Jun 137 min read

Walking the Cotswold Way in England! 164 km (102 miles) in 7 Days!

Welcome to our blog! 🌟 Gemma Smith and I recently completed the stunning Cotswold Way, one of England’s iconic National Trails.

🥾 Over 164 km (102 miles), we explored beautiful landscapes, hidden gems, and we would like you to join us as we share our memorable experiences along this remarkable trail. 🥾🌳🏰

Day 1/7 🥾Cotswold Way, UK National Trail 🇬🇧

Walking with Gemma @gemlaurensmith 🙌

ℹ️Stats: Tuesday 28th May

Weather: rain 🌧️ 15 degrees

From: Shaldon, Devon ➡️ Bath Spa.

Start time: 8.20am / 1pm Bath Cathedral

To: before Dyrham

End time: 7.40pm

Accommodation: tent ⛺️ wild camped

Terrain: hills, farm land, cow fields, long wet grass

🥾Km: 28

🥾Miles: 17.5

🦶Steps: 36,233

This was not all walked on the Cotswold Way. This includes travel to Bath - walking 30 mins to the train station. Shopping and getting food supply and walking to the start at the Cathedral

💰Costs: £42.90 train 🚂 one way Teignmouth to Bath Spa

£33 supermarkets food shop

£1.85 1L water 💧

Subjective feeling out of 10 on:

Enjoyment: 8/10

Fatigue: 4/10 - I know I’m tired before I even start walking!!

Ease of terrain: 4/10 surprisingly found some of the uphill sections tough going.

⭐️Highlights: new walk. New challenge. No pressure re distances and time. Walking with Gemma again (make sure to check out the vlogs from the coast to coast). Setting up the tents when it was dry before it started raining again.

🏔️Challenges: the weather 🌧️. Stomach issues (had some gluten/wheat food over the weekend. Stomach is still not happy), super tired 🥱 (I think I’m anaemia- I’ve got a blood test next week to check). Period 🩸 it’s all going on! Ahhhhh 😫😩 plus add in the hills…

💭Thoughts: although it rained on and off all day. It’s been fun! Plus I took an umbrella ☂️ which has been a game changer. I love it!! Big fan!! Do you hike with an umbrella?!

Day 2/7 🥾Cotswold Way, UK National Trail 🇬🇧

Walking with Gemma @gemlaurensmith 🙌

ℹ️Stats: Wednesday 29th May

Weather: Sunny ☀️ (thank goodness)

From: before Dryton

Start time: 7.25am

To: Wotton-under-Edge

End time: 8.20pm

Accommodation: The Swan Hotel - bed 🛌

Terrain: farmland, country roads, lanes, rocky paths, gravel tracks

🥾Km: 38

🥾Miles: 23

🦶Steps: 49,097

💰Costs: £3.10 - crisps, 2x blackcurrant juice

Subjective feeling out of 10 on:

Enjoyment: 8/10

Fatigue: 5/10

Ease of terrain: 5/10

⭐️Highlights: staying in a bed 🙏 being able to charge electronics. It was a nice day. So lucky with the weather.

🏔️Challenges: slugs 🐌 all over the inner and outer inner of the tent ⛺️. Trying to find an area to wild camp was so difficult. There were really no options. So we carried on walking into the closest town and Gemma booked & paid for a hotel. 🙏

💭Thoughts: we took a few nice rest breaks along the way. But it was a long day. It felt long.

Day 3/7 🥾Cotswold Way, UK National Trail 🇬🇧

Walking with Gemma @gemlaurensmith 🙌

ℹ️Stats: Thursday 30th May

Weather: dry

From: Wotton-under-Edge

Start time: 10.56am

To: around Middleyard.

End time: 9.15pm

Accommodation: wild camped ⛺️

Terrain: grassy, forests, mud, country lanes

🥾Km: 25.8

🥾Miles: 16

🦶Steps:33,091

💰Costs: £0

Subjective feeling out of 10 on:

Enjoyment: 8/10

Fatigue: 6/10

Ease of terrain: 5/10

⭐️Highlights: I slept so well - from 11pm to 8am.

🏔️Challenges: even after a good sleep. I’m so tired. 😴 I’ve taken 2 caffeine tablets to give me a boost. It doesn’t seem to have done anything! The place where we were going to wild camp had a rave happening! Loads of teenagers going for it! So we needed to find somewhere else

💭Thoughts: it’s such a beautiful walk! Really enjoying it 🥳

Day 4/7 🥾Cotswold Way, UK National Trail 🇬🇧

Walking with Gemma @gemlaurensmith 🙌

ℹ️Stats: Friday 31st May

Weather: dry

From: around Middleyard

Start time: 8am

To: Painswick

End time: 3pm

Accommodation: The Falcon Inn - bed 🛌

Terrain: hilly, grassy, farmlands, forests 🌳

🥾Km: 16.9

🥾Miles: 10.5

🦶Steps:21,623

💰Costs: £28.60 food shop co-op

£60 hotel 🏨 (Gemma paid the rest 🙏)

Subjective feeling out of 10 on:

Enjoyment: 9/10

Fatigue: 5/10

Ease of terrain: 4/10

⭐️Highlights: relaxing in the sunshine and getting the tents dry. Bumping into Sabrina Pace-Humphrey’s (previous guest on the tough girl podcast). I last met her at the top of Ben Nevis in Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

the hotel was lush! As was the hot shower. So nice to be relaxing in bed by 3.30pm

🏔️Challenges: feeling tired. Not a great night sleep 💤 plus it was a hotter day.

