Day Walks & Circular Routes on the Cotswold Way

Distance: 5 miles/8 km
Duration: 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy – Moderate

From the delightful market town of Chipping Campden at the northern end of the Cotswold Way, get a feel for what it’s like to embark on a long distance trail by picking up the path at the marker stone and heading out of town towards Dover’s Hill, owned and managed by the National Trust. Follow an old track onto the hill and climb along the edge to the high point to take in the incredible views that are an excellent taster of what’s to come.

If you’re here in spring, you might encounter the Olympick Games, which have been played on the hill annually since 1612. Unlikely sports like ‘shin-kicking’ and ‘pike-tumbling’ are still enacted here. With your fill of vistas, revived by the fresh wind, it’s possible to detour from the Cotswold Way and descend from the hill into Lynches Wood to the north, where there are spectacular shows of bluebells in May. A loop south takes you back to the path you left Chipping Campden on so you can retrace your steps. The Red Lion Inn, close to the start/finish, is a relaxed place for a celebratory pint.

Distance: 6 miles/9.5 km
Duration: 4 hours
Difficulty: Moderate

Combine two idyllic villages with this pretty section of the Cotswold Way for a great day out. There are some superb views, shaded woodland and a couple of warm and welcoming pubs to look out for. Stanton is often regarded as one of the loveliest villages in the Cotswolds. Stroll out of town on the Cotswold Way and climb to Shenberrow across fields. Follow the trail to Manor Farm and Buckland Wood. Here the Cotswold Way continues north towards Broadway.

Turn south though and make your way to Snowshill and Snowshill Manor, an unconventional house and museum managed by the National Trust full of thousands of objects and curiosities that once made up the eclectic private collection of Charles Wade. There’s a pretty Arts & Crafts garden, a tearoom in the grounds and an unspoilt Cotswold stone pub, the Snowshill Arms.

Tear yourself away from Snowshill to head west towards Littleworth Wood. Here you’ll rejoin the Cotswold Way and follow the familiar path from earlier down into Stanton once more, enjoying the views that you had your back to before, arriving at The Mount Inn, a 17th-century walker’s pub boasting incredible views from its garden terrace.

Distance: 5 miles/8 km
Duration: 4 hours
Difficultye: Moderate

From the former Saxon capital of Winchcombe, access one of the highlight stretches of the Cotswold Way where hikers will discover just how ancient the trail is. Leave the town on the Cotswold Way and follow the path across rolling green fields past the 15th-century Sudeley Castle. Gain height until you reach Belas Knap, a shapely 55m long grass-covered mound that is in fact a Neolithic long barrow, or burial chamber. The site is around 5,000 years old, and archaeologists have excavated a number of skeletons as well as flints and pottery from the burial chambers within the carefully constructed structure.

After exploring, you can retreat the way you came to return to Winchcombe and a refreshing pint at the Plaisterer’s Arms. Should you have more energy in your legs, it’s about two hours on to Cleeve Common. This is a wild and windswept corner of Gloucestershire designated a Site of Scientific Interest because of the significant limestone grassland it sits on, which is home to a wealth of wildflowers, butterflies, birds and animals. A network of paths crosses the common allowing you to explore it more fully.

Distance: 5 miles/8 km
Duration: 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy – Moderate

By combining two branches of the Cotswold Way, you can create a ready-made scenic circuit with some attractive highlights that have become a popular outing. South of Randwick and Westrip, the Cotswold Way splits with a short onward route and a more scenic detour, both converging at Penn Wood. To combine the two in a circuit, take the Cotswold Way south from the somewhat functional town of King’s Stanley through Middleyard to Penn Wood. Instead of hiking on to Dursley, detour through the trees on the alternative branch of the Cotswold Way and cross Selsey Common as you head north again.

This is a superb spot to look for wildflowers and orchids hidden among the long grass during summer. Crest the high ground next to an ancient burial mound and drop down again to the village of Selsey, centred on a church that features stained glass windows created by William Morris and leaders of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Sustenance is available at the Bell Inn. From here, it’s a stroll through some industrial heritage to Ebley Mill and a section of trail heading west along the restored Stroudwater (Ebley) Canal. Leave behind the canal on the Cotswold Way to loop round past a second Victorian mill, Stanley Mill, and return to King’s Stanley.

Distance: 2.5 miles/4 km
Duration: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy

Short but sweet, this taster circuit is a lovely, gentle stroll on a section of the southern Cotswold Way, around oak-fringed farmland with some fascinating ancient history thrown in. From the Dog Inn in Old Sodbury, stood right on the route of the Cotswold Way, walk north past the impressive church of St John the Baptist. Beyond a sizeable sycamore tree, cross fields and shady woodland before climbing the ramparts of a large Bronze Age hill fort.

Beyond, the trail descends to the quiet village of Little Sodbury where the hilltop church of St Adeline is an excellent spot to rest and enjoy the views of the unfurling fields and hills. You can either return the way you came or cut south across the fields towards Old Sodbury and the village church before finishing where you started at the Dog Inn, perhaps this time with a pint!