Independent self-guided walking holidays and hiking tours

We offer a range of short self-guided walking holidays and hiking tours that explore some of the most famous and picturesque villages and landscapes in the North Cotswolds:

Stow-on-the-Wold - 1 to 3 night holiday based in Stow
The Classic Cotswolds - 3 night tour
Chipping Campden and the Cotswold Escarpment – 2 or 3 night holiday based in Chipping Campden
The Classic Cotswolds EXTENDED - a tour of up to 8 days
The Oxfordshire Cotswolds – 2 or 3 night tour
Time For Us - Walking breaks for couples in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds

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• bed and breakfast at specially selected accommodation in en-suite rooms with two people sharing.
• maps, self-guiding details of the route and the accommodation
• booklets describing the history and nature of the countryside walked through
• luggage transfer on hiking tours
• advice on how to travel to and from the self-guided holiday on public transport or by car
• support in the unlikely event of an emergency

A single person supplement of £20 to £40 per night will apply to the standard price with additional non-walking days from £50 per person per night.

For more information on grades of walk and accommodation and how to travel to and from the holiday please check out the section on further information below.

Please phone +44(0)1295 811003 / +44(0)7718 660070 or email Anne to review your requirements and book, to get the price for children, upgrade the accommodation, include dinner in the tour or discuss anything else you may need.

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Stow-on-the-Wold
1 to 3 night self-guided walking holiday based in Stow

You will stay at Stow-on-the-Wold, the highest town in the Cotswolds (800 feet above sea level) and important and natural meeting place. Stow lies at the junction of six roads, the Fosse Way (the Roman Road that runs from Exeter to Lincoln) passes through the town and roads radiate to Worcester, Gloucester, Bristol, Oxford and Birmingham.  For centuries the Cotswold’s major sheep market was held in The Square and in the late 17th century the writer Daniel Defoe recorded the sale of 20,000 sheep in a single day.
This peaceful rural existence was disturbed in the spring of 1646, during the English Civil War, when the last Royalist army marched from Worcester towards Oxford to meet the King's cavalry.  The plan was to join the King, help him to avoid surrender and gain help from overseas.  The army didn't make it, but met the Parliamentarians in battle on a ridge above Stow-on-the-Wold.  You will walk to the site of the battle and follow the route of the retreating Royalist troops to its bloody end in the market square in Stow. 
On Day 2, you’ll walk to the Slaughters (what does that name really mean?) and enjoy the peace of the upper Windrush Valley where Cotswold sheep continue to graze wild flower pastures beside pristine upland streams as they have done for centuries. 
Not only that, on Day 3, you’ll walk through the idyllic Cotswold villages of Oddington, Bledington and Icomb with their ancient churches, cottages dating from the 16th century and inviting village pubs.  

Day 1: Travel to the B&B accommodation in Stow-on-the-Wold
Day 2: Circular walk to the Slaughters and the Windrush and Eye valleys (7 moderate or 15 strenuous miles)
Day 3.  Circular walk taking in three Oxfordshire villages and their ancient churches (9 moderate or 11 strenuous miles)
Day 4: Circular walk to the site of the Battle of Stow and surrounding villages (7 moderate miles)

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The Classic Cotswolds
3 night self-guided hiking tour

This tour starts in Moreton-in-Marsh, a town located at the crossroads of the Fosse Way (the Roman Road that runs from Exeter to Lincoln) and the A44, the main road from Oxford to Aberystwyth in west Wales.   It’s not surprising then that Moreton was once a coaching station and the numerous elegant 18th century coaching inns are evidence of this.   It has also been market town since 1227 - as its wide main street testifies - and there is still a thriving Tuesday market. 
On the first day, there is a gentle climb from Moreton to Stow-on-the-Wold (the highest town in the Cotswolds) for the first night, passing by country mansions and through sleepy villages.  Located at the junction of six roads Stow is an important and natural meeting place.  The market square is also a reminder of Stow-on-the-Wold’s heritage as the major sheep market in the Cotswolds.  In the 17th century, the writer Daniel Defoe recorded that 20,000 sheep were sold in a single day.
On the second day, the hike takes the low road to Bourton-on-the-Water through the sleepy Slaughters and the peace of the upper Windrush Valley, where Cotswold sheep continue to graze the wild flower rich pastures as they have done for centuries. Bourton-on-the-Water known as ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’ embraced tourism in a big way following the decline in the wool trade and now hosts some of the major attractions in the Cotswolds. 
On the last day you’ll hike through Salmondsbury, a Neolithic and Iron Age archaeological site next to the River Dikler. Then over the ridge from Gloucestershire to Oxfordshire for a walk through prosperous villages in rich farmland to Kingham and your journey home.

Day 1: Drive or take the train to Moreton-in-Marsh for bed and breakfast
Day 2: Walk from Moreton-in-Marsh to Stow-on-the-Wold (9 moderate miles)
Day 3: Walk from Stow to Bourton-on-the-Water via the Windrush Valley (5 moderate or 12 miles strenuous)
Day 4: Walk from Bourton-on-the-Water to Kingham (9 moderate to strenuous miles) to pick up the train home or to Moreton-in-Marsh to pick up the car.
Cost: £240 per person for 3 nights based on two people sharing good quality B&B or Inn accommodation.  
Included in the price is B&B accommodation, maps, written directionsof the route, a booklet with information on places of interest, luggage transfer and support in the unlikely event of an emergency.  

