Sunset over the Cotswolds in late November

Happy hiking

Anne

Walk the Landscape

Exploring Adlestrop

Wandering through Adlestrop in the spring sunshine.

A magical time of year to go walking.

Best

Anne

Walk the Landscape

Cotswold Way Landmarks: Broadway Tower

The Cotswold Way Walking Holiday 

enjoy superb rolling countryside with stunning views, 

pretty towns and villages and historic sites

Broadway Tower

This folly in the style of a Norman Keep was built by the Earl of Coventry for his wife on their Springhill Estate between 1797 and 1800.  It is in a prominent position with views over 16 of the original English counties and it can be seen from the family seat in Worcester. The Earl's wife took great trouble to find the most suitable location.   Before it was built she had a flaming beacon lit at the site, then drove around the surrounding area making sure that it could be seen.  

The hill was previously called the Beacon and Barrow Hill and was likely to have been a site for bonfires transmitting important national news such as the sighting of the Spanish Armada. For a short time in the 19th century the tower was home to William Morris, a founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement and was used a observation point during the Second World War.  There is also a Cold War nuclear bunker close by.  

Broadway Tower lies at the northern end of the Cotswold Way above the village of Broadway and about 5 miles south of Chipping Campden.  It now lies in a country park with a herd of red deer and a café.

Contact us to find out more about walking holidays along all or part of the Cotswold Way

Best

Anne

Cotswold Way Landmarks: The Market Hall, Chipping Campden

The Cotswold Way Walking Holiday 

enjoy superb rolling countryside with stunning views 

The Market Hall, Chipping Camdpen

The Market Hall on the High Street, Chipping Campden was built in 1627 by Sir Baptist Hicks, the town's generous benefactor, for a cost of £90.00. 

It was used to shelter the local market traders selling cheese, butter and poultry and the worn stone floor is a reminder of its regular use through 400 years. On market days wooden pens were also erected around the hall to hold sheep driven down from the hills for sale.  Imagine the hustle and bustle of a market day when people from the town and surrounding areas turned out to sell their produce or to buy a fat chicken for dinner or a few sheep for their flock. 

Chipping Campden lies at the northern end of the Cotswold Way so this lovely building in honey coloured limestone, is one of the first or last landmarks that walkers will have of the Cotswolds.

Contact us to find out more about walking holidays along all or part of the Cotswold Way

Best

Anne

The Cotswold Lion

The Cotswold Lion

During the middle ages, wool from Cotswold sheep was amongst the the finest in Europe, and the reign of Henry VII (1485 - 1509) woollen cloth contributed half of England's wealth. Hence, the sheep producing the wool was called the 'Cotswold Lion'.

St James, the 'wool church' in Chipping Campden

The wool trade made the merchants living in the Cotswolds very rich indeed, as wealthy as Bill Gates is today.  The merchants funded impressive 'wool churches' in towns like Chipping Campden, Northleach and Burford, hoping their charity and benevolence would ease their path to heaven on their death.  

These 15th century churches are the lasting legacy of the times. 

Enjoy your walking.
Anne
Walk the Landscape

The Cotswold Way in midsummer

The Cotswold Way runs north-south along the Cotswold Edge for 102 miles / 164 km, from Chipping Campden to the city of Bath in the west of England.

It offers great views to the west along the full length.  Across the Severn Valley, to the Malvern Hills, the Severn estuary and south Wales.

The trail follows the sinuous route of the Cotswold edge and passes up and down the escarpment slope. The full length (102 miles / 164 km) is normally walked in 5 (strenuous) to 10 (relaxing) days - although shorter tours over part of the route are also available. 

If you are thinking of walking the  Cotswold Way, why not Contact us to arrange a walking tour.   We book accommodation, arrange luggage transfer, provide maps, directions and guide books, give advice on travelling to and from the holiday within the UK, and provide support in the unlikely event of an emergency.

Wishing you a great walking year in 2014

Anne
Walk the Landscape

Autumn in a Cotswold Woodland

Happy hiking
Anne
Walk the Landscape

Halloween in the Cotswolds

Wonderful walking
Anne
Walk the Landscape

Cow Parsley and Oil Seed Rape!

