The Cotswold Way
HIGHLIGHTS
Old English villages, gentle countryside, English history ranging from Neolithic burial mounds to cosy thatched pubs.
The picture postcard Cotswold towns of Chipping Campden, Broadway, Winchcombe and Stanton.- The beech tree woodlands.
- Ancient Hill top forts, Neolithic burial chambers, Roman Villas.
- Historic Houses and Churches.
- The buildings and architecture of Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
PHOTOS
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Bed and Breakfast Accommodation
- Luggage Transfer
- Maps and Trail Notes
- Itinerary
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KEY INFORMATION
Starting point: Chipping Camden
Finishing point: Bath
Avg. daily distance: 9 miles / 15km
Total distance: 102 miles / 163 km
Terrain: Gravel Paths and rolling hills.
Walking grade: Moderate
01326 279 278WHEN TO WALK
ROUTE MAP
The walk from Chipping Campden to Bath is as varied as it is beautiful. The bleakness and beauty of its highest section , Cleeve Common, contrasts with gently rolling farmland and magnificent beech woodlands that characterise its central part, with their carpets of bluebells and wood anemone in the spring and their rich golden hues in the autumn. The stunning views over the Severn Vale, the Malvern Hills, the Forest of Dean, and even the Black Mountains in Wales on a clear day, delight from start to finish.
Day 1: Travel to Chipping Campden where your first night’s accommodation has been booked.
Day 2: Chipping Campden to Stanton. 10 miles (16km)
Day 3: Stanton to Cleeve Hill. 13 miles (21km)
Day 4: Cleeve Hill to Leckhampton Hill. 10 miles (16km) (overnight in Cheltenham)
Day 5: Leckhampton Hill to Painswick. 14 miles (22.5km)
Day 6: Painswick to King's Stanley. 8 miles (13km)
Day 7: King's Stanley to Wotton-under-Edge. 15 miles (24km)
Day 8: Wotton-under-Edge to Old Sodbury. 13 miles (21km)
Day 9: Old Sodbury to Cold Ashton. 9 miles (14km)
Day 10: Cold Ashton to Bath. 10 miles (16km)
Day 11: Depart from Bath after breakfast
Day 1: Travel to Chipping Campden where your first night’s accommodation has been booked.
Interesting Historic town with a good selection of restaurants.
Day 2: Chipping Campden to Stanton. 10 miles (16km)
A steady walk out of Chipping Camden. Arrive at Broadway Tower with it's magnificent views late morning then drop down into Broadway where one can get lunch.
Then an afternoon walk to beautiful house at Stanton where you stay the night.
Day 3: Stanton to Cleeve Hill. 13 miles (21km)
Along to Wood Stanway then a climb up the hill and lunch at Winchombe. Heartbreak Woods in the afternoon before arriving at Cleeve Hill.
Day 4: Cleeve Hill to Leckhampton Hill. 10 miles (16km) (overnight in Cheltenham)
Start off walking across a golf course. Not much in the way of refreshments until the "Hungry Horse" pub at Seven Springs.
Day 5: Leckhampton Hill to Painswick. 14 miles (22.5km)
The George at Birdlip at good refreshment stop before two steep climbs on the way to Painswick.
Day 6: Painswick to King's Stanley. 8 miles (13km)
Day 7: King's Stanley to Wotton-under-Edge. 15 miles (24km)
Day 8: Wotton-under-Edge to Old Sodbury. 13 miles (21km)
Day 9: Old Sodbury to Cold Ashton. 9 miles (14km)
An interesting day as you walk through Dodington Parks beautiful kept grounds, it is owned by one of Britain's wealthiest men, James Dyson.
Day 10: Cold Ashton to Bath. 10 miles (16km)
Some great views of Bristol before you start dropping down into the outskirts of Bath. A great place to celebrate the end of your walk.
Day 11: Depart from Bath after breakfast
Loads to see and explore in this magnificent city with its Georgian architecture and Roman Baths.
WALKING DIFFICULTY: This path is described as easy to medium. However there are quite a number of long ascents so do not underestimate it.
ACCOMMODATION: Our standard itinerary provides accommodation in either 3 or 4 star bed and breakfasts or small hotels or inns. When quoting for a holiday a draft itinerary is provided showing typical accommodation used on the route.
ADDITIONAL NIGHTS: An extra night is recommended in Bath, there is lots to see and do. Also a mid route day off for some rest and recuperation works well for some people.
We offer itineraries from 8 to 12 nights. Do not underestimate the path, although some of the walking is easy there are quite a number of ascents. We recommend you choose the slower itineraries unless you are very confident of your walking fitness, the 8 night itinerary would only be suitable for regular very fit walkers.
NAVIGATION: Navigation is generally straight forward, the path is well signposted but it is worth carrying your guide book in one hand.
BAGGAGE TRANSFERS: All our prices include transfering one bag per person (max weight 20kg) between your overnight stops.
