Trailblazer Guide Books

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BUDGETING

How you budget for your trip will depend largely on the type of accommodation you use and where you have your meals. If you camp and cook for yourself, you will be able to keep costs to a minimum.

These escalate as you go up the accommodation and dining scales and will also be affected by the extent to which you use the services offered to guests, such as transportation of luggage, packed lunches and other refinements.

CAMPING

You can get by on as little as £10 per person per night, pitching your tent at official sites and cooking your own food. Typically, camping costs from £3.50 to £5 per person, sometimes plus an extra £1 for the use of a shower, though near Bath you’re looking at up to £7.50 a head.

Most walkers will find it hard to live that frugally and will indulge in the occasional cooked breakfast when it’s offered (from around £5), the odd pint of beer (around £2.50), or a pub meal after a long hard day (£9-11). It’s probably more realistic to budget on at least £13-16 per day.

HOSTELS

In reality, the only hostels you’re going to find along the route are in Bath and (some way off) in Cheltenham, where you’ll pay somewhere between £13 and £30 for the night, in some cases including a continental breakfast.

Typically prices are higher at weekends and in the summer months than at quieter periods. Most hostels have some form of self-catering facility, although where an evening meal is available, you can expect to pay upwards of around £8.

B&Bs AND PUBS

Allow around £25-35 per head for an overnight stay with breakfast, perhaps more in Broadway over a summer weekend, plus a further £9-16 for an evening meal. If you include a packed lunch as well, you won’t be far wrong on £45-55 per person per day.

These figures assume double occupancy. If you’re travelling alone you will almost certainly be charged a supplement of £5-15 for single occupancy, unless the B&B has single rooms.

EXTRAS

Don’t forget to set aside some money for the inevitable extras, such as batteries, postcards, buses and taxis, drinks, cream teas, snacks and entrance fees – or, rather more crucially, any changes of plan. Around £50-100 should be about right.

WHEN TO GO

SEASONS

Autumn that name of creeper falling and tea-time loving,
Was once for me the thought of High Cotswold noon-air

  Ivor Gurney, Old Thought

While English weather is hardly predictable, at least some generalisations can be made. Statistically, the months when the weather is least likely to be inclement are May to September, but statistics – as we all know – can be very misleading.

The air temperature at this time is generally at its warmest, with frosts unlikely from the end of May. Rain, though, is another factor. Some years can see continuous rain for several weeks and parts of the path will become impassable.

While it’s tempting to think that this is only likely to happen in winter, the last widespread flooding in Gloucestershire was in the summer of 2007, with 2008 running a close second. April and October often bring days that are bright and breezy when the walking and the surroundings are at their best.

Spring
The weather in spring is as unpredictable as the rest of the year. In April, it can be warm and sunny on odd days, but seldom for sustained periods. Although the spring of 2007 upset all the record books, conditions are more likely to be changeable, with blustery showers and cold spells reminding you that winter has only just passed.

On the other hand, the days are long, and less rain falls on average in spring than at any other time of the year. This, coupled with the milder weather of May and June, and the proliferation of wild flowers early in the year, makes it one of the best times to tackle the trail.

Summer
July and August are the traditional holiday months and the conditions can be especially good for walking with generally mild temperatures and still many hours of daylight.

This, however, is also the time when the Cotswolds experience a surge in visitors, especially around the tourist honeypots of Broadway and Bath. For the most part, though, the trippers won’t be out in the fields and on the hills, so here at least you can leave the hordes behind.

Autumn
Many connoisseurs consider autumn, especially early autumn, the best time of year for walking. September and October can be lovely months to get out on the trail, especially when the leaves begin to turn. Although the air temperature usually remains relatively mild, October can see the first frosts and rain is an ever-present threat.

Winter
Only the very hardiest of souls will attempt the Cotswold Way in winter. The days are shorter, and once the clocks have gone back at the end of October, until mid March, you will need to be at your destination by 4.30-5pm to avoid walking in the dark.

Cold weather, wind and driving rain are not the best recipe for a day’s walking, although a crisp winter morning takes a lot of beating.

DAYLIGHT HOURS

If you’re planning to walk in autumn, winter or early spring, you’ll need to take account of how far you can walk in the available daylight. It will not be possible to cover as many miles or to be out for as long as you would in the summer.

The table on p25 gives the sunrise and sunset times for the middle of each month at latitude 52º North which runs through the Cotswold Hills, giving a reasonably accurate picture for daylight along the Cotswold Way.

Depending on the weather, you should get a further 30-45 minutes of usable light before sunrise and after sunset.

ANNUAL EVENTS

The following events may need to be considered when planning your walk since all will affect the availability and sometimes price of accommodation in their area. Those with a particularly strong impact locally are the National Hunt Festival in Cheltenham in March, and Badminton Horse Trials in May.

In addition to the following annual fixtures, it’s as well to be aware that events held at the Prescott Speed Hill Climb (www.bugatti.co.uk) outside Winchcombe can put a lot of pressure on the town’s resources.

