There are so many Chipping Campden walks for you to enjoy when you stay with Cotswold Charm. This is simply because Chipping Campden is an ideal starting or finishing point for your walk. If you are attempting all 100 miles of the famous Cotswold Way to Bath then you will be aware that the War Memorial is the official Chipping Campden start/finish point of the Cotswold Way. A beautiful 18-mile route can be enjoyed in just one day by combining this walk with our Packhorse Trail Walk which is located along the way.
Walking is peaceful, healthy and enjoyable, but it’s important that you are mindful of the type of impact it could potentially have on the lives of others. If you’re ever out for a stroll, please be considerate of others who might happen to be working in any field near where you are walking so as not to disturb their peace or interfere with their work. Please make sure you have read the countryside code if you are unsure of what to do when out walking.
There are plenty of walks to choose from in Chipping Campden, and we hope you enjoy them all when you come and visit us. From easy strolls to more challenging hikes, there is something for everyone. If you’re not sure which walk is right for you, our staff can help you choose the best one. We also have a variety of maps and brochures available to help guide you on your walk. So come and explore Chipping Campden’s beautiful countryside today!
We hope you enjoy this collection of walks when you come and visit us, and you can easily choose which walk best suits your level of fitness and schedule in order to enjoy it.
Enjoy these Walks Around Chipping Campden
Here we have put together a selection of our favourite Chipping Campden walks that you can take with you whilst exploring the Chipping Campden countryside. Some of these are walks around Chipping Campden whereas others are walks near Chipping Campden. We have also included a Chipping Campden short walk for those that wish for a leisurely stroll that’s not too far.
Circular Chipping Campden Walk to Dover’s Hill Using the Cotswold Way
3.5 to 4.5 miles
A favourite among the walks near Chipping Campden and one of the most popular Chipping Campden dog walks, this short walk begins in the heart of Chipping Campden and starts from the Cotswold Way marker stone (unveiled on 8th November 2014) by the steps to the historic Market Hall (a suitable icon to Sir Baptiste Hicks who built it in 1627). At roughly the halfway point of the walk, there are a number of opportunities to extend your walk and find a different route back with views of the market town that you will not get from a car.
Be it the first or the last yards of the Cotswold Way, the moment you set off you are totally encased in Chipping Campden’s history in stone and the stunning architecture that accompanies it as you walk along the top side of the High Street towards the point where the sun sets.
You immediately pass Chipping Campden’s War Memorial dedicated to the 62 men killed in the First World War and the adjacent one on the wall for the 16 who died in the subsequent war. You then pass the Town Hall dating from the 14th Century with its very interesting closed windows and doors showing on the roadside wall which give an idea of the completely different look from earlier times.
On the other side of market town’s Square, you have the interesting gable end of the former HSBC Bank on your left and then you come to The Baptist Church on your right which still has a working Roman drain running under it.
Further, follow the curved pathway around the corner past St Catherine’s Catholic Church which thanks to funding from the Noel Family was opened in 1891 with much of its stained glass being designed by Paul Woodruff.
Following the Cotswold Way signs, you head up Hoo Lane to turn left onto Kingcombe Lane for a hundred yards. Then, taking care of the traffic, cross the road and head through a kissing gate and follow the hedge on your right to the gate which you go through on your left to arrive at some trees known as the Bold Gap.
You are now on The National Trust’s Dovers Hill which has many spectacular views to offer. Your choice here is to:
a. Bear left onto the shorter and less undulating route and then wind your way along the edge until you reach the Topograph towards the western edge of the escarpment.
b. Those with younger legs in need of a more demanding route should follow the bridleway to the right and the fence-line to a gateway on the right and into a small windswept group of trees.
Taking the left track, you follow it as it turns left and downhill (quite steep) to a pair of gates. The left hand-kissing gate emerges onto the hillside and then keeping the fence on your right carry straight on to the woods at the bottom.
Through another kissing gate and you are in Lynches Wood where you can pick up the circular walk around it and see a great display of bluebells in May. The wood is also believed to be a site of Roman activity, there is evidence of terraces of a vineyard and you may lucky enough to see artichokes which they introduced to Britain growing in the wild.