💭Thoughts: we chatted with two women who were walking the trail and they were doing it without a guidebook or without any GPS system. just following the signs.

The trail is well signposted. But there are still junctions/places where you’re not 100% sure which way to go. And some of the trail signs are hidden in the bushes. In the forest section the trail posts are brown and blend in very with the forest so makes it very difficult to see.

I can’t imagine it’s easy to walk this trail without a guidebook or GPS system, but there are people doing it. Fairplay to them.

Day 5/7 🥾Cotswold Way, UK National Trail 🇬🇧

Walking with Gemma @gemlaurensmith 🙌

ℹ️Stats: Saturday 1st June

Weather: dry

From: Painswick

Start time: 10.26am

To: close to Lineover Wood

End time: 8.25pm

Accommodation: wild camped ⛺️

Terrain: grassy, forest tracks, hard gravel, soft soil, muddy sections, maintained pathways

🥾Km:33

🥾Miles: 20

🦶Steps:42,512

💰Costs: £5.60 2x blackcurrant & water (I still can’t get over how expensive this was) 👀

Subjective feeling out of 10 on:

Enjoyment: 8/10

Fatigue: 5/10

Ease of terrain: 4/10

⭐️Highlights: cheese rolling Hill. OMG, so steep. I can’t believe people actually run down a hill to follow a cheese. 🤣🤣🤣

Stopping at Greene King Pub - live music playing 🎶 awesome stop…. Apart from how expensive the drinks were. I’m sorry… but it’s ridiculous to pay £5.60 for two blackcurrants and water. Not getting over this any time soon!! it reminds me of that slice of cake I bought on the Wales Coast path which cost the same amount. Still not over that either!!

🏔️Challenges: none

💭Thoughts: how does 2 pints of blackcurrant & water cost £5.60!!! I’m still shocked at how expensive it was! 😮

Day 6/7 🥾Cotswold Way, UK National Trail 🇬🇧

Walking with Gemma @gemlaurensmith 🙌

ℹ️Stats: Sunday 2nd June

Weather: Sunny ☀️ & hot

From: close to Lineover Wood

Start time: 8.15am

To: Stanway

End time: 7.30pm - didn’t set up tents till 8.15pm

Accommodation: wild camped ⛺️

Terrain: grassy paths, farm land, golf courses, forests, country lanes

🥾Km: 30.5

🥾Miles: 19

🦶Steps: 39,138

💰Costs: £2 2x blackcurrant & water.

£30.30 - food resupply co-op

Subjective feeling out of 10 on:

Enjoyment: 8/10

Fatigue: 5/10

Ease of terrain: 5/10

⭐️Highlights: wildflower meadows. The weather. looking out down of Cheltenham and seeing the racecourse. Cleeve Common. Lots of rest breaks. The cost of the blackcurrant and water.

🏔️Challenges: ate something and my belly has gone huge and rock solid. Felt super tired towards the end of the day

💭Thoughts: this is a great beginners trail. In terms of the terrain it isn’t hugely challenging but there are a few ups and downs. It’s also a very beautiful walk.

There is a lack of campsites. So if you didn’t want to wild camp, your accommodation is going to be more, like B&Bs and staying in pubs. Which would make it more expensive.

If you do it with a partner or a friend then you can half your accommodation cost.

Otherwise you could be looking at between £120 and £160 per night roughly.

I’ve not seen any hostels. there are also occasionally places that you can stay for around £60 for two people for one night.

So you would need to do your research if you were wanting to stay somewhere every night.

It’s a great intro into multi day hiking. Easy to navigate. Resupply is very easy and easy to do the whole trail without camping.

Day 7/7 🥾Cotswold Way, UK National Trail 🇬🇧

Walking with Gemma @gemlaurensmith 🙌

ℹ️Stats: Monday 3rd June

Weather: dry & sunny

From: Stanway

Start time: 7.45am

To: Chipping Campden (the end 🏁)

End time: 2.20pm

Accommodation: home 🏡 my bed 🛌

Terrain: grassy, farm land, mud, roads

🥾Km: 21.8

🥾Miles: 13.6

🦶Steps: 28,050

💰Costs: £3.40 - water & innocent smoothie

Subjective feeling out of 10 on:

Enjoyment: 9/10

Fatigue: 5/10

Ease of terrain: 4/10

⭐️Highlights: Stanton village - stunning - I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful village. The flowers on and around the houses. Everything looked picture perfect

😍

Broadway village - also absolutely beautiful definitely taken the spot number two.

🏔️Challenges: people scaring a deer/reindeer who was protecting her baby. I shouted at them and told them off for stressing the animal.

💭Thoughts: if you wanting to do a circular walk, Broadway to Stanton and back would be perfect. Again another day walk which would be beautiful would be Stanton to chipping Camden.