Our family group of 8 adults are planning a self guided trip to England and Scotland. Based on preliminary research, we’d love to take a walk in/through the towns and countryside of the Cotswolds and stay in a hotel close to one of the trailheads of the “monarch’s way”possibly. We will likely have 2 nights to stay in the Cotswalds. Does this sound reasonable and would anyone have advise on how to navigate a walking tour and best place to stay?
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Southern California
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I've not heard much about the "monarch's way", but looking at stage maps on this site: https://hiiker.app/trails/england/worcestershire/monarch-s-way/stages, they show Stage 15 ending at Moreton-in-Marsh, and a further Stage 16 beginning from there. Moreton-in-Marsh is easy to reach by train, so you might want to choose a hotel there and hike one direction one day, and the other the next. Chipping Campden is in the middle of Stage 15, so that's another possibility of a place to stay where you could do two different hikes from the same starting point.
The big thing for a group your size is that you will need 4 hotel rooms, or a house/cottage to rent, so that narrows down your options a bit. I know Rick Steves had lodging suggestions for Chipping Campden in his last England guidebook, but I've not seen the current edition. It is the official start point of the northern end of the Cotswold Way, and there are a number of places to stay in that town.
When you ask about navigating a walking tour, are you looking for a group that gives tours, or something self-guided? The trails in that area are pretty well marked, and we walked the length of the Cotswold Way with friends and a couple guidebooks. If you're doing an out-and-back in one day hike, you won't be going very far from your starting point on any one day, so hopefully couldn't go too far wrong on your own.