You will find that wallboard has been installed to help you through the muddy bits. Near the bottom of the woods, follow the curve to your left and then use the long flight of steps to reach the top where you turn right and go through a kissing gate back into the fields.
Keeping the fence to the woods on your right, follow the wide grass track as it bends to the right and along the side of the hill where it may be muddy in places.
When you pass a small pond on your left amongst the trees, stay with the track as it bends left and upwards to the stone topograph on top of Dovers Hill – you will find a seat there where you can rest your weary body and tired legs.
At the stone topograph on the upper edge of the escarpment, you can take in the wide and extensive views that make the climb all the more worthwhile. The copper graph on top will point you towards Cleeve Hill, the Black Mountains, the Malvern Hills and Bredon Hill to the left.
Evesham is identified in front of you and can look around towards the right across The Vale to find the Clee Hills, the Wrekin in Shropshire (on a very good clear day), Stratford upon Avon (and maybe even Warwick) and as look along the edge, the iron age Meon Hill and its multivariate earthworks/fortifications will stand out alongside Ilmington Hill.
Dover’s Hill’s escarpment forms a natural amphitheatre and the Olimpick Games originally organised by Robert Dover have been held there almost on an annual basis since 1612. In those days it was not unusual for the rich and famous to travel more than 50 miles to attend and occasionally take part.
The games today are a unique continuation of early rural sporting events, combining informal, amateur sporting events for competitors, with general entertainment and activities for visitors including a torch-lit procession at night down to Chipping Campden’s Square and dancing. The link to the past is in Dover’s Hill as the site of “shin-kicking” as a sport.
The four-hundredth anniversary of the games in 2012 coincided with the Queens Diamond Jubilee and the now somewhat larger Olympics held in London – a very memorable time indeed!
Now that you have spent a while taking in the wonderful views, it is time to make your return to Chipping Campden and there are 3 options:
a. With your back to the top of the escarpment and the stone topography, the shortest route is to head towards a Way Marker by a stile in the hedge opposite, over the stile and into the field, and then follow the path to a stile in the roadside hedge.
Because of the speed of the traffic on this road, please take extra care before alighting on the verge and then crossing the road.
Once across, to your right, you can see the late furniture designer Sir Gordon Russell’s house and grounds.
Turning to the left and heading towards the oncoming traffic, please concentrate on careful walking and looking through the gaps in the hedge line. After 50 yards, turn right through an opening into a field.
Once inside the field, you can stop and look to your right and up the valley towards Campden Wood and House. Beyond the field and to the right you will see Conduit Hill stretching up towards Westington Quarry, directly in front of you is The Craves Field (believed to be the oldest cultivated field in Chipping Campden) with its footpath leading to Westington, there will also be delightful views of Campden nestling in its valley to your left.
Follow the well-marked path down and across the field, and pass through a series of 4 kissing gates before arriving on an asphalt road. This goes around to the left and at its junction, with Hoo Lane, you turn right, at the bottom of the lane take the straightish turn to the right and then bear left at St Catherine’s Church and make your way back up the High Street to the Market Hall.
b. Retrace your steps back along the edge of the escarpment to the Bold Gap and then follow the path back towards Hoo Lane – because of the speed of the traffic on the road, please take extra care before going from the verge and crossing the road.
Retrace your steps down Hoo Lane to Chipping Campden.
c. For those that want to walk the extra mile or two, go to the Bold Gap and then continue on along the edge of the escarpment and follow the track on through a gateway and down towards the top of Aston Hill (with uniquely stunning views of the valley and village along the way).
At the road, (where the ghost of a headless horseman has allegedly been seen crossing the road), turn to your right and make your way into Chipping Campden via Aston Road.
