Cotswold Way hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Cotswold Way is a National Trail in the south of England. It runs for 164 km (102 miles) from the old wool town of Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire to the city of Bath. For most of its length it follows the Cotswold escarpment, the steep western edge of the Cotswold hills, with wide views west over the Severn Vale to the Malvern Hills. On the way it passes villages built of honey-coloured stone, beech woods, Iron Age hill forts, Neolithic burial mounds, churches and grand houses. The trail is waymarked with the National Trail acorn in both directions; most walkers and guidebooks go from north to south.

The route

From the Market Hall in Chipping Campden the trail climbs to Dover's Hill and passes Broadway Tower before it drops into Broadway. It then goes through Stanton and Stanway and past the ruins of Hailes Abbey to Winchcombe. South of Winchcombe it climbs past the long barrow of Belas Knap to Cleeve Common, the highest part of the walk, high above Cheltenham. The next days follow the edge past Leckhampton Hill and the Devil's Chimney, Crickley Hill and Cooper's Hill to Painswick, about halfway. Further south the trail crosses the Stroud valleys, climbs to Coaley Peak and Cam Long Down, and passes Dursley, the Tyndale Monument and Wotton-under-Edge. The last part is quieter farmland and parkland through Old Sodbury, Tormarton and Dyrham to Cold Ashton, then over Lansdown and down into Bath. The walk ends at a carved stone disc outside the west doors of Bath Abbey.

This guide follows the main route as mapped on OpenStreetMap and splits it into 11 stages, about 15.0 km each, ending in the towns and villages where walkers usually sleep. The trail is never very high (about 300 m on Cleeve Common), but it goes up and down all day: the National Trail figures add up to about 3,250 m of climbing in total.

Highlights

• Chipping Campden: a Cotswold wool town with its old Market Hall at the start
• Broadway Tower: a hilltop folly designed by James Wyatt for the Earl of Coventry, with views over up to 16 counties
• Hailes Abbey and Winchcombe: the ruins of a famous medieval pilgrimage abbey, and a small town next to Sudeley Castle
• Belas Knap: a Neolithic long barrow, where the remains of 31 people were found
• Cleeve Common: open limestone grassland on the highest ground of the Cotswolds
• Painswick: the halfway village, with its Rococo Garden
• Tyndale Monument: a tower above North Nibley in memory of William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English
• Bath: a World Heritage city with the Roman Baths, Georgian architecture and the Abbey at the finish

When to walk the Cotswold Way

You can walk the Cotswold Way all year. Late spring and early summer are the best time for wild flowers in the grasslands, and the beech woods are at their best in spring and autumn. Clear autumn and winter days give the longest views from the escarpment. In winter and after rain many paths are muddy, and the days are short. Summer weekends and bank holidays are the busiest times, so book rooms early. Big local events also fill rooms, such as the race meetings in Cheltenham and the cheese rolling at Cooper's Hill on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday.

How many days do you need?

The official guidebook suggests 7 to 10 days. The 11 stages in this guide are a relaxed plan of 9 to 26 km a day; fit walkers join stages and finish in 7 days, and the National Trail's own route description splits the walk into 15 short sections. Local buses serve many of the towns close to the trail, so you can also walk it in parts. Use Traveline to plan buses.

Getting there and logistics

The nearest airports are Birmingham and Bristol. Moreton-in-Marsh is the nearest main-line railway station to the start; from there it is about 9 km to Chipping Campden by taxi or local bus. Bath Spa station is a few minutes' walk from the Abbey at the end.

You sleep in inns, B&Bs, hotels and a few campsites; there are no huts. Wild camping is not legal on the Cotswold Way, so camp only on official campsites or with the landowner's permission. Small villages have only a few rooms, so book early. Several companies can book your rooms and carry your bags between them. The trail passes many villages and towns with pubs, cafés and shops, but carry water and lunch on the longer days. Mobile signal is patchy, so carry a map or the route offline.

In 2026 the trail is diverted near Birdlip because of A417 road works (from 3 July 2026 for at least six months; it adds about an hour), and there is a signed alternative route at Tormarton. Check the diversions on the National Trail website before you go.

Difficulty

The Cotswold Way is a moderate walk with no mountains and no exposed sections, but many walkers are surprised by how many short, steep climbs it has. Most stages climb 150 to 450 m. The path is very well waymarked. Expect many stiles and gates, fields with sheep, cows and horses, some busy road crossings (for example the A46 near Tormarton), and mud after rain. Only about 8% of the trail is on roads, mostly quiet lanes. Good walking shoes, waterproofs and a map are enough.

History

The idea of a path along the Cotswold edge came from local members of the Ramblers in the 1950s, led by Tony Drake of Cheltenham and Cyril Trenfield. Gloucestershire County Council launched the Cotswold Way in May 1970, using existing public footpaths, and it became an official National Trail on 24 May 2007, with new rights of way and acorn waymarks. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020. Today the Cotswolds National Landscape team and the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens look after it. Along the way you walk past Neolithic long barrows such as Belas Knap, Iron Age hill forts, the medieval wool towns, and Lansdown, where a battle of the English Civil War was fought in 1643.