The Cotswold Way is a public footpath that runs from Chipping Campden, a little town south of Stratford upon Avon, to Bath. The way, which is 164 km, follows the western side of the Cotswold Hills and runs in a great part on the top of the steep escarpment from the hills down to the Severn Valley.
I did a walk on the Cotswold Way in June 98. Due to heavy rain my walk ended in Dursley, a little town about 50 km north of Bath.
This paper gives an introduction to the Cotswold Way and my experience from the walk. If you like to walk, and if you like to stay in England, I think the Cotswold way and the Cotswolds will give you something never to forget.
Geographically the Cotswolds are a range of hills that extend from Bath in south to Chipping Campden in north. The highest point is Cleve Hill (1031 ft) north of Cheltenham. The western escarpment falls to the valley of the Severn. The name "Cotswolds" undoubtedly has its origin from the Anglo-Saxon "cote" a sheep-fold and "wold" meaning wooded and essentially uncultivated land. Sheep have played an important role in the economy of the region for many centuries. The wool business started in the thirteenth century with Cistercian Monks from Normandy and continued in the next centuries until the industrial revolution. The wealth obtained from the wool business let people build the handsome churches and fine houses which still give the region a view of those times. The towns of the Cotswolds, centres of the wool trade, are today relatively quiet ones with beautiful buildings of creamy Cotswold stone. They are not only beautiful, but some of them also carry attractive names as Stow-on-the-Wold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Wotton-under-Edge and Chipping Campden. The Cotswold towns and villages are for many people (one of them is me) the true English idyll and a world in which nature and people live together in close harmony. The charm is not something artificial, but is deep seated and deep rooted in time and place.
Chipping Campden: Chipping Campden offers a start which could not be more Cotswoldian. The houses is said to be the finest in the Cotswolds. Buildings to see are: St James' Church, the medieval town hall and the market hall from 1627.
Broadway: The village started life as part of a monastery and expanded during the 17th and 18th centuries. It became an important stop for the stagecoaches. The high street houses are build of golden stone with the typical Cotswold style of tiled and thatched roofs.
Stanton: Main street is an idyll with medieval houses and flowers. Stanton is a possible stop for a pint and perhaps some food before continuing the walk to Winchcombe. The way runs close to a pub/restaurant when it enters Stanton southbound.
Winchcombe: The little town was once a medieval abbey, but after Henry VIII conducted his monastic land grab in 1539 it completely disappeared. A remaining historic site is St Peters' church from 1465. Close to the town, Sudeley Castle is open daily during the summer months.
Cheltenham: This town is a centre for the Cotswolds. Cheltenham, in its character and style, has something special to offer. The impressive Regency architecture, which reflects the towns rich heritage, mixes happily with the cosmopolitan atmosphere of a fashionable centre of commerce, education and arts.
Painswick: The historic wool town is surrounded by some of the Cotswolds most delightful countryside, and is called the queen of the Cotswolds. Built of mellow Cotswold stone from the local quarry on Painswick Beacon the towns many beautiful buildings can be seen as you walk around it's quaint and narrow streets. There are seventeenth century spectacle stocks near the court house. New Street, from around 1428 when the wool and cloth trade was flourishing, contains the oldest building in England to hold a Post Office. The church yard with its 99 yew trees is famous, and it is told that it is impossible to get more, the hundred will never grow up.
Bath: The historic city of Bath is a nice one with many interesting things to see. The Roman Bath Museum, The Circus, The Royal Crescent and The Assembly Rooms are a must to visit. The Roman Bath was build by the Romans about 2000 years ago, and still the sacred spring provides water of 46.5* C to the bath. The Circus and The Royal Crescent are nice Georgian buildings and give a view of upper class life in Georgian and Victorian England. The Assembly Rooms are the ball room, the tea room and the card room where people met for the assembly, this time type of entertainment.
The sheep's are no longer the mainstay of the economy, but they still play some part of it. Another important income to the region is tourism. The Cotswolds today remain one of the parts of the UK where life seems to be blessed with rural peacefulness.