Circular Chipping Campden Walk Using the Monarchs Way and the Heart of England Way
2.5 to 3.0 miles
This Chipping Campden short walk is an ideal scenic pre or a post-lunch short walk from the centre of Chipping Campden with The Bakers Arms as a very convenient stop-off point for a bite and/or a pint. At the halfway point of the walk, there is a selection of three routes back, each of which offers a different perspective view of Chipping Campden and St James Church and the remains of Old Campden House in particular (anyone who suddenly finds their walking feet at the halfway stage could, of course, continue on the Monarchs Way to Stow of the Wold!).
This Chipping Campden walk starts from the sign on Chipping Campden’s Town Hall marking the start of The Heart of England Way, crosses the High Street and then continues straight on through the archway of the historic Noel Arms Hotel (where King Charles II allegedly stayed during his escape after defeating by Cromwell at Worcester) and through its car park straight on towards George Lane which goes over the brow of the hill (on the way you go past what was back in the 1950’s England’s second oldest bowls green on one side and the site of Chipping Campden’s former cattle market on the other).
Once over the brow, you will find the beautifully kept Recreation Ground on your right which is set out really nicely. One area is for older children and the other area is for younger children. The field is perfect for picnics.
At the end of the lane where it joins the highway, there is a gateway on your left. Go through this and then go immediately right alongside the inside of the hedge. At the end where the road on the other side of the hedge bears to the right, follow the footpath straight up the hill. Over the brow, you can look back over your left shoulder towards St James Church, take the right fork towards Broad Campden, through the gate to a path that crosses a private drive to a second gate which leads you past the historic Quaker Meeting Room. Go on down the lane and at the bottom of the mound you will find the small St Michael’s Church.
Bear right onto the highway and take great care with oncoming traffic as continuing around the sweeping right-hand bend to reach the Bakers Arms Inn, used as the local pub in the Father Brown series where if required you can gain refreshment.
Cross the road by the pub and you will find a sign to The Monarchs Way, a twin-track that heads on up the hill (do not follow the path to the left which is The Heart of England Way). Follow the track directly through a gate marked Northwick Park Estate until you reach a footpath sign to the left. If you keep an eye on the sky, you may spot Red Kites soaring and Skylarks singing.
This is where your return route can diverge:
a. Keeping the hedge on your right, take this path to the left with spectacular views abounding down to a gate where you turn left onto The Heart of England Way just below Campden Hill Farm nestling at the head of a valley.
Follow the path at the top of the slope alongside the fence line where you go through a kissing gate and pass an enclosure surrounded by railings. Go diagonally half right down the slope into trees.
After the trees, you veer left and directly across the field to a stile in the hedge line and over another stile into the next field. Veering slightly to the right you come to the brow of a small rise, then aim for the left corner of a fence you can see ahead of you.
Follow the fence down and along a wall at the end of which you turn right and pass through a field gate and turn right onto the main road with the Bakers Arms (refreshments) to your left.
You can now retrace your steps towards Chipping Campden, but not without noticing the entrance to the old Norman Chapel and if you are lucky, a glimpse of the building itself.
On the top of the bend mound, you will see a young tree which a few years ago replaced the oak that had stood there for hundreds of years.
b. This sub route takes you to The Five Mile Drive and ultimately to the stunning views from the top of Broad Campden Hill.
Please note that because of large loaded artics/tankers going to the Bio-digesters at Stanleys Quarry, great care is needed until you reach The Five Mile Drive.
Continue up the Monarchs Way to the gateway near Conduit Hill, go through the gateway and turn left. Without taking too much time to watch the soaring Red Kites, carefully make your way along this partly metalled track along and into a dip at the bottom of which you bear left towards Campden Hill Farm.
Go past its old buildings and climb the right-hand bend out of the tree-lined lane and continue straight until you reach the Quarry Entrance/Five Mile Drive. At this point, turn to your left and follow the tree line drive until its end at the Broad Campden/Blockley Road beyond Hangman’s Hall.
Turn left onto the road and walk to the gateway on the left at the top of the hill. It is worth taking a little excursion into the field to see the fantastic views of Chipping Campden and St James Church.
Back to the road and turn left and on the other side, you will find a well-placed seat where you can rest and take in the amazing views.
