The Cotswold Way Companion

Book excerpt: The book will help you to get the most out of walking the Cotswold Way - perhaps the best loved of the UK's sixteen designated national trails. It’s special for two reasons: it focuses on the Cotswold Way's natural environment and its archaeology and history; and it’s the work of people with great knowledge and experience of the trail: members of the Cotswold Way Association (CWA), the charity set up in 2016 to promote its conservation and protection, and Cotswold Voluntary Wardens who patrol the trail and lead walks on it. Proceeds from the book, available as paperback and eBook, will go towards the trail’s upkeep and improvement. Chapter 1 spells out the book’s aims and illustrates the types of trail improvement the Cotswold Way Association funds. Chapter 2 introduces you to the Cotswolds that are the trail's setting - in particular, their geology, grasslands and woodland, distinctive settlement pattern of small towns and villages, vernacular architecture and historical monuments - ranging from Neolithic barrows and Iron-age hill forts to Roman villas, medieval castles, manor houses and ‘wool’ churches, along with several notable towers and beacons. Chapters 3-12 deal with the typically ten mile or so long stages of the annual Cotswold Way walks that Cotswold Voluntary Wardens lead. Each one draws attention to the stage's main points of interest and beauty, highlighting a major theme such as outstanding flora and fauna or grand estates or impact of the wool trade and cloth making.