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Chipping Campden and the Cotswold Escarpment
2 or 3 night self-guided walking holiday based in Chipping Campden

Chipping Campden, the base for this holiday, is notable for its elegant terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century, built from 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.
The walks explore 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 modernised villages of Willersey and Weston sub Edge.  They also take in the market town of Broadway that was once an important staging post on the main road from Worcester to London.  At the turn of the 20th century Broadway was ‘discovered’ by American artists, Edwin Abbot and Frank Millet, and Henry Forde stayed at the famous Lygon Arms Hotel.  It is now a favourite tourist attraction with an abundance of antique and tea shops. 
You’ll also pass through 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.

Day 1: Drive or take public transport (train to Moreton-in-Marsh and bus) to B&B accommodation in Chipping Campden.
Day 2: Circular walk ‘Dovers Hill and the Ups and Downs of Village Life’ (4 moderate or 9 strenuous miles)
Day 3: Circular walk ‘The Arts and Crafts Movement’ (2 easy miles through Chipping Campden or 12 very strenuous miles taking in Campden and Broadway)
Day 4: A circular walk to Broad Campden and Blockley (3 easy or 8 strenuous miles) or a linear walk from Chipping Campden to Moreton-in-Marsh to take the train home (7 strenuous miles).

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North Cotswold towns and villages 
Self-guided hiking tour of up to 8 days
Contact us to combine the Classic Cotswolds and Chipping Campden tours for a longer holiday.

Here is an example of a possible itinerary:

Day 1: Travel to Moreton-in-Marsh by rail
Day 2: Walk from Moreton to Chipping Campden (7 miles) 
Day 3: Chipping Campden to Broadway circular (12 miles)
Day 4: Chipping Campden to Stow-on-the-Wold (12 miles)
Day 5: Stow-on-the-Wold to Naunton via the Slaughters (8 miles)
Day 6: Naunton to Northleach (9 miles)

We can customize the tour to meet your preferences, e.g. with shorter daily distances, rest days, excursions to Oxford, Blenheim or Stratford-upon-Avon.
You can also arrange for the holiday to start the holiday from Cheltenham railway station for those travelling from the West of England.

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 The Oxfordshire Cotswolds
2 or 3 night self-guided hiking tour

On the first day of this tour you’ll pass through the quiet villages of Oddington and Adlestrop on the borders of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. Adlestrop is famous because in June 1914, at brink of the World War I, the Paddington to Worcester train stopped unexpectedly.  After hearing a blackbird sing, a passenger Edward Thomas, was inspired to write his famous poem Adlestrop, evocative of all English country villages, heady with summer and with a feeling of loss and longing. 
On the first night you’ll stay in ‘Chippy’ (or Chipping Norton), a lively market town with excellent food and local ales, many pubs and restaurants.  It boasts a theatre, art galleries, a museum and antique shops, and also has one of the finest parish churches in Oxfordshire, a mediaeval guildhall, some quaint back lanes and beautiful Georgian houses. 
On the second day, you’ll walk through green, rolling countryside and past grand country houses to Charlbury, where you’ll stay the second night.  Charlbury was a centre for glove making until the mid 20th century using hide from deer taken from the neighbouring Wychwood Forest.  Queens Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II were both presented with elaborate pairs of gloves made in the area.
On the third day you’ll walk through what remains of the Royal Forest of Wychwood.  This forest, recorded in the Domeday Book (1286), was established by William the Conqueror, who introduced the very un-English concept that all land ultimately belonged to the Crown which allowed the King the right to use areas of private land for deer hunting.

Day 1: Drive or take the train to Kingham for bed and breakfast
Day 2: Walk from Kingham to Chipping Norton (13 strenuous miles)
Day 3: Walk from Chipping Norton to Charlbury (12 strenuous miles)
Day 4: Take a circular walk through Wychwood Forest (8.5 moderate miles). 
Take the train from Charlbury home or to Kingham to pick up the car (trains every hour).

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Further Information

Getting There
You can travel to and from all of our self-guided walking holidays and hiking tours by public transport or of course by car. 
A regular train service runs along the Cotswold Line runs from London Paddington, via Oxford, to Worcester.  The journey from London to Kingham, Charlbury and Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds takes 1:15 to 1:45 hours and bus services connect to the market towns.  

Accommodation
We use Bed and Breakfast, Guest House and Pub accommodation for our standard tariff. All accommodation has been viewed and checked by our staff.

Walking and Hiking Routes
Routes have been walked by our staff, graded and checked by independent walkers.

Grades of Walks and Hikes
Easy - Up to 4 miles on fairly flat and even footpaths
Moderate - 4 to 8 miles with gentle ascents or up to 6 miles on hard uneven terrain
Strenuous - 8 to 12 miles or up to 8 miles with up to three steep ascents and/or difficult uneven ground
Very Strenuous - 12 to 20 miles or long steep ascents or extremely difficult ground (not normally encountered in the Cotswolds)

As there is a degree of flexibility in distances and routes (footpaths and accommodation permitting), we may be able to customise the walking holiday or hiking tour to your requirements.  Please contact us to discuss options.

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Phone: +44(0)1295 811003 / mobile: +44(0)7718 660070 or email Anne
to book or for more information on self-guided walking holidays and hiking tours