Circular Walks in the Cotswolds
Strewn with countless pretty villages built by medieval merchants enriched by the wool trade, the Cotswolds fulfils most people's idea of a ‘typical' English landscape. Here neat fields, narrow hedge-lined lanes, ancient woodland and clear streams combine with simple stone cottages, church, manor house and tithe barn to create a picture of timeless beauty.
We have devised four walking tours in the heart of the Cotswolds. They range in length from the Cotswold Short Break, a delightful two day walk through some of the finest countryside the Cotswolds has to offer, to the weeklong Cotswold Villages Trail, which seeks out the timeless villages and towns that are among the loveliest features of the area
Cotswolds Villages Trail
| Total Distance | 64.5 miles (102.5 km) |
| Start and Finish | Circular trail beginning at Moreton-in-Marsh |
| Availability | All Year |
The Cotswold Villages Trail passes through no fewer than twenty seven of the beautiful towns, villages and hamlets that make the Cotswolds so special. It visits the delightful wool towns of Stow-on-the-Wold, with its mellow stone houses, shops and inns overlooking the medieval cross and stocks in the large market square; Northleach, with its magnificent church, House of Correction, workhouse, almshouses and immaculate late-medieval cottages clustered around the central square; Winchcombe and Chipping Campden, the loveliest of all the Cotswold market towns.
As well as visiting some of the regions best-loved villages like the Slaughters, Bourton-on-the-Water, Guiting Power, Broadway, Stanway and Stanton, it also seeks out little-known villages like Clapton-on-the-Hill with its tiny, but historic church some six spaces wide and eight from door to alter; Naunton, with its splendid 15th century gabled dovecote and Hampnet with its intriguing church.
Along the way the trail takes in a number of sites of historic interest including Iron Age hill forts, a gothic folly, a ruined medieval abbey, Sezincote House and Sudeley Castle.
| Tour Code | Itinerary | Tour Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTVT | 7 nights, 6 days walking | £450 per person | More Information | Book Online |
Our prices are based upon two people sharing a room. If you are walking on your own there is a single supplement of £25 per night. You can add rest days at any of the overnight stops. For each extra night add £48 per person. All of our prices are in British pounds (£). Use our currency converter to convert British pounds (£) to your country’s currency.
Cotswold Round
| Total Distance | 51 miles (82 km) |
| Start and Finish | Circular trail beginning at Moreton-in-Marsh |
| Availability | All Year |
The Cotswold Round is a circuit of the best-loved villages and towns of the Cotswolds. Beginning at Moreton-in-Marsh with its large market square surrounded by handsome former coaching inns, the trail meanders through Longborough and Broadwell to Stow-on-the-Wold and then heads through Upper and Lower Slaughter to Bourton–on-the-Water, where several elegant bridges span the crystal waters of the River Windrush as it flows through the village. The trail then heads upstream through the tranquil Windrush valley past Naunton and Guiting Power to Winchcombe, an attractive little town of stone and half-timbered buildings with a fine church adorned with 45 gargoyles, each representing a local character from the 1460's. Leaving the town along the Pilgrims Way to Hailes Abbey, the trail meanders along the western edge of the Cotswold Hills through Stanway, Stanton and Broadway to Chipping Campden, before returning to Moreton-in-the-Marsh through Broad Campden, with its rare 17th century Friends Meeting House and the charming village of Blockley, an important centre for the silk industry that flourished in the 18th century.
| Tour Code | Itinerary | Tour Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTR1 | 5 nights, 4 days walking | £315 per person | More Information | Book Online |
| COTR2 | 9 nights, 8 days walking | £575 per person | More Information | Book Online |
Our prices are based upon two people sharing a room. If you are walking on your own there is a single supplement of £25 per night. You can add rest days at any of the overnight stops. For each extra night add £48 per person. All of our prices are in British pounds (£). Use our currency converter to convert British pounds (£) to your country’s currency.
Cotswold Highlights
| Total Distance | 43 miles (69 km) |
| Start and Finish | Circular trail beginning at Chipping Campden |
| Availability | All Year |
Beginning at the beautiful old wool town of Chipping Campden, this delightful circular walk links the ‘show piece' villages and towns of the northern Cotswolds. It visits Blockley and the stunning gardens of Batsford Arboretum before arriving at Stow-on-the-Wold, a charming town where narrow alleys or ‘tures' lead off invitingly from the market square, begging exploration. The trail then cuts through the heart of the Cotswolds past Upper Swell, with its attractive old Watermill, to Winchcombe. After exploring this historic little town, it meanders along the western edge of the Cotswold Hills to Chipping Campden through the delightful villages of Stanway, with its opulent Jacobean manor house, enormous tithe barn and curious thatched cricket pavilion perched on straddle stones; Stanton and Broadway, where the picturesque ‘broad way' of the high street is lined with shops, inns and houses of golden stone with the typical Cotswold mix of tiled and thatched roofs.
| Tour Code | Itinerary | Tour Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTH1 | 4 nights, 3 days walking | £255 per person | More Information | Book Online |
| COTH2 | 7 nights, 6 days walking | £445 per person | More Information | Book Online |
Our prices are based upon two people sharing a room. If you are walking on your own there is a single supplement of £25 per night. You can add rest days at any of the overnight stops. For each extra night add £48 per person. All of our prices are in British pounds (£). Use our currency converter to convert British pounds (£) to your country’s currency.
Cotswold Short Break
| Total Distance | 26 miles (41.5 km) |
| Start and Finish | Circular trail beginning at Bourton-on-the-Water |
| Availability | All Year |
This scenic short tour combines two contrasting trails linking Bourton-on-the-Water with Winchcombe to provide a delightful two-day walk through some of the loveliest countryside in the Cotswolds. Starting at Bourton-on-the-Water the route follows the Wardens' Way through the idyllic villages of Lower and Upper Slaughter, Naunton and Guiting Power before descending to Winchcombe past Sudeley Castle. On the second day the route follows the Windrush Way over the hills past several ‘lost' medieval villages before following the River Windrush to Bourton-on-the-Water.
| Tour Code | Itinerary | Tour Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTSB | 3 nights, 2 days walking | £195 per person | More Information | Book Online |
Our prices are based upon two people sharing a room. If you are walking on your own there is a single supplement of £25 per night. You can add rest days at any of the overnight stops. For each extra night add £40 per person. All of our prices are in British pounds (£). Use our currency converter to convert British pounds (£) to your country’s currency.