The Cotswolds is quintessentially English, with its rich cultural history, medieval 'wool' churches and charming domestic architecture of stone, slate and thatch. The book offers three options for walking in the heart of this wonderful area: a 94-mile (151-km) grand tour starting from Cheltenham, and two shorter circuits. These options cater for walkers who want to spend eight, six or four days.

The directions have been thoroughly revised for 2025 and the mapping improved for the second edition. The Cotswold area has good rail links from London, Oxford and Birmingham, and lots of welcoming pubs and B&Bs.

This guidebook contains all you need to plan and enjoy your trip:

• detailed route description, plus summaries with distance, terrain and food/drink stops
• 15 pages of large-scale mapping at 1:50,000
• planning information for transport and accommodation
• detail about Cotswold stone, sheep and wildlife
• the culture of the Cotswold region
• lavishly illustrated, with over 90 colour photographs
• rucksack-friendly format, printed on rainproof paper.

• The grand tour goes clockwise from Cheltenham, passing through the finest of the northern Cotswold villages of Winchcombe, Broadway, Chipping Campden, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water. From Bourton, the grand tour continues through Northleach, Cirencester and Painswick to end at Cheltenham. However the Cheltenham circuit returns direct from Bourton via Guiting Power for a 58-mile (94-km) circuit, and the Winchcombe circuit is shorter still at 45 miles (72 km).

The late Christopher Knowles organised walking holidays in the Cotswolds for 25 years, and was the founder of Cotswold Journeys. Daniel Knowles now runs the family business and organises popular holidays for walkers from all over the world. He comprehensively revised his father's book in 2025 after rewalking all three itineraries that his father originally devised. Christopher's expertise on the region was reflected in his published books. For many years he had travelled professionally around the world, particularly to Italy, China and Russia. His account of travelling by train between London and Hong Kong in the 1980s 'The Red Line: a train journey through the Cold War' was published in 2017 by Pen & Sword.