February

Cheltenham Folk Festival (tel 0844-576 2210, www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk or www.cheltenhamfestivals.com) Folk music comes to town for three days in mid February.

March

Bath Literature Festival (tel 01225-463362, www.bathlitfest.org.uk) A week at the beginning of March sees Bath’s literary scene come alive. Authors as diverse as Terry Pratchett and Tariq Ali were among those at the 2008 event.

National Hunt Festival, Cheltenham (tel 0844-579 3003, www.cheltenham.co.uk) Now dubbed simply The Festival, this four-day event in mid March is one of the racing calendar’s highlights – both in racing terms and socially – culminating in every jump jockey’s dream, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Tickets are hard sought after, and accommodation throughout the area is often booked a year ahead. If you have no choice but to walk in this week, make sure you plan well ahead.

April/May

Wotton-under-Edge Arts Festival (tel 01453-760960, www.visitthecotswolds.org.uk) This ten-day festival takes place around the end of April and early May.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival (tel 0844-576 2210, www.cheltenhamfestivals.com) A week of jazz is celebrated at the end of April into early May.

May

Badminton Horse Trials (tel 01454-218375, www.badminton-horse.co.uk) Hugely important among the horseriding fraternity, this four-day event takes place east of the trail near Old Sodbury in early May. Accommodation is limited in this area, and guesthouses, pubs and hotels for miles around get prebooked months in advance: you’ve been warned!

Chipping Campden Music Festival (tel 01386-849018, www.campdenmusicfestival.co.uk) A local ten-day festival dedicated to classical music, based in the town’s revered St James’s Church.

Annual Cheese Rolling Cooper’s Hill (tel 01684-855040, www.cheese-rolling.co.uk) Once just a village affair, this event on the last May Bank Holiday Monday has developed something of an international appeal in recent years; see box p122.

Cotswold Olimpicks, Dover’s Hill, Chipping Campden (www.olimpickgames.co.uk) Friday after the last May Bank Holiday, followed the next day by the Scuttlebrook Wake; see box p78.

Bath International Music Festival (tel 01225-463362, www.bathmusicfest.org.uk) Held for two weeks at the end of May and early June, the festival showcases music ranging from classical to jazz and folk.

June

Cheltenham Science Festival (tel 0844-576 2210, www.cheltenhamfestivals.com) Held over five days in early June.

Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival (tel 0844-576 2210, www.garden-events.com) Three days of foodie heaven in Montpellier Gardens from mid to late June.

Cotswold Way Relay (www.cotswoldwayrelay.co.uk) Unless you’re prepared for your rural peace to be shattered by teams of runners, it might be best to avoid walking on the last Saturday in June. On the other hand, you’ll have the one-upmanship of taking the time to savour the trail’s attractions while others steam past with eyes only on the clock. For details, see box below.

July

Cheltenham Music Festival (tel 0844-576 2210, www.cheltenhamfestivals.com) Popular two-week festival at the beginning of July with international artists playing an eclectic mix of primarily classical music.

Cotswold Beer Festival (tel 01242-239785, www.gloucestershirecamra.org.uk/cbf) One of CAMRA’s national beer festivals, held at Postlip Hall outside Winchcombe over the last weekend in July.

Cheltenham Cricket Festival (tel 0117-910 8000, www.gloscricket.co.uk) Founded in 1872, the festival is held in the grounds of Cheltenham College around the end of July/early August.

August

Frocester Beer Festival (www.dursleylions.org/frocesterbeerfestival.htm) Two days of tasting and camaraderie, held near Stonehouse over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

October

Cheltenham Literature Festival (tel 0844-576 2210, www.cheltenhamfestivals.com). This ten-day festival in mid October goes from strength to strength, attracting literary giants such as Toni Morrison, as well as Man Booker prize winners, and offering a range of workshops.

WHICH DIRECTION?

Most guidebooks to the Cotswold Way assume you will walk from north to south, which is the direction that has been followed in the layout of this book. There are some compelling reasons for this. To start with, although the prevailing wind is from the west, the Cotswolds frequently experience some vicious north-easterlies, and walking into the teeth of these can be decidedly unpleasant.

Then there’s the fact that the north Cotswolds have more than their fair share of attractive villages and towns with plenty of places to stay and eat – so that distances can be kept shorter in the initial stages, and there’s a good choice of restaurants and B&Bs at the end of a walking day.

And for those in need of an incentive, what better way to celebrate the end of the walk than by relaxing in Bath’s new spa?

Of course, starting from Bath has its advantages, too. Some walkers prefer not to have the sun in their eyes, which can be a deciding factor (although less so than you might think, since the route takes a considerable number of twists and turns).

Others may wish to explore one of the quintessential Cotswold villages at leisure once the walk is over. The maps in Part 4 give timings for both directions and, as route-finding instructions are on the maps rather than in the text, it is perfectly straightforward to walk from south to north using this guide.