Discover England at its most attractive: golden market towns, historic estates, and country trails to explore on foot
Walk the Cotswolds, where bucolic rolling hills shelter ancient market towns and grand manors with magnificent gardens. We see the best of the region on this culture-rich walking adventure, which visits honey-stone villages, Sir Winston Churchill’s Blenheim Palace, King Charles’ Highgrove House, and the historic cities of Bath and Oxford. Also experience traditional British hospitality, staying in three ancient inns, where evenings can end with a pint together – just as walkers have done here for centuries.
This tour is specially designed as a private departure and can be operated on a date of your choice. Please contact our sales team for prices and more information, or visit our Private Group Adventures page.
Highlights
Embark on scenic walks in the Cotswolds and visit historic landmarks, villages and cities
Tour King Charles' Highgrove House, exploring his expertly maintained gardens
Visit the chocolate box villages of Bibury, Chipping Campden, Broadway, Tetbury and Burford
Explore Sir Winston Churchill’s magnificent Blenheim Palace
Take guided tours in the historic cities of Bath and Oxford
Enjoy traditional British hospitality by staying in three centuries-old inns
Entry into Highgrove (subject to availability). Roman Baths, Chedworth Roman Villa, Blenheim palace & Hidcote Gardens entry
Leader throughout
Minibus throughout
What's Not Included
Flights and rail journeys
Visas
Insurance
Single supplement
6Days of Walking & Trekking
Day 1
3 km / 1.9 miles
Day 2
10 km / 6.2 miles
Day 3
7 km / 4.3 miles
Day 4
8 km / 5 miles
Day 5
8 km / 5 miles
Day 6
4 km / 2.5 miles
People, Places & Planet
We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice hereand find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.
Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:
People:
How this trip helps improve life for local communities.
Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
Read more about our other initiatives
Places:
How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.
By travelling in a small group, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for reusable bottles.
The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves and archaeological sites generates income used to upkeep and develop these important sites.
With our partners, Rewilding Apennines, we rewild 100sqm (1,075sqft) of land per passenger who travels with us.
Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.
Planet:
How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.
Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
Walking trips like this have very little detrimental impact on the environment and the locals, as it is a quiet, low-impact activity requiring comparatively few resources to support.
Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.
Tips for sustainable travel on this trip
Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
Plastic waste reduction: Please bring a reusable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.
Itinerary
Kemble Station
Oxford
Day
1
Walking tour of Tetbury and visit King Charles' Highgrove House
Meet at Kemble station at 11am, where you are joined by your tour leader before transferring (15 minutes) to Tetbury. Take a walking tour (one hour to 1hr 30min) of this 1,300-year-old market town, visiting St Marys’ Church, a place of worship since 681 CE, and Gumstool Hill, which is famous for the annual woolsack races, in which participants race up and down the hill carrying a sack of wool weighing up to 60lb (27kg).
We visit King Charles’ Highgrove House after lunch (dependent on the King’s schedule) for a tour of his incredible formal and market garden. King Charles moved here in 1980 and has since poured plenty of energy (and expertise) into creating one of the finest garden estates in the country.
After an exciting first day, we head to our first country inn and get to know each other a little better over modern British cuisine (and perhaps a pint or two) in the restaurant.
Accommodation: The Bear at Rodborough (or similar)
Distance covered: 2mi (3km)
Ascent: 82ft (25m);
Descent: 115ft (35m)
Meals included: Dinner
Day
2
Guided tour of Bath
We head to Bath in the morning, walking along a 2,000-year-old Roman road and then alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal. Arriving in Bath, we visit some of the landmarks before lunch, including Bath Abbey and the Georgian-inspired Royal Crescent, which you may have seen in Netflix’s Bridgerton. In the afternoon, visit the Roman Baths, one of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world, before heading back to our inn via Nailsworth, where we can stop in the local pub if we have time.
Accommodation: The Bear at Rodborough (or similar)
Distance covered: 7mi (11km)
Ascent: 295ft (90m);
Descent: 394ft (120m)
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
3
Visit Bibury village and walk the Monarch’s Way
Setting out from the hotel, our first stop is Bibury, a quintessential Cotswold village. Here, we visit the weavers cottages of Arlington Row, which Henry Ford admired so much that he supposedly tried to buy and ship them back to the United States.
We then walk (2.6mi/4km) via the Monarch’s Way towards Chedworth Roman Villa, where we find the archaeological remains of one of the grandest Roman villas in Britain.
From here, we continue to Burford, known as the gateway to the Cotswolds. The High Street, which is lined with galleries, antique shops, pubs and coffee shops, sweeps down along a hill, from the top of which you have a lovely view and great photo opportunity. Take a looped walk around town with free time to explore. Burford also played a role in the English Civil War with 340 prisoners locked up in the local church – visit to see their surviving carvings.