Walk on down the hill and turn right at the junction and taking care when crossing the road, bear to your left down the lane. At the end of the wall on your right, pick up the Diamond Way, ignore the left fork and continue for about a third of a mile where you go left and head towards the Old Campden House ruins, manorial gardens and banqueting houses and as you head up Pool Meadow you may be lucky enough to see the Peregrine Falcon from the church tower stooping onto a kill.
Turn right onto the lane and it is a short stride up the lane before turning right onto Calf Lane. Take care to keep on the narrow path on the right, go past the Court House and the junction you will be rewarded with a stunning view of The Almshouses, St James Church and the old Cart Wash.
Then you can just walk a few yards down Church Street for a quenching pint at the historic Eight Bells which was built in the early 1600s to serve those building St Baptist Hicks’ Campden House.
c. Continue up the Monarchs Way to the gateway near Conduit Hill, go through and then turn right onto Conduit Hill. Taking care of the oncoming traffic, this is the shorted and gentlest way back to Chipping Campden, but it is not without the most wondrous views into and around the settlement.
From the first bend, you have a panoramic view out toward Brailes and its historic, though sadly denuded Clump of trees. From there, the ancients could see Bredon Hill where they carried their dead along the straight ley-line that passed through Chipping Campden and the Kiftsgate Stone.
On a dark, clear night, and through a little gap in the hills, Michael’s late father witnessed the massive fires caused by Hitler’s bombing of Coventry.
Slightly to the left again and the white houses of Ebrington clearly stand out against the background of Ilmington/Ebrington Hill.
Moving on down the hill and Chipping Campden really comes into view nestling in the valley in all of its full glory. Where ever you look, there is something extremely special to grab your attention.
Stop in the gateway just above the brow of the hill and the crescent roofed water-house built and piped to serve Sir Baptiste Hicks’ Campden House and the Almshouses with fresh clean water in the 1600s and you find some of the best views of Chipping Campden.
When going through the gateway and walking about 20 – 30 yards along the field track and the edge of the ridge that previously hid the best views is taken out of the equation to give unsurpassed detailed views of the town.
From here you also get an excellent background view of Meon Hill and its iron-age hill multivariate hill fort. In 1945 it was also the site of what appears to have been ritual murder by a hay fork where the Police have never been able to identify and prosecute the killer.
Beyond it you also get a glimpse of Shakespeare’s Stratford upon Avon, the patch of bright light at night is the Long Lartin High-Security Prison.
Just below the water-house, you can see the remnants of a water trough, one of three that quenched the thirst of tired horses climbing the hill.
Gently going down the hill to Westington and you are confronted with wonderful views of thatch cottages and stone tiled houses with gorgeous gardens to entertain you before you end up at the much-photographed Pike Cottage and its manicured box hedges that once controlled the junction of the two toll roads into Chipping Campden.
Circular Chipping Campden Walk to Broadway Tower and Broadway using Cotswold Way
9 to 10 miles
This Chipping Campden walk to Broadway is another favourite of the Chipping Campden walks collection. Once more you will start from the centre of Chipping Campden from the Cotswold Way marker stone (unveiled on 8th November 2014) by the steps to the historic Market Hall (a suitable icon to Sir Baptiste Hicks who built it in 1627). At roughly the halfway point of the walk, there are a number of opportunities to extend your walk and find a different route back with views of the market town that you will not get from a car. This is also another one of the popular Chipping Campden dog walks too as it’s long enough to tire the dog out and offers beautiful scenery.
Be it the first or the last yards of the Cotswold Way, the moment you set off you are totally encased in Chipping Campden’s history in stone and the stunning architecture that accompanies it as you walk along the top side of the High Street towards the point where the sun sets.
You immediately pass Chipping Campden’s War Memorial dedicated to the 62 men killed in the First World War and the adjacent one on the wall for the 16 who died in the subsequent war. You then pass the Town Hall dating from the 14th Century with its very interesting closed windows and doors showing on the roadside wall which give an idea of the completely different look from earlier times.
On the other side of market town’s Square, you have the interesting gable end of the former HSBC Bank on your left and then you come to The Baptist Church on your right which still has a working Roman drain running under it.
