I’ve been walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day trips. This is my guide to the Cotswold Way Stage 3, from Winchcombe to Cleeve Hill.
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The Cotswold Way is a 102‑mile (164 km) National Trail in southwest England. It is one of many long-distance footpaths in the UK, and this one takes in some of the most beautiful English scenery in the Cotswolds.
I’ve been walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day trips. While many people do the whole route in 7-10 days with overnight stays, it’s also possible to walk this route as a series of day trips if you live nearby, or if you want to stay in just one place for the week.
If you want to read more about walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day trips, read my Ultimate Guide to Walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day trips. But this post will give details about the third section I did – from Winchcombe to Cleeve Hill. If you missed Part 2, you can read about the Cotswold Way Stage 2 from Stanton to Winchcombe.
Stage 3: Winchcombe to Cleeve Hill
- Total distance on the map: 5.75 miles/9.2km
- Total distance on my phone apps: 5.75 miles/9km
- Total time: approx 2.5 hours walking (3 hours with breaks)
My third day trip of walking the Cotswold Way followed the route from Winchcombe to Cleeve Hill. This was a slightly shorter section in time and distance, but had a fair amount of hill climbing so still felt like a good walk.
Park at Cleeve Hill and then get the bus to Winchombe
Once again, I decided to park at the end of the walk and get transport to the beginning, so then I could take as much time as I liked for the walk. There’s plenty of parking available at Cleeve Hill Golf Club, and it’s just a short walk here to the bus stop. The bus takes you right to the centre of Winchcombe. So you can find where you stopped the last leg of the walk in Winchcombe, and then continue from there.
Walking from Winchcombe and starting to climb
Again, the Cotswold Way footpath was brilliantly signposted as it led out of Winchcombe. The views in this first part were just classic English countryside views. There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy as first, but it was still very pleasant walking through the fields.
It wasn’t long before the path started to climb uphill. It was a fairly steady climb that definitely got your heart rate up a bit, but I didn’t find it too steep or difficult. I’d read some mixed reviews of this section of the Cotswold Way, with some sources saying this was a ‘strenuous’ section. But I didn’t find it that bad at all, it was definitely easier than I was expecting. I’m not a super fit hill walker, but I’ve done some decent walks in the Lake District and Scotland, and this section of the Cotswold Way was nothing compared to those. So don’t be put off by the ‘strenuous’ reviews of this section – it really wasn’t that bad.
And of course, the reward for climbing uphill is the views you get at the top.
Walking to Belas Knap
After a short while, you get to another significant landmark on the Cotswold Way: Belas Knap. It’s a well preserved long barrow – an ancient burial chamber dating back to the Saxons at about 3600BC. You can’t go inside, but you can still clearly see it from the outside, including where the entrance might once have been. I love finding places like these on walks. It really reminds you of how many people have lived and walked in this area, over the last 5000 years and probably longer. It’s amazing to think that people were walking here 5000 years ago, exactly where I was walking.
Continuing to walk towards Cleeve Hill
Leaving Belas Knap, you enter some more wooded sections of the Cotswold Way. I was again walking on quite a hot day, so the trees provided some very welcome shade. It was also lovely to be amongst the green trees, after the summer drought had made all the fields quite brown and barren. I really enjoyed this section through the green trees, and it was fairly easy walking.
The path continues past a farm with some lovely friendly horses, and giving good views of Postlip Hall on the hillside in front of you.
Cleeve Hill common
The final section of the walk takes you to Cleeve Hill Common. This was a really beautiful area. The whole walk had taken me less time than I anticipated. I really thought it would take longer because of the hills, but the 360m incline on this section felt easy. So I got the Cleeve Hill earlier than I expected.
It would definitely have been possible to walk further on this day, but I had plans that evening so decided to end the walk here. However, this meant that I had a bit of extra time to explore Cleeve Hill away from the Cotswold Way path. I climbed to the top, and the views were just beautiful. It was fairly quiet, even on a sunny August weekend, so it was really peaceful and relaxing. I found a patch of grass to sit for a picnic and lay in the sun for a bit (and maybe had a short nap as well…it was so warm and peaceful!). Although I could have walked further, I was happy to have this time to just sit and enjoy the views, instead of just powering on.
Staying overnight near here
Although I technically was walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day trips, I did choose to stay overnight near here. I wanted to do another section on the Sunday, so it made sense to stay overnight rather than drive home and then back again. So after finishing the walk at Cleeve Hill and getting back to my car at Cleeve Hill Golf Club, I drove the short distance to the hotel I’d booked.
I stayed at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel on the outskirts of Cheltenham. You can find details of this hotel on Booking.com here (affiliate). It was a really nice hotel.
There was a lovely spa, with a large pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. I spent several hours here – perfect to relax after a long walk. And the hotel restaurant was really nice as well. It was a really lovely overnight Cotswold spa break.
Enjoying these parts of the Cotswolds without walking
If you don’t fancy walking, navigating driving or public transport in the Cotswolds, there are lots of ways to enjoy this beautiful area on a small group tour. On these, you’ll have a driver and guide, who will show you the best areas. I recommend this affordable private tour of the Cotswolds villages (affiliate), or you can take this Cotswolds small group tour instead (affiliate).
You can also look on these websites for specific activities in the Cotswolds to mix up your days of walking. Check out this Cotswold pub landlord experience (affiliate), or this Cotswold lunch with a chance to make your own butter (affiliate). Or swap walking for cycling with this electric bike tour of the Cotswolds (affiliate).
Hope you enjoyed my guide to walking the Cotswold Way Stage 3, from Winchcombe to Cleeve Hill! For the next section, read my guide to the Cotswold Way Stage 4 from Cleeve Hill to Leckhampton Hill. Or you can read my full guide to walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day trips. Make sure you also check out my guides to nearby places to explore, including Cotswold Wildlife Park, an afternoon in Bibury village, and the top things to do in Oxford.
