South Cotswold Walk

This delightful circular walk through the some of the least frequented parts of the Cotswolds begins in Cheltenham, an elegant Regency town of handsome squares, colourful public gardens and sweeping terraces of townhouses with intricate wrought-iron balconies and painted stucco facades. It visits the attractive villages of Guiting Power, Naunton, Bourton-on-the Water, the Rissingtons, Windrush, Sherborne, Farmington, Sapperton, Sheepscombe, Birdlip and Bisley; and the delightful market towns of Winchcombe, Northleach, Cirencester and Painswick. Highlights of the walk include Belas Knap, one of the best-preserved Neolithic burial chambers In England; Sudeley Castle and its wonderful gardens; Chedworth Roman Villa, with its outstanding mosaics; the quaint two cell lock-up in Bisley; the Thames and Severn Canal; the views of the Vale of Gloucester, the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons from the Cotswold escarpment; and Cirencester’s Corinium Museum, which houses one of the largest Roman collections in Britain. The many fine churches, each with some fascinating architectural or historical detail such as the wonderfully grotesque gargoyles of Winchcombe’s church; the memorial brasses of Northleach’s church; the delightful wall paintings of Hampnett’s church; the magnificent decorative stone pulpit in Chedworth’s church; and the unique “Poor Soul’s Light” in Bisley’s churchyard add to the charm of this wonderful walk.