The Cotswold Way offers the walker some of the best of the region, and it also provides a historical perspective and extraordinary sense of continuity of an area in which people have lived for 5000 years and perhaps more. The way runs up on hills, down from hills, through woods and farmland and passes interesting historical sites.
The waymarking of the Cotswold Way is comprehensive and consists of arrows on gates, stiles and trees. An upright arrow means straight on and tilting to one side indicates changes in the direction. By each painted arrow or in the centre of arrows on plastic discs is a white spot of about two point five centimetre in diameter. This is the particular symbol of the Cotswold Way. Where the way crosses roads signposts shows where the way goes on. Although the way is well marked, maps or a path guide is recommended. (Path guides: The Cotswold Way, Anthony Burton ISBN 1 85410 317 2 and The Cotswold Way, Mark Richards ISBN 1 873877 10 2).
It is Bed&Breakfest and Hotels along the route. To get accommodation close to the way ordering in advance is recommended. (One to two months). B&B cost spans from £20 to £30. The Cotswold Way Handbook and Accommodation List, ISBN 1-901184-07-2, contains a list of B&B and hotels. Another source to search for accommodation is on the Internet: Stilwell
Chipping Campden can be reached by regular buses from Oxford, Stratford or Evesham which have rail and/or National Express coach connection from London.
The table shows my planned route from Chipping Campden to Bath. I walked southbound, and I think Bath is an ideal goal of a Cotswold Way walk.
Place Distance Distance
total (km) walk (km)
Chipping Campden 0.0
Winchcombe 28.5 28.5
Cheltenham 46.0 17.5
Painswick 76.5 30.5
Dursley 102.0 25.5
Old Sodbury 134.0 32.0
Bath 164.5 30.5
I entered the Cotswold Way on a Saturday. The day started with rain showers so I decided to enter in Broadway and save 9.5 km of walking the first day. When I was searching for the Cotswold way entry in the main street of Broadway I met two American women who seemed to search for the same. We found the entry together and had a pleasant walk together for some hours. On the Cotswold way you may meet people from different part of the world, an interesting experience. The rain showers made parts of the way muddy, specially the bridleways. I used trainers, but I found it to be a bad choice, and for another walk I will use boots. In England, I think you have to be prepared for rain. I entered Winchcombe in the afternoon wet and tired of the rain showers. I was paid in the pub in the evening, the pint is never as good as after a long day walk.
The next day I walked along the route highest point, Cleve Common, and then the weather was nice. It is a beautiful area with nice viewpoints to the Severn Valley. Down from Cleve Common the way goes through the Happy Valley, a really nice part of the walk. In the afternoon I got very heavy rain showers, and I was very wet and muddy when I came to this day destination, a pub/restaurant close to the way. Before to enter the pub I had to change all my clothes so muddy I had been. I had accommodation in Cheltenham, about 5 km offroute, this day and ordered a taxi for the trip.
My next destination was Painswick which is really i nice little town. I stayed one day in Painswick to see the town and the surroundings. I think it is worth to spend one day in Painswick to walk around and to see the town, the old buildings and to visit the pubs for a pint and some food. The B&B I used was an old woollen mill close to a stream, a site of idyll and a nice place to stay, about fifteen minutes walk outside town centre.
From Painswick I was to walk to Dursley, another little wool town. The first part of the walk from Painswick was a nice one with many viewpoints of the Severn valley.
The following night and day the rain continued and I decided to stop the walk. I stayed one day in Dursley to se the town, and then I travelled with train via Bristol the remaining to Bath. I spent the weekend before my return to Norway in Bath.
Despite the rain, the Cotswold Way walk was to me a pleasant experience. I hope to be back one day to make a new walk and see the parts of the way I did not do this time. I have visited the southern part of England many times, and I like to stay there. My new knowledge of the Cotswolds does this part of England a bit more attractive to me. The beautiful small towns, the historical buildings, the pleasant people and the local pubs with the pints and food let my thoughts fly back to England and the Cotswolds. I hope it will not be so long until my next visit.