Independent walking holidays in The Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of gentle hills northeast of the city of Bath, near Cheltenham and Stratford-on-Avon. It is a walking holiday for those who want an easy introduction to walking in the English countryside. It is an entrancing mixture of parkland, fields surrounded by dry-stone walls and beautiful towns and villages built with honey-coloured limestone. The walk starts at Stratford and the second day passes the National Trust Gardens at Hidcote Manor.  Spend a night at the village of Broadway. Visit the medieval wool towns of Chipping Campden and Bourton-on-the-Water; pass Halles Abbey and the still uninhabited Sudeley Castle where Henry VIII's wife Katharine Parr lived. The tour ends at Winchcombe near the regency town of Cheltenham.

No of Nights :           7
Starts at:                 Stratford-on-Avon   Ends at:   Winchcombe
Grade:                     Easy
Dates available:      Start any day from April to October 
Accommodation:     Comfortable country inns and hotels all with private bath..
Meals included:       Breakfast daily.
Price:                       525 UK     $1097 Cdn or US  based on double
Single supplement     171 UK     $357   Cdn or US

Itinerary:       

q       Day 1 Stratford: Travel to start point (the birth place of a certain William Shakespeare). Stratford-upon-Avon is accessible by direct train from London Paddington via Reading and Oxford.

q       Day 2 Mickleton: Stratford to Mickleton.  We suggest you stop off at Hidcote gardens en-route  - not open every day but highly recommended (12 miles 5 1/2 hours)

q       Day 3 Broadway:  Mickleton to Broadway via Chipping Campden Fish Hill and Broadway Tower. Lots of antique shops in the market town of Broadway. (9 miles 4 hours)

q       Day 4 Blockley: Broadway to Blockley via Buckland, Laverton, Stanton and Snowshill (12 miles 6 hours)

q       Day 5 Bourton: Blockley to Bourton on the Water via Batsford, Stow on the Wold and Lower Slaughter (13 1/2 miles 7 hours).  Bourton is well known for its footbridges over the river Evenlode and for the scale model of the village.

q       Day 6 Guiting Power: Bourton to Guiting Power. A tiny gem of a place tucked in the hills (9 miles 4 hours)

q       Day 7 Winchcombe: Guiting to Winchcombe via Hailes Abbey and Sudeley Castle (12 1/2 miles 6 hours)

q       Day 8: End of tour                                        

Accommodation
Our first nights accommodation in Stratford upon Avon is at a very welcoming guesthouse, located close to the town centre and train station. We then stay in Mickleton, in a charming house built in the Georgian period. All 4 rooms are ensuite. Our next hotel is built in a traditional style from Cotswold’s stone and timber and is situated in the beautiful village of Broadway, where the buildings date from 1575. On night 4 we stay in Blockley in a small B&B where your hosts will offer a warm welcome. Night 5 is spent in the very pretty village of Bourton-on-the-Water where we use a friendly guesthouse which is a five minute walk from the centre. In the picture postcard village of Guiting Power we stay in an attractive guesthouse that was formerly an inn. Our last night in  Winchcombe we use a variety of guesthouses here but all offer ensuite facilities. As we pass through the small towns and villages of the Cotswolds almost all the buildings are built of the famous local honey-coloured stone. Our accommodation has been praised for the warmth of its welcomes and ensuite facilities are standard throughout the tour. 

          For details ask for a Sherpa Independent Walking Brochure.