Along the Cotswold Way

Well, for me it's where I grew up so that makes it pretty special. Objectively, though, there is something that draws people to walk the Cotswold Way and there is something about the experience that stays with them.

I suppose on one level, "Walking the way" gives you a pretty neat snapshot of England in that you will see everything from postcard hamlets and villages, to medium sized towns to the historic yet contemporary city of Bath. In a "mere" 102 miles you will experience open commons, woodland paths and rolling farmland. On one side you have the "upland" landscape of the Cotswolds and on the other the flat floodplane of the River Seven with, on a good day, the Welsh mountains or the Malverns in the distance.

Another factor that might account for the appeal of this part of the world is its distinctive character. The butter-gold cotswold stone of the buildings, particularly at the north end of the Way, gives the architecture a very distinct appearance.

Further south, near Tormarton and Cold Ashton the stone greys noticably and the character of the larger buildings reflects their heritage as part of an extensive estate owned by the Abbey.

Bath, of course, is well known as a Regency City with many areas still quite distinctively reflecting this "boom time" for the city like the famous and much photographed cresecent.

The variety of landscape and architecture is enough to keep your interest as you walk the route and this variety and beauty is quite possibly the source of the Cotswold Way National Trail's appeal.

You'll come across a few places along the route that will make you want to pause and explore more fully. You may also come across some strange goings on!

Visit Coopers Hill on May Bank Holiday, for example, and you will see the ancient "sport" of cheeserolling taking place along with all manner of fun activities for children. Harking back to a "pre Health and Safety" era, cheeserolling is not for the faint-hearted as some found out this year when conditions were especially wet and slippery.

The route of the Cotswold Way takes you past some fine landmarks and locations.

Broadway Tower at the north end of the route is an imposing "folly" that dominates the landscape and makes full use of the commanding views from its high location. The Somerset Memorial at Hawkesbury is another fine tower, though slightly less grand than Broadway.

Tyndales monument at North Nibley is perhaps the least ostentatious of the towers you will see. Constructed in memory of William Tyndale who was martyred for translating the Bible into English. This monument can be climbed and the key can be collected from down in the village. The climb is worth it as the monument is perched on an outcrop of the escarpment and offers far-ranging views across the severn floodplane into Wales.

Stanway House is a very fine C17th Manor House set in well tended gardens. It's most famous feature is the "gravity fountain" which projects a jet of water 300 feet into the air!

Prinknash Abbey offers a glimpse into the past. This is a "working abbey" in which monks continue to live a life according to the rules of their order. A full sized replica of a spectacular roman mosaic, the woodchester pavement, is housed at Prinknash.

At the southern end of the route you can visit two National Trust properties, Newark Park and Horton Court. The latter has a fine example of a Norman hall.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the walk is the sense that humans have long occupied the area. The escarpment made for an ideal defense and so you will find earthworks and hillforts spread along the entire length of the walk as far south as Horton Camp near Sodbury.

Along the route of the Cotswold Way you will find a great selection of small, friendly guesthouses and B&Bs as well as some very comfortable hotels.

It is not necessary to walk the route from one end to the other. Its quite possible to base yourself at different points along the route for a few days and explore at leisure.

Self catering accommodation offers considerable freedom and is ideal for those with young families. As well as the attractions and walks, there are numerous riding stables around that will offer an exciting way to explore the local countryside. The cities of Bristol, Gloucester and Bath are packed with exciting facilities, museums an attractions for people of all ages and interests.

So if you fancy an alternative to the crowds around the coast, with your picnics in green fields with far-reaching views rather than a packed beach, why not take a look at the Cotswolds?

A great range of accommodation can be found by following the "big arrow" link below along with much more information about the Cotswold Way National Trail.

I'm from Wotton under Edge, one of the market towns through which the Cotswold way runs. Wotton is towards the Bath end of the route but still some distance from the end of the trail.

As the name suggests, it nestles "under the edge" of the cotswold escarpment so I'm afraid there's a hill to climb in either direction when leaving!

Wotton typifies in many ways the area in terms of architecture and history. The peak of the town's wealth came from the wool trade, first as a result of cottage industry and later from nearby wool mills, like the impresive building on the approach to Charfield now owned by Renishaw plc.

This mill can be clearly seen looking out across the flood plain from Wotton Hill before descending into the town(if approaching from the north).

Wotton was very much under the influence of the Berkeley estate. The manor house just through the gates by St Mary's Church was owned by the Berkeley family and the secondary school still bears the name of its founder to this day - being one of the first privately established grammar schools of its time.

The size of St Mary's Church reflects the prosperity of the town and the Tolsey building near the top end of the town's main street is where local tythes were collected - its size reflects the value of the tythes!

But the wealthy of the town seem to have been mindful of those less fortunate. There are three terraces of Alms houses in the town, each having been created to house the poor or infirm of the town (provided they were of "good character"). These still serve their intended purpose to this day.

Travelling along a small alley from the town (named the Rope Walk) you will come to the chipping, now a car park. The name chipping appears frequently in the Cotswolds and is a local name for market - the chipping in wotton still sees regular markets and the occasional fair to this day.

It should be added that Wotton is particularly pleasant in the run up to Christmas with the high street looking very attractive with a long-standing tradition of most shops mounting small trees over their door and lit with multi colour lights.

Of additional note should be that just off the main high street is a house in which Sir Isaac Pitman, inventor of the postage stamp, once lived.

From Wotton if you are walking the way you will either head north through mainly deciduous woodland towards Nibly and Tyndale's monument or south towards Hawkesbury Upton and the Somerset Memorial.

(Picture is of the "Bearpacker Alms Houses in Wotton on one of the rare occasions we have seen snow. Picture by Alan Jackson)