A Cotswold Odyssey, 17.5 miles, moderate

A long but rewarding circular walk through picturesque Cotswold countryside and villages, including Bourton-on-the-Water, Lower Slaughter, Stow-in-the-Wold*, and Upper Oddington.

* There's an option to drop out at Stow-in-the-Wold via bus, for a 12-mile linear walk.

Advance booking is not required, but if you plan on attending this walk, please indicate this on Meetup if you can, so others can see that there will be plenty of people going.

Pace: fast. Ascent: 310m.

This walk will be led by Zak K.

Please see our website for more information about the group.

Walk details

Our odyssey through the Cotswolds begins at Kingham station, which actually lies between the villages of Kingham and Bledington. We'll make our way through Bledington into the countryside following the Oxfordshire Way to Wyck Beacon for views of the surrounding landscape and on to Wyck Rissington and Rissington Mill as we wind our way through the lakes into the iconic Cotswold village of Bourton-on-the-Water – but not before we take a look at the Iron Age settlement of Salmonsbury on the edge of Greystones Farm Nature Reserve.

Heading on from Bourton-in-the-Water, we head for the village of Lower Slaughter – where no less than five "Ways" converge: the Gloucestershire Way, the Heart of England Way, the Macmillan Way, the Monarch's Way, and the Warden's Way! We follow three of these as they run in parallel into another iconic Cotswold location, Stow-in-the-Wold.

At this point, it's possible to drop out and take the 802 bus back to Kingham, if you'd prefer a 12-mile linear option (though be aware this is infrequent, so you may have a wait). Otherwise, we'll continue out via Maugersbury to Upper Oddington, before roughly following the River Evenlode back towards Kingham and the end of our odyssey!

Possible café/pub stops in Bourton-in-the-Water and/or Stow-in-the-Wold, depending on timing and numbers on the day (and toilets are available in both locations, in any case).

Travel details

By public transport

From Reading, take the 08:19 train (08:45 from Oxford), arriving in Kingham at 09:10 in time for the start of the walk. The walk leader will be on this train – if it's running late then the start of the walk will be delayed accordingly. Return trains once an hour.

By car

There is a car park at Kingham station, where charges will apply (via APCOA). Please allow time to park, pay, and be ready at the start point in time for the walk.

Dogs

Dogs welcome on this walk, provided they are kept under control at all times and placed on a lead when requested by the walk leader.

Please see our dogs policy on our group website for more details.

Notes

• Please bring a packed lunch and plenty of water.
• While the walk isn't planned to be super-fast, we will need to move at a reasonable pace compared to many of the group's shorter walks, given the distance to be covered.

Please see our group website for more information: https://www.berkshirewalkers.co.uk/

Please contact the leader directly if you are delayed on the day or can't find the group (find contact details on our website). We are unlikely to respond to Meetup comments or messages sent on the day in enough time to be helpful.