Mickledore, UK walking holiday specialists, is offering a self-guided tour of the Cotswolds for independent travelers. The Cotswold Way is one of the best marked national trails in the UK, and stretches 102 miles from the medieval market town of Chipping Campden to the historic city of Bath. Following the western edge of the Cotswold Hills, the walk takes in ancient abbeys, neolithic burial barrows and stately homes.
Highlights of the tour include the architecture of Chipping Campden High Street, once a rich wool trading center in the Middle Ages, whose buildings date from the 14th to the 17th century. The tour also visits Winchcombe, once a chief city of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Here, you can visit the ruined remains of Hailes Abbey, once a destination for medieval pilgrimage due to an alleged phial of the Blood of Christ that the monks claimed to keep. St Peter’s Church in the center of the town is also a place of interest due to its 45 grotesque gargoyles, each depicting a local character from the 1460s.
The tour ends at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bath, founded by the Romans as Aquae Sulis in AD 60 near to the only thermal spring in Britain. The city’s Roman remains are a popular attraction, as is the Bath Abbey—founded in the 7th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. Visitors can even bathe in the hot mineral rich waters with a visit to the Thermae Bath Spa.
The walks are self-guided and done at your own pace, providing ample opportunity to savor the landscape and history. Accommodation is included in the booking, luggage can be moved for you between overnight stops, packed lunches can be arranged, maps and guidebooks are provided, and help is only a phone call away if needed. The walk can be done in as few as six nights, or as many as 12 if you prefer a more leisurely pace with more stops. Six nights including luggage transport and packed lunches is priced at $649, and 12 nights with the same package is priced at $1,197. For more information visit www.mickledore.co.uk/walking-holidays/cotswold-way or anenglishcollection.com.
