Name: Walking in the Cotswolds
Brand: Cicerone Press
Price: 14.95 GBP
Availability: InStock

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30 circular walks in the Cotswolds AONB

Guidebook to 30 circular walks in the Cotswolds AONB, including Leckhampton Hill, Painswick Beacon and Crickley Hill and sections of the Cotswold Way. Includes information about history, geology and wildlife encountered along the routes.

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Printed book £14.95 Full guidebook with maps & profiles. Available and ready to dispatch

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Quick facts

Location: Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, Cotswolds National Landscape, South West England
Number of routes: 30 circular day walks
Distance: 9–19km (6–12 miles) per walk
Duration: 3–6 hours per walk
Areas covered: Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bath, Stroud, Cam and Dursley, Moreton-in-Marsh, Painswick, Nailsworth, Winchcombe, King’s Stanley, Leonard Stanley, Bradford-on-Avon
Route type: Circular countryside and escarpment walks, including sections of the Cotswold Way National Trail
Difficulty: Suitable for most walkers; from gentle strolls to steep, challenging gradients
Terrain: Rolling hills, limestone escarpments, beech woods, valleys, historic villages, hillforts, and barrows
Navigation: 1:50,000 OS map extracts for each walk
Best season: Walks available year-round; enjoy lush valleys in spring, golden hills in autumn, and dramatic plateaus in winter
Highlights: Cotswold Way National Trail, honey-hued villages, ancient monuments, panoramic viewpoints, authentic rural England
Equipment: Walking boots, layered clothing, map, and weather protection recommended
Refreshments & facilities: Information on local pubs, cafés, shops, accommodation, public transport, and parking included for each walk

Detailed overview

Explore the timeless beauty of the Cotswolds with 30 inspiring circular day walks across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, revealing honey-hued villages, dramatic hillforts, and the rolling landscapes of one of England’s most celebrated National Landscapes. From gentle strolls to challenging climbs, these routes offer something for both new and seasoned walkers, with wide views, steep escarpments, and satisfying gradients to explore in every season.

Ideal for walkers of all abilities, this comprehensive Cicerone guidebook features 30 circular walks ranging from 9 to 19km (6–12 miles), each designed to be completed in 3–6 hours. Whether you’re seeking a safe, easy ramble or a thigh-burning workout on the high plateaus, these routes are easily accessible from Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bath, and classic Cotswold towns like Painswick, Nailsworth, and Winchcombe.

Experience the best of the Cotswolds on foot, from the finest sections of the Cotswold Way National Trail to hidden valleys near Nailsworth, ancient stone circles at Minchinhampton, and bustling market towns such as Stroud and Moreton-in-Marsh.
Enjoy year-round walking among the limestone hills and beech woods of the Cotswolds, from fresh spring meadows around Painswick and golden autumn slopes above Winchcombe, to the windswept escarpment known as The Edge, each season brings its own highlights and dramatic views.
Choose from 30 circular walks, each with a 1:50,000 OS map extract, route summary, start and finish points, estimated walking time, and detailed information on local pubs, tea rooms, and public transport in classic Cotswold towns and villages.
Discover local history and points of interest, with routes passing ancient hillforts like Belas Knap, Neolithic long barrows, enigmatic stone circles, and honey-hued villages such as Broadway and Castle Combe, all carefully marked and described.
Walks range from gentle countryside rambles through valleys near Bradford-on-Avon to testing ascents with 200m+ climbs on the high escarpments above Cheltenham and Bath, offering safe, accessible options for newcomers and rewarding challenges for experienced hikers.
Explore the celebrated Cotswolds National Landscape, with easy access from major transport hubs such as Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Bath, and walker-friendly towns like Winchcombe, Stroud, and Painswick providing excellent bases for your adventures.

Plan your Cotswolds adventure with confidence and enjoy this classic walking country at your own pace, in every season. With the definitive Cicerone guidebook, discover the satisfying remoteness, authentic wildness, and real drama of the Cotswolds’ hills and valleys.

Where and when to go

Seasons

Cotswolds walks can be enjoyed all year round.

