Independent Trails: Fact File

Independent Trails: Fact File. COTWN2

Cotswold Way ~ North section: Chipping Campden to Painswick

Trail Facts

Total distance: 46 miles (74 km)
Duration : 6 nights, 5 days walking
Minimum/maximum daily distances: 7 miles (11km)/11 miles (17.5km)
Waymarking: The Cotswold Way is very clearly waymarked and is very easy to follow.
Season: All year
Starting point of holiday: Chipping Campden
End of holiday: Painswick
Code : COTWN2

Itinerary

Day 1: Travel to Chipping Campden.

Day 2: Chipping Campden to Stanton. 10 miles (16km)

Day 3: Stanton to Winchcombe. 7 miles (11km).

Day 4: Winchcombe to Dowdeswell. 11 miles (17.5km).

Day 5: Dowdeswell to Birdlip. 11 miles (17.5km).

Day 6: Birdlip to Painswick. 7 miles (11km).

Day 7: Depart from Painswick

Extra nights/rest days

Many people chose to have an extra night in Chipping Campden before starting the trail because there is so much to see. 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 the magnificent 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 is 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 a superb row of Almshouses built during the reign of James I in stunning symmetry. The delightful village of Stanton is another possibility for a rest day. Winchcombe 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. Forty-five grotesque gargoyles, each representing a local character from the 1460s adorn its outer walls. Winchcombe is also a good base for exploring Sudeley Castle and its romantic gardens. The old wool town of Painswick with its ancient stone buildings dating from the 13th century is also a good choice.

What's included?

6 nights accommodation in en-suite rooms with private bathrooms (where available) in selected hotels, inns and guesthouses along the trail.
Traditional cooked breakfast.
Door to door luggage transfer along the trail.
Maps with the route marked on and a guidebook describing the trail.
An information pack containing an itinerary, detailed instructions on how to find your accommodation each night, town plans, information about facilities and places of interest along the trail and a kit list.
Detailed travel instructions on how to get to the start of your holiday and back from the end of it.
Emergency assistance

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 airports: London

Outward journey from London to Chipping Campden: There is a fast and frequent rail service from London Paddington to Morton-in-the-Marsh. The journey takes about 2 hours. Bus or taxi from Morton-in-the-Marsh railway station to Chipping Campden.

Return journey to London at the end of the holiday: Stagecoach-in-the-Cotswolds bus (Service 46) to Stroud Railway Station. From Stroud there is a fast and frequent rail service to London (approximately 1 hour 45 minutes).