This blog post is for those who are thinking about hiking the Cotswold Way and are wondering if it’s worth the effort…
You know I’m going to say absolutely is, but hopefully these notes will help you decide if it should be on your hiking list or not. As with my other long-distance hiking experiences, I had a very personally fulfilling time on the Cotswold Way.
I would especially encourage those who like to combine having big adventures with living the slow life to give this one a go. The Cotswold Way lends itself to taking your time, stopping to watch the world go by, and enjoying some of life’s luxuries whilst on the trail. It’s not all indulgence and long mealtimes, of course – this is a real long-distance hike of over 100 miles, with plenty of elevation gain which requires careful-footing. But it is one that benefits a slower pace, in my opinion.
In order to give real value to that encouragement, allow me to share some highlights from my experience doing the hike. Using my adventure journal series as my guide, here I offer my ten favourite Cotswold Way moments, in the order that they occurred during the two-week-long adventure.
Ten Favourite Cotswold Way Moments
01 A Perfectly Placed Bench
I’ll begin with my highlight of our first day on the Cotswold Way; the perfectly placed bench at the top of Thrift Wood Farm above Wood Stanway.
We’d already walked 13 or 14-miles of our 18.5-mile day, and this was the last climb before we could coast down-hill all the way to Winchcombe. The ascent was short and sharp, taking us up through two steeply sloped meadows, lush and green, and a little muddy in places.
Fiona had promised me a great spot for a snack when we reached the top. She remembered this climb as well as the bench from her first attempt of the Cotswold Way (she hiked around 80-miles of it a couple of years previously, before injury forced her to save the rest for another time). She was absolutely right, it was perfect.
The bench, perched almost at the top of the hill, had us turn around and face back the way we came, allowing us to take in the distance we’d walked so far that day. Add to that the fact the clementines I’d brought with me were so wonderfully juicy and citrussy I couldn’t help but make all the eating noises, and that the spring sunshine was particularly warming, and we had ourselves the perfect restful moment.
02 Snacking in my Favourite Place
The reason I wanted to hike the Cotswold Way in the first place was to join the dots between parts of the Cotswolds I already knew very well – to learn a little bit about this place that’s on my doorstep.
With that, sitting up on Cleeve Hill eating banana bread and drinking tea, looking out at the vast vista – a view which included my house – was a particular personal highlight. This happened mid-morning on day two, a Sunday, perfectly timed for second breakfast; it was even dry and (arguably) sunny.
It’s a spot I have sat and sipped from my flask countless times, but that will never get old. There really is something special about hiking your local National Trail, and I felt all those warm and fuzzy feelings in those few minutes on day two.
03 Smells in Witcombe Wood
Day three hiking the Cotswold Way was a particularly wet one. But before we were soaked through to the skin, we had the pleasure of walking through Witcombe Wood, my lasting memory of which was the smell. It was more than petrichor, although that was certainly at play too – the rain really brought out the aroma of wild garlic and the dense woodland, and it was utterly wonderful.
I would say the rain also brought out the greens of the woodland floor, but to be honest it was just a sea of mud… thankfully, the smell could not be denied.
04 A Soggy Picnic
You’ll think there’s something not quite right with me I’m sure, but sitting on the solitary bench at the top of Cooper’s Hill, eating my sandwiches in the pouring rain on day three of our hike simply has to make it into this highlights list.
This was one of those slightly ridiculous moments in an adventure when we could do nothing but give in and laugh. We had to eat, we’d been walking for nine miles and needed a break. I rounded the top of the hill to the sight of Fiona setting up temporary camp on the bench set back from the edge of the hill and immediately smiled. There was nowhere better to stop in that moment.
It’s the hardships that make adventures, and this is one of those memories that always brings a smile to my face whenever I think of that day.
05 Striding Through Standish Wood
I think my favourite woodland of the Cotswold Way was Standish Wood.
It was, quite simply, glorious woodland walking; smooth underfoot, fast, pretty, and peaceful. It went on for long enough that we really felt the benefit of being amongst the trees, but not so long that it felt like we weren’t making any progress on what was our longest day on the trail.
The Cotswold Way follows the wide easy trail through the middle of the woodland – well signposted, easy going underfoot. There was nothing but trees all around, it was quiet, and quite simply a wonderful place to be walking. I bounded along with a spring in my step, I was loving life.
What an amazing woodland, and one I know I will be returning to when I fancy a woodland walk in future. We were in it for a quite some time, passing a handful of other people, but in the main it felt like Fiona and I had the whole place to ourselves.
06 Boots off on Cam Long Down
The legend of Cam Long Down is quite the tale. Apparently, this standalone hill was created when the Devil, mad at the people of Gloucestershire for building too many churches, set about damming the River Severn to drown everyone. The Devil put a lump of the Cotswold escarpment in his wheelbarrow, but got bored on his way to the river, and so dumped the hill here instead. Love it.
Anyway, my highlight here was the boots-off break we took at the top of this legendary hill. We still had five or six miles left to go (or so), including one more significant hill to get up and over, but we took our time to sit down for a good while, take in the views and soak up the sun.