Then follow the curved pathway around the corner past St Catherine’s Catholic Church which thanks to funding from the Noel Family was opened in 1891 with much of its stained glass being designed by Paul Woodruff.
Following the Cotswold Way signs, you head up Hoo Lane to turn left onto Kingcombe Lane for a hundred yards. Then, taking care of the traffic, cross the road and head through a kissing gate and follow the hedge on your right to the gate which you go through on your left to arrive at some trees known as the Bold Gap.
You are now on The National Trust’s Dovers Hill which has many spectacular views to offer. Bear left and wind your way along the edge until you reach the Topograph towards the western edge of the escarpment.
At the stone topograph on the upper edge of the escarpment, you can take in the wide and extensive views that make the walk all the more worthwhile. The copper graph on top will point you towards Cleeve Hill, the Black Mountains, the Malvern Hills and Bredon Hill to the left.
Evesham is identified in front of you and can look around towards the right across The Vale to find the Clee Hills, the Wrekin in Shropshire (on a very good clear day), Stratford upon Avon (and maybe even Warwick) and as look along the edge, the iron age Meon Hill and its multivariate earthworks/fortifications will stand out alongside Ilmington Hill.
Dover’s Hill’s escarpment forms a natural amphitheatre and the Olimpick Games originally organised by Robert Dover have been held there almost on an annual basis since 1612. In those days it was not unusual for the rich and famous to travel more than 50 miles to attend and occasionally take part.
The games today are a unique continuation of early rural sporting events, combining informal, amateur sporting events for competitors, with general entertainment and activities for visitors including a torch-lit procession at night down to Chipping Campden’s Square and dancing. The link to the past is in Dover’s Hill as the site of “shin-kicking” as a sport.
The four-hundredth anniversary of the games in 2012 coincided with the Queens Diamond Jubilee and now somewhat larger Olympics held in London – a very memorable time indeed!
Now that you have spent a while taking in the wonderful views, it is time to make your way to Broadway Tower. With your back to the top of the escarpment and the stone topography, go through the kissing gate to the car park, follow its exit to the road and turn left.
When you come to the junction with Kingcombe Lane and because of the speed of the traffic on this road, please take extra care before crossing the road. Once across, pick up the Cotswold Way marker to the right of the junction and follow the path on the edge of the field to your right.
With Campden Wood on the lower side of the field (if lucky you may spot a small herd of Fallow Deer) follow the path up to The Narrows and its small wood, but along the way, it is worth remembering to look behind you over your left shoulder to see the wonderful view of the length of Chipping Campden nestling in the valley with St James Church providing a focal point.
For those with a historical interest, is may be worth carefully crossing the road on your right to a gateway where you will find the Kiftsgate Stone a few yards down on the left. There is an unsolved question of who placed the Kiftsgate Stone in position and why – some have suggested it is prehistoric. It stands on the “moot” site where local tribes met to discuss matters and are on the old path or lay-line from Brailes Clump to Bredon Hill.
You will see Broadway Tower in the distance as you follow the path and The Mile Drive across the fields in a straight line and eventually you will find a couple of stone gaps in the wall to allow you to cross the old Roman road called Buckle Street.
Follow the path to the next gate, turn left and then head for the picnic area. Once there you can pick up the path sign posted on Cotswold Way again in the far corner. This brings you to the very busy A44 main road, where you need to be extremely careful when crossing it!!!!!
Safely across the road you then pick up the now unused road on your right that took traffic to the old quarry you can see on your left. Continue of past the old Fish Inn (that was reputedly the oldest inn in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire back in the 1960s) before winding through a small wood. Pass through a stile to emerge into a field and head towards Broadway Tower which is well worth visiting.
The location of this iconic landmark on top of the beautiful Cotswolds escarpment was wisely chosen with a dramatic outlook on a pre-medieval trading route and on the highest point of Beacon Hill. It was the brainchild of the great 18thcentury landscape designer, “Capability Brown”. His vision was carried out for George William 6th Earl of Coventry with the help of renowned architect James Wyatt and completed in 1798.
