The Cotswold Way. Kev Reynolds
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Название: The Cotswold Way
Автор: Kev Reynolds
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Спорт, фитнес
isbn: 9781783623013
isbn:
The history of the Trail
The Cotswold Way was developed by Gloucestershire County Council as a recreational route following a suggestion made by the district committee of the Ramblers’ Association as long ago as the early 1950s. As one of the county council’s major initiatives to mark European Conservation Year, the route was eventually launched in May 1970 during National Footpath Week. Five years later its full length was treated to a concentrated effort of waymarking, mainly by volunteers from the Ramblers and the Cotswold Voluntary Warden Service, and it subsequently became one of the most effectively waymarked long-distance walks in Britain.
In May 2007 the Cotswold Way became recognised as a National Trail, and with that recognition came financial backing which enabled the whole route to be re-signed and waymarked with the acorn symbol. In addition, countless stiles were replaced by kissing gates, and a few sections of footpath surfaced where before they were either eroded or boggy. Any further improvements will no doubt be posted on the national trail website (www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cotswold-way) and described in subsequent editions of this guidebook.
This is a route, like a number of others, that best repays an unhurried approach. There are so many places of interest nearby that no walker ought to resist the temptation to stray here and there in order to broaden his or her overall view of the region. ‘Intently haphazard’ is a term which admirably suits this attitude to walking the Cotswold Way.
Chipping Campden makes a worthy beginning, Bath a worthy end. Between the two the way follows a meandering course through woodlands, along the western rim of the escarpment for mile after mile, down into secretive coombes, along the banks of millstreams, over sunny belvederes, exploring one glorious village after another, and always seeking to reveal the very essence of the Cotswolds, the spirit of the region. And it works. It works supremely well.
Music drew me through twilit streets at the end of my first walking of the Cotswold Way. Rounding a corner I saw a busker in an old raincoat leaning against a wall, scraping Mozart from his violin. Directly ahead rose Bath Abbey. Deep in shadow below, bright in floodlight above, it rose out of the darkness into a shaft of white light as a symbol of peace and hope and beauty. Behind me stretched 100 miles and more of wandering through an enchanting, scenic part of Britain, and Bath Abbey represented its completion.
The Cotswold Way ended for me as memorably as it had begun. And in between? Well, in between there had been colour, history, romance, peace – an ever-evolving experience through a constantly changing series of landscapes. A walk, it was, of considerable beauty. What more could anyone ask?
May your experience of the Cotswold Way be as rich and memorable as each of mine has been.
PLANNING YOUR TRIP
Choosing an itinerary
The Cotswold Way skirts the drystone wall surrounding Dyrham Park (Stage 12, Southbound; Stage 2, Northbound)
For the purpose of this guide, the Cotswold Way has been divided into 13 separate stages dictated by the availability of overnight accommodation. Alternatively, you could devise your own itinerary by using the Trek Planner provided, which indicates where else it is possible to break your journey along the route.
The longest stage described here is 10 miles (16km), the shortest 6 miles (9.5km). How many days you take to walk the full 102 miles (163km) is naturally down to personal preference and ability but by combing some of these stages, the Cotswold Way could be walked in as little as five days for those who only have a week, rather than a fortnight, to devote to it. To do this, however, you have to be prepared to average a little over 20 miles (32km) a day, and this is most definitely a route best walked at a leisurely pace.
A FIVE-DAY ITINERARY
Chipping Campden to Winchcombe – 18 miles (29km)
Winchcombe to Birdlip – 21½ miles (34.5km)
Birdlip to Dursley – 23 miles (37km)
Dursley to Little Sodbury – 18½ miles (29.5km)
Little Sodbury to Bath – 20½ miles (33km)
AN EIGHT-DAY ITINERARY
Chipping Campden to Wood Stanway – 12½ miles (20km)
Wood Stanway to Cleeve Hill – 11½ miles (18.5km)
Cleeve Hill to Birdlip – 15½ miles (25km)
Birdlip to Edge – 9 miles (14.5km)
Edge to Dursley – 14 miles (22.5km)
Dursley to Hawkesbury Upton – 15 miles (24km)
Hawkesbury Upton to Cold Ashton – 14 miles (22.5km)
Cold Ashton to Bath – 11 miles (17.5km)
As a rule of thumb, for a route of this length about 2½ miles (4km) an hour will probably be maintained by most regular walkers. When calculating how long any given stage is likely to take, do not forget to include time for rests, photography, consulting the map or guidebook, studying something of particular interest, or admiring a view – all of which add substantially to the day’s activity. In hot, wet or windy conditions your pace is likely to be slower than normal, so take the weather into account too.
Day walks
The Cotswold Way is not only for end-to-end walkers. A series of short circular routes have been created that enable visitors to tackle it in ‘bite-sized chunks’. Route details can be downloaded from the national trail website (www.nationaltrail.co.uk/cotswold-way).
Which way to walk?
So, should you begin in Chipping Campden or Bath? Well, the route has been signed in such a way as to make it easy to follow in either direction, and there’s a similar amount of uphill as there is downhill effort involved, whichever way you tackle it – though if anything it’s slightly more strenuous for the northbound walker. By walking northward (starting in Bath) you’ll probably have the prevailing wind at your back, some of the finest scenery teasing ahead of you, and one of the finest of all Cotswold towns as the climax.
On the other hand, heading south from Chipping Campden means that from the very start you are launched into full Cotswold grandeur, while the pilgrimage nature of the long-distance walk (and it seems to me that all long walks take the form of a pilgrimage) culminates with the heart-stopping sight of Bath Abbey, arguably one of Britain’s finest buildings, marking journey’s end. It is also physically easier to leave Bath by public transport at the end of the walk than it is Chipping Campden. This may be a deciding factor.
Whichever way you choose, both directions are described in this guide.
When to go?
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