It was an incredibly sharp climb to get the top. Thankfully not particularly long, but heart-poundingly steep. The hillside here contains another hillfort – Uleybury – but this one has never been excavated.
That moment, when we weren’t actually moving, epitomises what hiking is all about for me. An opportunity to really enjoy the countryside, to be in the view rather than just looking at it, and to clear the mind of everything except the moment you are experiencing. Not just a highlight of day four, but a highlight of the whole hike. And one which would certainly help get me through the rest of the miles into Bath.
07 All the Big Views
The Cotswold Way is blessed with big views. Not the mountain views you might see in the Lake District or Scotland, but big and beautiful countryside views that roll away for miles. With the hike primarily following the edge of the Cotswold escarpment, you are often the highest thing around, and as such can see the vista stretch out across the valley and well into Wales.
On a good day from Cleeve Hill, for example, you can easily make out the Malverns, May Hill the other side of Gloucester, and even some distinctive shapes of hills over in Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). And a bit further along the Cotswold Way, once you reach Stinchcombe Hill and Cam Long Down, you can pick out the two Severn Crossings and beyond, with the unique shape of Pen y Fan standing proud on the horizon.
To make sure this isn’t quite a catch-all highlight, my favourite view, I think, was that from the Tyndale Monument and Wotton Hill on day six of our hike. Not only could we see over the Bristol Channel and well into Wales, but we could also see up the escarpment from where we’d come, and down to the end of the escarpment to where we were heading. If you ignore the M5 bit of the view, which I guess is a necessary evil to aid travel, it was glorious. It was a bit cloudy, moody even at times, but sometimes that makes for better views; there was good amount of drama in the sky.
08 Ancient Burial Grounds
There is so much ancient history on the Cotswold Way it had to feature in my highlights post somewhere. And I think it’s the incredibly impressive Sodbury Hill Fort, which takes this spot.
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting an absolute shedload of ancient hill forts thanks to having a father who is very much into his history, and that tendency to make an effort to check out old settlements (and random mounds) marked on the map and look up who would have lived here has stuck with me even now I’m in my 40s.
Sodbury Hill Fort has to be one of the best examples I’ve visited that hasn’t been turned into a tourist attraction. It’s huge, with ramparts still very much in situ. In fact, it was so big that the farmer who works the land here was churning the large field inside the hill fort as we walked across on the Cotswold Way. I’m told it’s never been fully excavated, and I like that there is still mystery surrounding this archaeological feature – stories of the world gone by yet to be discovered.
I’m so glad we stuck to the Cotswold Way proper to go up and over it, rather than bypass it on a commonly used lower footpath. It’s worth following the official route and not taking shortcuts!
09 Shades of Green
There’s a whole back story as to why my favourite colour is green, which you can read in weekly blog episode 31. With that, the one- or two-mile section walking up through Dyrham Wood on the last day of the Cotswold Way instantly became a hiking highlight.
The woodland was the best shade of green I’ve ever seen – not just on the Cotswold Way, but potentially of any woodland I’ve walked through in England. It looked like Witcombe Wood smelled like back on day three (see above), the greenest of greens, thanks to wild garlic, and other plants growing on the woodland floor. The narrow path wound its way up and through the beautiful colour, only breaking it enough for us to make our way through.
Dyrham Wood was also where we found the box containing the message book standing proud on the side of the trail. Signing the message book made the whole hike feel more real somehow – it’s strange what helps to solidify experiences and make moments stand out. I loved sitting for a short while reading what other people had written, and giving some thought to my own little message. I wonder who has read my entry since that Thursday at the end of April?
10 Joining the Dots
I mentioned in my second highlight above, that the reason I wanted to hike the Cotswold Way was to join the dots between local places I already knew well. It was about seeing where the path went in-between the views I already have secured in my mind.
There were parts of this route I already knew incredibly well, especially Cleeve Hill, and other parts of the trail I have hiked once or twice, including Dover’s Hill, Broadway, Stanton and Stanway, Winchcombe, Leckhampton Hill, Crickley Hill, Stinchcombe Hill, and North Nibley. Some of it I hiked when I did my walk around Cheltenham, other sections I’ve seen when on circular walks from books such as Cicerone’s Walking in The Cotswolds and AA’s 50 Walks in The Cotswolds, which have a permanent place in my ready-to-hike pile of routes.
I highly recommend walking your local National Trail if you get the chance – this on its own was a genuine highlight of my week. It helped me to see where I live in a much more in-depth way, and taught me heaps about the history, geology, and other features of my local area.
Even if the Cotswold Way isn’t your local trail, I would highly recommend it as a great week-long hiking option for you. Hopefully, these highlights have helped persuade you of that.
…And the Worst?
It is something of a tradition in my highlights posts – hiking or motorcycling or anything else – to make sure I mention at least a couple of not-so-highlights. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, quite literally, and it’s important to keep it real. Let’s face it, realness is something you’re never short of when long-distance hiking.
Wet Pants
My mood is so very linked to the weather, and while I tried very hard to keep positive the whole time, my coat wetting through at the end of day three of the Cotswold Way knocked the last bit of happy out of me that day.
