The Cross-Cotswold Path runs through the heart of the Cotswolds from the historic market town of Banbury to the World Heritage City of Bath. Less demanding than the Cotswold Way , the Cross-Cotswold Path meanders through a tranquil landscape of gentle hills, rolling cornfields, sheep pastures enclosed with drystone walls, water meadows, broad-leaved woodland, crystal-clear streams and unspoilt villages and towns. It visits the delightful market towns of Stow-on-the-Wold, Northleach, Cirencester and Tetbury and many of the loveliest hamlets and villages in the Cotswolds including Lower Slaughter, Bourton-on-the-Water, Turkdean, Chedworth, Sherston, Long Dean and Castle Combe. Neolithic Long Barrows, Bronze Age stone circles, Iron Age earthworks, the remains of one of the largest Romano-British villas in the country, an Elizabethan castle, the finest Jacobean manor house in the country, Westonbirt Arboretum with its world famous collection of over 13,000 trees, the Kennet and Avon Canal, the source of the Thames, the Thames and Severn Canal and some of the most exquisite churches in the Cotswolds add to the interest of this charming walk.

The Cross-Cotswold Path was developed to raise public awareness of Macmillan Cancer Relief and to assist in raising funds for this important charity. Contours Walking Holidays will make a £5.00 donation to Macmillan Cancer Relief for every person booking this tour. If you would like to help raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Relief please consider 'sponsoring' yourself for a small sum per mile or asking your friends, work colleagues and relatives to sponsor your walk.

Cotswolds © Britain on View

Castle Combe © Britain on View