The Cotswold Way: Walking It in Sections
A hundred and two miles along the top of the Cotswold escarpment, from a wool-town market hall to a Georgian abbey. It is the gentlest of the National Trails and the easiest to walk in day-sized pieces, and we list 22 sites within ten miles of it.
Published 18 August 2026
The Cotswold Way follows the western edge of the Cotswold Hills for 102 miles between Chipping Campden and Bath. The whole route is essentially one long geological feature: the limestone escarpment that drops away west toward the Severn Vale, with the view over Wales on one side and rolling farmland on the other. It became a National Trail in 2007, though the route is far older.
It is the friendliest long trail in England. The climbing is repetitive rather than severe (you drop off the edge and climb back onto it, over and over), the villages are close together, and there is no section where you are meaningfully remote. That makes it the obvious first long-distance path for anyone stepping up from day walks.
The stages
| Section | Roughly | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Chipping Campden to Winchcombe | 20 miles | Broadway Tower, Stanton and Stanway, the finest village stretch |
| Winchcombe to Cheltenham | 12 miles | Belas Knap long barrow, Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds |
| Cheltenham to Painswick | 18 miles | Crickley Hill, Coopers Hill of cheese-rolling fame, Painswick Beacon |
| Painswick to Dursley | 18 miles | Haresfield Beacon, the Stroud valleys, Coaley Peak |
| Dursley to Old Sodbury | 20 miles | Tyndale Monument, North Nibley, Hawkesbury |
| Old Sodbury to Bath | 14 miles | Dyrham, Lansdown, then the descent into Bath Abbey |
Which direction
North to south, finishing at Bath Abbey, is the standard and much the better option. Ending a long walk by descending into a World Heritage city with hot springs, a railway station and a great many places to eat is materially more satisfying than ending it in a Cotswold village car park. It also means the sun is generally off your back rather than in your eyes.
How long it takes
- 7–10 days end to end, at 10–15 miles a day.
- Weekend sections are the more common approach. The trail is close to Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud and Bath, all on the rail network.
- Day walks work particularly well here: Broadway Tower, Cleeve Hill and Painswick Beacon are all good circulars in their own right.
The best single day
Chipping Campden to Broadway over Dover’s Hill and Broadway Tower is the one to pick if you only walk one section. Broadway Tower is a folly on the second-highest point in the Cotswolds with a view claimed to take in sixteen counties, and the descent into Broadway is the most photographed village approach in England.
Underfoot
Field paths, woodland, limestone grassland and quiet lane. It is well waymarked with the National Trail acorn and rarely difficult to follow. The one recurring problem is mud: the Cotswold clay caps get genuinely heavy in winter, and the trail can be slow going between November and March despite the modest gradients.
Where to stay
We list 22 sites within ten miles of the route, and 27 across the wider Cotswolds catchment, close enough together that a walking trip rarely needs a long drive at the end of the day.
Sites near the Cotswold Way
Within ten miles of the escarpment between Chipping Campden and Bath.
See all 22 sites (16 more not shown here).
For the wider area see glamping in Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds; the southern end runs into Somerset and Wiltshire.
Common questions
- How long is the Cotswold Way?
- 102 miles, from Chipping Campden in the north to Bath Abbey in the south, following the Cotswold escarpment.
- How many days does the Cotswold Way take?
- Seven to ten days end to end at 10 to 15 miles a day. It is also one of the easiest National Trails to walk in weekend sections.
- Is the Cotswold Way difficult?
- It is the gentlest of the National Trails. The climbs are frequent but short, and you are never far from a village. Winter mud is the main difficulty.
- Which way should you walk the Cotswold Way?
- North to south, finishing in Bath, better views, better light, and a mainline station at the end rather than a village car park.
Keep reading
- Long-distance trailsThe Coast to Coast Walk: Stages and Where to StayWainwright’s Coast to Coast, now a National Trail, around 190 miles from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay through three national parks, broken into stages, with stays near the route.
- Long-distance trailsThe Pennine Way: Stages, Distances and Where to StayBritain’s first National Trail, 268 miles up the spine of England from Edale to Kirk Yetholm. The stages, the hard sections, and the sites near the route.
- Planning a tripThe Best Walks in the South DownsThe best walks in the South Downs, the Seven Sisters, Devil’s Dyke, Ditchling Beacon and the South Downs Way, with what each involves and where to stay.
- Long-distance trailsThe Cleveland Way: Moors to CoastA guide to the Cleveland Way National Trail, 109 miles from Helmsley across the North York Moors and down the Yorkshire coast to Filey, with stages and stays.