Cotswolds to Bath In Style

Experience the Cotswolds and Bath In Style! Perfect for those looking to visit this picturesque corner of England, while staying at the region's finest luxury hotels. Graded easy to moderate, you will stroll through the timeless beauty and charm of its Countryside by day and then dine and unwind in your spa hotel by night. The tour ends in the magnificent city of Bath, for any history buff, take your time and soak in its rich Roman heritage!

In Style | After a day of exciting adventures and soaking up unbeatable scenery, retreat to stylish accommodations and unwind with fine food and wine. This trip type is for those who like sophisticated places to stay and are looking for active routes but still want the holiday to feel special.

Multi Centre Walking | With a mix of loop and point-to-point walks stay 2 or 3 nights in one place which offers the chance to slow down and really explore a destination.

Foodie, Accessible by Rail

The minimum age for this tour is: 12 Years

The tour is graded easy to moderate overall. The walks are around 6-10 miles a day, with some noticeable hills climbs and descents on Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5. While moderately steep at points, it should be more than manageable for any active walker.

Expect a mixture of paths, tracks, and country roads. Some of the paths can become very muddy and boggy when rain falls, often making progress slower than normal. The Cotswold to Bath In Style walks are not specifically waymarked but you are walking through sections of England’s national trail networks and you regularly pass through small villages and towns – The paths are remote in sections but are walked regularly by other hikers and locals, with a few short sections being on indistinct paths.

You will stay in Broadway (Dormy House Hotel) for two nights, Cheltenham (Ellenborough Park Hotel) or Barnsley (Barnsley House Hotel) for two nights, and Bath for one night. The characterful, luxury hotels you stay in are the best in the region and one of the tour's highlights.  

Accommodation Location

As this is an In Style tour we only use the best accommodations in the region, thus the walking days are crafted around the location of the luxury hotel you staying in. If there are any availability issues we can offer alternative options in Bath only currently (The Gainsborough). 

IMPORTANT: We have switched the turn from staying in Barnsley House to Ellenborough Park Hotel (near Cheltenham). Barnsley House Hotel has gone under new ownership as of February 2024 and is currently refurbishing the hotel and its local village pub. Currently, they are not taking bookings till late summer 2024. In the meantime, The Ellenborough Park Hotel will be the permanent replacement with a walk to Sudeley Castle.

Accommodation Availability

Due to these being the best hotels in the region, there may be occasions when the entire hotel has been booked out for a closed event (such as weddings or functions). Where known, we have blocked these dates off to book in the calendar.

Twin Rooms

PLEASE NOTE: In some cases, availability may be trickier when booking a twin room setup as there may only be specific rooms in luxury accommodations that caters to two single beds or a ziplock mattress. For example, a lot of luxury accommodations use four poster beds, keeping in the character of country hotels; therefore cannot physically switch the room type to twins. 

Single Rooms & Solo Walkers

We do not necessarily recommend solo walkers on this trip, due to the substantial solo supplements required of single rooms in luxury hotels and the included cost of solo taxi transfers. Single occupancy in double rooms also will likely require a substantial supplement.  Please get in touch with the team directly, and we can look at arranging a quote for you.

Meals

Breakfast is included each morning and normally consists of a continental buffet with tea and coffee, fresh fruits, yoghurt, cereals, eggs, and bread with jams. Often also on the menu are cooked options like freshly made porridge or a traditional cooked English breakfast (Bacon/Eggs/Sausage/Beans). This of course varies depending on what accommodation you are overnighting in. 

As your accommodation in Broadway (Dormy House Hotel) and Cheltenham (Ellenborough Park Hotel) or Barnsley House (Bibury) are not directly within local towns, we’ve included dinner when you are overnighting there. Dinner is normally a supplemented amount from around £40 per person for food (drinks not included). If you spend any more than this, you will be charged at checkout. Dinner is not included when you stay in Bath as there are plenty of options around the city – our information pack and blog have a great guide to eating out in Bath! 

As you walk along the tour you will be able to see our recommendations on the Macs App. It shows the exact locations of convenient lunch, cafe or pub stops – Expect a mixture of traditional inns, cosy cafés or fine-dining restaurants. If you wish to go somewhere in particular for a meal, we recommend checking opening times and reserving a table a week or at least 24 hours in advance to avoid disappointment.

Additional Nights

You may wish to take some extra nights along the route, either to rest or for those with plenty of energy to explore some of the other walking opportunities nearby. We recommend extra nights at:

• Bath - Arguably, one of the best cities in England. Wonderfully compact and easy to get around. It has many great pubs, restaurants and visitor attractions such as the Roman Baths, The Pump Room and its Abbey. An extra night at the end of your tours is a must to fit everything in.

Using the Macs Adventure Smartphone App is mandatory for this tour. The trail paths follow a mixture of public footpaths and sections of the Monarchs and Cotswold Way. Many of the beautiful paths cut through the Cotswolds countryside where underfoot it may be indistinct at times, but we provide comprehensive route, maps and GPX tracks through our smartphone app, so you shouldn’t have any problem finding your way. 

There is no bad time for walking in the Cotswolds but the best months for walking are in spring, summer and autumn when the weather is fairer. Spring is great as the wildflowers will be in bloom and the local towns and villages will be quieter during the day. By October the Cotswolds are covered in lovely orange hues as the leaves start to fall in the Autumn. You can start Cotswolds to Bath In Style, any day of the week subject to availability. The Cotswolds are very popular so it is best to book as far in advance as you are able to.

By nature, the South West of England is prone to varying types of weather throughout the year. Always be prepared for changeable conditions when walking in England. Waterproofs are essential all year round. In the summer months, be prepared for hot weather also - with a lack of shade on the paths (ensure you have sunscreen) and in the shoulder seasons of March or October expect colder temperatures (it’s not a bad idea to pack some gloves or a woolly hat). 

Before you set off each day, it is also important that you pay attention to any weather warnings in place. We recommend visiting https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/  (the UK’s official source for weather warnings). Do not attempt to walk any sections if any serious weather warnings are in place.

Train services connect London to Moreton-in-Marsh (2h). A included private transfer will then take you from Moreton-in-Marsh to Dormy House Hotel in Broadway.

Fast and frequent train services Bath is a well-connected city, there are fast and frequent train services connecting Bath to London Paddington (1h30). Bristol Airport is also around an hour away on public transport that has good links to other airports in the UK.

Your bags will be transferred from your accommodation as per your itinerary and moved onto your next overnight accommodation. 

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.  Ninety-nine per cent of the time they will only transfer one bag per person, but the allowed weight ranges from anything between 15 and 20kg per bag, depending on the tour you are taking.  We do not have control over the limits that these providers set. Therefore, 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.