Completing the Cotswold Way
Earlier on in the year, I walked the southern half of the Cotswold Way. I knew it was going to be a matter time before I would find the opportunity to complete the entire trail, starting from Chipping Campden and finishing in Stonehouse.
Weather would be more of a concern this time, as autumn is already in full swing. “Do I need to carry loads of layers with me? Is the mud going to be deep enough for me to want to wear my ankle boots?” I wondered. As it turned out, the weather was looking unseasonably warm and reasonably dry.
Day 1: Chipping Campden to Winchcombe
18.7 miles, 2280 feet elevation
Taking the 9am bus from Stratford-upon-Avon, I arrived at the official start point of the Cotswold Way by the market hall in Chipping Campden, at 9:40am. Sze Kiu and I actually covered the first mile of this route up to Dover’s Hill in a previous walk, so it felt weirdly familiar as I embarked on my 57-mile journey. While the two-mile stretch of the dead-straight path beyond Dover’s Hill was not in any rush to reveal the full beauty of the Cotswold Way, it did offer an opportunity for me to get into a good walking rhythm.
Soon the route got more exciting as I climbed Fish Hill to reach Broadway Tower. Descending into the village, I stopped off at a Co-op to grab a quick bite.
While Broadway was unashamedly touristy, the next village en-route, Stanton, somehow managed to retain a sense of romantic authenticity — though an appearance that is probably quite costly to maintain. It is nonetheless tasteful and timeless. I think the secret is simply that it has no quaint little tea-rooms or posh local-produce shops.
While the next settlement along, Stanway, had probably seen fewer changes than Stanton over the years, it felt strangely less attractive. Perhaps it was because it did not quite fit with my mental image of “ye olde Cotswold village”. It is interesting what influences our perception of heritage, which is often highly romanticised and biased.
As I plodded along, I could not also help but reflect upon the idea of wealth and privilege, and how much it was a prominent aspect of the Cotswolds. With the recent Tory shitshow, once again, I was reminded of how much classism defines this country. Would I still be enjoying my walk if not for a bunch of wealthy people, past and present, having decorated the land with impressive houses? Looking around at the wider landscape, I felt somewhat reassured that it was ultimately the hills and valleys that drew me to the Cotswold Way. Well, perhaps I was getting too judgemental, so I let that thought go.
Climbing up the hill past Wood Stanway, I looked back and enjoyed the magnificent view of the Vale of Evesham, with Bredon towering over it. But soon, it started drizzling, so I hurried along the top of hill and down the wood towards Hailes.
Upon reaching Hailes, the rain stopped. The warm afternoon sun blessed the land again as I marched across the fields towards Winchcombe. This first day of walking had been a perfect start for this leg of my Cotswold Way journey, and I was grateful for the decent weather. I found my Airbnb and went wandering around Winchcombe in search of eating places. I was disappointed to find that two of the pubs were closed, but I did eventually find somewhere to eat.
Day 2: Winchcombe to Charlton Kings (Cheltenham)
13.4 miles, 1780 feet elevation
Seeing Day 2 would be a shorter walk, I decided to go a bit slower and set off at a more gentle pace towards the edge of town. I was surprised when someone shouted my name as I approached Vineyard Street. As it turned out, it was my Airbnb host, Pat. It was very nice of her to bid farewell to me. (I do recommend her place by the way!)
As I approached the path leading towards the Cotswold escarpment, I saw a light mist shrouding the top. While this made for a charming scene from down below, I knew this also meant it was going to be damp up on top. I enjoyed the beautiful morning light and took my time to snap a few photos as I followed a field path, then a drive, and then a grassy slope up towards to the foot of the hill. As I climbed and emerged from the top of a woodland, the atmosphere took on a very different tone, just as I had expected. The mist had flattened all the features, and reduced the palette to grayscale.
The mist did in fact provide the perfect, if slightly spooky, setting for any walker to meet the next landmark on the Cotswold Way — Belas Knap — a Neolithic burial chamber. The site was amazingly well-preserved. It oozed mystery, which was naturally intensified by the mist.
As I left the site, colours started to miraculously appear in the horizon. Red, green and yellow, the colours of autumn started to dominate the scene. A lovely woodland trail took me down a valley into pasture land. Continuing down the slope, I spotted a manor house sitting just below Cleeve Hill Common opposite. I later found out that it was a co-housing community. The Cotswold Way skirted the ground to reach the bottom of the common.
It was a long climb up to the top of Cleeve Hill, which was full of human activity. I found it fascinating how the the hill top was basically a network of criss-crossing footpaths weaving between tee boxes, bunkers and other golf course features. Golfers and walkers happily co-existed, and somehow golf balls managed to avoid human targets. I found a quiet spot and sat down to enjoy my lunch, admiring the rather magnificent view out to plain below.
Instead of continuing past Dowdeswell onto Leckhampton Hill, as the Cotswold Way intended, I came off the escarpment just past the Dowdeswell reservoir to reach Charlton Kings, where I would spend the night.
