Guided Walking Holidays and Day Walks2012 Programme | |
| We offer a range of guided walking holidays and day walks that explore the landscapes and picturesque villages of the North Cotswolds, its nature and rich history that dates from the Stone Age. Here is our programme for 2012: Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th February: A Winter Workout Friday 13th to Sunday 15th April: Chipping Campden and the Cotswold Escarpment Sunday 22nd to Tuesday 1st May: The Ridgeway - A hike along England's oldest route Sunday 10th to Sunday 17th June: The Oxfordshire Way - A long distance walking trail Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th June: Classic Cotswold Villages Friday 28th September to Monday1st October: The Historic Cotswolds Sunday 7th to Monday 15th October: The Cross Cotswold Pathway - A long distance walking trail Friday 19th to Sunday 21st October: Prehistory in the Cotswold Landscape All walks on our guided walking holidays are available for day walkers and weekend breaks can be extended from 2 to 3 days. If you're not available on these dates, we offer tailor-made walks to fit your schedule. Call us on 0044(0)1295 811003 or 0044(0)7718 660070 or email Anne for more information. | |
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Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th February:A Winter WorkoutSaturday - Windrush and Eye - valleys that time forgotFar from the madding crowd, in the upper Windrush valley, Cotswold sheep continue to graze the unimproved pasture as they have done for centuries. In 1935, almost half of the Cotswolds was covered in this flower rich limestone grassland but today just a small amount remains. We will walk up the valley to the deserted medieval village of Lower Harford and over the windswept Cotswold plateau, which, by contrast, supports arable crops grown in vast fields, then back through the pasture and parkland of the Eye valley.[Grade and Distance: A moderate 9 miles, includes two short ascents] Sunday - The Rollright StonesThe Rollright Stones is a special place steeped in history and folklore. Located on a prehistoric trackway the stones were a sacred place for our ancestors from around 3000BC. The purpose of the Kings Stone still eludes us but the Whispering Knights are known to be part of an ancient tomb and the King’s Men stone circle was a meeting place with the nearest similar site in Cumbria. We walk along the ancient trackways that led to the site to explore these enigmatic megaliths. [Grade & Distance: A moderate 7 miles with two gentle ascents] Price: £240 per person based on two people sharing a twin bedded room inclusive of dinner, bed & breakfast and guide. Please contact us for further information and to book a place Back to the top of Guided Walking Holidays and Day Walks | |
Friday 13th - Sunday 15th April:Chipping Campden and the Cotswold EscarpmentChipping Campden, the base for this walking weekend, is notable for its elegant terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century and built on wealth from the medieval wool trade. Indeed, G.M. Trevelyan, the 20th century English Historian, described the High Street as "the most beautiful village street now left on the island". In the 17th century it became the home to Robert Dover's Cotswold Olympick Games that are still held in early June on the escarpment above the town, and in the early 20th century, Campden became a centre for the Cotswold Arts and Crafts movement. Friday - Meet for dinner Saturday - The Ups and Downs of Village Life The walk explores the escarpment villages that lie between the Cotswolds and the Severn valley and pass through settlements such as the hamlet of Saintbury nestled tight against the Cotswold escarpment and the more modern villages of Willersey and Weston sub Edge. From the top of the escarpment, there are stunning views across the Severn Valley to the Malvern Hills and Welsh Mountains. [Grade and Distance: A moderate to strenuous 7 miles with two steep but short ascents]. Sunday - Over the WoldWe’ll walk onto the Wold to the out-of-the-way village of Blockley which during the 18th century turned to silk production following the decline of the wool industry. The village still retains an unusual but charming industrial character in the midst of the rural Cotswold landscape, quite different to others in the north Cotswolds. [Grade and Distance: A moderate to strenuous 8 miles with one steepish climb] Price: £240 per person based on two people sharing a twin bedded room inclusive of dinner, bed & breakfast and guide.
