The area known as the Cotswolds lies 80 miles west of London and is designated AONB (an area of outstanding natural
beauty). The tiny, honey-coloured villages date back to Medieval times when the bustling wool trade made this area
wealthy. There are steep escarpments and wooded valleys with swift-flowing streams rich in trout and picture-postcard
villages with their coaching inns turned pubs. There are wool merchants' gable-roofed mansions and exquisite churches
all financed by the merchants who grew rich on the wool and cloth trade. The people of Gloucestershire say that if you
scratch this county you'll find Rome, and the Roman heritage is unmistakable.
COTSWOLD VILLAGES (CIRCULAR WALKS)
and
LOW IMPACT COTSWOLD VILLAGES (SHORT CIRCULAR WALKS)
Staying in three villages, we enjoy comfortable, country-style Bed and Breakfast accommodations
and hearty English pub food and cider. We'll stroll down country lanes and across sheep-dotted hillsides following
ancient footpaths. There will be six walks, two from each village, leaving us time for the many side trips. We'll visit a
beautifully restored Roman villa, magnificent churches with brasses to rub, and a castle associated with Catherine Parr, Henry
VIII's last wife. We'll spend a pleasant afternoon at a rare-breeds farm where the old Cotswold variety of sheep is to be found;
there are potteries, museums, an arboretum, gardens and antique shops. One of England's finest gardens is Hidcote, in the north
Cotswolds near Chipping Campden. We'll spend all afternoon enjoying the elegant gardens which are artistically arranged like
a series of outdoor rooms.
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THE COTSWOLD WAY (LINEAR WALK)
Enjoy a walk of 100 miles along the western edge of the Cotswolds following the escarpment, with views of the Severn
Vale, the Malvern Hills and Wales beyond. On this walk you will savour many of the delights described under
“COTSWOLD VILLAGES” but, whereas the walks on that tour are circular and separate, the Cotswold Way is a linear
walk, beginning in Bath and ending in Chipping Campden. You should be in good physical condition as we will cover
approximately eight to ten miles a day, carrying daypacks. We will enjoy country Bed and Breakfast accommodations, pub meals
and the thrill of accomplishment at the end. Half-day breaks will be taken along the way.
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A LITERARY FEAST IN THE COTSWOLDS
This tour features Cheltenham during the Literature Festival, and several walks will be taken in the area within a 15 mile
radius of Cheltenham - when we are not attending festival debates, lectures and discussions. Cheltenham became a
popular spa like Bath after a spring was discovered in 1716. Subsequently it was favoured by the rich and famous who
came to take the waters. The Regency architecture gives the town an elegance which contrasts with the pretty Cotswold
villages nearby. This tour is designated “Exclusive” because it is limited to 6 participants, all accommodations are en suite
and of a high standard, and evening meals are included in the cost.
