Linear Walks through the Cotswolds

Q. I've looked at quite a few of your walks and they all seem to be circular. I was hoping to put together a linear walk, maybe 7 days through the Cotswolds, staying overnight in villages. Do you have any walks linking some of the prettier villages, maybe ending where I could get a train or bus back?

Lesley Meyrick, Monmouth

A. Indeed ALL the walks on go4awalk.com are circular. However, The Cotswolds is an area seemingly awash with crisscrossing long distance footpaths that you might interested in following - in part if not all the way.

The main ones are:

The Cotswolds Way - a 166km (103 miles) footpath connecting Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire with Bath in Avon.

The Cotswolds Walk - a 133km (83 miles) footpath connecting Straford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire with Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.

The Cotswold Ring - a circular 89km (55 miles) footpath starting and finishing in Cheltenham and passing through the villages of Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Moreton-in-Marsh.

The Gloucestershire Way - a 161 (100 miles) footpath connecting Chepstow Castle, Monmouth (could be the perfect place for you to finish?) with Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire.

The Oxfordshire Way - a 104 (65 miles) footpath connecting Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire with Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire.

The Heart of England Way - a 161km (100 miles) connecting Milford in Staffordshire to Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire<.

and finally - The Windrush Way/Wardens Way (22km - 14 miles) links the Oxfordshire Way at Bourton-on-the-Water with the Cotswolds Way at Winchcombe.

Your best bet is to see if you can pick a leaflet locally with details of the routes.

Alternatively contact the Long Distance Walkers Association who may be able to ahem "point you in the right direction"

Mike (Ed)

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