Greetings! We’re Lisa and Matt McMann—nomads, hikers, bestselling authors—here with a free comprehensive article on our village-to-village hike in the Cotswolds, UK. If you find this post helpful, a like, share, and/or a free or paid subscription would go a long way to helping others find this information. Thank you!
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This whole thing could have gone very badly.
A walking tour of the Cotswolds had been a dream of Matt’s for decades, and we had been training for it for months. Reeeally looking forward to it. Maybe even building it up a little too much in our minds, which is a risky thing to do.
Trying to put together the itinerary was a bit overwhelming for me, the one who plans all of our travel. I didn’t really understand the village sizes or which inns were best to book. Where were the walking paths in relation to the hotels? Which villages were must-sees and which didn’t even have an inn or a pub? So we hired a company to help us with the planning. That was an added expense that we wouldn’t normally choose.
What if, after all of that, it kind of sucked?
If you’ve been following our walk, you already know that it didn’t. And the company we hired did a great job. If you haven’t read our story from the beginning but would like to, you can start with our doubts and fears here, or our precarious first day here.
Now that our Cotswold adventure is over, we can confidently say that this experience exceeded our high expectations and is actually one of the highlights of our nomadic life to date (two years and counting).
That said, there were lows with the highs, and things we’d do differently next time around. After walking 65+ miles over ten days, staying in six different villages, and spending hours upon hours walking together and analyzing absolutely everything, we have thoughts.
At the end of this article, we’ll give you our full itinerary, including names of villages, inns we stayed at, and walking distances, in case it helps you put your own Cotswold walk together.
The nature. Layers upon layers of rolling hills. Lush grass and trees. The sounds of birds, chickens, and sheep. Whiffs of mint and wet dirt and cows. The feel of the wind and sun and rain.
The peace and quiet was magical.
The villages. Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Winchcombe, Broadway, Chipping Campden, and back to Moreton. Cobblestone streets, centuries-old buildings of honey-colored limestone, deep history, slow pace, quaint charm. Matt’s favorite was Chipping Campden, which was not only stunning but also gave us one of our favorite meals.
The walking. Our preferred method of experiencing a location is on our own two (four?) feet. It allows us to absorb the feel of a place. We loved each hike, but our favorite segment was the first one: Moreton-in-Marsh to Stow-on-the-Wold, with the very best coffee stop in beautiful Longborough. I would go back and walk this segment every day if I could.
The animals. Cowies and sheepies and lambies and horsies. They kept us company on long trails with few people.
Getting to know a mother and daughter duo, Suzanne and Casey, whom we met six miles outside of Bath and walked with as they ended their 102-mile Cotswold Way journey at the marker in front of Bath Abbey. Despite outward differences, a natural camaraderie emerged as we shared this unique and meaningful experience.
Refreshments. Cheers to all the wonderful coffee and pastry shops we met along the way. You filled our bodies and lifted our spirits.
Our hiking app. We normally use the paid version of the AllTrails app, but the company that helped us organize the trip packaged our trails on the free version of Ride with GPS. The ability to download our routes in advance so we’d always know our location even without cell service was a huge help.
The luggage transfer service. As nomads, we each travel with a rollaboard suitcase and a backpack. Having someone pick up our two suitcases and one backpack every morning and deliver it to our next location allowed us to walk with only one light daypack.
UK inns generally don’t have air conditioning, and we arrived during one of several heatwaves England has endured this year. The struggle was real.
Sometimes finding reasonably priced on-the-go lunch options was tricky, and items tended to be on the heavy side. Don’t get me wrong, we love a good steak and ale hand pie, but on a hot day with miles to go, it wasn’t ideal.
While most inns were super charming (Lisa loved The Lion Inn in Winchcombe and Matt’s favorite was Mole End House bed & breakfast in Stow-on-the-Wold), they can lack some conveniences. Few electrical outlets (Mole End House had plenty, though), occasional poor lighting, separate cold and hot water taps with scalding hot water, and no face cloths in the bath. (Travelers who love a face cloth, here’s a lightweight, biodegradable option for your travels if you can’t live without).
The low door frames. Matt, who is 6’3” tall (191 cm) hit his head countless times.
The sheep poop. No way around it when you’re walking through their fields! It wasn’t constant. Only one of our walking days really stood out as having a significant amount of it to dodge.
The expense. This walk would not be easy to do on a small budget, but there are some ways to cut costs. Staying in less frequented villages along the trails might help. Eating a hearty (included) breakfast to carry you to dinner with just a snack or two along the route is an option. Finding meals at grocery stores rather than restaurants for lunch and dinner could ease the wallet pain as well.
Navigating the crowds in a couple of the villages, like Bourton-on-the-Water and Broadway. We were blown away by how many people flocked to these two villages in particular. Regarding the paths, the official Cotswold Way seemed much more popular than other trails we took, like the Heart of England Way or the Monarch’s Way, where we rarely saw anyone.
Book our own inns, plan our own routes and villages to stay in, hire our own luggage service
Go a little earlier in May or try late September or early October to avoid heatwaves and crowds (we hiked late May into early June)
Adjust our hiking lengths. We learned that our sweet spot for distance was 6.5 to 8 miles; 11 was doable but we wouldn’t want to go that far multiple days in a row
Lighten and lengthen our schedule. We were so glad we booked an occasional day off to avoid having to transfer to a new inn every day, and we will do even more of this next time. The extra days allowed us to really explore the villages, as well as recover from the longer walks.
Grab more meals from markets. The daily included breakfasts were great, and we often opted for a snack at lunchtime to save a few bucks. Plus we grew weary of eating in restaurants.
