UK
Cotswold
5 day loop, ~47 miles, April 2025
Overview
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We left some bags at our first hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh to lighten our load. We ended up staying 2 nights at the end in Chipping Campden as our inn we wanted to stay at had a 2 night minimum. So inorder to do the full loop we walked to Moreton in Marsh and took the bus back to Chipping Campden and spent an additional night. We took the train from Chipping Campden back to London
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Arrival: Morton in Marsh by train from Paddington 1.5 hour. Hotel: The White Hart Royal
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Day 1: Morton in Marsh to Bourton on the Water (11.5 miles easy). Hotel: Chester House
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Day 2: Bourton on the Water to Winchcombe (11 miles moderate). Hotel: Lions Inn
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Day 3: Winchcombe to Broadway (10 miles easy). Hotel: The Broadway Hotel
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Day 4: Broadway to Chipping Camden (5.25 miles easy) Hotel: Eight Bells,
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Day 5: Chipping Campden to Morton on Marsh (7.5 easy). Hotel: Eight Bells,
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In general easy terrain and occasional hill. Comfortable for entire route without hiking poles.
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We got incredibly lucky with the weather - first week of April. We had blue skies and warm days. If we had hit rain the paths would have been terribly muddy and we would have absolutely needed hiking pools.
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Walk is a mixture of fields, dirt paths through wooded areas, country lanes, and a little main roads. Lots of gates to keep the livestock in (sheep).
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Stone Cottages / houses gardens are beautifully maintained.
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For us 5 days was perfect as the scenery didn’t differ significantly from day to day.
Packing:
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We carried our packs so less is more. I’m sure if you didn’t want to carry your packs you could get your luggage transferred.
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Clothes: I wore the same hiking pants for 5 days in a row and changed my shirt and jog bra once. Upon arriving at our inn I would shower and change into my night uniform (comfy pants and shirt, clean bra and underwear).
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Shoes: I had a second pair of shoes as I couldn’t imagine after my shower putting my hiking shoes back on. We got incredibly lucky with the weather dry while we walked and before we arrived. If it had rain I think my waterproof hiking tennis shoes (keen) would not have been suitable for the muddy paths. Think I would have needed a proper hiking boots, gators and hiking poles.
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Rain gear: Weather is u predictable highly recommend carrying a heavy duty rain poncho to put over your pack. We were lucky we didn’t need ours but glad we had it.
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Hiking poles: I normally use them but they were not necessary for me. I was fine without them.
Hotel / Inns: We booked all accommodations in advance on Booking.com. They were all charming. Our favorite was the Lions Inn with the The Broadway Hotel being a close second. Highly recommend you book well in advance as most of the options have a limited number of rooms. We also prebooked dinner at all of our accommodations which is also highly recommended as some of them fully booked out. We enjoyed eating dinner on property after a long day of walking. One night in each town was enough as they are very small and you can see the entire town in 1-2 hours.
Budget: $1,200 (doesn't include flight to the UK or food/drink)
Navigation: All Trails premium a must.
Arrival: Morton in Marsh by train from Paddington 1.5 hour
Our first glimpse of a Cotswold town is that it oozes cuteness, charm, history and signs of spring. The people are incredibly nice and it appears we hit fantastic weather for our 5 day walk.
We stayed at The White Hart Royal, a six minute walk from the train station.
Larry had to duck in the door frames, while floors and stairs were very uneven, but oozed with charm.
Caught the Tuesday market before heading out of town. Cute with a variety of useful products and unique clothes/jewelry -about a block or two long.
Day 1: Morton in Marsh to Bourton on the Water
11.5 miles. Easy walk, as it was fairly flat.
Headed out for our first day of walking around 10am. Cool, but sun was warming.
We followed the Monarchs Way trail. Mostly well marked just make sure you truly follow the specific direction of the arrows.
We walked through flat fields separated by gates or step-overs.
Stopped for a cappuccino at the Longborough Community Shop and Cafe to enjoy the beautiful sunshine on the back patio.
Started on Monarch’s Way which changed to Heart of England Way. Followed All Trails map of Monarch’s Way, which was helpful. At 2.5 miles in, we hit a section of main road but didn’t have to stay on it for long. Beautiful stone buildings and walls along the way.
Little over 6 miles we hit Slaughters Inn which looked like a lovely garden area to sit outside.
Changed paths to Wardens Way for a minute then back on Monarch’s Way until the end.
Bourton on the Water. Very cute! River running through. Such a gorgeous day. Lots of people enjoying it!
Had a lovely glass of wine at the Dial House in their front garden in the afternoon sun.
Stayed at Chester House. Lovely historic, modernized hotel, with thin walls.
