Independent Trails: Fact File.COTH1
Trail Facts
Total distance:
43 miles (69km)
Duration: 4 nights, 3 days walking
Minimum/maximum daily distances: 13 miles (21km)/15 miles
(24km)
Season: All year
Starting point of holiday: Chipping Campden
End of holiday: Chipping Campden
Code: COTH1
Itinerary
Day 1:
Travel to Chipping Campden
Day 2: Chipping Campden to Stow-on-the-Wold. 15 miles (24km)
Chipping Campden is the loveliest of all the Cotswold Market towns, it is also
the best preserved and most historically important. Buildings of interest include
the open-sided Jacobean Market Hall, built to shelter stallholders from all
weathers; the Town Hall, the 14th century Woolstaplers Hall, where the fleeces
were sold, which now houses the town's museum; opposite this is Grevel House
built in 1380. St James' Church is one of the best examples of a Cotswold 'wool'
church and contains the largest memorial brass in the county, to William Grevel,
'the flower of the wool merchants of all England'. Next to the church are the
gateway and onion-topped lodges of the old manor of Campden, the manor itself
was destroyed during the Civil War. Nearby on a raised pavement stands the row
of Almshouses built during the reign of James I in stunning symmetry. The walled
dip opposite is an old cartwheel wash. From Chipping Campden the route passes
through Broad Campden, with its rare 17th century Friends Meeting House, to
the charming village of Blockley, an important centre for the silk industry
that thrived in the 18th and 19th centuries and then descends to Moreton-in-Marsh
past Batsford Park Arboretum. From Moreton-in-Marsh the route heads across the
Evenlode valley to Sezincote House, an unusual Indian-inspired mansion with
an outstanding oriental garden, and then passes through the delightful villages
of Longborough and Broadwell to Stow-on-the Wold. Stow is a charming town. Mellow
stone houses, shops, inns and hotels overlook the cross and stocks in the large
market square; from the square narrow alleys or 'tures' lead off invitingly,
begging exploration. The cross was erected as a reminder to medieval traders
to deal honestly in a Christian manner; the village stocks to punish those that
didn't.
Day 3: Stow-on-the-Wold to Winchcombe. 13 miles (21km)
From Stow-on-the Wold the route goes through the heart of the Cotswold Hills
past Upper Swell with its attractive old water mill, Condicote and the hamlet
of Ford in the upper reaches of the Windrush valley, before descending to Winchcome
which lies in a fold of the hills beneath the Cotswold Edge. Winchecombe is
an attractive small town with two or three inns, Tudor houses, cottages with
roses clambering over their porches and a fine church containing an altar cloth
worked by Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII first wife. 45 grotesque gargoyles,
each representing a local character from the 1460's adorns its outer walls.
Day 4: Winchcombe to Chipping Campden. 15 miles (24km)
The trail leaves the town along the old pilgrim's route to Hailes Abbey, and
then climbs to Beckbury Camp, a large Iron Age fort, before descending to the
village of Stanway. Stanway is another village that rewards exploration - buildings
of interest include the Jacobean manor Stanway House with its magnificent renaissance-style
gatehouse and baroque watergarden, an enormous 14th century tithe barn and a
thatched cricket pavilion set upon straddle stones. From here the route cuts
across the fields to the pretty village of Stanton, whose church contains a
beautiful 15th century stained glass window removed from Hailes Abbey at the
time of the Dissolution. From Stanton the route climbs up to Shenbarrow, an
Iron Age hillfort and then follows the Cotswold Edge with some terrific views
over the Severn Vale past Snowshill Manor, before descending to Broadway. The
village started life as part of a nearby monastery and expanded in the 17th
and 18th centuries as a staging post for coaches. The picturesque 'broad way'
of the high street is lined with an avenue of red chestnut trees and shops,
inns and houses of golden stone with the typical Cotswold mix of tiled and thatched
roofs. The route then climbs Beacon Hill to the Broadway Tower, an 18th century
folly that provides breathtaking views over 12 counties before descending to
Chipping Campden.
Day 5: Depart from Chipping Campden after breakfast.
Extra nights/rest days
What's included?
Travel Information
Detailed instructions on
how to get to the start of the holiday and back from the end of it are sent
to you on booking. A summary is given below.
Most convenient major city and International airport: London
(Gatwick or Heathrow airports) or Birmingham Airport. Train to Moreton-in-Marsh
from London Paddington (1 hour 40 minutes) or Birmingham (2 hours 15 minutes).
Bus or taxi to Chipping Campden.
Outward journey from London to Chipping Campden: Train from
London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh (I hour 40 minutes). Bus or taxi to Chipping
Campden.
Return journey to London at the end of the holiday: Bus or
taxi to Moreton-in-Marsh railway station. Train to London Paddington (1 hour
40 minutes).