Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
The Cotswolds on foot: village to village from Stow and Chipping Campden
7 days from Oxford and back: three nights in Stow-on-the-Wold for the Slaughters and the Windrush, three in Chipping Campden for the Cotswold Way and Hidcote.
7 days · Round trip from Oxford · up to 12 guests
The old mill on the River Eye at Lower Slaughter, on the day 2 walk Photo: Phil Dolby, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Cotswolds_Scene_(30508612210).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Oxford
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Longest drive
- 1.5 h on day 7No drive day is longer than 4 hours.
- Activity level
Moderate
Five walking days of 3 to 5 hours on field paths, farm tracks, quiet lanes and the Cotswold Way, between about 5 and 10.5 km with up to about 250 m of climb, with stiles, gates and muddy patches after rain. Each walk has an easy option, a shorter stretch with the van picking you up, and most have an active extension to 13 or 14 km.
- Meals included
- 6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 2 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 830 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Bourton-on-the-Water at 9 am, before the day-trip coaches, then up the River Eye to the mill at Lower Slaughter
- Upper Slaughter and the field path over the wold back to Stow's market square
- The Windrush valley from Burford past the Mitford graves at Swinbrook to the ruins of Minster Lovell Hall
- The Cotswold Way from Winchcombe past Hailes Abbey to the golden village of Stanton
- The garden rooms of Hidcote at morning opening, reached on foot over the fields
- Dover's Hill and Broadway Tower on the first miles of the Cotswold Way, with the Vale of Evesham below
- The Rollright Stones, a Neolithic and Bronze Age stone group, on the way back to Oxford
What makes this trip different
Short drives, all published
Every drive is listed day by day, and none is longer than 4 hours.
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 830 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
The longest drive is 1.5 h, on day 7.
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Oxford to Stow-on-the-Wold
Oxford on foot, then by van to Stow-on-the-Wold
- Lunch and welcome dinner
- Stay in Stow-on-the-Wold
- Drive about 1 h
We meet at about 11 am at a central Oxford meeting point we confirm with your booking, an hour by train from London Paddington or by direct coach from Heathrow or Gatwick. Your See Sight Tours guide starts with a short briefing on the week: boots, daypacks, how the easy and active options work, and the rain plan: which walk the guide swaps, shortens or moves if the forecast turns. Then a gentle 90-minute walk through the centre: Broad Street, the Sheldonian Theatre, the Radcliffe Camera, the Bridge of Sighs over New College Lane, and the college quads you can see from the lanes.
Afternoon
Lunch is together in the city. In the afternoon our driver takes us about an hour west into the Cotswolds to Stow-on-the-Wold, a hilltop market town at about 240 m where drovers once sold sheep by the thousand. After check-in the guide leads a short walk round the market square and to St Edward's Church, whose north door is framed by two old yew trees.
Evening
Welcome dinner in Stow.
Included
- Welcome briefing with your guide in Oxford
- Guided walk through central Oxford
- Lunch in Oxford
- Drive to Stow-on-the-Wold
- Evening walk round Stow and St Edward's Church
- Welcome dinner
Easier option: Skip the Stow walk and rest at the hotel before dinner.
Free time: An hour or so free in Stow before dinner
Activity: About 2.5 hours on foot in all, on pavements. Arrive in Oxford by 10:30 am.
Bourton, the Slaughters and back to Stow
Stow to Bourton-on-the-Water by van, then on foot via Lower and Upper Slaughter and Lower Swell to Stow
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Stow-on-the-Wold
- Drive about 12 min
Morning
A ten-minute drive puts us in Bourton-on-the-Water at about 9 am, when its low stone bridges over the River Windrush are still quiet; by late morning the day coaches fill it. From the village green we take the field path north beside the River Eye to Lower Slaughter, where the brick chimney of the old mill rises over a stream lined with honey-coloured cottages. A riverside path climbs gently to Upper Slaughter, smaller and quieter, with its manor and church above a ford.
Afternoon
From there we head up over open wold on farm tracks to Lower Swell, where lunch is a sit-down pub meal. The last stretch climbs back to Stow and the hotel door by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is free: the antique shops round the square, a cream tea, or a rest with your feet up.
