Cotswolds Self-Guided Walking Tour 2024

You’re welcome to check in from 4pm onwards. 

Accommodation: Harrington House (D)

Check out the Discovery Point Library at the country house – stocked with maps, walks and local area information.

For stays of 3 nights, you will have 2 days at your choice.

For stays of 4 nights, you will have 3 days at your choice.

For stays of 7 nights, you will have 6 days at your choice.

Accommodation: Harrington House (B, L, D)

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before making your way home. (B)

Our easiest routes, allowing plenty of time to savour the beautiful scenery. All our walk notes suggest the best places to stop, great pubs, and tea rooms.

• Bourton Circular – 3 miles
• Lower Slaughter – 3 miles
• Bourton & Quarry Lakes – 4 miles
• The Slaughters – 5 miles
• Stow-on-the-Wold to Bourton – 5 miles
• Broadway Tower – 5 miles

Some longer walks on well-graded paths. Experience the true flavour of the Cotswolds as you follow these varied routes.

• Chedworth Roman Villa – 6 miles
• Clapton-on-the-Hill – 6 miles
• Clapton & Little Rissington – 7 miles
• Along the Cotswold Escarpment – 7 miles

For those who love to stride out on longer routes.

• Hidcote & Illmington – 8 miles
• Naunton & the Slaughters – 10 miles
• Gloucestershire Way – 11 miles

Bourton-on-the-Water is situated at the heart of the Cotswolds, a beautiful area of rolling green hills and attractive stone towns and villages. Harrington House is located in a quiet street, just 100 metres from the centre of Bourton. This is one of the most popular villages in the Cotswolds, frequently busy with visitors. The River Windrush winds its way through the central village green and is crossed by a series of attractive stone bridges. Bourton-on-the-Water is a popular destination in its own right with its specialist shops and attractive village green. Local attractions include the Cotswold Motoring Museum, Model Village and Birdland Wildlife Park, all within easy walking distance. The village has a good range of facilities including a small supermarket, post office, newsagent, pubs and bank. 

The mellow market town of Chipping Campden, about 30 minutes’ drive north of Bourton-on-the-Water, is one of the most visited towns in the Cotswolds.

Owned by the National Trust, Hidcote is a small manor house with an exceptional garden designed in the Arts and Crafts style. Around 35 minutes’ north from Bourton-on-the-Water.

William Morris – one of the key figures in the Arts & Craft Movement – once described Bibury as ‘the most beautiful village in England’. Its most famous part is the row of stone weavers’ cottages in Arlington Row next to the River Coln which date back to 1380; a more attractive set of buildings is hard to imagine. Bibury is 12 miles from Harrington House.

Considered as one of the most beautiful villages in Britain, it is easy to see why so many visitors are attracted to Broadway. Take a walk to Broadway Tower for stunning views of the Vale of Evesham. Around 30 minutes’ drive from Bourton.

Cotswold Farm Park was set up in 1971 by Joe Henson – father of Adam Henson, one of the presenters of the BBC’s Countryfile programme. The park is a centre for rare breeds which can be seen in the animal barns and on the rare breed trail. The park is about 5 miles from Harrington House – a ten-minute drive by car.

Famous for its Shakespeare connections, Stratford is an attractive town spanning the River Avon. Of particular interest are the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Shakespeare’s Birthplace Museum. Around 40 minutes’ drive from Bourton.

Blenheim Palace is one of the grandest and best-known stately homes in Britain. It sits in extensive parkland and is also famous as being the ancestral home of Winston Churchill.

Set in 160 acres of beautiful parklands, the Cotswold Wildlife Park is home to an astonishing array of animals from large mammals and primates to birds and reptiles. It is one of the UK’s largest zoological collections. The park is divided into four sections, each with its own team of keepers. The park is about 12 miles from Harrington House and can be reached in about 22 minutes by car.

The fine Regency spa town of Cheltenham has an excellent range of shops and facilities. Cheltenham is around 25 minutes’ drive from Bourton, and can also be reached by an hourly local bus.

The Cathedral city of Gloucester is about 35 minutes’ drive to the west of Bourton. The fine Norman cathedral is well worth visiting, as is the National Waterways Museum.

Ride the GWSR steam railway through attractive Cotswold countryside from Cheltenham to Toddington about 30 minutes’ drive from Bourton. Now restored, this was once the Great Western main line to Birmingham.

The famous university city of Oxford is about an hour’s drive from Bourton-on-the-Water. You may wish to stroll through the historic colleges or visit the Ashmolean Museum, the University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology founded in 1683.