Centres

Evesham, Chipping Campden, Broadway, Tewkesbury, Winchcombe, Moreton-on-the-Marsh, Chipping Norton, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Painswick, Stroud, Cirencester, Nailsworth, Dursley, Wotton-under-Edge, Tetbury, Malmesbury, Chippenham, Bristol, Bath and Bradford-on-Avon

Difficulty

The Cotswolds has plenty for less experienced walkers but there are also challenging walks for seasoned hikers. Ranging from 4 to 12 miles in length, the routes are graded from easy to strenuous.

Must See

The wide views from the Edge - especially from the likes of the wildflower-dotted, Jurassic grasslands of Cleeve Common, Leckhampton Hill and Selsley Common, or from the dramatic hillforts of Uley Bury, Painswick Beacon and Crickley Hill.

Map key

Overview map

Introduction

Geology and landscape

Plants and wildlife

The impact of man

When to visit

Getting around

Where to stay

Terrain and what to take

Maps

Using this guide

Walk 1Chipping Campden, Broadway and Broadway Tower

Walk 2Bredon Hill

Walk 3Stanton, Stanway and Snowshill

Walk 4Long Compton and the Rollright Stones

Walk 5Winchcombe, Hailes Abbey and Sudeley Castle

Walk 6Winchcombe, Cleeve Common and Belas Knap

Walk 7Temple Guiting, Guiting Wood and Guiting Power

Walk 8Bourton-on-the-Water, the Slaughters and Naunton

Walk 9Leckhampton Hill and Crickley Hill

Walk 10Chedworth, Withington and the Roman Villa

Walk 11Cranham, Cooper’s Hill and Painswick Beacon

Walk 12Brimpsfield and Caudle Green

Walk 13Painswick, Edge and Painswick Beacon

Walk 14Miserden and Edgeworth

Walk 15Laurie Lee’s Slad Valley

Walk 16Haresfield Beacon

Walk 17Toadsmoor, Bisley and the Golden Valley

Walk 18Leonard Stanley, Coaley Peak and Selsley Common

Walk 19Sapperton, Pinbury Park and Edgeworth

Walk 20Minchinhampton and Rodborough Commons

Walk 21Nailsworth and Avening

Walk 22Uley Bury, Dursley and Stinchcombe Hill

Walk 23Kingscote, Ozleworth and Ozleworth Bottom

Walk 24Wotton-under-Edge, Wortley and North Nibley

Walk 25Dyrham Park and West Littleton

Walk 26Swainswick Valley and Little Solsbury Hill

Walk 27Box, Slaughterford and Colerne

Walk 28Saltford, North Stoke, Weston

Walk 29Bath Skyline

Walk 30Bradford-on-Avon and Farleigh Hungerford Castle

Appendix ARoute summary table

Appendix BLong- and medium-distance walks in the Cotswolds

Appendix CBibliography and further reading

Appendix DWebsites and further information

Which format is best for me?

Printed book

A guidebook with detailed route descriptions, stage breakdowns, accommodation listings, profiles and maps — everything you need on the trail.

ISBN	9781852848330
Availability	Published
Published	9 January 2024
Reprinted	15 November 2026
Weight	200g

eBook

The complete digital edition of the guidebook, with full route descriptions, accommodation listings, profiles and maps, ready to use on any device.

