Location: South West England.
Length: 164 km (102 miles)
Average number of days to complete: 7.
Users: 100% for walkers, 19% for cyclists and horse riders (see FAQ's).
Highest point: Cleeve Common 317m (1,040ft).
Start point: Market Hall, Chipping Campden.
Distances between towns & villages: see FAQ's
Finish point: Bath Abbey, 10 minutes walk from Bath train station.
Landscape: Follows the escarpment of the Cotswold hills giving panoramic views across the Severn Vale passing through beech woods and open pasture with dry stone walls, picturesque villages with limestone cottages. 96% within the Cotswolds designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Highlights: World Heritage City of Bath, views over River Severn to Brecon Beacons in Wales, Malvern Hills and Forest of Dean. National Trust properties of Dyrham House and Horton Court; Broadway Tower and Somerset Monument tower follies; old mill towns of Painswick, Stroud & Dursley, Devils Chimney at Leckhampton Hill; Belas Knap Long Barrow, Sudeley Castle and Hailes Abbey.
Famous Associations: Writer Laurie Lee, artist William Morris, William Tyndale who first translated the Bible into English, Katherine Parr - wife of Henry Eighth, author Jilly Cooper.
Trail Officers favourite part: Cam Long Down because of the good views of both the Severn Vale and Cotswold escarpment.
Nearest Towns: Bristol is 16km (10 miles) to the West. Birmingham is 58km (36 miles) to the North. Gloucester is 10km (6 miles), Cheltenham 3km (2 miles), Stow on the Wold 14km (9 Miles), Stratford upon Avon 19km (12 miles). Bath, Wotton-under Edge, Dursley, Winchcombe & Chipping Campden are on the Trail.
Access: Bath is 90 minutes by train from London Paddington and 15 minutes by train from Bristol. Birmingham is 45 minutes from Chipping Camden by train and bus. Stroud is 2 hours from London and 40 minutes from Bristol by train. Cheltenham is 45 minutes from Birmingham by train. There is also a station at Cam and Dursley.
Information available: National Trail Guide by Anthony Burton £12.99 (Aurum - ISBN 978 1 84513 519 5), Cotswold Way National Trail Companion £4.95 (ISBN 978 0 9555422 0 6), Walk and Explore the Cotswold Way by Public Transport (free leaflet), Days out and Short Breaks on the Cotswold Way by Public Transport for Cheltenham, Stroud and Bath (free downloads), Exploring the Cotswold Way National Trail - Six Walks in South Gloucestershire (free booklet).
Contact for all information and advice: Cotswold Way National Trail, Cotswolds Conservation Board, Fosse Way, Northleach, Gloucestershire GL54 3JH. Tel: +44(0)1451 862000. E-mail: cotswoldway@cotswoldsaonb.org.uk
