Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
kissing gates, and a few sections of footpath have been surfaced where
before they were either eroded or boggy.
For this edition of the guide, the Cotswold Way was rechecked in the
spring of 2007, just two months before its official launch as a national trail
in May. Following information kindly supplied by Jo Ronald, the National
Trail Officer responsible for the route, all realignments were walked and
assessed, even where improvements and waymarking had yet to be com-
pleted. Route descriptions in this guide reflect those changes and, as far
as can be ascertained, represent the official course of the Cotswold Way at
its national trail launch. Any further necessary improvements will no doubt
be posted on the national trail website www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cotswold
and described in subsequent editions of this guidebook.
Waymarks follow the nationally approved method of using different col-
oured arrows: yellow for footpaths, blue for bridleways, white for public
roads. What differentiates Cotswold Way arrows from other route direc-
tions is the black acorn symbol of a national trail (the original CW sym-
bol was a white spot painted on or by the arrowhead, and some of these
still exist). Where the route goes through a town, waymarks may be seen
on kerbstones, on the posts of traffic direction signs, or on walls. Where
it crosses a golf course (on Cleeve Common, Stinchcombe Hill, and Pain-
swick Hill, for example), low wooden waymark posts will be seen. (Note
that the original metal signposts along the Cotswold Way give distances in
kilometres, while the new national trail posts are measured in miles.)
This is a route, like a number of others, that best repays an unhurried
approach. There are so many places of interest nearby that no walker
ought to resist the temptation to stray here and there in order to broaden
his or her overall view of the region. 'Intently haphazard' is a term which
admirably suits this attitude to walking the Cotswold Way.
Chipping Campden makes a worthy beginning, Bath a worthy end.
Between the two the way follows a meandering course through woodlands,
along the western rim of the escarpment for mile after mile, down into se-
cretive coombes, along the banks of millstreams, over sunny belvederes,
exploring one glorious village after another, and always seeking to reveal
the very essence of the Cotswolds, the spirit of the region. And it works.
It works supremely well.
Which way to walk - north to south, or vice versa? Should you begin in
Chipping Campden or Bath?
Well, the route has been signed in such a way as to make it easy to
follow in either direction, and there's a similar amount of uphill as there
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