In this Newsletter:New for 2014:
Walking and Photography Weekend Our best selling walking tours:
The Classic Cotswolds and the
Thames Path National TrailTours coming up soon: The ancient landscapes and wide open spaces of the
North Wessex Downs Guided Walking Holidays for 2014 and
Self-Guided Walking Trails 
Walking and Photography Weekend
Friday 25th to Monday 28th April 2014
Do you often take photos of magnificent scenery and nature during walks?
Do the images capture the full beauty of the landscape?
Or are you sometimes disappointed with the results?
If so, why not join us at the Guildhouse, Stanton where you can take short walks with us and learn how to improve your images with help from Ruth Davey, a professional photographer and facilitator?
The venue offers great opportunities for photography. The Guildhouse, is a stylish 20th century manor house, set on the Cotswold Edge, with long views to the west as far as south Wales, and Stanton is considered one of the most beautiful villages in England .
The Classic Cotswolds Walking Tour
"Excellent Adventure! Thank you so much" Diane Harsha, Franklin, USA
The
Classic Cotswolds Walking Tour is our most popular short holiday. Planned to start and end at railway stations on the Cotswold Line, with direct links to Oxford, Worcester and London, it is an easy to moderate hike taking 3 to 8 days to walk through famous towns and villages like Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, the Slaughters and Northleach, walking 5 to 12 miles (8 to 20 km) each day. The tour can also begin at Cheltenham railway station (with links to Bristol and the south-west) and can be based in one town.
We can of course customise to meet your preferences and often do, e.g. with shorter daily distances, rest days, excursions to Oxford, Blenheim or Stratford-upon-Avon.
Check out our year round
photos of the
Classic Cotswold route on Flickr. Although beautiful throughout the year, late April / early May is an especially good time to visit as the spring flowers and bluebells are blooming and the leaves on the trees are unfurling.
Prices are typically £80 per person per night based on two people sharing good quality accommodation. Included in the price is B&B accommodation, maps, written directions of the route, a booklet with information on places of interest, luggage transfer (as required), advice on travelling to and from the Cotswolds within the UK and support in the unlikely event of an emergency.
The Thames Path
"Thanks for an excellent Thames Walk - we will be back to do the next stretch in 2014" Judy Wiseman, London,UK
The
Thames Path is our most popular walking trail. We offer hiking tours along the full length of 184 miles (294 km), from the Source, near Kemble in the Cotswolds to the Thames Barrier, east of London (or reverse). Some groups do the full distance in one trip, walking as far as 25 miles (40 km) in a day, but many take it easy, walking, for example, the 54 miles (86 km) from the Source to Oxford, or the 74 miles (118 km) from Oxford to Windsor (which is convenient for Heathrow airport) and averaging 10 miles (16 km) per day. There are even sections where you can take a river cruiser if you prefer not to walk for a day or so.
The route offers a fascinating range of contrasts. Upstream and to the west, the River Isis (as the Thames is also called) is peaceful and in places remote. From Oxford to Windsor the river passes through some of the most historic and affluent towns in England. Closer to London, the river becomes the great tidal waterway that passes through the heart of the grand capital city. You can see our photos of the
Thames Path route on Flickr.
Prices start at £75 per person per night but they do increase on the approach to London. They include B&B accommodation, maps, guide books with written directions of the route and information on places of interest, luggage transfer (as required), help with arranging transport within the UK and support in the unlikely event of an emergency.
Coming up early next year: Holidays on the North Wessex Downs:
A 3 to 4 day walking tour through the ancient landscape in and around Avebury, where you can walk amongst the stones in the largest Prehistoric stone circle in Europe.
A linear walk from Avebury to Stonehenge. See the route and with some of the interesting history in a recent TV programme,
Walking Through History, presented by Tony Robinson of Time Team.