Included
- Early morning in Bourton-on-the-Water
- Guided walk via Lower Slaughter, Upper Slaughter and Lower Swell to Stow
- Pub lunch in Lower Swell
Easier option: Walk from Bourton to Lower and Upper Slaughter, about 5 km, and the van brings you to lunch in Lower Swell and back to Stow.
More active option: Add a loop from Upper Slaughter past Eyford Park before Lower Swell, about 3 km more.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Stow
Activity: About 10 km and 200 m of climb on field paths and tracks, 3.5 to 4 hours with stops.
Down the Windrush valley
Stow to Burford by van, on foot via Widford, Swinbrook and Asthall to Minster Lovell, then back to Stow
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Stow-on-the-Wold
- Drive about 1 h
We drive about 25 minutes south-east to Burford, a wool town whose High Street runs steeply down to a medieval bridge over the Windrush. From the bridge we follow the river east on meadow paths, the flattest walk of the week. First comes St Oswald's at Widford, a tiny church standing alone in a field, then Swinbrook, where four of the Mitford sisters are buried in the churchyard of St Mary's.
Afternoon
The path goes on through water meadows to Asthall, with its Jacobean manor beside the church, where we stop for a pub lunch. In the afternoon we walk the last stretch along the river to Minster Lovell and the roofless ruins of Minster Lovell Hall, a fifteenth-century manor beside the water, open to walk round. The van meets us there and takes us back to Stow, about 40 minutes, by late afternoon.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Burford High Street and bridge
- Guided Windrush valley walk via Widford, Swinbrook and Asthall to Minster Lovell
- Pub lunch in Asthall
- Minster Lovell Hall ruins
Easier option: Walk Burford to Swinbrook, about 4 km, then ride to lunch in Asthall and meet the group at Minster Lovell.
More active option: Start with a loop up Burford's hill and along the ridge before dropping to the river, about 3 km more.
Free time: Evening free in Stow
Activity: About 10.5 km and under 100 m of climb on meadow paths, 3.5 to 4 hours with stops.
The Cotswold Way to Stanton, on to Chipping Campden
Stow to Winchcombe by van, on foot via Hailes Abbey and Stanway to Stanton, then by van to Chipping Campden
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Chipping Campden
- Drive about 1 h
Our driver loads the bags and takes us about 35 minutes west to Winchcombe, a small town under the escarpment, while the luggage goes ahead to Chipping Campden. Here we join the Cotswold Way, the waymarked national trail that runs 102 miles along the edge of the hills from Chipping Campden to Bath. It leads out over fields to the ruins of Hailes Abbey, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1246, where we stop to walk round the cloister arches. Then the path climbs to the ramparts of Beckbury Camp, an Iron Age hill fort with a wide view over the Vale of Evesham, before dropping through Wood Stanway and past the gatehouse of Stanway House to Stanton.
Afternoon
Stanton is a single street of golden stone houses, and lunch is a late pub meal at the top of it.
Evening
A short drive brings us to Chipping Campden by late afternoon for three nights, and dinner together.
Included
- Luggage moved by our driver from Stow to Chipping Campden
- Guided Cotswold Way walk from Winchcombe to Stanton
- Hailes Abbey entry
- Pub lunch in Stanton
- Dinner in Chipping Campden
Easier option: Walk Winchcombe to Hailes Abbey, about 4 km and almost flat, then the van brings you to lunch in Stanton.
More active option: Before the main walk, go out and back from Winchcombe up the Cotswold Way to Belas Knap long barrow, about 6 to 7 km more and 200 m of extra climb, rejoining the group at Hailes Abbey by van.
Activity: About 10.5 km and 250 m of climb, 4 to 4.5 hours with the abbey stop.
Hidcote's garden rooms
Chipping Campden on foot via Hidcote Boyce to Hidcote, then back on foot or by van
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Chipping Campden
- Drive about 12 min
Today is the gentlest of the week.
Morning
We walk out of Chipping Campden after breakfast on field paths and a quiet lane through the hamlet of Hidcote Boyce to Hidcote, about 5 km, to reach the garden at its morning opening. Hidcote was laid out in the early twentieth century by Lawrence Johnston as a series of outdoor rooms divided by hedges, each with its own planting: the White Garden, the Red Borders, the Long Walk, the Pillar Garden. Allow two hours or more; the National Trust runs it and our entry is included.
