Cotswold Way (The South)

7 Days & 6 Nights 4.6 Read 201 reviews
  • Walking the southern section of the Cotswold Way to Bath
  • Views of England’s most beautiful landscapes
  • Wandering through the quiet lanes of picturesque Cotswold villages
  • Enjoying the warm and friendly atmosphere of a Cotswold country pub
  • Bath, home to some of England’s most amazing Georgian architecture
Walk the southern section of the Cotswold Way from Painswick, through the beauty of the Cotswolds, to Bath. The southern section of the Cotswold Way explores the quintessential English countryside of the Cotswolds. A beautiful green landscape of rolling farmland, quiet woodland and picturesque villages. Your walk ends is the city of Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and surely one of England's most beautiful cities. The trail runs through the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and passes through a succession of enchanting English villages, featuring brimming with fine architecture.
The southern section of the Cotswold Way takes you through quintessentially lovely green countryside and picturesque villages with quaint stone churches and colourful flower gardens. Another highlight is finishing in the lovely Georgian city of Bath, where there is lots to see and do.

Tour Type:

Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way, Tour Du Mont Blanc and the Passau to Vienna Danube Cycle Path, to name but a few!

Activity:

Inn to Inn Walking | Walk from place-to-place changing accommodations each night. Generally staying in B&B’s, inns, and guesthouses.

This trip is suitable for:

Solo Travellers

Ideal if you have an interest in:

  • Long-Distance Trails

Activity Level & Terrain

The way is on well maintained footpaths, bridleways, across fields and on some minor roads. It does involve some steep ascent and descent from the escarpment but in general the walking is fairly moderate.

Navigation

The Cotswold Way is a National Trail and is fully way marked. A comprehensive guidebook and map are supplied.

Experience & Fitness

The Escape to the Cotswold is a classic inn-to-inn walking tour at heart, most of the walks on the tour are graded easy to moderate (therefore the tour collectively is graded as easy to moderate), however, there is a single walk that is graded moderate. For those that would rather spend some more time in the pubs or cafes or those simply looking for an easier day, there are options to either shorten the walks or take public transport on most days.

Accommodations

One of the highlights of this tour is the high standard of the accommodation. You will stay in carefully selected B&B’s, guesthouses and small hotels. Your room will always have an ensuite or private bathroom. A delicious breakfast is always included.

Alternative accommodation

During the high season, you might be booked into alternative accommodations which are not listed in the description. Any alternative accommodation will be of the same or better standard as those described.

Single Rooms

If you require single rooms within your party we will always try and accommodate you subject to availability. A single supplement is payable.

Solo Walkers

This walking holiday is available to solo walkers but as we incur additional baggage transfer costs their is a solo walker supplement payable.

Included
  • 6 Nights hand picked B&B's, guesthouses and small hotels
  • 6 Breakfasts
  • Door to door baggage transfer
  • A detailed information pack, maps and guide book
  • Emergency telephone support
Excluded
  • Travel to Painswick
  • Travel from Bath
  • Lunches, dinners, snacks and drinks
  • Travel Insurance
  • Personal Equipment
Extras
  • Extra nights

When To Go

You can start The Cotswold Way South on any day between April and October subject to availability. The Cotswolds are very popular so it is best to book as far in advance as you are able to.

Getting to the Start

Painswick is accessible from London with a train service to Stroud. From Stroud there are taxi or bus services are available for the 4 miles from Stroud to Painswick.

Please check the National Rail website for train times and schedules and the also the National Express website for bus times and schedules.

Getting from the End

Fast and frequent train services connect Bath to London (1h30). If you have left a car in Chipping Campden getting back from Bath on public transport rail/bus takes about 3.5 hours. We don’t recommend you leave a car in Bath as long term parking is expensive.

Luggage Transfer

At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.  Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person.  It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.

If you are travelling from far afield and do have more than one bag it is possible to arrange for the extra luggage to be stored whilst you are on the tour for a fee of £25 per bag. These additional bags would be picked up from your accommodation at the start point of your tour and dropped off wherever you finish depending on the itinerary you are doing. Please contact us if you are interested in this option.

General Information

The distances and ascent/descents are approximations of the recommended routes. Please be prepared by packing all necessary items, for example, proper rain gear (jacket and pants), sun hat, sunscreen. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking/cycling gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes for the cooler months and lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.

Equipment

Please be prepared by packing all necessary items, for example, proper rain gear (jacket and pants), sun hat, sunscreen. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking/cycling gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes for the cooler months and lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.

Travel Insurance

It is a requirement of booking this tour with Macs Adventure that you have suitable travel insurance which covers you for the activity and emergency evacuation and hospital care.

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Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive Painswick Day 2 Painswick to King’s Stanley 9.5 miles / 15 km Day 3 King's Stanley to Wotton-Under-Edge 15 miles / 24 km Day 4 Wotton-Under-Edge to Old Sodbury 13 miles / 20.5 km Day 5 Old Sodbury to Cold Ashton 9 miles / 14.5 km Day 6 Cold Ashton to Bath 10.5 miles / 16.5 km Day 7 Onward Travel

The Macs Way

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