Walking the Cotswolds - Private Group Adventure

Meet at Kemble station at 11am, where you are joined by your tour leader before transferring (15 minutes) to Tetbury. Take a walking tour (one hour to 1hr 30min) of this 1,300-year-old market town, visiting St Marys’ Church, a place of worship since 681 CE, and Gumstool Hill, which is famous for the annual woolsack races, in which participants race up and down the hill carrying a sack of wool weighing up to 60lb (27kg). We visit King Charles’ Highgrove House after lunch (dependent on the King’s schedule) for a tour of his incredible formal and market garden. King Charles moved here in 1980 and has since poured plenty of energy (and expertise) into creating one of the finest garden estates in the country. After an exciting first day, we head to our first country inn and get to know each other a little better over modern British cuisine (and perhaps a pint or two) in the restaurant.

We head to Bath in the morning, walking along a 2,000-year-old Roman road and then alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal. Arriving in Bath, we visit some of the landmarks before lunch, including Bath Abbey and the Georgian-inspired Royal Crescent, which you may have seen in Netflix’s Bridgerton. In the afternoon, visit the Roman Baths, one of the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world, before heading back to our inn via Nailsworth, where we can stop in the local pub if we have time.

Setting out from the hotel, our first stop is Bibury, a quintessential Cotswold village. Here, we visit the weavers cottages of Arlington Row, which Henry Ford admired so much that he supposedly tried to buy and ship them back to the United States. We then walk (2.6mi/4km) via the Monarch’s Way towards Chedworth Roman Villa, where we find the archaeological remains of one of the grandest Roman villas in Britain. From here, we continue to Burford, known as the gateway to the Cotswolds. The High Street, which is lined with galleries, antique shops, pubs and coffee shops, sweeps down along a hill, from the top of which you have a lovely view and great photo opportunity. Take a looped walk around town with free time to explore. Burford also played a role in the English Civil War with 340 prisoners locked up in the local church – visit to see their surviving carvings.

Head through the beautiful Cotswolds to start our walk at Blenheim Palace, where Sir Winston Churchill was born and deemed by many to be England’s greatest palace. Exploring a vast Capability Brown-designed parkland, today’s walk is a stunning wander around lakes, serpentine streams and woodland. We have a picnic lunch in the expansive gardens, among an ornate landscape with curly-cue hedgerows, statues and fountains. In the afternoon, we tour the palace itself, visiting various state rooms plus an exhibition on Churchill’s life. In the early evening, transfer to the pretty market town of Moreton-in-Marsh, our final hotel stop on this adventure.

We transfer (15 minutes) to the small market town of Chipping Campden and walk through fields to Hidcote, an estate renowned for its series of ‘outdoor rooms’, where we have time to explore the grounds. We also visit Broadway Tower, which stands in the northernmost extreme of the Cotswolds with up to 16 counties laid out in front like a patchwork quilt, before walking into Broadway town, one of the prettiest villages in the Cotswolds. Stroll along the High Street and admire the golden Cotswold stone buildings, many of which were built as coaching inns in the 16th and 17th centuries. You can also visit the Lygon Arms, where Charles I met his supporters during the Civil War and was soon followed by Oliver Cromwell.

We transfer into Oxford at 10am before meeting our specialist local guide for a walking tour of the city, where we visit one of the prestigious colleges, stop at the historic Turf Tavern pub, and watch the punt boats drift along the river. The adventure ends after lunch and we say our goodbyes to each other. There are direct trains from Oxford station to London Paddington if required.