Brendan Marrinan, Adam Packman
From: Dursley, Bradley Stoke
Started: 27th Jul, 2018 — Finished: 31st Jul, 2018
Three of us set out from Chipping Campden on the Friday set to complete the Trail in 5 days, after the first day we had one less comrade but the two of us persevered through 30 degree days and weather warnings (Wind and Rain) to make it to Bath by Tuesday feeling surprisingly fresh and surprisingly dry. Thoroughly enjoyable long weekend and we're glad we didn't have start in Bath given that we seemed to be going downhill all day on the last day.
Marc & Sabine Chariatte with doh Tilly
From: Switzerland
Started: 22nd Jul, 2018 — Finished: 31st Jul, 2018
It was an amazing walk through a landscape full of beauty, silence and nice & helpful people!
Steve Clarke
From: Birmingham
Started: 26th Jul, 2018 — Finished: 29th Jul, 2018
The Cotswold Way delivered another memorable adventure. A huge volume of stunning scenery to take in, and stumbling upon the hidden gems such as Belas Knap a treat. I opted for a brisk camp-pub-camp trip stopping in Hailes-Birdlip-North Nibley. There isn't an abundance of public transport to Chipping Campden so for convenience I added an also good bonus section from Moreton-in-Marsh. In Bath there was a tour guide actually standing on the stone circle marking the beginning and end. Their informative speech on surrounding history an items of interest made no reference to the Cotswold Way, they don't know what they're missing!
Patrizia & Thierry Wannier
From: Switzerland
Started: 23rd Jul, 2018 — Finished: 29th Jul, 2018
Great walk, wondeful landascapes, nice people. We had very nice weather and quite warm days. The path is perfectly indicated and we never had troubles to find our way. We liked very much the villages like Stanton or Broadway and Painswick. We appreciated the quiteness of the countryside. and the arrival in Bath was great, happy to have reached our final destination with plenty of nice memories.
Ken and Ellen Vesey
From: Smyrna, GA USA
Started: 19th Jul, 2018 — Finished: 26th Jul, 2018
What a wonderful journey on such a well-marked path. We enjoyed the variety - fields full of wildflowers, pastures of sheep and cows, and shaded and cool woodland (much appreciated in the heat). The vistas always made the uphill worthwhile. The quaint villages and historical sites were pleasant additions to our days. Finally, the friendly pub owners and B&B proprietors went well out of their way to make us feel welcome. Thank you, Cotswolds!
Penelope J Osborne
From: Vancouver BC Canada
Started: 11th Jul, 2018 — Finished: 19th Jul, 2018
Best, Worst and Funniest... Best- Blue skies, huge views, extremely well marked trail, wildlife including deer, butterflies, birds and the gorgeous villages of Painswick, Stanton, Broadway and Cleeve Hill. I walked solo from Bath to Chipping Campden and met many wonderful walkers along the way. A big thank you to the trio of English gentlmen who I connected with every couple of days. Worst - Stinging Nettle !!! Now I know what it looks like. The field of young bulls. Funniest - Actually stopping to admire the stump of a cross at...,,,Stump Cross !!!
Jenny and Ollie
From: Stroud
Started: 22nd May, 2018 — Finished: 14th Jul, 2018
My son (Ollie, aged 10) and I walked the Cotswold Way over 6 weeks. It was tough but also amazing. The views are spectacular and the paths were well maintained and mostly easy to follow. we raised money for the MS Trust and Society too.
Noah and Elizabeth Kahn
From: Florence, SC, USA
Started: 5th Jul, 2018 — Finished: 12th Jul, 2018
We started in Chipping Camden and walked through to Bath. Beautiful, well-maintained trail and wonderful weather. We can't wait to plan our next walk!!
Charles Espenlaub III, Andrew Espenlaub
From: Souderton, PA & Goleta, CA, USA
Started: 2nd Jul, 2018 — Finished: 11th Jul, 2018
Raimund Dehmlow
From: Germany
Started: 19th Jun, 2018 — Finished: 29th Jun, 2018
A real challenge, glad that I did it.