Updates

Updated 17 October 2025
Walk 11 - Cranham, Coopers Hill and Painswick Beacon
The car park is now for the church and allotments only, so cannot be used to park for the walk.
There is some verge parking on the common up from the school in Church Lane or opposite the school itself. Alternatively, there is a fairly large car park about 50m past the pub along a narrow uphill road from the centre of the village.
If parking there, the route would be - walk down the narrow road past the pub on the right to a road junction, turn right and walk along Main Street about 100m to the crossroads where the bus shelter is on the right. Turn left and onto the track. [as described in the book; end of 1st paragraph]. The telephone box in that paragraph also no longer exists.
The bus shelter with a AED yellow defibrillator is now a more prominent feature. On the return journey, then to get back to the car park, take the Right of Way footpath about 100m past the signpost on the left in the book text for Scout HQ and Village Hall. The footpath takes you through the car park GR 895 129). The car park is also used by the pub but there is nothing to say its solely for pub use.
Thank you to Ian Hunt for this update
Updated 1 July 2019
Update
page 125
New Inn in Dursley Opening hours are limited to Thur from 5pm and Fri-Sun 2.30pm until 11 pm and not to be confused with another pub named New Inn, which is off route.
Updated 6 October 2021
Walk 14
There have been reports of damage to the bridge and there's the possibility of wet feet.
Updated 5 February 2021
Walk 21
Walk 21 Nailsworth and Avening
We have been informed that there is a slight discrepancy between the map and route description. The amended description is below.
From the car park, cross the A46 with care, go right and slightly further uphill, then left up Tetbury Lane. Continue uphill past an Unsuitable For Motors sign at 0.5 miles. After the gradient flattens out turn left at a junction and soon after go straight ahead to leave the tarmac and go over a stile and into a field straight ahead, ignoring options to right and left.
Stick to the right as you follow the edge of three fields, gradually bending right and descending. Look for a yellow waymarker to go through a gap in a wall and carry on round to the right following the wall as you descend between trees, ignoring a couple of stiles and taking the one that goes directly through a hedge and into woods, briefly, before emerging by a house and onto a lane. If in doubt, simply follow the stream to the lane.)
Turn right and follow the lane as it bends left and goes downhill into Avening by The Bell. Turn left on the B4014, pass some houses and turn left up steep Woodstock Lane. Go right at the first fork, going uphill, and right again at the second fork. The lane flattens out and turns into a bridleway, then a grassy path, with lovely views to your right; of Gatcombe Wood, Princess Anne's Gatcombe House and Minchinhampton Walk 20). It can be a riot of colour in autumn along here. And hilariously muddy in winter.
Pass through a couple of gates to the left of a farm and continue uphill. Go through a gate into woods and take the path on the right. Ignore forestry tracks and a kissing gate on the left. At a junction of paths turn left, slightly uphill, between a wall and fence. At a junction of several paths, turn right into a field by a bridleway sign, and downhill past an old stone barn.
Go through a metal gate and back into the woods. Emerge from the woods and follow a fairly obvious path down the field, with promising views of Nailsworth ahead. Towards the bottom of the field head for the bottom left corner to take a track through a gate and out onto the road.
Continue in the same direction, past tennis courts. Turn left at a busier road, into the centre of Nailsworth and go left and uphill to get back to the car park.
Updated 6 October 2021
Walk 26
The last sentence says to cross the A46 back to the start point. If traffic is very busy, follow a minor road under the A46 GR 762 682) bearing left, then taking a track north for a very short distance, before picking up a bridle path and the original footpath back to the layby.
Updated 8 October 2025
Walk 8
Page 63 the phone box now contains an AED defibrillator
The reference to crossing the road and walking along what is a busy and fast road can be avoided by using the well-waymarked permissive footpath on the left just before the road
Page 64 The farmyard no longer exists; turn left after the old farm buildings
Keeping to the field edge and wall etc – it is now enclosed and wire fenced off from the field, so easy to follow to the track. The track is now signed Hill Farm Barn. So the next paragraph stating the track bends Left is now a grand gate to Hill Farm Barn so you can only go straight down.
The right of way goes left through the gated and enclosed grounds of Ben Pauling Racehorse Stables; be aware of racehorses on the RoW
Page 65 'When a gate leads to a lane go straight over...' If using the RoW/Windrush Way, it should say 'to a lane go LEFT on the lane for 50m then turn RIGHT. Go over...'

Meet the author

Damian Hall

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Damian Hall is a outdoor journalist and author who grew up in Nailsworth. He didn't think much to the Cotswolds when young because they didn't have any good football teams and Radiohead never played there. He travelled and lived abroad for eight years, trekked many of the world's famous and not so famous long-distance trails, fell down mountains in New Zealand and had a walking boot stolen by a hungry possum in Australia. Yet when time came to settle down Damian came back to the Cotswolds, where he lives with his two children and a new walking boot. The tea-loving hillbilly says the Cotswolds do something pleasingly odd to him deep inside somewhere. Forced to pick a favourite spot, it would have to be Uley Bury's dramatic hillfort. He also wrote the official guide to the Pennine Way and three running books, including the bestselling Run Forever. More info at ultradamo.com.

Walking in the Cotswolds