Afternoon
Lunch is at the garden's cafe. Afterwards the van takes anyone who wants to rest back to Chipping Campden, and the rest walk back with the guide by a different field path.
Evening
The afternoon and evening are free in Chipping Campden: the arched Market Hall of 1627, the almshouses and the wool church of St James.
Included
- Guided walk from Chipping Campden to Hidcote
- Hidcote garden entry
- Lunch at the garden cafe
- Guided walk back, or the van
Easier option: Ride to Hidcote in the van and back after lunch, with no walking beyond the garden paths.
More active option: Walk back via Ebrington and the ridge above Chipping Campden, about 7 km instead of 5.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Chipping Campden
Activity: About 5 km out and 5 km back on field paths and lanes, 100 m of climb, plus about 2 hours on foot in the garden.
Dover's Hill and Broadway Tower
Chipping Campden on foot via Dover's Hill and Broadway Tower to Broadway, then back by van
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Chipping Campden
- Drive about 15 min
We start at the stone marker on Chipping Campden's High Street where the Cotswold Way begins and walk its first miles. The path climbs to Dover's Hill, a grassy spur owned by the National Trust where the Cotswold Olimpicks have been held since the seventeenth century, with the Vale of Evesham spread out below. It then follows the top of the escarpment past farmland and woods to Broadway Tower, an eighteenth-century folly on Beacon Hill at about 312 m, where entry to the tower is included and the roof gives one of the widest views in the Cotswolds. From the tower the path drops steeply over fields into Broadway and its long green and High Street.
Afternoon
Lunch is a pub meal in Broadway, then free time to look round before the van takes us back to Chipping Campden, about 15 minutes.
Evening
Farewell dinner in Chipping Campden tonight.
Included
- Guided Cotswold Way walk from Chipping Campden over Dover's Hill to Broadway Tower and Broadway
- Broadway Tower entry
- Pub lunch in Broadway
- Farewell dinner in Chipping Campden
Easier option: Walk to Dover's Hill and back, about 5 km, then the van brings you to Broadway Tower and lunch.
More active option: After lunch, walk on from Broadway to Snowshill, about 4 km more, and the van brings you back to Chipping Campden.
Free time: Free time in Broadway after lunch
Activity: About 9.5 km and roughly 250 m or more of climb (to be measured on the recce), with a steep descent from the tower, 3.5 to 4 hours with stops.
The Rollright Stones and back to Oxford
Chipping Campden to the Rollright Stones, then Oxford railway station
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
After breakfast we drive about 25 minutes east to the Rollright Stones, on the ridge between Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. A short walk takes in all three parts: the King's Men, a ring of weathered limestone stones about 33 m across, put up around 4,500 years ago; the Whispering Knights, the remains of an older burial chamber; and the lone King Stone across the lane. The site is cared for by a small trust and is far quieter than Stonehenge; our guide tells the legend of the king turned to stone.
Afternoon
Then about 50 minutes south through Chipping Norton to Oxford, arriving at the railway station around 1 pm; lunch is not included, and the guide suggests a cafe or pub near the station or in the centre. Trains to London Paddington take about an hour and coaches run to Heathrow and Gatwick. If you are flying home today, book a flight from Heathrow leaving after about 6 pm, or stay on in Oxford.
Included
- The Rollright Stones: the King's Men, the Whispering Knights and the King Stone
- Drop-off at Oxford railway station
Easier option: See the King's Men circle beside the lane and skip the walk to the Whispering Knights.
Free time: Lunch on your own in Oxford; the guide suggests places near the station
Activity: About 1 km on foot on grass. Book a Heathrow flight leaving after about 6 pm.