Cath Gillespie & Trudi Savage (Holly, Rosie & Oscar the dogs)
From: Bucks
Started: 15th Jun, 2018 — Finished: 21st Jun, 2018
What a wonderful walk! Paths were very well signposted from Chipping Campden where we started, all the way to the outskirts of Bath when we felt the little stickers on the street lights were sometimes hard to locate. Not a huge problem though as the Abbey was easy to find! The weather was kind and we completed the walk over 6 days - this was due to lack of dog friendly accommodation on/close to the walk. Fortunately, the weather was brilliant and we were able to cover the mileage whilst stopping to admire the views which seemed almost constant. We used a baggage transfer service (Cotswold Luggage Transfer) which was very easy to book and picked up / delivered everything to the right place. We were travelling home on Thursday when we arrived in Bath so the bags were left at 'Bath Backpackers' (Pierrepont St) and they charged a reasonable £4 per bag; it is also very closer to the railway station. We met some lovely people during our walk although we were suprised how few walkers there were completing the route. Thank you.
Daniel Bonson
From: Hereford
Started: 9th Jun, 2018 — Finished: 17th Jun, 2018
I started the trail by completing the Heineken 'Race to the Tower' and enjoyed it so much that I returned the next weekend to finish off all the sections not covered during the race. Lucky with the weather, not a drop of rain until I literally reached my finish point !
Mark Baker
From: Bristol
Started: 7th Jun, 2018 — Finished: 11th Jun, 2018
Fantastic experience... Will do this walk again but completing it in 4.5 days is not recommended to appreciate the scenery. I hiked and camped, carrying all my provision for 4/5 days... a fantastic challenge/achievement... but next time 8 days with B&Bs over night! The scenery is stunning. A lot of the hills (and there are a lot of hills!) are cruel. The experience... priceless
Nicky Handcock
From: New Malden, Surrey
Started: 31st May, 2018 — Finished: 10th Jun, 2018
Wonderful walk, with stunning far-reaching, often 360 degree views. Some tough hills, but worth every step. I walked South to North which meant I had the bonus of meeting many walkers coming in the other direction, as most walkers go North to South. Highlights were Painswick, Stanway, Cleeve Hill and Broadway Tower.
Kolja Thestorf + Agnes Krüger
From: Berlin, Germany
Started: 2nd Jun, 2017 — Finished: 8th Jun, 2018
Dear Cotswolds Way team, Cotswolds Way walkers and Hall of Fame members! Nearly one year after we finished the Cotswolds Way we finally found some free time to share our experiences with all Cotswolds Way walkers. We had a nice stay for two days in Bath and did the Cotswolds Way the other way round as we walked the Bristol-Bath Railway path first, directly after we arrived in Bristol. We started our adventure at the 2nd of June and finished at the 8th of June. On our way we rested at small B&B's in Old Sodbury (Dogs Inn) and Dursley (best stay ever!) as well as in a nice apartment in Moreton-in-Marsh with the family, who picked us up once on the journey and released us at the same spot of the path again after a day off. We enjoyed the scenic walk, the landscape and panoramic views from the hilltops but sometimes (really just very short periods of time) cursed the muddy slippery path, steeper slopes or the rain (unfortunately we had lots of it), but kept on walking. We had impressive moments on the 160 km walk from Bath to Chipping Campden where we finished our walk in the evening (9pm). Unfortunately this late arrival hindered us to get our walk confirmed, but we decided to make a picture in the city centre instead. The walk was really worth it. Not only due to the sights like Tyndale Monument, long barrows (e. g. Belas Knap) or the small towns and churches in the countryside, but also because of the nature which was really stunning and other people we met on our way and had a chat with. Our daily trips had between 30 and 42.2 kilometres in length and due to the weather conditions on two days we decided to have a day off, relax and visit other sights of the Cotswolds. One important lesson we had to learn on our way was, that you really shouldn't underestimate the ups and downs of the route (when you come from a very flat place on earth) and that you should always be prepared for changing weather conditions. We would like to thank the Cotswold Way team for keeping the trail in a very good condition. Especially the signs which tell you where to go were really helpful, although we had the two books (which were worth having as well) dealing with this Way. Thank you very much for this experience! Best regards from Berlin, Germany