What is this 5-day itinerary?
The Cotswold Way in five days is a fast walk, not the usual week. The first night is Winchcombe, so Stanton is a village you pass, and Cleeve Hill is walked through the next day on the way to Birdlip. Painswick is lunch. The finish starts at Hawkesbury Upton, so Tormarton and Cold Ashton are not nights. The official guidebook suggests seven to ten days. Five is quicker than that. Book Birdlip before the rest. It has little choice of bed.
Read the Cotswold Way guide for the whole trail.
Will this 5-day split work for you?
- A fast full walk, quicker than the official seven to ten days.
- Walkers who will sleep at Winchcombe and Hawkesbury Upton and pass the villages a slower plan uses as nights.
- Book Birdlip first. It has little choice of bed, and you arrive after the high ground.
Fitness & effort
You should be happy with five long days, and with walking through villages that a slower plan uses for the night. Anyone reasonably fit can walk the Cotswold Way. This pace is for someone who already walks long days and will still be out late. The path climbs often. It is waymarked. Take a map anyway. A compass may help, and the phone can drop out on the commons. There is no scrambling. If a long day at home is comfortable, and you can walk again the next morning, five days is a fast week, not a first one.
Your 5-day route on the map
Toward Bath
Chipping Campden to Bath in 5 days
Chipping Campden to Bath, the way most people walk it, with the escarpment views to the west and the city as the finish.
| Day | Stage | Distance | Overnight / destination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Chipping Campden → Winchcombe | 17.9 mi (28.8 km) | The Lion Inn (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 2 | Winchcombe → Birdlip | 21.8 mi (35.1 km) | Royal George Hotel (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 3 | Birdlip → King's Stanley | 18.6 mi (30.0 km) | Orchardene (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 4 | King's Stanley → Hawkesbury Upton | 19.5 mi (31.4 km) | Hawkesbury Upton Fox Inn |
| Day 5 Longest | Hawkesbury Upton → Bath | 24.3 mi (39.0 km) | Cotswold Way Finish |
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Day 1
Chipping Campden to Winchcombe
17.9 mi (28.8 km) ↑ 620 m (2,050 ft) ↓ 660 m (2,150 ft)
Dover's Hill, Broadway Tower and the drop into Broadway fill the morning, and none of them is the night. Stanton comes after Shenberrow Camp. The longer plans stop there. This one walks through, because the first night is Winchcombe. Hailes Abbey sits just before the town. Eat there. Cleeve Hill is still ahead, and it is tomorrow's ground, not a reason to push on tonight. Book the bed. Tomorrow starts with the climb onto the highest point.
Example stay The Lion Inn (opens in a new tab)
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Day 2
Winchcombe to Birdlip
21.8 mi (35.1 km) ↑ 880 m (2,900 ft) ↓ 740 m (2,450 ft)
The longer plans sleep on Cleeve Hill and split this ground. This one walks through the highest point and on to Birdlip. Belas Knap comes first, then the climb, then Cleeve Common over Cheltenham. Dowdeswell has no bed, so there is no night on the scarp. The Devil's Chimney is the rock pillar on Leckhampton Hill, and Crickley Hill brings you into Birdlip. A diversion near the village has been signed since July 2026. Follow it. Little choice of bed. This is the night to book first.
Example stay Royal George Hotel (opens in a new tab)
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Day 3
Birdlip to King's Stanley
18.6 mi (30.0 km) ↑ 700 m (2,300 ft) ↓ 810 m (2,650 ft)
Painswick is lunch, not the night, the same join the seven-day makes. The eight-day sleeps at the mid-point and keeps it as a short day. You walk through the town and on to King's Stanley, the village on the line. Stonehouse is a bed off it, and this plan does not leave the path for it. Eat in Painswick. The evening is in a smaller place. Tomorrow does not stop at Wotton-under-Edge, so do not treat King's Stanley as a rest before a short day.
Example stay Orchardene (opens in a new tab)
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Day 4
King's Stanley to Hawkesbury Upton
19.5 mi (31.4 km) ↑ 900 m (2,950 ft) ↓ 830 m (2,700 ft)
Dursley is lunch, not the night, and Wotton-under-Edge is a town you pass. The longer plans sleep there. Coaley Peak and Cam Long Down come first, then Stinchcombe Hill, the long way round, and the Tyndale Monument above North Nibley. The shortcut across the neck of the hill cuts the section. Stay on the longer loop. Use the shops in Wotton. Hawkesbury Upton is a smaller night, and the finish starts there tomorrow. Book it. Eat before you leave the town.
Example stay Hawkesbury Upton Fox Inn
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Day 5 Longest
Hawkesbury Upton to Bath
24.3 mi (39.0 km) ↑ 590 m (1,950 ft) ↓ 760 m (2,500 ft)
Tormarton and Cold Ashton are villages you pass, so the finish starts at Hawkesbury Upton. The seven-day and the eight-day start it at Tormarton. Old Sodbury and the park at Dodington come first, then the wall of Dyrham Park. After Cold Ashton the path drops to Lower Hamswell, climbs to Lansdown, and passes the racecourse. The end is the stone disc in the pavement outside the west doors of Bath Abbey. Carry food and water from Hawkesbury. The villages in between are thin.