Please contact us for further information and to book a place Back to the top of Guided Walking Holidays and Day Walks | |
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Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th June:Classic Cotswold VillagesThe Cotswolds is characterised by picturesque towns and villages of honey coloured limestone set in a landscape of rolling hills and meandering river valleys - the iconic English countryside with manor houses, ancient churches and of course the village pub. These market towns and villages have a long history as most were thriving communities by 1086 AD at the time of the Domesday Survey. On this walking weekend we will explore their history whilst enjoying some of the best landscapes and hostelries the Cotswolds has to offer. Friday - Meet for dinner Saturday - Adlestrop: Where for a minute a blackbird sang In June 1914 at brink of the World War I, the Paddington to Worcester train stopped unexpectedly and after hearing a blackbird sing, a passenger Edward Thomas, was inspired to write his famous poem 'Adlestrop', heady with summer and with a feeling of loss and longing, evocative of all English country villages. On this walk around Adlestrop and surrounding parishes, we will see the literary and historic connections and how modern day enterprises are leaving their mark. [Grade and Distance: An easy 6 miles] Sunday - Villages on the Edge: Broadway, Buckland and StantonThis linear walk starts at Broadway, an important staging post in the 16th and 17th centuries, and a centre for the Arts and Crafts Movement at the turn of the 20th century. From there we’ll amble along the footpaths at the base of the Cotswold escarpment passing through the picturesque villages of Buckland, Laverton and Stanton, for lunch at a pub with a superb view over a village described as the prettiest in England. [Grade and Distance: A moderate 7.5 miles]Price: £240 per person based on two people sharing a twin bedded room inclusive of dinner, bed & breakfast and guide. Please contact us for further information and to book a place Back to the top of Guided Walking Holidays and Day Walks | |
Friday 28th September - Monday 1st October:The Historic CotswoldsThe Cotswold Lion Today we know the Cotswolds for their picturesque market towns and sleepy villages set among green rolling hills but it was not always like this, the Cotswolds have had a prosperous and turbulent history, In Roman times (43AD - 410AD) Cirencester was one of three regional capital in Britannia and the Fosse Way a major military highway linking Exeter in the south-west to Lincoln in the north-east. In the Middles Ages the Cotswolds produced some of the finest wool fleeces in Europe and merchants form Flanders and Italy flocked to markets to buy the very best. Wool traders were very rich indeed, some as rich as Bill Gates today, and they donated their money to God and their salvation building magnificent 'Wool' churches in towns like Northleach, Chipping Campden and Burford. Later, the Cotswolds was the cross roads for the opposing armies in the English Civil War. In October 1642, the first major battle took place at Edgehill just to the north, and in March1646, the last battle before the execution of Charles 1 was fought at Stow-on-the-Wold. On this weekend we will walk some of the most stunning landscapes in the Cotswolds, visit historic sites and discover evidence of life and times during past ages. Friday - Meet for dinner Saturday - Woolly MoneyIn the 13th and 14th centuries the booming wool trade accounted for half of England’s total income with much produced from the Cotswolds and by the 16th century the Cotswold sheep was known as the Cotswold Lion and the fleeces were described as ‘Golden Fleeces’. During the 18th century there was a change in emphasis from wool to meat production as the English population increased. On our walk around the market town of Northleach and surrounding villages we will enjoy the Cotswold landscapes and see evidence of the wealth that the medieval wool trade brought to the area. [Grade & Distance: A moderate 7 miles] Sunday - Roman RemainsIn 1864 two men were digging for their ferret during a day out rabbiting at Chedworth, when they unearthed a handful of coloured stones they thought were from a Roman mosaic pavement. This led to the excavation of what would have been the very large and luxurious villa, built to impress in the prosperous Romanised area near to the towns of Corinium Dobunnorum (Cirencester) and Glevum (Gloucester). On the walk we will explore the villa and the surrounding area. [Grade & Distance: A moderate 7 miles] Monday – The Battle of Stow (optional) In the spring of 1646 the last Royalist army of 3000 troops, under Sir Jacob Astley, marched from Worcester towards Oxford to meet the King's cavalry. The plan was to meet the King, help him to avoid surrender and gain help from overseas. They didn't make it, but met the Parliamentarians in battle on the slopes of the hill below Stow on the Wold. On our walk we will retrace the route of the battle to its bloody end in the market square in Stow, and return through quiet Cotswold villages. [Grade and Distance: A moderate 7 miles with two gentle ascents] Price: £240 (2 days) or £350 (3 days) per person based on two people sharing a twin bedded room inclusive of dinner, bed & breakfast and guide. Please contact us for further information and to book a place Back to the top of Guided Walking Holidays and Day Walks | |
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Friday 19th - Sunday 21st October:Prehistory in the Cotswold LandscapeThe Cotswold region is fortunate in having the greatest number of surviving prehistoric sites in the UK, perhaps because the thin soils were left uncultivated allowing the monuments to survive for many thousands of years. On this walking weekend we will visit Neolithic tombs, Bronze age barrows and stone circles and walk the ancient Jurassic Way that linked communities from the English Channel in the south to those in Yorkshire in the north-east. We'll also enjoy the lovely Cotswold countryside, it's picturesque villages and country pubs.Saturday - Ancient Long and Round Barrows in a sacred landscapeThe North Cotswolds is rich in ancient monuments with evidence of ancient roads, long barrows, round barrows, standing stones, not forgetting a henge and stone circle. They are particularly abundant in the area around the Swells, and on this walk we’ll see what remains of Roman, Bronze Age and Stone Age structures after 2000 to 5000 years. [Grade & Distance: An easy 6.5 miles] Sunday - The Rollright Stones: A Bronze Age enigmaThe Rollright Stones is a special place steeped in history and folklore. Located on a prehistoric trackway the stones were a sacred place for our ancestors from around 3000BC. The purpose of the Kings Stone is still eludes us but the Whispering Knights are known to be part of an ancient tomb and the King’s Men stone circle was a meeting place with the nearest similar site in Cumbria [Grade & Distance: A moderate 7 miles with two gentle ascents] Price: £240 per person based on two people sharing a twin bedded room inclusive of dinner, bed & breakfast and guide. Please contact us for further information and to book a place Back to the top of Guided Walking Holidays and Day WalksPhone: +44(0)1295 811003 / mobile: +44(0)7718 660070 or email Anne to discuss your requirements and book a guided walking holiday | |
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