Cotswold Way - Day 1 of 8 - Chipping to Winchcombe - England's most scenic & interesting hike

Cotswold Way Day 1 Chipping Campden to Winchcombe
In anticipation of a fairly long day of 16 miles we had breakfast relatively early at 7.30am (ordered the night before). Leaving our suitcase in reception for Sherpa transport to collect-as we did every morning-we walked to the very handy Co-op Store opposite the start of the walk. Other small shops are available. As a sunny day was anticipated we wore shorts (as we did every day regardless of the weather). We were all very excited for the start of the trip. The official start/or finish depending which way you walk, is marked by a plaque by the old Market Hall and War Memorial, and a national trail sign set in the ground, which lists all the places to be visited. The Market Hall was built in 1627 for the sale of local produce.

Leaving at 8.45am we briefly re-traced our footsteps, then turned right by St Catherines Church, then up Hoo Lane, continuing up a sandy track, passing beautiful houses, one with a blue plaque for the author Graham Greene, whilst watching swallows, swifts and house martins. We crossed the main road, and headed for Dovers Hill. This gave us the first of many views of the trip, this time over the Vale of Evesham and the Malvern Hills in the distance. Dover’s Hill (230m) was named after Robert Dover, who organised his first Olympic Games in 1612, with leapfrog, wrestling, shin-kicking etc, which lasted until 1852. It was revived in 1951 and takes place annually on May Bank Holiday. (We must return!!)

We continued along Mile Drive, through beautiful countryside, arriving on the A44 at Fish Hill near a topograph. There is a free public toilet block in the car park. (10.15am) We crossed the road besides an old limestone quarry. Limestone is used for building the beautiful yellow-stone cottages and dry-stone walls, for which the area is famous. The path continued upward through an Anglo-Saxon burial ground-spot the mounds and hollows, then going left at a gate.
Broadway Tower was designed by James Wyatt in 1798. To enter the area, it is necessary to obtain a ticket from the office which is somewhere past the tower. We did not do this, our path continued past the right-hand side of the tower, downhill to the stunning village of Broadway. (11.20am). We stopped for a coffee at Number 32 cafe, pleased to have got the first 6 miles completed. In Broadway there are many shops, hotels, and restaurants, and it is an extremely popular village-well-deserved in our opinion. Stagecoaches used to stop here to change horses before ascending Fish Hill. We headed straight through the village before taking a path to the left down Church Street, then right across the fields once more, before turning right through a muddy farmyard. It is a beautiful walk, with great views and we could see the rain sweeping in to our west.

The rain stayed away from us. We arrived in Stanton (1.30pm) and ate our lunch on the well-kept village green. Stanton is an archetypical Cotswold village and possibly the most beautiful along our walk-truly stunning, with many thatch buildings. Spot the thatched animals on the roofs too. Please note if aiming for the village pub The Mount Inn, it is not on the track but turn right when first arriving in the village. We continued through further beautiful countryside with fields of cows and sheep, following lines of trees stretching into the distance.
We passed the fabulous Stanway House, and a C12th church, both with ornate carving. The watermill is open to the public on specified days. We continued for a couple of miles, through Wood Stanway across undulating fields with fine views, before arriving at one of the first of many iron age hill forts, complete with ditches and ramparts, set on a scarp slope at Beckbury Hill (3.45pm).

Check out the tower to Thomas Cromwell where allegedly he sat to watch the destruction of Hailes Abbey, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 as ordered by Henry V111. Hailes Abbey was originally founded in 1246 and for 300 years received thousands of pilgrims. It is now open to the public, being owned and maintained by English Heritage. Hayles Fruit Farm nearby has a farm shop and tea room, but we needed to keep moving.

We could see black clouds approaching and reached for our new waterproofs, shortly before the heavy rain and hail arrived. We spent the last hour of the walk in a storm, as well as wading through mud. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the pattern for the whole trip. We arrived in The White Hart, Winchcombe at 5.15pm dripping on the stone floor. We ate later in their restaurant where a good selection of meals-chicken, fish pie, burger etc were presented.

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