Cotswolds Guided Walking Tour

After breakfast, set off for your walk across Cheltenham to Pittville Park, around the famous Cheltenham Racecourse and up to Cleeve Hill. Continue to Belas Knap and down to the medieval town of Winchcombe, home of Sudeley Castle and Gardens. The Castle in its present form was constructed in the 15th Century and is the burial place of Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII. Entrance to the Castle and Gardens is included in your tour and you will have time to explore these and the village of Winchcombe before being transferred back to Cheltenham for your second night.

After breakfast, there is a short transfer (30 minutes) to Hailes Abbey, and from here we walk to the beautiful Jacobean Stanway House, and across the estate to Stanton – one of the most scenic Cotswold villages, before arriving in the beautiful, historic village of Broadway by mid-afternoon. We will stay two nights in the Broadway Hotel – a 15th-century coaching inn in the village centre.

There is a short transfer this morning to Hidcote Gardens, one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, Hidcote Gardens, with its linked “rooms” of hedges, rare trees, shrubs and herbaceous borders. After spending time in the gardens, we will walk to Chipping Campden. Explore this beautiful village, with its covered butter market, wonderful wool church and medieval streets before walking along the Cotswold Way across the wolds to Broadway Tower. This is one of England’s outstanding viewpoints and the second highest point on the Cotswold escarpment, with unrivalled views. We will return to our hotel in Broadway for another night.

Today we leave the Northern Cotswolds and head for The Slaughters, passing nearby Bourton-on-the-Water. We are dropped off in Stow-on-the-Wold, founded on the site of an old Iron Age fort and developed by the Normans due to its trade routes. Fairs have been held by royal charter here since 1330, and the famous annual horse fair is still held on the edge of the town. Upper and Lower Slaughter share a fascinating name derived from ‘miry place’. The link is the tiny River Eye, a tributary to the nearby river Windrush. These villages are considered to be some of the prettiest in the area and are well-photographed, and the village has been used for filming and productions many times. Enjoy a drink and a farewell dinner in the evening. We will be staying overnight at The Slaughters Country Inn.

Departure after breakfast. Transfers can be arranged to Kemble Station or elsewhere on request.