Will Shaw
From: Bristol
Started: 11th Feb, 2017 — Finished: 28th Dec, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed the cotswolds way. As i live close to the path i did all the walk in sections and not just in 1 go. My favourite parts were hairsfield beacon where i saw a spectacular sunset over the severn. Also the section around Cheltenham where you get views right across the town with the Malvern hills always on the horizon
Anne Louise Avery, Steve Pratley and Inigo Avery
From: Oxford
Started: 31st May, 2017 — Finished: 25th Nov, 2017
We walked the Cotswold Way with our 7-year-old son, Indy, who was only 6 when we began. As he was so little, we decided to do the walk in segments over weekends and holidays, looping back to our car each time by taxi or bus, rather than staying the night. We normally walked between 7 and 14 miles each time, stopping for picnics at some of the wildest and most beautiful places along the way. A full account of our experiences, including the history of the Cotswold Way and its connection to the poet and composer Ivor Gurney, is published at the literary travel journal Panorama: http://www.panoramajournal.org/seen-cotswold-way-england/
Naomi Jackson
From: West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
Started: 31st Oct, 2017 — Finished: 5th Nov, 2017
Beautiful walk! Challenging inclines were offset by fantastic views of the countryside and animals. Everyone I encountered was very friendly!
Melanie Ring
From: Stroud, Gloucestershire
Started: 19th Aug, 2017 — Finished: 29th Oct, 2017
I walked the Cotswold Way in the autumn to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK. Thanks to everyone who sponsored me and showed their support. My route took me north to south from Chipping Campden to Bath. It was challenging but filled with lots of wow moments (the views from Cleeve Hill, Cam Long down, Prospect Stile...). Plenty of health benefits too!
Worcester Ramblers
From: Worcester
Started: 1st Feb, 2017 — Finished: 25th Oct, 2017
Members of the Worcester Ramblers at the end of the Cotswold's Way in Bath. A total of 17 walkers completed the trail over 8 sections, which took place between February and October 2017. A great success and achievement, the trail offered a wide variety of scenery, quaint villages with fabulous views across the Cotswold's.
Lary and Kathleen Taylor with Bruce and Charlene Bainum
From: Angwin, California, USA
Started: 12th Sep, 2017 — Finished: 19th Oct, 2017
We had a lovely hike.
The weather was perfect with only about 20" of rain.
England is beautiful and has an amazing amount of open countryside.
Shirenewton Village Walkers
From: Shirenewton, Chepstow, Monmouthshire
Started: 3rd Oct, 2016 — Finished: 16th Oct, 2017
OK, so a snail could have completed The Cotswold Way in a shorter time than we did! But we did the trail over 13 short stages using Kev Reynolds guide, going out for a day once a month or so and thoroughly enjoyed it. The landscape is spectacular and the villages beautiful. We usually finished the day with tea and cake in a cafe. I'm sure we'll be revisiting some of the stages again in the future.
Sandrax2
From: Stonehaven
Started: 4th Oct, 2017 — Finished: 11th Oct, 2017
Cotwold Way - Bath to Chipping Campden. Excellent walk. Thanks very much for all the hard work the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens have been doing along the route. We met them in various locations along the way, and we appreciated all the hard work they have been doing over the year to improve and maintain the route to the high standard it is. Great work everyone. Thanks for helping make this a lovely walk.
Beverley Bleasdale
From:
Started: 7th May, 2016 — Finished: 7th Oct, 2017
Annette Goodall
From: Bishopston, Bristol
Started: 7th May, 2016 — Finished: 7th Oct, 2017
The Cotswold Way in ten stages
Ulrike and Guido Krautz
From: Haan-Gruiten, Germany
Started: 25th Sep, 2017 — Finished: 1st Oct, 2017
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.
Chris “Kit” Burman-Day
From: Dursley, Gloucestershire
Started: 29th Sep, 2017 — Finished: 30th Sep, 2017
On the weekend on the 29th September to 1st October (2017) Kit Burman-Day too on a personal challenge to complete a loop of The Cotswolds, some 300km in total on foot, bicycle and kayak, including trail running the full length of the Cotswold Way.
Starting in Gloucester he cycled to Chipping Campden, where he commenced a run of the full length of the Cotswold Way, finishing in Bath. Picking up his bike again he cycled to Sharpness docks, swapping his bike for a kayak and paddling up the Sharpness Canal, finishing his challenge at Gloucester Quays docks.
The challenge was completed in one weekend and was featured on both BBC television and radio, raising money and awareness for The Children's Society along the way.
View the BBC News Story at https://youtu.be/OcZqdyFf5N0
Ruth & Sarah
From: Plymouth & Redcar
Started: 20th Aug, 2017 — Finished: 28th Sep, 2017
The weather deserves a special mention as, apart from a slight drizzle one morning, it was fine and dry all the way. Don’t you just hate carrying waterproofs for nothing?
Highlights
- fantastic views from the escarpment and walking through some lovely beech woodlands
- getting a fit of the giggles when asked to don poly bags over our boots before entering the café at Hayles Fruit Farm
- climbing the Tyndale Monument - and the view from the top
- seeing combine harvesters working and the abundant hedgerow harvest of sloes, blackberries and elderberries along with an offer of free apples from a very kind person at Hammerdown!
- my husband (aka Sarah’s father) surprising us with a celebratory bottle of champagne complete with plastic ‘glasses’ at Bath Abbey
Lowlight
- Our carry a bag transfer service got our start date wrong so our bags were not waiting for us at Stanton when we arrived after our first day’s walking Very disappointing when you just want to have a nice hot shower and some clean clothes. They arrived about one and half hours later after a phone call
Jackie & Colin Selby
From: Edinburgh
Started: 18th Sep, 2017 — Finished: 26th Sep, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyable.
Martin and Elizabeth Potterton
From: Ballinafad, Ont. Canada
Started: 14th Sep, 2017 — Finished: 25th Sep, 2017
We walked Chipping Campden to Bath with beautiful views. We were lucky with the weather, just one rain day. We met some every lovely people along the way, walkers and host of our B&B's. We spent an extra day in Bath to explore the sights before returning to Canada. Another walk for the memory books. Thank you to all the volunteers of the path for making it a safe walk.