The rain stands out as one of my lowlights of hiking the Cotswold Way. Actually, not the rain on its own, but the persistent nature of the rain which just kept on at us. It had poured for several hours, and there was no hiding from it. We knew it was coming, were prepared for it, and even had fun to begin with – that picnic at the top of Cooper’s Hill made it to my highlights above.
Our oomph definitely ran out before we made it to Painswick that afternoon; we ended up rushing to reach our B&B to get away from the weather, rather than being able to take our time and enjoy the views. I say views, but there weren’t any – we couldn’t even see across the golf course on Painswick Hill, and decided not to take the very short detour to visit the trig pillar. Miserable.
The same happened on our last hiking day, which really put a dampener (!) on what should have been an incredibly fun afternoon hiking into Bath. The rain – the very wet rain – sapped our energy and made the day much less enjoyable than it ought to have been. And yes, I had wet pants again, because this time I chose not to put my waterproof trousers on when I had the opportunity. Yuk.
Resenting Stinchcombe Hill
I know why the creators of the Cotswold Way take hikers up the hill from Dursley to Stinchcombe Hill, and then all the way around the outside of the hill to the trig pillar, rather than along the really short path that cuts right across the front of the Golf Course. The views from the edge are fantastic, there’s a lovely bit of woodland, and the path is pretty easy to follow.
But for some reason I resented – still resent – that footpath around Stinchcombe Hill. It just seemed to go on forever, and I’m saying that having walked that section of the Cotswold Way before (with Allyssee back in 2019). I was every bit okay with doing the Cotswold Way-proper, including the tour around this plateau, but at the end of a very long day it felt like a rather illogical bit of the trail.
It didn’t help that it made up the last couple of miles of a big mileage day. We were both very tired by this point, and did our best not to wish we had finished already. Thankfully, the views from Drakestone Point were suitably impressive, and at least I don’t have any inner conflict about taking a shortcut!
Crossing Main Roads
Who do I write to about getting some footbridges, or even proper pedestrian crossings, on some of the main road crossings on the Cotswold Way?! Especially on the last day, when we had to cross the A46 what felt like a thousand times. Ugh to busy roads. Noisy, polluted, busy, and somewhat scary.
At least two of the crossing locations on the last day are crying out for something a bit more structural than having to stop, look, listen and think. They’re building a pedestrian bridge at the Air Balloon roundabout as part of the Missing Link road project (see my day three post), Highways should 100% consider something similar over the A46 after Beacon Lane.
I mean, there’s already an official diversion to the Cotswold Way at Beacon Lane (read my day six post) thanks to the original crossing being deemed too dangerous, let’s go one better and make the whole thing safer for everyone.
Linked to the busy road moan is the fact we couldn’t safely reach our intended indoor lunch spot on the last hiking day. We could just about see the entrance to Ells Kitchen Café just outside Cold Ashton, but with no pavement along the main road, and no verge to speak of, the route was too dangerous for us to navigate. They’d do well to add some kind of signposted pedestrian access from the Cotswold Way, because they would certainly see hikers stop by. I’m still disappointed about that now, I was very much looking forward to an all-day breakfast!
No Ice Cream in Winchcombe
I know for a fact that Fiona, my hiking buddy for the Cotswold Way, would say this post would not be complete if I didn’t mention the fact there was no ice cream in Winchcombe. No-one has corrected me since I shared my day one adventure journal post back in May, so I maintain that there’s no ice cream in Winchcombe. And we were incredibly sad about that!
We wandered along the various streets, only finding one deli which didn’t look muddy-boot friendly, and a couple of closed cafes (it was 3.30pm on a Saturday). There didn’t seem to be anywhere serving ice cream cones, which was a missed opportunity. I could have got a Twister from the newsagent, but that really wasn’t it; when a lady wants proper ice cream, only proper ice cream will do!
Being such a popular place for walking – and it really is, there are so many trails starting and passing through Winchcombe – I had imagined there would be more informal eateries. I guess that’s part of the charm of it, though; it hasn’t been overrun by the desire to bring in the tourists like Broadway and some other Cotswold villages. No shade to Winchcombe, it’s a really beautiful place, but you know, no ice cream.
Look, I’m still okay to stand corrected – please (please) do let me know where’s good in Winchcombe for ice cream cones. I’ll be sure to go over and try it!
Share Your Highlights
I feel I should say that while I’ve outlined three things about my Cotswold Way hike which were not particularly fun, the positive experiences far outweighed the negative ones. It was such a great week. The Cotswold Way is a beautiful hike, offering varied terrain, spectacular views, and enough challenge to keep your body and mind busy. It was, without a doubt, a splendid week on my feet.
If you have hiked the Cotswold Way, whether in one stint or over a series of shorter weekend or day hikes, I’d love to hear your highlights. Which views were your favourite? Were there places which left a lasting impression on you? Which parts of the story of your hike still make you smile? And, if I dare, what were the things that were not so great? Share your anecdotes below.
And if you’re yet to hike this National Trail, I hope this – and my full adventure journal series – has provided some real-life stories to get you excited for your own version of this adventure.
There’s one more post in this series to come; my hints and tips post will be live in the next week or two.
What do you think? Comment below...