The 102 mile (164km) Cotswold Way is a National Trail that runs from the market town of Chipping Campden to the Roman city of Bath.
It follows the western edge of the Cotswold Hills and leads you through England’s largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with its rolling pastures with dry stone walls, beech woods, and picturesque villages with honey-coloured cottages built from Cotswold stone.
10 Days | Weekly 2023 Departures | Campden to Bath
Prices from $3,575 CAD per person based on double occupancy
Campden
Bath
From Chipping Campden, known for its covered marketplace and beautiful ‘wool’ church you’ll follow the trail along the Cotswold escarpment with ever-changing views to the west towards the River Severn and the Malvern Hills. Along the way you’ll discover a wealth of pretty Cotswolds villages, stately homes, Iron Age hill forts and historic battle sites. Climb Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds where you will be rewarded with spectacular views over Cheltenham, the River Severn, the Malvern Hills, and, on a clear day, the Black Mountains of Wales.
The end of the Cotswold Way is marked at Bath Abbey with a carved stone disc. Spend time discovering the delights of Bath from the Roman baths to the honey-coloured Georgian architecture of the Royal Crescent.
Arrive in the historic market town of Chipping Campden.
Stay overnight at Noel Arms or similar.
Head up on to the Cotswolds escarpment from where you will enjoy stunning views from Dover’s Hill, home to the annual ‘Cotswold Olimpick Games’. Walk through fields to the 18th century folly, Broadway Tower. Descend to the coaching village of Broadway, where you will find fine houses and inns flanking the ‘broad way’, before climbing back up onto the escarpment, to Shenberrow Hill, the 3rd highest point in Gloucestershire from where you will descend into the idyllic village of Stanton.
Stay overnight at Shenberrow Hill B&B or similar.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today starts with a pleasant walk through the parkland of the Stanway Estate, with its Jacobean manor, magnificent gatehouse and medieval tithe barn. Climb up onto the escarpment to the Iron Age hill fort of Beckbury Camp, then follow the trail as it passes near highlights such as Hailes Abbey and Sudeley Castle. Visit the ancient Neolithic long barrow of Belas Knap on the panoramic ascent up to Cleeve Hill, the highest point of the Cotswolds.
Stay overnight at Upper Hill Farm or similar.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Walk through the ancient Lineover Wood and walk on the escarpment onto Leckhampton Hill and look out for the peculiar limestone rock formation known as the Devil’s Chimney. Enjoy breathtaking views from Crickley Hill before descending through woodlands to Birdlip.
Stay overnight at Royal George Hotel or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast
Head on to Painswick Beacon, the site of an Iron Age hill fort, then descend into Painswick, one of the architectural highlights of the trail, and the mid-point of the Cotswold Way. Follow the trail on to Haresfield Beacon, where you’ll enjoy spectacular views across the Severn estuary, then pass through Standish Woods, where in springtime bluebells carpet the woodland floor.
Stay overnight at the White Hart or similar.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Follow the trail through woodland and climb to Cam Long Down from where the trail descends into the market town of Dursley. Tackle some slightly steeper slopes up onto Stinchcombe Hill and to the Tyndale Monument before the trail descends again to the town of Wotton-Under-Edge.
Stay overnight at Swan Hotel or similar.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today the trail passes close to the National Trust property of Newark Park. Continue the walk through woodland towards the village of Alderley, and ascend to the Somerset Monument and Horton Fort to reach Old Sodbury.
Stay overnight at Rock Cottage or similar.
Meals Included: Breakfast
From Old Sodbury, the Cotswold Way crosses fields into the village of Tormarton, then continues on to the village of Dyrham, passing near Dyrham Park, a 17th-century mansion, garden and deer park. Continue through farmland to reach Cold Ashton.
Stay overnight at Swan Cottage or similar.
Meals Included: Breakfast
From Cold Ashton climb up to the site of the civil war battle of Lansdown, At Prospect Stile you will catch your first glimpse of Bath in the valley below. Cross farmland to reach the edge of Bath where the trail becoms more urban and passes through parks and near magnificent regency architecture to reach Bath Abbey where a carved stone disc marks the end of the Cotswold Way.
Stay overnight at Apple Tree Guesthouse or similar.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Depart after breakfast.
Meals Included: Breakfast
