From: Haan-Gruiten, Germany
Started: 20170925
Finished: 20171001
We walked the Cotswold Way in 7 days, starting in Chipping Campden on 25th September and arriving in Bath on the 1st October, 2017. Despite a horrible weather forecast we were lucky and only got wet twice during our walk, namely during the first 2 and last 2 hours of the walk. It rained during some nights, though, so some stretches of the walk were very muddy. One of the most enjoyable features of this long distance walk are the views from the Cotswold escarpment alternating with walks through fine beech woodland. We were particularly lucky with the weather on those days when we walked along the most spectacular stretches of the escarpment between Cleeve Hill and Leckhampton Hill with views over Cheltenham and again between Painswick and King’s Stanley with fine views over the Severn Valley and as far as the Severn Bridges near Bristol. The typical picturesque Cotswold villages with their hundreds of years old golden limestone buildings (like in Chipping Champden and Broadway) characterised the first day of the walk. We stayed at beautiful B&Bs and country hotels, all of them had their own charm, and enjoyed good food all along the way. As members of the National Trust we were glad to find lots of places to visit along the Cotswold way, such as Snowhill Manor (which can be reached by detour from the main path on day one), Hailes Abbey, Newark House and Park, Horton Court (currently being renovated) and Dyrham Park but also numerous other historical sites of interest such as hill forts (the best preserved one near Little Sodbury) and neolithic graves. Having said that, the walk never gets dreary. Evidently the final descent into Bath is another highlight and we walked past all the sightseeing hotspots like the Royal Crescent, The Circus, The Abbey, The Roman Baths and Pulteney Bridge before reaching our hotel. We added another day to explore Bath before we returned back to Germany.