I’ve been walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day trips. This is my guide to the Cotswold Way Stage 2, from Stanton to Winchcombe.
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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 second section I did – from Stanton to Winchcombe. If you missed Part 1, you can read about the Cotswold Way Stage 1 from Chipping Campden to Stanton.
Stage 2: Stanton to Winchcombe
- Total distance on the map: 8 miles/13km
- Total distance on my phone apps: 9 miles/14.5km
- Total time: approx 3.5 hours walking (4 hours with breaks)
My second day trip of walking the Cotswold Way followed the route from Stanton to Winchcombe.
Park at Winchombe, then get the bus to Stanton
I decided to do this one slightly differently. For Day 1, I parked at the start, did the walk, and then got the bus back. But for this section, I decided to park at the end point in Winchombe, and get the bus to the start. There’s pros and cons of both approaches. It was nice to feel more relaxed on the walk, and not be trying to time my finish so it coincided with a bus that runs only every 2 hours. However, it felt like it took a long time to start the walk. With travel time to Winchombe, then waiitng for the bus, and then a 30 minute bus journey, it took about 2 hours to travel to the start point. But for this section, I think it was best to park in Winchcombe. It’s a bigger town, so a nice point to end at.
There are several car parks in Winchcombe. I chose the Back Lane car park, which was quite empty early on a Saturday morning. It’s then a short walk to the bus stop. It’s the 606 bus again – the same bus that runs all the way to Chipping Campden. It takes about 30 minutes to get the bus from Winchcombe to Stanton. And again, the bus stop is Stanton North Turn – about a 10 minute walk into Stanton Village.
The start of the walk from Stanton
Stanton Village is small, so it’s easy to find the signpost for the Cotswold Way that takes you outside the village. And soon, you’re back in the countryside, with beautiful views around.
The path is easy to follow as you meander through fields towards Stanway and Wood Stanway. It’s all quite flat at this point, so you can make good progress.
You’ll soon get to a small village called Stanway. This village is even smaller than Stanton – just a small collection of houses, with a large manor house and a large church.
Pass through Stanway and continue on to Wood Stanway – another very small village.
Wood Stanway to Hailes Abbey
After Wood Stanway, you’ll reach the main uphill climb of this section of the walk. It’s a fairly steep uphill section, climbing 150-200m in a fairly short space of time.
But, as always with an uphill climb, you’re rewarded with beautiful views at the top.
You then continue walking at this higher level, giving lovely views of the surrounding farmland. You’ll then start to descend towards Hailes Abbey.
Hailes Abbey is a former monastery, dating back to the 13th century. It was an active abbey and monastery until 1539, until it was dissolved under Henry VIII. Today, you can see the ruins. The Abbey isn’t open very often, so you might not be able to go inside. But even if you can’t go inside, you can still get a good view of the ruins from the footpath just a bit further on from the entrance.
Hailes Abbey to Winchcombe
The final section takes your towards Winchcombe. Again, it’s just more nice scenery. I really liked seeing the straw bales in the farmland. Again, it felt like walking through ‘Fields of Gold’.
Winchcombe Town
Finally, you’ll get to Winchcombe town. Winchcombe is one of the more prominant towns on the Cotswold Way route. It has a mix of historic buildings, with some tudor houses as well as the more traditional Cotswold stone buildings.
I really liked Winchcombe. It had a nice vibe – a nice mix of feeling tourist-friendly, but also a town that is used by local people as well.
There are lots of places to stop for your end-of-walk treat here. I chose a pub called The Lion Inn, which had a lovely beer garden to enjoy a pint of beer to celebrate reaching the end of the next section of the walk.
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 2, from Stanton to Winchcombe! For the next section, read my guide to the Cotswold Way Stage 3 from Winchcombe to Cleeve 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.
