Cotwolds Way Hike Planning

Posted by Becky (Woodinville, WA) on 04/26/25 03:13 AM

Hello,

I'm planning to hike part of the Cotswolds Way in last August/early September with my daughter. We don't have the time to do the entire hike so are thinking of going perhaps 50 miles or so? Ending in Bath seems like a good idea, because that feels traditional. But I've also read so many good things about Chipping Campden! So I'm not sure. Would love advice. I'd love to take five full hiking days... probably around 10-12 miles per day. But truly open to options! Just want to hike in the beauty of the Cotswolds!

I'm hoping that my timing is good for making reservations, but after reading a few of the posts here wonder if I need to use a service to help me plan. Am I too late? Would love honestly any advice. Good guidebooks. Accommodations. Best parts of the hike. Feel free to make suggestions!

Thanks!

Posted by Cat VH

London

04/26/25 09:21 AM

379 posts

I haven't done the Cotswolds Way but I've done several other national trails here, and one of the most helpful resources I've found is the Cicerone guide books. I know they do have one for Cotswolds Way so recommend getting that to help you plan.

Posted by Jone

Hollis, NH, USA

04/26/25 03:49 PM

112 posts

We've done 10 long distance walks in the UK, and the guidebooks we find to be the most useful are the Trailblazers series. Here's the link to the one for the Cotswold Way: https://trailblazer-guides.com/book/cotswold-way

Posted by wasleys

Lincolnshire, UK

04/26/25 07:56 PM

2618 posts

Have you seen this website which describes circular and linear walks along the Cotswold Way?

This website offers a choice of guided or self guided walking tours of the Cotswolds. They get very good reviews on Trip Advisor, but aren't cheap....

Posted by Kathleen

04/26/25 09:53 PM

62 posts

If you're looking for a company that does logistics for Cotswolds walks we did the full Chipping Campden to Bath hike with Contours. They managed all the accommodations and took our luggage from place to place for us. The hike was fantastic. We want to do another one day. https://www.contours.co.uk/

Posted by Leslie

Southern California

04/27/25 10:25 PM

485 posts

My husband and I walked the full Cotswold Way in July 2023 with our British friends. I don't know how crowded late August/early September would be, but we made all our reservations for July clear back in October/November. The tricky part was finding accommodations that were relatively close to the trail and not too close together or far apart. Sherpa Van can book accommodations, but we just used their luggage transportation service.

Be aware that there is a lot of up and down on the Cotswold Way. A good trail book will not only give you directions, but also let you see the elevation gain and loss for the route so you can prepare. I used Trekking the Cotswold Way by Knife Edge. Besides describing the trail it listed places that had restaurants, grocery stores, and bus stops. My husband had Walking the Cotswold Way by Cicerone.

I like Bath as an ending point, especially if you're going to spend more days there after your hike. There are more things to see/do there than in Chipping Campden, in my opinion. Whatever you decide, it's a lovely hike.