Happy walking
Anne
Walk the Landscape

A walk in the countryside around the Swells

 Happy hiking

Anne

WalkTheLandscape.co.uk

Dappled shade along the Classic Cotswold Trail

Dappled shade in the spring sunshine on the Classic Cotswold Trail

Happy walking

Anne

Walk the Landscape

A Walking Weekend in Spring in the Cotswolds

The group looking forward to starting the walk

A busy Sunday at Broadway Tower, Cotswolds

Along the trail

A view from the Cotswold Edge

Lunch in a village pub

A well earned rest on a long walk in the Cotswolds

Happy hiking
Anne
Walk the Landscape

A lovely day for a walk in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds

The River Glyme at the beginning of a glorious walk along the Oxfordshire Way and through Blenheim Park to Woodstock for lunch.

Happy walking
Anne
Walk the Landscape

Winter Sunshine in the Windrush Valley, the Cotswolds

Winter can be a lovely time to walk.
Clear fresh air, blue skies, warm sunshine and long views through leafless trees.

The Upper Windrush Valley

The River Windrush

Upper Slaughter  Manor

Dappled shade along treeline footpath

Happy walking
Anne
walkthelandscape.co.uk

Walks in the Cotswolds: Chastleton

Chastleton, in the north-east Cotswolds, has a stunning Jacobean country house dating from the early 1600s, and the area offers easy to moderate walks of 4 to 12 miles (6.5 to 20 km) in a lovely landscape.
Ancient footpaths take you through picturesque countryside, with beech woodland, cattle grazing green pastures and arable fields brimming with deep green wheat and vibrant yellow oilseed rape.  Not only that, walks present long views over the Cotswold Hills to Broadway Tower in the west and to Moreton-in-Marsh in the north.

The Jacobean Garden at Chastleton House

Dappled shade under fresh spring foliage

Ancient footpaths through a yellow sea

Hay bails in the golden countryside of mid-summer

Wide views in autumn sunshine

Contact us for guided and self-guided walk in the area with distances from 4 to 12 miles (6.5 to 20 km).
On our guided walks we provide a full description of the area, it's history and natural history.
On self-guided walks we supply a booklet describing the places you walk through, together with maps, written instructions for the route and suggestions for the best places for lunch.
For longer tours, check out the Oxfordshire Cotswolds Self-Guided Tour to enjoy this less well known part of the Cotswolds.

Happy Walking
Best
Anne
Walk the Landscape

18th January: 10 cm snow and still falling

Beautiful landscapes with pristine snow, but signs and footpaths covered with snow so routes not distinguishable.

Happy rambling
Anne
walkthelandscape.co.uk

January can be a great time to walk the Cotswolds

Joy on the way to Blockley

Winter can be a great time to walk in the Cotswolds.  We have crisp days with blue skies and bright sunshine intermingled with warmer cloudy days.

January last year we we suffering drought, January this year the ground is very wet.      

Paths are still passable, but with care and we recommend guided rather than self-guided walks. 

Walking boots with a deep tred/lugs for a good grip on wet and icy ground are essential and gaiters for protection from the mud are extremely useful.

Happy Walking

Anne

Walkthelandscape.co.uk

Chipping Campden: A perfect base for a Walking Holiday

High Street, Chipping Campden

Chipping Campden, the historic town in the North Cotswolds, is famous for it's beautiful High Street, Medieval Wool Church and links with the Arts and Crafts Movement.

St James' Church, Chipping Campden

 From here you can walk south along the Cotswold Edge, following the Cotswold Way as far as Bath (up to 110 miles), or east to Moreton-in-Marsh or Stow-on-the-Wold.

Cotswold cottage and splendid garden

Our guided and self-guided walking holidays in the Cotswolds range from 1 to 12 days, with distances 5 to 20 miles per day (depending on your preference), accommodation in B&Bs to luxury hotels, maps, details of route and places of interest, luggage transfer where required and support in the unlikely event of an emergency.

Old orchard above the town

 Contact us to find out more.

Hawthorns along Cotswold Edge heavy with May Blossom 

                    Chipping Campden the perfect base for a Walking Holiday in the Cotswolds

Happy Walking in 2013.
Best
Anne
walkthelandscape.co.uk

The Classic Cotswold Tour, October 2012

Yee walking out of Blockley 

Hei leaving Bourton-on-the-Hill 

Sheep along the route

We thank Siu Yee for providing the photos.

The Classic Cotswold Tour is a 3 to 6 day self-guided walking tour of the north Cotswolds, taking in famous towns and villages such as Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden and The Slaughter, and the beautiful Cotswold landscape.

Contact us to find out more.

Happy Walking

Best
Anne
Walkthelandscape.co.uk