Walking in the Cotswolds

This guide offers 30 walks in the idyllic Cotswolds, including 14 circular routes on the Cotswold Way National Trail. Many are along the Edge (the most prominent part of England's largest continuous geological feature) and take in splendid sights, from the wildflower-dotted Cleeve Common grasslands to the dramatic Uley Bury hill fort. The gentle hills and honey-hued villages give the Cotswolds a quintessential Olde England feel, while the stout hills and secret valleys described in this guide give plenty of satisfying remoteness and authentic wilderness. The Cotswolds hill chain is sometimes dismissed by veteran walkers, but there are testing gradients here, and the views from the tops are wide-ranging. If you want to visit spectacular locations without too much strenuousness, it's easily done with this guide. If you want a thigh-burning hilly workout, that's easily done too. Set the clichés to one side. This is hill country.

Damian Hall Damian Hall is a freelance outdoor journalist who grew up in Nailsworth but travelled and lived abroad for seven years, during which he trekked many long-distance trails. Now living in the Cotswolds, Damian is a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild and regularly contributes to Country Walking and Outdoor Fitness.