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Hiking in Cotswold Area

My husband wants to go hiking from village to village in the Cotswold area. I don't have a clue as to where to begin to figure out this trip. I am the family logistics person here. Any tips on how to plan this would help. Is there a RS guide for this?

Posted by
2482 posts

do you want a long distance linear walk such as the Cotswold Way?

http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cotswold-way

or perhaps a series of circular day walks

http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cotswold-way/additional-walks

The Pathfinder series describes popular walking routes

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/guidebook-cotswold.html

You will also need a map

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/maps/explorer-map-the-cotswolds.html

If you want a company to handle the logistics then Contours are well established (there are many others)
https://www.contours.co.uk/walking-holidays/england-south.php

Posted by
1540 posts

I have taken a couple hiking holidays in villages areas and love the Cotswold area.
I used HF Holidays - a British company and would use them again and really recommend them
Cotswold I stayed in a Manor House in Burton On The Water - a very very cute little town.
Everyday we were offered an easy or medium or long walk led by someone from Ramblers.
We were offered lots of goodies to pack a lunch in our back pack and off we went.
I did 6 - 8 miles each day . We returned back to the Manor in the afternoon, time to rest
and shower and then were given a very nice large dinner.
Evening entertainment about the area, and then descriptions of the next days walks - again
we could choose short, medium, or longer walking.

here is the link - I love them and I'm going back again.....

HF Holidays

Posted by
5835 posts

...village to village in the Cotswold area. I don't have a clue as to where to begin....

We haven't done a Cotwold village to village walk but have booked the Coast to Coast, West Highland, and a Lake District circuit walking tour using Contours Walking Holidays. Contours does the accommodation bookings, luggage transfer services, provides maps & guidebook/walking directions and seems to do everything but the self-guided walking.

They list a number of Cotswold walks including the Cotswold Way, Cotwald Village Trails Circuit, and other Cotswold area tours. A Contours feature that I appreciate is they structure some of the tours for fast walkers (fewer days/longer daily distances) and slower walkers (more walking days/shorter daily distances) and can add rest days. Using the Cotswold Way as an example: Chipping Campden to Bath 102.5 miles (164 km) can be structured with 6 to 13 walking days. Shorter tours include their "Cotswold Highlights - A circular walk from Chipping Campden through the quintessentially English countryside of the Cotswolds" 43 mile walk beginning at Chipping Campden done with either 3 days or 6 days of walking.

Contours: https://www.contours.co.uk/index.php

Posted by
2773 posts

My friend and I walked the Cotswold Way National Train two years ago. We started in Chipping Campden, end in Bath. There are books to help you plan it.....Walking the Cotswold Way by Kev Reynolds.....The Cotswold Way by Anthony Burton....Cotswold Way by Bob Hayes and this one is the greatest The Cotswold Way National Trail Companion by J M Ronald. There are companies that will help you plan, but they are expensive. I planned and booked all of our B&B along the trail. There is a company that your transfer your luggage from B&B, so all you need in a day pack for water, etc. if you want any information just PM me. It is so easy to plan and book everything yourself, no need to have a company do it, plus you will save hundreds of £'s.

Posted by
16025 posts

We too were very happy with an HF Holidays walking trip. We were in the Lake District, but would happily try another location next time. They may not offer a true village-to -village walk for the Cotswolds if that is what you seek, however.

Posted by
528 posts

Three years ago, my husband and I rented a holiday cottage in Blockley. We had a car and drove to different locations to do circular hikes. This year we used Cotswold Walks. This company has both guided and self guided tours. We choose a self guided tour starting in Winchcombe and ending in Moreton on Marsh. We did not upgrade accommodations, and stayed at small B&B's and lodges. Our luggage was transported to the next location each day. The provided maps were very accurate and detailed. We had a lovely three day walk. We are planning a longer walk in the near future, and plan to use Cotwold Walks again.

Posted by
1540 posts

I'll add that on my HF Holiday Trip to the Cotswold area - we walked to and thru 4 - 5 other villages. Had tea at a couple, sat and had our packed lunches at others
I'm trying to remember all the villages we "visited" and it has been too long for my poor brain - but I really enjoyed my trip. I did a 4 day trip, they offer 3, 4, and 7 day trips.

Posted by
5835 posts

FYI: Hiking vs walking in the UK.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_in_the_United_Kingdom

Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in
the United Kingdom,[1] and within England and Wales there is a
comprehensive network of rights of way that permits easy access to the
countryside. Access is also easy in Scotland but not in Northern
Ireland. Walking is used in the United Kingdom to describe a range of
activity, from a walk in the park to trekking in the Alps. The word
"hiking" is used in the UK, but less often than walking; the word
rambling is also used, and the main organisation that supports walking
is called The Ramblers. Walking in mountainous areas in the UK is
called hillwalking, or in Northern England, including the Lake
District and Yorkshire Dales, fellwalking, from the dialect word fell,
for high, uncultivated land. Mountain walking can sometimes involve
scrambling.

Posted by
1010 posts

We used Andrew Guppy, Cotswold Walks, in August. We spent 8 nights in the Cotswolds.