Designated as "an area of outstanding natural beauty", the Cotswolds are just 100 miles west of London. Steeped in history, its tiny villages of honey-colored limestone abound with thatched cottages that cluster around spired churches. This superbly picturesque countryside of rolling meadows and beech forests lends itself to our gentlest series of walks, 5 to 10 miles daily, with quite modest elevation changes. From our well-located hotel, we drive daily to ramble in various parts of the region.
Following introductory talk by your guide, take a short walk up the Coln River valley to experience the peace and tranquility of two typical Cotswold villages, Sevenhampton and Brockhampton, before returning along an ancient ridgeway. This walk takes us through two of the most splendid Cotswold villages, Upper & Lower Slaughter, and along the river Windrush and Ey valleys, lunching at a traditional country inn at Naunton en route. On the return to your home base you will also visit the curiously named but very pretty village of Guiting Power. After tea and biscuits at your hotel there is a talk by a local expert. A longer walk amidst some of the country's finest ancient beechwoods. Then a look at the site of one of England's strangest customs, and visits to a stunning valley stream with ancient wool mills, one of the famous Cotswolds Wool towns (Painswick), and the site of a 6th-Century BC Iron Age fort. Walk takes us through a wonderful array of villages. Begin at Longborough and then walk across the wolds to Sezincote with its unique Moghul-style stately home, charming Blockley and Broad Campden - and finally Chipping Campden, perhaps the loveliest of all Cotswold villages. The magnificent city of Bath, built on a bend in the River Avon, is renowned for its hot springs. Here are Britain’s most complete Roman remains as well as magnificent 18th-Century architecture. Together with tiers of crescents, terraces and squares, all is blended into a congenial whole, a lasting reminder of an elegant time past. A guided introduction is followed by an afternoon to explore at your leisure the many sites of interest. Walk circles the Cotswolds’ “jewel in the crown”, the village of Stanton, taking in magnificent views over a wide vista, designed to leave you with a lasting memory of your Cotswold experience. Continue along the lower slopes to Laverton and Buckland, with its ancient rectory, and then back along the Cotswold Way. Visit Sudeley Castle, the former home of the last wife of Henry VIII, Katherine Parr, and the historic town of Winchcombe, before returning for our Farewell Dinner. Member discount: Notes:
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