I’ve been walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day trips. This is my guide to the Cotswold Way Stage 7, from King’s Stanley to Wotton-Under-Edge.
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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 seventh section I did – from King’s Stanley to Wotton-Under-Edge. If you missed Stage 6, you can read about the Cotswold Way Stage 6 from Painswick to King’s Stanley.
Stage 7: King’s Stanley to Wotton-Under-Edge
- Total distance on the map: 12 miles miles/19.5km
- Total distance on my phone apps: 12.5 miles/20km
- Total time: approx 6.5 hours walking (7.5 hours with breaks)
My 7th stage of walking the Cotswold Way was another long one. Like Stage 6, I was doing this section in the autumn, which meant beautiful autumn colours. I did this one just at the end of October, when the autumn colours were in their peak. It was beautiful.
Stage 7 from King’s Stanley to Wotton-Under-Edge was a fairly long stage – another day where I did over 30,000 steps. With the limited daylight in the UK at the end of October, I knew I needed to be careful with the timings of this walk to be able to comfortably finish it in daylight. So it was a super early start, so I could arrive and be parked in Wotton-Under-Edge before 8am. Of course, that’s the downside of doing the Cotswold Way as a day trip from my home – I had an hour’s drive just to get to get there, and then needed a taxi. If was staying in hotels along the way, then it wouldn’t have needed such an early start.
I arrived in Wotton-under-Edge by 8am, parked in one of the free long stay car parks, and then got a taxi to King’s Stanley. So I was starting the walk at 8.30am. This gave me 8 hours of daylight, until 4.30pm, which worked out perfectly. I arrived in Wotton-Under-Edge just before 4pm, meaning I had time for a quick hot chocolate before heading back home.
King’s Stanley to Middleyard, then into the woods
The first part of this section of the Cotswold Way takes you from King’s Stanley onto the small village of Middleyard. And then, soon after you leave the small village, you start one of the many woodland sections of this walk.
At the end of October, the autumn colours were at their absolute peak. It was so beautiful walking through the woodland. My progress was a bit slow at first, because I kept stopping to take lots of photos. The trees were lovely.
There’s a fairly steep uphill climb after Middleyard, but then once you get into the trees the path is fairly easy. There aren’t as many signposts here as I had got used to on previous sections of the walk. It didn’t really matter, as there wasn’t much choice of paths, and you just had to keep heading in the same direction. But I’d got used to having so many Cotswold Way signposts, I felt a bit disconcerted at times that I hadn’t seen one for a while!
There are a few areas where you emerge from the woods into the open, just above some farms. And there were some nice cows here. And then it was back into the trees for a bit.
Coaley Peak
After about 1.5 hours of walking through the trees, you emerge onto Coaley Peak. There’s a car park here, so you’ll see plenty of other walkers and dog walkers here. And this peak gives you some beautiful views.
It was a misty autumn day on my visit, so the views from Coaley Peak weren’t that clear. But I actually quite liked the autumnal mist. It gave a nice mysterious, Halloween-y vibe. But on a clear day, you’ll be able to see across to the Welsh mountains from here.
Back into the woodland
The path soon heads back into woodland. Which I was happy about – as I’ve said many times, I was loving the autumn colours in the trees! So I was more than happy to have another long section in woodland. It’s uphill at first, and then the path levels out so you can make some good progress here.
You pass close by Hetty Pegler’s Tump – one of several Neolithic burial mounds that can be found along this section of the Cotswold Way. The Neolithic burial mounds in this area aren’t as obvious as some others in the region, and often need a short diversion from the main path, so it’s up to you if you feel like you’ve got time to veer off the path to see them.
Climbing Cam Long Down
Next is one of the steepest climbs on this part of the Cotswold Way – but it’s one of a few steep climbs, so make sure you pace yourself! After leaving the woods, the path is quite steep downhill, leading you down to the bottom of a valley with a farm and a small road.
But then you can see Cam Long Down up ahead of you. I have to admit, at this point I did sigh and slightly question why I was spending my Saturday making myself do this, when I could have been sat in a nice cosy cafe with a book instead…the climb looked very daunting!
But it wasn’t actually as bad as it looked from the road. It’s very steep, but it means you get to the top fairly efficiently. And the views are lovely as soon as you start climbing.
