The Cotswold Way

Jonathan and Lesley Williams have been directors of Cicerone for 25 years, now partly retired with the next generation of directors firmly established, they now enjoy increased time exploring and researching as authors. Based on the edge of the Lake District, they enjoy spending days in the hills and months in the mountains and have written or updated several Cicerone guidebooks for Switzerland and France, as well as guidebooks for areas of the UK. Although this is entirely a new guidebook, it owes much to the foundations of previous editions of the Cicerone guide to the Cotswold Way written by Kev Reynolds. Kev Reynolds was a prolific author of guidebooks for Cicerone Press. Although most of his guides were devoted to mountain regions such as the Alps, Pyrenees and Himalaya, he considered the gentler landscapes of the English countryside to be no second best. His passion for mountains in particular and the countryside in general remained undiminished after a lifetime’s activity, until his death in 2021.

CONTENTS
Map key
Overview map and profile
Route summary tables
Trek planner
Introduction
The Cotswold Way
Planning your trip
Choosing an itinerary
Which way to walk?
When to go?
Self-guided or guided?
Getting there and getting around
First nights and last nights
Accommodation
Facilities en route
Baggage transfer service
What to take
The Cotswold Way Hall of Fame
Planning day by day
Using this guide
Additional mapping
Waymarking
Health, safety and emergencies
Mobile phones, wi-fi and the internet
The Country Code
All about the Cotswolds
Geology
Plants and wildlife
Man in the landscape
Southbound: Chipping Campden to Bath
Introduction
Stage 1 Chipping Campden to Stanton
Stage 2 Stanton to Winchcombe
Stage 3 Winchcombe to Cleeve Hill
Stage 4 Cleeve Hill to Dowdeswell (A40)
Stage 5 Dowdeswell (A40) to Birdlip
Stage 6 Birdlip to Painswick
Stage 7 Painswick to Middleyard (King's Stanley)
Stage 8 Middleyard (King's Stanley) to Dursley
Stage 9 Dursley to Wotton-under-Edge
Stage 10 Wotton-under-Edge to Hawkesbury Upton
Stage 11 Hawkesbury Upton to Tormarton
Stage 12 Tormarton to Cold Ashton
Stage 13 Cold Ashton to Bath
Northbound: Bath to Chipping Campden
Introduction
Stage 1 Bath to Cold Ashton
Stage 2 Cold Ashton to Tormarton
Stage 3 Tormarton to Hawkesbury Upton
Stage 4 Hawkesbury Upton to Wotton-under-Edge
Stage 5 Wotton-under-Edge to Dursley
Stage 6 Dursley to Middleyard (King's Stanley) 2
Stage 7 Middleyard (King's Stanley) to Painswick
Stage 8 Painswick to Birdlip
Stage 9 Birdlip to Dowdeswell (A40)
Stage 10 Dowdeswell (A40) to Cleeve Hill
Stage 11 Cleeve Hill to Winchcombe
Stage 12 Winchcombe to Stanton
Stage 13 Stanton to Chipping Campden
Appendix A Useful contacts
Appendix B Accommodation along the route
Appendix C Further reading