Day 7

 I had a good nights sleep in my hotel double bed. I awoke refreshed and ready to hit the final few miles of the trail, but not before a nice cooked breakfast! 

I set off at 7:50 and had a fairly gentle start, as the first 2-3 miles were on reasonably level terrain. The path took me through the village of Tormarton and then across the M4 motorway. 

We then dropped down to Dyrham Park. 

Before climbing back up to Cold Ashton, but not before I stopped at the Fuel Station in Pennsylvania, to buy some lunch and an ice cream.  I had a brief sit down at Cold Ashton village hall, to air my feet and got chatting to a hiker who was walking Lands End to Cape Wrath! 

After that, there was a steep descent to Lower Hamswell, before a lung-bursting climb up to the site of the battle of Lansdown. 



I stopped at Hanging Hill and ate the lunch I bought earlier


. I then encountered numerous school pupils on their Duke of Edinburgh hikes. I felt sorry for some, because they looked like they were carrying rucksacks heavier than mine! 

The trail then rounded Bath racecourse and I could see black clouds approaching. We then had a 5 minute spell of heavy rain, enough to require waterproofs but not so that you got soaked. 

By now my feet were getting tired and auto-pilot kicked in, where it was a case of head down and let’s get this done. It probably wasn’t the right attitude but any views were spoiled by the misty atmosphere. 

There was then a long descent from Kelston Round hill to Weston.


I stupidly thought that was it for climbing and changed into a fresher shirt, to walk around Bath. Unfortunately, the route planners decided to put some completely unnecessary climbs into the final stage. I can only guess it was to take the walker away from busy urban roads, but there were no views to be had from climbing those steep hills, so a pointless exercise in my opinion, especially with tired feet! 

Eventually, I reached the interesting bits of Bath, with a tour past The Royal Crescent. 

I then walked to Bath Abbey, where the official finishing point is. 
Obviously, I had to celebrate completing that trail, so I dived into the nearest pub and had a quick pint! 
So that’s it, Cotswold Way completed. What a fantastic trail it was. It had some great views, pretty villages and tough climbs. Okay, I had near perfect weather, but even so, I can heartily recommend the trail. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. If you are interested, I will be uploading some vlogs to YouTube in the coming weeks. https://youtube.com/@andyshikes3425?si=9gTVvC56f22OW_Qk

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 1, 2026 at 9:51 AM

    Well done, Hiked it in 2023 and starting at Bath shortly to hike it the other way.
    But really enjoyed your account of your journey

    ReplyDelete

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