Day 3: Charlton Kings to Stonehouse
25.1 miles, 3480 feet elevation
The final day of my Cotswold Way journey.
Considering the amount of distance I had to cover, I was quite happy to miss out a small stretch of the Cotswold Way by taking a direct route from Charlton Kings to climb straight up to the top of Leckhampton Hill via the Old Patesians ground. Having bid farewell to a fellow walker after breakfast, I left the accommodation at 8am. The weather forecast promised a dry day, but I got completely drenched 10 minutes into my walk, as drizzle turned into downpour. “That is OK,” I thought. I was going to be climbing up the steep slope of Leckhampton Hill and I would be staying pretty warm. And, luckily, the rain gradually eased off as I ascended. I climbed up a slippery path past the remains of a lime kiln to reach the top of the escarpment.
The rather miserable weather did not encourage me to linger. I took a quick look at the view back towards Cheltenham and marched on towards Birdlip. The route went along the edge of the Crickley Hill Country Park. It headed west first, but when it made an abrupt turn eastward, I was greeted with the first classic Cotswold Way view of the day.
As I continued, I knew I was coming to a busy road — I had driven along the A436 a few times and spotted the Cotswold Way sign to Birdlip. Of course, inside the comfort of a car, one never appreciates how much a busy road can disrupt the tranquility of the country. Still, I was completely unprepared for such a pure assault to my senses.
Passing the Air Balloon pub, the Cotswold Way stayed on the main road for a little while before turning off. What a relief! Instantly, the rumbling engine sound turned into a more bearable background hum. Soon it disappeared completely as I contoured the hillside to enter a woodland before descending to a road leading into Birdlip. Not going into Birdlip itself, I carried on through Witcombe Wood. Witcombe Wood was a fine wood, but the walking itself turned out to be a bit monotonous as it kept undulating along the top of the escarpment but only giving the walkers very occasional glimpses of the landscape below. It did however give me time to listen to the surroundings and reflect on my journey. The crunching sound of leaves under my heavy soles made me realise how lucky I was to be walking the Cotswold Way during perhaps the best time of the year, when the woodland trails turned into a never-ending carpet of red, yellow and green — just before it would become awash with layers of mud.
Passing a small hamlet, I reached the legendary Cooper’s Hill, famous of its bonkers cheese-rolling event. I followed the footpath to the top of hill, only to be amazed by the steepness of the hill when looking back down.
I carried on towards Painswick Hill, which offered much more open and dramatic views. In the meantime, I was also quite conscious of my progress as I wanted to make sure I could finish my walk before sunset, so I was quite relieved to see that I had made it down to Painswick just before 1pm, ahead of schedule.
Having grabbed a small bite to eat in Painswick, and admired its church, I headed uphill again along Edge Road. Striding across a field, I met a family with young kids doing a Cotswold Way circular walk. We had a nice chat before I picked up my pace again to crest Scottsquar Hill. I carried on along the top of the hill and soon realised that the Cotswold Way was supposed to follow a lower path. Looking at the map, I knew the Cotswold Way would eventually cross the road that my current higher path was closely following, so I decided to just keep walking. Eventually I did see the Cotswold Way sign again.
I was heading towards Haresfield Beacon, which the guidebook seemed to rate very highly. Previously I had told myself, if I was running out of time, I could completely avoid this loop to cut out about two miles of walking. It looked like I was making good progress, so I was not tempted. While I enjoyed the hillside track, I was very eager to witness supposedly the best panoramic view of the whole Cotswold Way. A final climb took me up to plateau, and I could see the trig point not far away. The view did well to conceal itself until I reached the trig point, and it was absolutely stunning.
Despite the strong wind, I took my time to admire the view. With a slight sense of regret, I had to set off again. I was happy to see that the view continued to be rather fine for the next half a mile or so. After a National Trust carpark, I entered Standish Wood, descending gently towards Stonehouse. My legs felt strangely alive, and my backpack surprisingly light. I was not checking my watch to see how much distance I had left to cover — it did not feel like I had just walked 20+ miles. I reflected on the fact that I was lucky to have had three days of very enjoyable walking, and being rewarded with the such a superb view as I approached the end of my journey across the entire Cotswold Way (102 miles) was just the icing on the cake. Last time when I was walking from Stroud to Bath, the view and the descent from Prospect Stile was memorable, but this time round, the finale was even more so.
Final thoughts
- The Cotswold Way’s insistence on climbing up the escarpment and then dropping back down to low-lying villages can feel tedious to come walkers, but this is also what makes it rather special.
- While “gentle” is probably how I would describe the Cotswold Way in general, there are certainly stretches that can feel surprisingly remote, especially when the weather turns.
- We are blessed with a number of National Trails in the UK, with Coast to Coast being the latest addition. They would not exist without all the volunteers and all the walkers. So I would urge you to put on your walking shoes, pack your waterproof, to experience the magic of long-distance walking.