Accommodation: The Prince of Burfold (or similar)
Distance covered: 5mi (8km)
Ascent: 276ft (84m);
Descent: 292ft (89m)
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
4
Visit Blenheim Palace and walk around the extensive grounds
Head through the beautiful Cotswolds to start our walk at Blenheim Palace, where Sir Winston Churchill was born and deemed by many to be England’s greatest palace. Exploring a vast Capability Brown-designed parkland, today’s walk is a stunning wander around lakes, serpentine streams and woodland. We have a picnic lunch in the expansive gardens, among an ornate landscape with curly-cue hedgerows, statues and fountains. In the afternoon, we tour the palace itself, visiting various state rooms plus an exhibition on Churchill’s life. In the early evening, transfer to the pretty market town of Moreton-in-Marsh, our final hotel stop on this adventure.
Accommodation: The Redesdale Arms (or similar)
Distance covered: 5mi (8km)
Ascent: 190ft (58m);
Descent: 748ft (228m)
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
5
Chipping Campden to Broadway; visit to Hidcote Gardens
We transfer (15 minutes) to the small market town of Chipping Campden and walk through fields to Hidcote, an estate renowned for its series of ‘outdoor rooms’, where we have time to explore the grounds. We also visit Broadway Tower, which stands in the northernmost extreme of the Cotswolds with up to 16 counties laid out in front like a patchwork quilt, before walking into Broadway town, one of the prettiest villages in the Cotswolds. Stroll along the High Street and admire the golden Cotswold stone buildings, many of which were built as coaching inns in the 16th and 17th centuries. You can also visit the Lygon Arms, where Charles I met his supporters during the Civil War and was soon followed by Oliver Cromwell.
Accommodation: The Redesdale Arms (or similar)
Distance covered: 5mi (8km)
Ascent: 253ft (77m);
Descent: 827ft (252m)
Meals included: Breakfast
Day
6
Morning guided walking tour of Oxford and then departure
We transfer into Oxford at 10am before meeting our specialist local guide for a walking tour of the city, where we visit one of the prestigious colleges, stop at the historic Turf Tavern pub, and watch the punt boats drift along the river. The adventure ends after lunch and we say our goodbyes to each other. There are direct trains from Oxford station to London Paddington if required.
Distance covered: 3mi (5km)
Ascent: 92ft (28m);
Descent: 89ft (27m)
Meals included: Breakfast
Essential Info
Is this trip for you?
This trip is graded Activity Level 2 (Easy & Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings please visit our Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Walking days: Six
Maximum height gained: 295ft (90m)
Maximum walking distance: 7mi (11km)
Average distance: 4mi (7.1km)
We walk on well-maintained paths over varied terrain, though the Cotswolds are known for their rolling hills, so expect some steeper sections.
Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.
Joining Instructions
Key information
Start point: Kemble train station Recommended arrival time: Meet the leader at 11am
Getting to the start point
Indirect trains to Kemble via Swindon operate from London Paddington every hour and take 1hr 20min. If coming from London Heathrow, take the Heathrow Express train to London Paddington (20 minutes).
Return journey
The last day finishes with a guided walk around Oxford. From here, there are direct trains to London Paddington station.
If you would like further information on these transfers, please speak to your sales representative.
Full joining instructions including local emergency numbers will be sent to you as part of our Final Joining Instructions. If you do not receive these at least a week before departure, or require them earlier please contact our office or your travel agent.
Location start: Kemble Station Location end: Oxford
Vaccinations and Health
United Kingdom
There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for polio, tetanus and rabies (bat lyssavirus). Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.
Passport
Remember to check the expiration date of your passport if travelling internationally. Many countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months after the date of your scheduled return.
Visa
United Kingdom
Travellers from the US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter the United Kingdom. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.
Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.
Rain can fall at any time of year; however, the temperatures typically rise from around 12C (54F) in April to the high 20Cs (around 80F-85F) or above in September. Like most of the UK in recent years, there have been some hotter days in the middle of summer.
A trio of country inns
The accommodation on this trip encompasses historic country inns. Expect comfy rooms, modern takes on traditional British cuisine, and a welcoming pub in which we can end the days.
Stroud: The Bear at Rodborough (nights 1-2)
Right on Rodborough Common, this 17th-century coaching inn has a privileged spot within National Trust-owned land. Rooms are decorated in a classic English style, and come with artisan tea and coffee, plus Molton Brown toiletries. The Library restaurant serves a seasonal country menu, while the bar has a tempting selection of beers and cask ales.
Burford: The Prince of Burford (night 3)
Spend our third night in this 18th-century coaching inn turned 16-room hotel. It’s got a lovely spot on the northeast border of the Cotswolds, and offers English country house-style rooms, which come with rain showers and local toiletries by Bramley. Elsewhere, the gastropub serves seasonal dishes and ‘hearty pub classics’ plus award-winning beer from their own Butcombe Brewery.
Moreton-in-Marsh: The Redesdale Arms (nights 4-5)
Finish the adventure at this former coaching inn on the High Street of Moreton-in-Marsh. The 34-bedroom property, which dates from the 17th century, is built from mellow Cotswold stone and has a beautiful oak-beamed and wood-panel interior. Rooms are a mix of contemporary and traditional, spread between the main house and original stable block and courtyard. Elsewhere, the restaurant serves British classics with local ingredients, including Cotswolds meats.
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