Guided Walking Holidays - Programme 2013

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 2013

Thursday 4th to Friday 12th April: The Ridgeway - A long distance walking trail

Friday 17th to Monday 1st May: The Historic Cotswolds

Friday 7th to Sunday 9th June: Classic Cotswold Villages

Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd September: Classic Cotswold Villages

Wednesday 16th to Thursday 24th October: The Cross Cotswold Pathway - A long distance walking trail

Friday 8th to Sunday 10th November: 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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• Prices are based on two people sharing, inclusive of bed and breakfast and guided walks. Dinner is included on weekend breaks.
• For long distance walking trails the price also includes luggage transfer. A single person supplement of £25 to £40/night will apply. Please contact us for prices for children.
• The price for day walkers is £30 per person per day or £55 for a family with children under 13 years old.
• We share cars within the group to and from the starting point of the walks, but if this is not possible, there is an additional charge on the day for transport.
• The minimum number in a group is 6 walkers and the maximum 12.

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Thursday 4th - Friday 12th April:

The Ridgeway - A walking trail along the oldest route in Europe

The Trig Point at Ivinghoe Beacon 

Join us on this 9 day tour along the Ridgeway, a long distance walking trail that starts at Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire and ends at Overton Hill, Wiltshire above the ancient stone circle at Avebury.

The Trail is 87 miles (140 km) long and passes, along the Chiltern Ridge, through pasture and beech woodland to the River Thames near Streatley. After a short section along the River, the path ascends to the Wiltshire Downs and follows an ancient route past Iron Age Forts, Neolithic tombs and the Uffington White Horse to end above the ancient landscape around Avebury in Wiltshire 

We arrange B&B and luggage transfer, seek out good pubs to relax in for dinner after a good day's walk and our guide ensures your holiday is trouble free.

Programme:
Thursday 4th April:: Meet at Tring a small market town in Hertfordshire
Friday 5th April: Walk from Tring to Wiggington via Ivinghoe Beacon, the start of the Ridgeway National Trail (10 miles)
Saturday 6th April: Walk from Wigginton to Princes Risborough along the Chiltern Edge(14 miles)
Sunday 7th April: Walk from Princes Risborough to Watlington in the Thames Valley(9 miles)
Monday 8th April: Walk from Watlington to Streatley along the side of the River Thames(14 miles)
Tuesday 9th April: Walk from Streatley onto the Wiltshire Downs to Wantage(15 miles)
Wednesday 10th April: Walk from Wantage to Woolstone (11 miles)
Thursday 11th April: Walk from Woolstone to Ogbourne St George (13 miles)
Friday 12th April: Walk from Ogbourne St George to Overton Hill (10 miles). Travel by public transport or taxi to railway or stay overnight in the Avebury area (not included in tour price)

Price: £850 per person based on two people sharing a twin bedded room inclusive of bed & breakfast, luggage transfer and guide. Please contact us for further information and to book a place on the walking tour.

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Friday 7th - Sunday 9th June AND Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd September:

Classic Cotswold Villages

The 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 Stanton
This 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: £270 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.

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Friday 17th - Monday 20th May:

The Historic Cotswolds

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 Money
In 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 Remains
In 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: £270 (2 days) or £390 (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.

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Wednesday 16th - Thursday 24th October:

The Cross Cotswold Pathway - a walk through the Heart of England

Join us on this 9 day tour along the Cross Cotswold Pathway, an 86 mile (138 km) long distance walking trail that starts at Banbury in Oxfordshire and ends in the city of Bath, Somerset.

Starting in Banbury in the east, the trail passes very close to the Rollright Stones, a legendary bronze age stone circle, and takes in prosperous lowland villages like Adlestrop, where Jane Austen visited her maternal uncle. It goes through famous and historic towns such as Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water and Cirencester and glimpses grand manor houses and stately homes such Chastleton House, Stowell Park and even Highgrove, Prince Charles’ family home. The path ends in Bath which boasts the Roman Baths built over hot springs, the 18th century Royal Crescent and associations with Jane Austen, its most famous resident. 

We arrange B&B and luggage transfer, seek out good pubs to relax in for dinner after a good day's walk and our guide ensures your holiday is trouble free.

Programme:
Wednesday 16th October: Meet at Banbury, Oxfordshire
Thursday 17th October: Walk from Banbury to Long Compton (14 miles /22.5 km)
Friday 18th October: Walk from Long Compton to Stow-on-the-Wold (10 miles /16 km)
Saturday 19th October: Walk from Stow to Northleach (10 miles /16 km)
Sunday 20th October: Walk from Northleach to Cirencester (13 miles /21 km)
Monday 21st October: Walk from Cirencester to Tetbury (14 miles /22.5 km)
Tuesday 22nd October: Walk from Tetbury to Castle Combe (16 miles /26 km)
Wednesday 23rd October: Walk from Castle Combe to Bath (13 miles /21 km)
Thursday 24th October: Leave from Bath

Price: £885 per person based on two people sharing a twin bedded room inclusive of bed & breakfast, luggage transfer and guide. Please contact us for further information and to book a place on the walking tour.

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Friday 8th - Sunday 10th November:

Prehistory in the Cotswold Landscape

The 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.

Friday - Meet for dinner

Saturday - Ancient Long and Round Barrows in a sacred landscape
The 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 enigma
The 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: £270 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.

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Phone: +44(0)1295 811003 / mobile: +44(0)7718 660070 or email Anne
to discuss your requirements and book a customised walking holiday or hiking tour

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