And at the top, the views are even better. It’s a good place to stop for an early picnic lunch.
It was still a bit misty at this point on my walk. The sun was trying to break through, and there were patches of sunlight, but it hadn’t quite managed to burn through all the mist. So all my photos from Cam Long Down have the same misty vibe.
The path follows the ridge along Cam Long Down for a while, so you can enjoy the views while walking.
Descend into Dursley
Follow the signposted path as it starts to steeply descend from Cam Long Down and head down towards the small town of Dursley. The path downhill is quite steep, and can feel a bit slippery with the damp autumn leaves underfoot.
After a while, you’ll start seeing some of the big houses on the outskirts of Dursley. And then the Cotswold Way takes you right into the centre of Dursley, and down the main shopping street.
To be honest, I didn’t love Dursley. I didn’t spend long there, but I didn’t love the vibe. It would be a good place to grab some refreshments if you needed. Or you could finish the walk here if you wanted a shorter section of the Cotswold Way. But I was mindful about the daylight hours and finishing the walk before it got dark, so I just passed through Dursley and then continued on the Cotswold Way out of the town.
The steep climb out of Dursley
If you do stop in Dursley for lunch or a coffee, make sure you don’t eat too much – as the next section of the walk starts with a very steep uphill climb. You climb a road called Hill Street – which is definitely a steep hill! As the road bears to the left, you keep right on a footpath and keep on climbing until you get to the golf course clubhouse.
Here, there are two options for continuing the Cotswold Way. You can take the longer route, which takes you around the outside of the golf course for about 4km, or one hour of walk. Or you can take the short cut directly across the golf course. If I’d been splitting the Cotswold Way into more sections, with one ending/starting at Dursley, I definitely would have done the longer section. But, because I was trying to get from King’s Stanley all the way to Wotton-Under-Edge in one day, I decided to do the shorter version on this occasion.
Downhill to North Nibley
From the golf course, the Cotswold Way goes through another section of trees – again, with lovely autumn colours.
You then keep on descending, this time through some more open fields. The open views here are lovely. By this time in the afternoon, the sun had finally broken through the clouds so there was some beautiful autumnal sunshine. And in the distance, you can see Tyndale Monument – which is where the next big climb is.
The path goes downhill for a while, before starting to rise as you get to the small village of North Nibley. It’s another small village, with a nice looking pub but not too much else.
Climb up to Tyndale Monument
And then it’s time for the final steep climb of this section of the Cotswold Way. I felt like this stage of the Cotswold Way from King’s Stanley to Wotton-Under-Edge had the most distinguishable, steep, individual climbs compared to a lot of the route. I’d seen on the map that this climb from North Nibley to Tyndale Monument was a steep one, and right towards the end of the section when I was already feeling a bit tired. So I was prepared for it, but it still felt daunting.
It wasn’t actually as bad as I’d feared. There was about 10-15 minutes of steep uphill climb, on a sunken path. It was a bit of a slog, but ok enough if you just kept going at a steady pace. And stopping to take photos of trees helped a bit.
Tyndale Monument and the views
The views from the top were worth it. The views of Tyndale Monument, which was built in 1866, were good.
But my favourite views were the views of the beautiful countryside surrounding it. With the sun starting to dip lower in the sky, and the autumn colours in the trees on the hills, it was beautiful. There are some nice benches here to have a rest after the uphill climb and enjoy the views. And it was nice to relax, knowing I’d now done the final uphill climb of this section of the route.
Final downhill to Wotton-Under-Edge
Follow the Cotswold Way footpath away from the monument, and start descending once you reach the trees.
Again, the autumn colours in the trees looked lovely.
The footpath takes you downhill through the trees. And then you start to see views of Wotton-Under-Edge beneath you.
Wotton-Under-Edge
I liked the small town of Wotton-Under-Edge. It was my favourite town on the Cotswold Way since Painswick. There was a nice high street. And I managed to get there with enough time for the cafes to still be open. So I could enjoy a deliciously indulgent hot chocolate as a reward for doing over 30,000 steps, before I had to drive home.
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 7, from King’s Stanley to Wotton-Under-Edge! For the next section, read my guide to the Cotswold Way Stage 8. 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.
