Cotswolds Fireside
(guided walking weekend)
Trail overview
Where? – Mid Cotswolds, Nr. Stow on Wold
When? – Friday 8th January 2010, 2 nights • from £260 per person
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This refreshing weekend will both treat and relax you. Following Christmas and New Year, this January walking weekend is perfectly timed to help you with your resolutions! Join us in the Cotswolds where we'll be shrugging off festive excesses and donning our walking boots for enjoyable paced walks, plenty of fresh air and of course plenty of secret haunts to explore as we walk and enjoy the best of rural England.
Spend the weekend unwinding in one of our favourite Cotswolds village inns – what a luxury. I love its authenticity, this is a place where the village locals drop in for a pint, a chat or a bite to eat, and consequently the atmosphere is one of chatter, laughter and warmth. This is echoed by the beautiful building itself, filled with a huge Inglenook fireplace, ancient wooden beams and chunky wooden furniture. And if you thought there couldn't be more, well the food is really excellent and the village location is stunning – think stone cottages, a village green with a red postbox, stream and hens that roam freely....... gorgeous.
You'll experience the hidden side of the Cotswolds. Not far from Stow on the Wold and the Oxfordshire borders, yet the tourists never come this far...... consequently it's authentic, unspoilt and peaceful. A much more tranquil and enjoyable way to experience the Cotswolds.
Your walking experience will rejuvenate. Yes it's winter, but new year, what a wonderful time to explore. All those refreshing landscapes, statuesque tree skeletons and warming pub fires. And there will certainly be plenty to explore. Your guide, David Howell is Foot Trails co-founder, and David grew up in the Cotswolds so certainly knows this area better than most. You'll hear the odd tale or two as you walk and it's these stories and David's passion, which bring the landscapes you see to life.
On saturday, following a leisurely breakfast, we'll hop aboard our own private mini coach for our first glimpse of the countryside as we ride to the start of our trail. (we often use a mini coach in winter to make the most of the shorter days, and to enable us to walk back to our inn on foot – a great experience.) Even early on our walks give us a gentle view over the river Evenlode valley. We explore one of the Cotswolds largest country estates, filled with stables, studs and horses. Past the medieval dovecote we arrive into Jacobean Chastleton where the impressive manor house will be sure to catch your eye. We visit several peaceful and tucked away villages, with beautiful 18th century cottages and a wonderful Georgian rectory where Jane Austen used to visit.
By now we'll have worked up an appetite for lunch, and you have a real treat in store, with one of the Cotswolds award-winning country pubs. Cheers! (Lunch and a drink included) Post lunch a church that defies time – when you enter the twisted and turned walls look like they shouldn't be still standing, but some force keeps it up against the odds! The medieval wall paintings are extraordinary. Back for a hot bath or shower, and an evening with the locals and some rather fabulous English food. (restaurant standard).
You are sure to wake refreshed here – then it's down for Sunday breakfast (bacon and eggs from the chickens running around outside for those with a healthy appetite!), then hop aboard our private mini coach. Today you'll start at a wonderful village which is a collection of farmsteads. The 18th century farmhouses are beautiful (it's fun to pick out your favourite!) and the village pond is a peaceful spot.
You'll enjoy sweeping woods and a sculptured Cotswolds countryside on your morning walk. Mid-morning the views open up into the distance, back towards your country inn. David always loves this view, he says it makes him glad to be alive on a Sunday morning and feel like he is gazing out a the world........
That's what's so great of course about exploring on foot – it's all about you, where you are, and what's in your immediate vicinity.... and you'll certainly right in the heart of it all this weekend. And feel any stresses or strains vanish into thin air as Foot Trails works its magic. This is a holiday for all your senses, so blast those winter cobwebs away, fill your lungs with fresh air, and feast on hearty soups, tasty casseroles and local ales. We're out to celebrate rural England in all its winter glory.
Crossing the meadows we'll enjoy a late lunch, before we bid you farewell.
We want to encourage as many of you as possible to walk this new year, so this weekend is being offered at exceptional value, and places are expected to book very quickly. Book now to join us this new year, and come and be relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated with Foot Trails in the Cotswolds.
• Friday 8th January 2010, 2 nights
• Nr Stow on Wold, Gloucestershire
• from £260 per person
What's included? >
Guest book >
FAQ >
About the guide >
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