Day 2: Bourton on the Water to Winchcombe
11 miles. Moderate day due to some steep ups and downs. If it had rain or was raining there were several sections today that would have been a nightmare. We are thankful again for wonderful weather.
Started along the river via Windrush Way.
Terrain moved into more of a wooded area.
Saw some race horses along the way. Jumping track nearby.
Before dipping down around 4.5 miles into Naunton.
Unfortunately, everything in town was closed as we passed through shortly after 4pm.
Stayed the night at Lions Inn. Our favorite to date. Beautiful little bar area with a fireplace. They welcomed us with a complementary glass of wine and beer, which, after a long day of walking, was very welcome. The food was excellent!
Room was very nice. Silky sheets and full towels. Shower was crazy small.
Day 3: Winchcombe to Broadway
10 miles. Easy, mostly flat with just a few rises. Made our way out of town and joined the Cotswold Way, while looking for the overlapping Winchcomb Way.
Walked through fields enjoying the bahh and bird sounds along the way. A bit over 2 miles in, arrived at Hailes Church. Abbey is next store and appeared you needed to make prior arrangements to get in. The church was open so went inside.
Half a mile up the road we went slightly off track and stopped at the Orchard Kitchen for a coffee and muffin on their patio, enjoying the varied foliage colors.
Following Winchcombe trail for another 3.5 miles arrived in Stanton. More beautiful houses.
As in every town, lovely local church with a graveyard.
Passing Laverton town from the hillside above.
Endless fields. Following the pathway with Alltrails (very useful) we find the gate to get out, which seems a miracle as the path is not always obvious.
More lambs
Glimpse of Broadway as we near.
In town interesting rooftop
Arrived at our hotel (The Broadway Hotel) - lovely popular outdoor area facing the town square
Liked our economy room.
And our Hotel bar
Day 4: Broadway to Chipping Camden
5.25 miles. “Easy” day probably due to the shorter distance, given there was a good 800 foot climb to get to Broadway tower.
Started on High street out of town. Lovely shops along the way.
And began walking through our first field of the day towards the hill.
A farmer was herding their sheep to another area. Interesting to watch. The Shepard dog was doing an impressive job.
Then we pretty much walked straight uphill, fortunately passing lots of cute lambs for rests.
Until we reached the Broadway tower on the hilltop. About 1.7 miles from our start.
At the tower there was a herd of fenced in deer. Venison farm?
Rest of the way was a bit downhill, through a small forest, and then flat through fields.
A little bit of walking right next to the road.
First glimpse of Chipping Campden town.
Through the last field of the day.
Lovely walking through a neighborhood of stone houses.
Stopped at the Red Lion Inn for a beer and snack since we were early for check in. Nice outside area. Food was just okay.
Walking to our inn - Eight Bells, we passed several cute shops along the way. Our room was the smallest we have had to date. But bed was comfortable. Lucky we don’t have much with us.
Several outdoor areas so enjoyed a beverage at the upper terrace behind our room in the nice sunshine.
Several outdoor areas so enjoyed a beverage at the upper terrace behind our room in the nice sunshine. Ate at the inn pub. Pub got very crowded on Friday night but not so on Saturday.
Day 5: Chipping Campden to Morton on Marsh
7.5 miles. Easy (especially given we walked without our heavy packs). Two hills to climb, but not bad. Road back to our two night Eight Bells hotel by local bus 2A. Nice path from town towards the hill.
Up the gradual hill.
Through a lovely neighborhood.
To more hillsides of sheep with their lambs. Mothers get protective if you get close.
Another beautiful day walking through green pastures.
And some single track trails calling for a mountain bike.
More fields of yellow flowered weeds(?).
Beautiful home gardens.
Rolling hill leaving the town of Blockley behind. Would have been good to stop there for a coffee break, but we wanted to press on for lunch in Morton-in-Marsh before getting our bus back to overnight again at Eight Bells Inn.
Enjoyed lunch on the cozy back patio of the Black Bear Inn.
Bus back was a bit of an adventure. First trying to ensure we went to the right place. After waiting 30 minutes past the scheduled time, we were considering other options. Finally, a bus turned up but switched his sign to Out of Service. Asked him, and he said big delays due to an accident. He left for 15 minutes, then returned telling us, and the other couple as well as an unaccompanied minor, that he was not going our way. As we were trying to figure out our plan, he apparently got other instructions, and beckoned us to get on. He gave us a free ride with no stopping back to our town 😀.
We finally branched out and didn’t eat at our inn. Dinner at Da Luigi Bistro. Very popular. Good service. Nice break from English cuisine.