Travel information:
TRAVEL BY RAIL:
Arriving: London mainline trains go from Paddington to Moreton in Marsh (about 1 hours 40 mins), then it is a 10 min taxi ride to Chipping Campden.
Returning: From Bath trains are direct to London Paddington (about 1 hr 30 min)
Pricing varies depending on your itinerary.
Prices (assuming 2 people walking sharing a room) from:
8 nights £760
9 nights £865
10 nights £950
11 nights £1045
12 nights £1140
Extra nights from £55 per person
Single walker supplement £40 per night
The Cotswold Way
Martin and Bettina - August 2017
All the accomodations were very nice and special so I find it difficult to create a ranking list because they all were very different so they are hard to compare. I liked the old posthouse at Stanton very much, especially the breakfast room was extremely nice (as you can see on the first photo). The most friendly one was the "One Silk Mill Lane" at Winchcombe because the hostess was so nice and the breakfast was the best of all we had.
Detmore House e.g. is very lordly so you feel like a noble yourself ;) The St. Anns at Painswick was very special (it was built in the 17.th century), the bath "room" was in the wardrobe!
So each of them was recommendable.
Concerning the walk on the Cotswold way we would recommend an additional map (Ordnance Survey) as there are some unclear forks.
And a (little) problem is the fact that there are no opportunities at Stanton and Birdlip to buy some food and especially something to drink for the walk the next day so this next day (you described it as a day for Sandwiches) one has to "fast" until one reaches the next bigger village or ask the host for a lunch packet. But we survived:)) And the Cotswolds are absolutely wonderful, a lovely landscape!!!
So thank you once again for organizing perfect holidays and all the best to you and to Nearwater Walking Holidays !
Cotswold Way
Richard Brandes - 18th June 2017
We have just finished our holidays and we are very satisfied with our walking trip due to your good organisation. The accommodations were fine and sometimes very originally and in old houses. Some houses are remarkable particular: The Detmore house(luxurious), the hill farm(very friendly welcome by Lucy and well organised accommodation and food) the Vine (old house , very originally,). The transport of our luggage was organised well and functioned well too. Many thanks for your commitment to our walking trip,
Cotswold Way
Shannonn & Malcolm Tindal - (North Island New Zealand) - August 2016
We both thoroughly enjoyed our Cotswold Way walk. Although in hindsight we should have gone for 12 days of walking to reduce the extra amount of walking time, should have listened to Malcolm!! The 4 days of walking 20+ kilometres was just a bridge too far, especially the walk from Cleeve Hill to Birdlip, that was the killer!! I would say 15 km per day or less would have made the journey less of a trudge and more enjoyable with time to view those parts found interesting especially the Northern part
On our first day of walking, after leaving the Folly on from Broadway, the clouds started to look rather black and ominous, the thunder started rolling and all of a sudden we were caught out in an amazing thunder/lightning & hailstone storm. We got instantly soaked and had to walk the last 10km to Wood Stanway with squelching boots, which were supposed to be waterproof, NOT. In situations like that one just has to keep going. We were glad that we had called ahead to organise a hot meal, which was most welcome as was our host. All part of our memories now. From then onward we packed our wet wether trousers, which did come in handy our our 2nd to last day. Luckily our host had a boot warmer, which worked a treat.
Most of the accommodation was great, really loved Chipping Campden and Painswick. Glad we were able to stay at The Falcon, as it is such a gem of a hotel and the staff were most welcoming and the food fantastic. The security at some of the older inns, especially on the bedroom doors weren’t as secure as we would have liked, but that sort of comes with the age and the territory. Unfortunately we weren’t allocated rooms above the Dog Inn, we were placed outside in what appeared to be the old stable area which had been converted into what seemed to be for rooms for the disabled. All our hosts were very friendly and had very good knowledge of their surrounding district.
We made a few misjudgements along the way (mostly caused by missing where the Acorn sign was placed). We found in Stroud that we had to navigate ourselves around as they were working on the Canal and some of the signage had been covered over by workmen. When we finally got back on track, the walk to the Middleyard was made somewhat tiresome by having to walk the extra kilometres. The evening meal at the Fleece, assuaged all our tiredness and we were ready for the next day.
We loved the wooded areas and enjoyed being out in the open, crossing fields and walking along the public footpaths. Malcolm & I enjoyed climbing William Tyndale’s Tower at North Nibley, as William Tyndale is one of his ancestors. We found all the walkers to be very friendly, although we did tend to walk on our own most of the time. The cyclists were also friendly and took care when passing in the narrow parts of the walk.
Milton House was great for our last night in Bath, highly recommend it. The hosts were exceptional.
Thank you for organising our accommodation Tim and for your updates during our travel. This was made even more pleasant by having our bags carried ahead. Such a great way to see a beautiful part of the English countryside.