cleeve Common with extensive views over Cheltenham to Gloucester and the distant Malvern Hills, before you continue onto Charlton Kings Common with its breath-taking views across Cheltenham and the Severn Vale. Follow the escarpment onto Leckhampton Hill – look out for the distinctive rock pillar known as the Devil’s Chimney - before turning off The Cotswold Way and descending into Cheltenham via The Gustav Holst Way. Cheltenham is the most complete Regency Town in the UK with extensive period architecture, a fantastic foodie scene and museums attributed to Cheltenham’s famous sons – Gustav Holst composer of The Planets and Edward Wilson, naturalist and fellow casualty on the Scott Antarctic expedition.

Please note although only 10 miles along The Cotswold Way, there is an extra two-mile descent into Cheltenham and / or the option for a taxi transfer into Cheltenham instead.

Stay overnight in Cheltenham. Luggage will be transferred. 

The trail follows quiet tracks, lanes and paths into Crickley Hill Country Park, with its excellent viewpoints and information about the archaeological history, as well as a great café for a pitstop. There is evidence of historic settlements from as early as the Neolithic Period, as well as an Iron Age Hill Fort, indicating many periods of occupation. The trail then crosses the undulating grassland of Barrow Wake before heading into woodland to emerge at Birdlip.

Stay overnight in Birdlip. Luggage will be transferred. 

From Birdlip, the trail passes the remains of Great Witcombe Roman Villa, through magnificent beech woodlands and on to Coopers Hill, the site of the crazy annual cheese-rolling event every May which sees competitors chase a cheese wheel down the very steep slope. The route then emerges onto the common land of Painswick Beacon, where the ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort can clearly be seen. The section ends in the picturesque town of Painswick, the mid-point of the Cotswold Way. Painswick recently featured in J.K.Rowling’s novel “A Casual Vacancy” and is also home to the Rococco Gardens which are worth a visit.

Stay overnight in Painswick. Luggage will be transferred. 

Descend from Painswick to cross the Wash Brook before climbing again onto Edge Common. The trail plunges back into woodland before emerging at Haresfield Beacon and the iron-age Bulwarks hillfort, with views of the escarpment and River Severn. The route descends gently through Standish Woods, with beautiful displays of bluebell and wood anemone in the spring and ferns throughout the summer, to emerge into the Stroud Valley through grass pastures. The village of Stonehouse actually appears in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Stay overnight in Stonehouse. Luggage will be transferred. 

Continue through Dursley then climb steeply up onto Stinchcombe Hill followed by another steep ascent to the Tyndale Monument and Brackenbury Camp Hillfort, with views over Wotton-on-Edge. The trail then makes for the village of Alderley down a delightful sunken woodland track before climbing again. Climb gently to the Somerset Monument before heading towards the village of Hawkesbury Upton and on to Wotton Under Edge. Wotton Under Edge boasts a large number of listed buildings, as well as independent shops and eateries.

Stay overnight in Wotton Under Edge. Luggage will be transferred. 

Passing an ancient drover’s pond, the Cotswold Way follows Bath Lane south towards Horton, reaching the National Trust property of Horton Court, which is believed to be the oldest vicarage in England. From there the trail climbs up onto Horton Fort with extensive views opening out over the Severn Vale and beyond, before crossing farmland to the village of Horton and on to Old Sodbury where you will stay for the night.

Stay overnight in Old Sodbury. Luggage will be transferred. 

From Old Sodbury, the trail passes through the wonderful Capability Brown parkland of Dodington Park before crossing the final few fields into Tormarton. Leave Tormarton to the south along the Marshfield Road, following the trail as it crosses arable land and eventually leads to a path skirting the perimeter wall of Dyrham Park – an ancient deer park. From Dyrham, the trail climbs through woodland to Cold Ashton.

Stay overnight in Cold Ashton. Luggage will be transferred. 

What a finale! The trail descends into the beautiful secluded valley at Lower Hamswell, passing the promontory hill fort at Little Down and the famous Bath Racecourse. The city can be glimpsed in the valley below and the trail gradually becomes more urban over the final miles, passing parks and regency architecture on its way to Bath Abbey. Here you’ll find a carved stone disc set into the pavement outside the ornate west doors to mark the end of the Cotswold Way. Bath is a fabulous place to stay and many choose to extend their trip to give time to explore the attractions including the famous Roman Baths.

Stay overnight in Bath or depart. Luggage will be transferred.