Cotswold Way Walking Holidays
Through tangled woods and sprawling fields, walking the Cotswold Way cleaves a route through pastoral countryside and historic villages. You’ll find an area in touch with its heritage, on a holiday that gives a real sense of walking through medieval England.
- Nights
- 3 to 15 Nights
- Distance
- 18 to 104 miles
- Location
- South England
- Difficulty
- Easy to Moderate – Moderate to Challenging
- Season
- Mar to Oct
- Price from
- £450
Highlights
Walking the Cotswold Way through England’s ‘Green and Pleasant Land’
- Passing Neolithic burial chambers, Celtic hill forts and Roman villas
- Touring historic houses, churches and abbeys
- Wandering through Stanway House
- Exploring Sudeley Castle
- home of Henry VIII’s Queen, Katherine Parr
- Sauntering around the elegant streets of Bath
- Admiring Bath’s Regency style architecture and sweeping Royal Crescent
- Picturesque villages of Chipping Campden and Winchcombe
History in the Making on the Cotswold Way
History hangs heavy over a region where the churches and sleepy villages you cross paths with are beautifully preserved - inspiring a feeling of being displaced in another era. There is so much to see, ideally suited to the moving pace of walking holidays. The scenery you encounter on Cotswold walking holidays forms the quintessential English rural landscape, yet despite the historic setting, these are thriving, contemporary communities, and a chance stop to sample the local ale or produce may be just too tempting to pass up!
Although rarely rising above 900 ft, walking the Cotswold Way takes you via many of the Cotswold’s best viewpoints. The highest point – at 1086 ft above sea level – gives panoramic views over the Severn Vale, Bristol Channel and beyond to the hills of Wales.
For an alternative walking holiday in the Cotswolds, take a look at the Cotswold Round
Path Walkthrough
Beginning with walks in Chipping Campden, there’s a gradual ascent through farmland toward Broadway Tower (the second highest ascent), before making the steep descent toward Broadway, on to the village of Stanton. From here, the route is typically undemanding, until a gradual climb around the edge of the escarpment takes you to Cleeve Hill, rising above the Vale of Gloucester. Through Cleeve Common a complex system of tracks through grassland and dense woodland become more commonplace towards Painswick. Woodland trails lead out toward Middleyard, where the route converges with canal paths.
There is a steep climb up Stinchcombe Hill from Dursley, where the descent then follows into Wotton-Under-Edge. Along the final stretch the route twists and undulates slightly toward Bath, before the final descent past Lansdown Crescent takes you to Bath Abbey.
Choose Your Walk
Our Cotswold Way Itineraries
Chipping Campden to Bath
102 miles (164.2 km)From £1,995 Per Person
From £1,520 Per Person
From £1,395 Per Person
From £1,170 Per Person
Chipping Campden to Painswick
48 miles (77.2 km)From £810 Per Person
From £750 Per Person
Painswick to Bath
54 miles (86.9 km)From £840 Per Person
Queen of the Cotswolds Break
17.7 miles (28.5 km)CW-PNS1d
From £460 Per Person
CW-PNS1
From £450 Per Person
Quintessential England: The Jewel of The Cotswolds
18.3 miles (29.5 km)CW-CHC1
From £565 Per Person
Key Information
- Good standard accommodation at a mixture of guesthouses, farmhouses, local inns and B&Bs with en-suite or private facilities wherever possible
- Breakfast
- Luggage transfers
- Personal transfer between accommodation and path that form a part of our standard package
- Route planning
- Walk pack including Trail Guide and mapping, itinerary, accommodation directions and route notes, lunch and dinner information, restaurant recommendations and holiday planning details
Customise your trip?
Looking for different mileages or a different number of nights? Please contact us to discuss how our itineraries can be adjusted to meet your specific needs.
- Telephone
- +44 (0)1291 689 774
Cotswold Way Client Reviews
4.8/5 based on 89 reviews
"Efficient, good value for money"
"Very satisfied with the responsiveness and service of Penny and the Celtic team. Will recommend to everybody!"
"A great way to travel. Seamless."
"Thorough, honest, high- quality service"
"Celtic Trails are simply the best!"
"They organise everything for you and take worry out of trying to book numerous accommodations"
"Celtic Trails were reliable and provide great resources"
"Everthing went vey smoothly. Accomodations all very good. Competitive prices"
"Well organised, able to accommodate request for 3 single occupancy rooms by juggling things around a bit for us. A helpful company."
Hand-Picked Accommodation: Comfort Along the Way
We seek out the best accommodation of its type available
Points of Interest
Bath
Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a well-preserved garden city with many historical attractions - including Roman Baths, museums - as well as the buildings and landmarks that make up the city itself. Bath is a thriving city with many independent shops, restaurants and places to spend the evening.
Bath has good transport links to the rest of the country, by train it's 90 minutes to London Paddington and 19 minutes to Bristol airport, well connected by a regular bus service.
‘oh, who can ever be tired of Bath?’
Catherine Moorland in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (published in 1817).
Sudeley Castle
The 15th century, 1,200-acre estate is notable for its 10 award winning gardens as well as being the final resting place of Katherine Parr (the last of Henry VIII’s six wives). Visitors today can explore the royal family’s private rooms and visit the church - the site of Katherine Parr’s tomb - within the castle grounds.
The castle and gardens are located between just outside the town of Winchcombe. There is a café, offering lunch and afternoon tea on site. The gardens are open daily, 10am until 5pm, from early March until late October.
Media Gallery
Customise your trip?
Looking for different mileages or a different number of nights? Please contact us to discuss how our itineraries can be adjusted to meet your specific needs.
- Telephone
- +44 (0)1291 689 774
Not For You?
Explore one of our other holidays...
Cotswold Round
South Central England
Thames Path
Southern England