My first multi-day walking in the UK was the Cotswold Way. I have walked this route with a friend of mine. We generally walked 8 hours a day and we slept at B&B’s. We carried our own backpacks with only the necessary clothing and toiletries. We bought food along the way in villages. The route is marked with Acorns for you to follow.
Day 1: Chipping Camden – Cleeve Hill (24m / 38.5km)
It was a lovely day walking starting at the Old Market in Chipping Camden via the Broadway Tower, Broadway, Stanton and Winchcombe. It was a long first day and I was really tired. However, we slept in Southam that evening and I had a lovely massage at the Ellenborough Park Hotel. It was a bit off the route, but worthwhile.
Day 2: Cleeve Hill – Cranham Corner (19.5m / 31km)
What a beautiful walk from Cleeve Hill to Leckhampton Hill via the woods near the Dowdeswell Reservoir. There were many hills on the second day and it was freezing cold with a little bit of sleet early in the morning. We got a little bit lost near Coopers Hill, because we could not find the acorns that showed us the way. We stayed at Rowan Studio, next to the Scout Headquarters and had a good continental breakfast to start our day.
Day 3: Cranham Corner – Dursley (20m / 32km)
This was a good day of walking over the rolling hills of the Cotswolds. Only one place was not clearly marked and it took us a while to work out in which direction we must go on the top of the hill. We slept in a not so very nice place in Dursley and left very early the next morning. First in the wrong direction, but soon discovered our mistake. During the second time that I’ve walked this route, we stayed in The Garden Flat at Ormond House, which I can recommend.
Day 4: Dursley – Coombs End / Old Sodbury (20.5m / 33km)
This was surely the most beautiful walk. We had horses following us through fields and we slept in such a lovely cabin in a garden. The hosts were lovely and we had a lovely meal at the Sodbury House Hotel.
Day 5: Old Sodbury – Bath (18m / 28.5km)
This was a very long last day of walking where you had to cross over the main road a few times. It was such a relief when we were on top of the hill and spotted Bath in the distance. All we had to do now, was to head to Bath Cathedral, where The Cotswold Way ends. It was such a nice walk, I have walked it twice, and would not mind doing it for a third time.