Finding public toilets: Most village to village routes in the Cotswolds have a cafe, coffee shop, or pub with toilets along the way (please support these businesses with a purchase if you’re going to use their facilities). We also found a few public bathrooms on church properties as well, outside the actual church in a separate building. In villages, public toilets require 50 pence, so carry a few coins with you.
We ordered a few supplies in advance and sent them to our first inn so we didn’t have to pack them. Things like tick spray, protein bars, and Lisa’s favorite coffee. When addressing a package to be sent to an inn, be sure to add something like PLEASE HOLD FOR GUEST (LAST NAME) ARRIVING (DATE) in the extra address line. Americans, to avoid confusion, remember that dates are written day/month/year rather than month/day/year in the UK and in much of the rest of the world.
Wake up early to explore busy villages like Bourton-on-the-Water and Broadway before the crowds arrive.
Carry anti-blister patches and use one as soon as you feel a hot spot developing on your foot, even when you don’t feel like taking the time to mess with it. Stopping blisters before they form might save your whole walking trip.
Also carry tick spray that is safe for clothing. It’ll keep the hoards of little flies and gnats away in damp/shaded areas as well as repel ticks in case you end up walking through long grass. If you don’t want to lug a heavy backpack,
Make dinner reservations at least a day or two in advance, especially in the busier villages.
Do a quick internet search for the best things in each village before you arrive. We totally missed out on seeing a 1/9th scale miniature of the village in Bourton-on-the-Water, and we have regrets.
Carry an ultra-lightweight waterproof jacket. We love our 6-ounce ones from Mont-bell.
Get the Ride with GPS hiking app. There is often good physical signage along the established trails, but depending on your route, it can get confusing. Sometimes multiple trails intersect, and other times a non-official trail splits from the main one. Having our routes downloaded on our hiking app in advance saved us from wrong turns countless times and kept us from ever getting lost.
Get the What 3 Words app. As long as you have cell service, this app generates a three word code that pinpoints your location within three meters. You can then provide those three words to emergency personnel if you’re lost or injured in a remote location, allowing them to know where to find you (the emergency services number in England is 999).
Day 1: Arrived via train in Moreton-in-Marsh. Stayed at The White Hart Royal Inn, walkable from train station. If it’s hot out, request an east- or north-facing room. Our west-facing room was roasting and a bit run-down, but we stayed in this hotel again on the last night and had a much nicer room. The hotel staff were top notch and kindly gave us plenty of ice during the heat wave.
Day 2: Walked 7.5 miles to Stow-on-the-Wold via Longborough. Stayed at Mole End House (slightly outside of town and off the trail requiring a half-mile walk along a busy street, but the property is quiet and serene with updated rooms). This was our favorite walk day. There’s a public toilet at the church in Longborough, halfway between Moreton and Stow. Great coffee shop in Longborough, too.
Day 3: Walked 7 miles to Bourton-on-the-Water via Lower and Upper Slaughter. Stayed at the Dial House Hotel for 2 nights. Great breakfast! Also their lunch menu had a delicious karaage (Korean fried chicken) appetizer that was big enough for a lunch portion.
Day 4: Extra day in Bourton. Optional walks include a 10-mile circular via Naunton and the Slaughters. Check hiking apps for more.
Day 5: Traveled 6 miles by taxi to Guiting Power, then walked about 7 miles to Winchcombe (13 miles in one day was a little too much for my comfort level). Stayed at The Lion Inn.
Day 6: Walked 11 miles to Broadway via Stanton. Stayed at the Broadway Hotel for 2 nights. Note: there were not many refreshment options on this route, so we recommend making a reservation at The Mount Inn in Stanton for lunch (hours 12pm-3pm). Due to a system glitch, they never got our online reservation and had to work us in as the restaurant was fully booked. It’s about 8 miles into the walk, and we arrived there by noon after leaving our hotel around 9 a.m.
Day 7: Extra day in Broadway. Optional walks include a 7.5 mile circular via Snowshill village. We skipped this walk after doing the big walk the previous day, and I have regrets—it’s apparently a very lovely trail.
Day 8: Walked 6 miles to Chipping Campden. Stayed at the posh Cotswold House Hotel for 2 nights (it was our 35th wedding anniversary). The walk takes you past Broadway Tower, which has a lovely coffee shop nearby. There are outdoor toilets that were locked, but don’t despair—the coffee shop just beyond has toilets too. Note: Our generously sized room at Cotswold House had air conditioning! We highly recommend staying two nights in stunning Chipping Campden no matter where you choose to rest your head.
Day 9: Extra day in Chipping Campden. Optional walks include a 7-mile circular via Hidcote Manor Gardens and Kiftsgate Court.
Day 10: Walked 8 miles to Moreton-in-Marsh via Blockley, completing our multi-day circular “Best of the Cotswolds” journey. Stayed at The White Hart Royal again. Blockley has a great coffee shop, well worth the stop. You’ll walk right through the church property where the BBC TV show Father Brown is filmed.
Day 11: Packed up and walked to the train station for the next leg of our adventure, ten days in Bath! Not gonna lie—we felt sad to be finished with our walk. Luckily, Bath is at the southwest end of the Cotswold Way… and maybe we weren’t quite finished walking after all. We’ll fill you in on what we did there soon!
If you have any questions about the Cotswold villages we visited or the hikes we did, don’t hesitate to drop them in the comments. We’re happy to help if we can!
Did you know? Lisa’s New York Times Bestselling THE UNWANTEDS magical fantasy series for ages 8 and up has sold nearly 2.5 million copies and won multiple state awards. Try book one, The Unwanteds in hardcover, paperback, e-book, or audiobook.
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