- Oxfordstart
- Stow-on-the-Wold3 nights
- Chipping Campden3 nights
- Oxfordend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: April and May bring lambs in the fields and bluebells in the beech woods; June and July bring the gardens at their fullest and long light evenings; September and October bring harvest and autumn colour with fewer visitors. Rain can come in any month, so the guide may swap walks between days or shorten one, and paths turn muddy after wet spells.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Walkers who enjoy 3 to 5 hours on foot most days, with the option to do less
- Travellers who want the Cotswold villages without driving on the left or chasing buses
- Garden lovers: Hidcote is included
- People who like old inns, pub lunches and quiet evenings
- Solo travellers happy in a group of 7 to 12
Not for you if you want
- Anyone who needs step-free access: paths have stiles, gates and mud
- Travellers after Bath, the Lake District and York (see our England trip)
- Hikers after mountains: the Cotswolds are rolling hills, not peaks
- Travellers who want large hotels with lifts and pools
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
6 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Stow-on-the-Wold3 nights
- Chipping Campden3 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 6 nights: 3 in central Stow-on-the-Wold, 3 in central Chipping Campden
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Meeting point in central Oxford on day 1 and drop-off at Oxford railway station on day 7
- Our own van and driver for the group all week, moving your luggage between the two hotels
- Transfers to and from the start and end of each walk, and pick-ups for every easy option
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, walking every path with the group
Activities
- Guided walk through central Oxford
- Stow-on-the-Wold and St Edward's Church
- Bourton-on-the-Water, Lower and Upper Slaughter walk to Stow
- Windrush valley walk from Burford via Swinbrook to Minster Lovell Hall
- Cotswold Way walk from Winchcombe to Stanton, with Hailes Abbey entry
- Hidcote garden entry and the walk there from Chipping Campden
- Cotswold Way walk over Dover's Hill to Broadway, with Broadway Tower entry
- The Rollright Stones
Meals
- Breakfast daily (6)
- Lunches on days 1 to 6 (6), five of them pub or garden-cafe lunches on the walks
- Dinners on days 1, 4 and 6 (3), including the welcome and farewell dinners
Not included
- International flights
- Travel to Oxford on day 1 and onward from Oxford on day 7
- UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
- Travel insurance
- Dinners on days 2, 3 and 5, and lunch on day 7
- Drinks
- Tips
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 830 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the Cotswolds walking tour price include?
Six nights in central hotels in Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden, breakfast daily, six lunches and three dinners, our own van and driver moving your luggage and meeting every walk, a See Sight Tours guide throughout, and entry to Hidcote, Hailes Abbey and Broadway Tower. Travel to and from Oxford is not included.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderately fit. Five days have 3 to 5 hours on foot, about 5 to 10.5 km with up to about 250 m of climb on field paths with stiles and gates. If you walk a couple of hours most weekends you will be fine. Every walk has an easy option where the van picks you up partway.
Do I have to carry my luggage between villages?
No. You stay three nights in Stow-on-the-Wold and three in Chipping Campden, so you unpack twice. On the one moving day our driver takes the bags to the second hotel while you walk. You carry only a daypack with water, a rain jacket and a warm layer.
How big is the group and who leads it?
The small group runs with 7 to 12 guests. A See Sight Tours guide walks every path with you for the whole week, and our own driver handles the van, the luggage and the pick-ups for anyone taking the easy option.
I am travelling solo. What does a single room cost?
A room of your own is from CAD 830 more, shown up front. If you would rather share, ask when you book: we request a twin share with another solo traveller and confirm it once the hotel has the room. Old coaching inns have small single rooms, so we tell you the room type when we name the hotel.
When is the best time to walk in the Cotswolds?
April to October. May and June bring bluebells, lambs and the gardens coming into flower; September and October are quieter with autumn colour. We avoid the May bank-holiday weekends where we can, when the villages and hotels are busiest. Rain is possible in any month.
What happens if it rains?
We walk in most weather, as the paths are low and safe. In heavy rain the guide can swap days, shorten a walk using the van, or move the Hidcote day; the guide sets out the rain plan at the day 1 briefing and confirms each evening. Bring waterproof boots and a proper rain jacket, because field paths turn muddy after wet spells.
Isn't Bourton-on-the-Water too crowded?
Not at 9 am, which is when we walk through it. Day-trip coaches arrive from late morning, so we start there early and walk away from the crowds up the River Eye to the Slaughters, which stay quiet. The rest of the week is on footpaths where you meet few people.
How does booking work?
Choose your dates and send a request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken until we have. Prices are per person sharing a room, taxes included, and the small group starts from CAD 4,895.
Can I do this trip privately or on my own dates?
Yes, as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own guide and vehicle. If you would rather walk independently on your own dates, ask from the dates section and we quote the same hotels, luggage moves and route notes as a separate inquiry.
Do Canadians need a visa or ETA for England?
No visa is needed for a short tourist visit, but Canadian and US citizens need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), applied for online before you travel. It is linked to your passport. Check the current fee and rules on the UK government website before you book flights.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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