Finish Cotswold Way Finish
Cross-check: National Trails . The route is 102 miles (164 km), and the guidebook suggests seven to ten days. Distances on the cards are measured on the imported line. No official page prints a total climb.
Toward Chipping Campden
Bath to Chipping Campden in 5 days
The same nights, starting in Bath. The valley climbs become descents.
| Day | Stage | Distance | Overnight / destination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 Longest | Bath → Hawkesbury Upton | 24.3 mi (39.0 km) | Hawkesbury Upton Fox Inn |
| Day 2 | Hawkesbury Upton → King's Stanley | 19.5 mi (31.4 km) | Orchardene (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 3 | King's Stanley → Birdlip | 18.6 mi (30.0 km) | Royal George Hotel (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 4 | Birdlip → Winchcombe | 21.8 mi (35.1 km) | The Lion Inn (opens in a new tab) |
| Day 5 | Winchcombe → Chipping Campden | 17.9 mi (28.8 km) | Chipping Campden |
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Day 1 Longest
Bath to Hawkesbury Upton
24.3 mi (39.0 km) ↑ 760 m (2,500 ft) ↓ 590 m (1,950 ft)
You leave the stone disc at Bath Abbey and climb to Lansdown, with the racecourse on the plateau. Cold Ashton and the woods above Dyrham come before Tormarton. The park at Dodington and Old Sodbury are the middle, and Hawkesbury Upton, under the Somerset Monument, is the finish. It is still the long day.
Example stay Hawkesbury Upton Fox Inn
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Day 2
Hawkesbury Upton to King's Stanley
19.5 mi (31.4 km) ↑ 830 m (2,700 ft) ↓ 900 m (2,950 ft)
You leave Hawkesbury under the Somerset Monument and come down into Wotton. The climb out of the town leads to the Tyndale Monument, then North Nibley and Stinchcombe Hill. Dursley sits before Cam Long Down and Coaley Peak, and the path drops to King's Stanley.
Example stay Orchardene (opens in a new tab)
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Day 3
King's Stanley to Birdlip
18.6 mi (30.0 km) ↑ 810 m (2,650 ft) ↓ 700 m (2,300 ft)
You leave King's Stanley and climb to Haresfield Beacon, so the Stroud valleys are behind you. Painswick Beacon and Cooper's Hill come after the mid-point, which you pass. The beech woods bring you into Birdlip, and the diversion is the end of the day.
Example stay Royal George Hotel (opens in a new tab)
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Day 4
Birdlip to Winchcombe
21.8 mi (35.1 km) ↑ 740 m (2,450 ft) ↓ 880 m (2,900 ft)
The diversion at Birdlip is the start. Crickley Hill and the Devil's Chimney come before the drop through Dowdeswell. You climb onto Cleeve Common, so the highest point is a pull in the afternoon, and Winchcombe is the village after Belas Knap.
Example stay The Lion Inn (opens in a new tab)
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Day 5
Winchcombe to Chipping Campden
17.9 mi (28.8 km) ↑ 660 m (2,150 ft) ↓ 620 m (2,050 ft)
You leave Winchcombe past Hailes Abbey and climb toward the escarpment. Stanton comes after Shenberrow Camp, and Broadway Tower is the hill above Broadway. The finish is the drop off Dover's Hill into Chipping Campden.
Finish Chipping Campden
5-day itinerary FAQ
Is five days the right length?
Five is a fast walk, quicker than the official seven to ten days. The first night is Winchcombe, Cleeve Hill is walked through, and the finish starts at Hawkesbury Upton. Seven sleeps at Stanton and Cleeve Hill and starts the finish at Tormarton. Four is quicker still. Five is for someone who wants the whole trail in a short week.
Which day is the hard one?
The finish starts at Hawkesbury Upton, and Tormarton and Cold Ashton are villages you pass. Winchcombe to Birdlip walks through Cleeve Hill, the highest point, with no bed at Dowdeswell. Birdlip to King's Stanley walks through Painswick. Book Birdlip. You arrive there after the high ground.
Do I need to book the nights?
Yes. Book Birdlip first. It has little choice of bed. Then Hawkesbury Upton, because the finish starts there the next morning, and Winchcombe. King's Stanley is the night after Painswick, and the bed is on the line. Stonehouse is off it. Stanton and Tormarton are not nights on this plan.
Can I get my bag carried?
Yes, from about mid-March to the end of October. A bag a day is usually £10–25, ready by 9am. One service runs both ways. A bag toward Chipping Campden is not a promise on every service until you check. Book the bed before the bag. Prices and dates change.
Can I download a GPX for the 5-day Cotswold Way?
Yes. Open this itinerary in the planner (free, no account). Download a full-route GPX or per-day files for Garmin, Komoot, or your phone. You can export the preset unchanged or edit overnight stops first.
Personalise this itinerary
This 5-day itinerary is ready as it stands. Open it in the planner to keep these stops, or change where you sleep, then download the GPX for your watch or phone.
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Full-trip and per-day GPX files. Free, no account.
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