He designed his “Saxon Tower” as an eccentric amalgamation of architectural components ranging from turrets, battlements and gargoyles to balconies. It was beloved by William Morris who started his campaign for the preservation of historic monuments whilst staying at the Tower.
It sits in a 200-acre estate and there is so much to see and do here, that you might not make it to Broadway:
There is a resident population of Red Deer established by Hans-Eugen Will in the early 1908s.
On this beautiful spot with so many stunning views wherever you look, you will also fittingly find the War Memorial of the crew of a Whitley bomber on a training mission from Honeybourne airfield that crashed next to the Tower on the 2nd June 1943.
In contrast here is also a “Cold War Nuclear Bunker” that was once part of a wider network of similar structures all over the United Kingdom, all built to study and record the effects of nuclear explosions and the resulting radioactive fallout.
For those in need of sustenance or rest, the Morris and Brown cafe is an ideal place to meet and relax with stunning views all around, especially with one of their hazelnut hot chocolates in front of the log fire or a chilled glass of white wine on the terrace.
A lovely walk takes you to Tower Barn which is a stylish visitor centre with a focus on living life to the full. It offers an elegantly laid out, bright, espresso bar-restaurant with an ever-changing menu and sensational views where you are invited to go and unwind in such a beautiful location.
Having enjoyed yourself and eaten so well, you may want to gently retrace your steps to Chipping Campden and forgo seeing Broadway until another occasion; on the other hand, you make be fortified and eager to get on to Broadway where you might be able to get a bus back to Chipping Campden.
Retrace a few steps to the Tower and go left and downhill towards the village through a series of kissing gates, pass over a small stream and go by a few houses to reach Broadway at the path’s junction with the old main road which used to head up to Fish Hill. You need to go left for Broadway itself or right to find the path for Chipping Campden.
Head uphill past a few Cotswold stone houses and will come to an obvious turning point in the road. DO NOT continue to head up the hill, but turn left along the waymarked path that leads to an underpass.
Go under the main road (A44) and on the other side, do straight on (do not go to the right). Take the path up the hill, cross a footbridge and go through another stile/footbridge to Foxhill Manor.
Please follow the signs carefully because the footpath goes through the estate and after The Fish (restaurant) and meets Campden Lane with Willersey (village pond and church) about half a mile to your left.
Go uphill to your right for a few yards and then carefully cross the lane (rather a blind corner to your right), bear left across fields through some kissing gates to Saintbury Church (closed, but worth a look whenever you can).
Carry on to the junction where you go right for about 20 yards and then turn left and cross the road at the waymarker post beside a barn. Follow the path until you reach a stile on your left, over this and follow the narrow path until you find another stile on your right, over this and continue on the path, cross another stile and then turn left. Follow the hedge line and go through a couple of gates which are usually open and onto a stile with a field gate, cross a small stream and you will emerge on a possibly rather muddy track that is Buckle Street.
From here you can take a shorter route under Weston Wood to reach Dover’s Hill by crossing the track to a stile into the opposite field. Take the hedge line on the right down to a kissing gate and footbridge and then you start to climb around the edge of Weston Park.
Straight up the hill, you pass a footpath sign on the crossing track, continue to the top right-hand corner of the field and its metal kissing gate. Following the fence line, you will find two gates in quick succession at the end of the next field. Near the top left-hand corner of the hill there is a kissing gate which you pass through and turn left before passing through another kissing gate in a fence line and then down to the road.
Cross this road and you will find a kissing gate into Dover’s Hill. Go right and follow the path to the topograph at the top of the hill and then along the edge of the escarpment to the Bold Gap and head down into Chipping Campden.
For the longer route, you turn left down Buckle Street for about 100 yards and then turn right across a stile into a field. Straight across this field and at the gate in the hedge, you turn left to reach two stiles in quick succession that lead to Weston Sub Edge’s church.
At the second stile, you turn right and head diagonally towards the church. After the church, you cross the road by the passage to the play area, continue across to the gate and then follow a narrow path until you reach a small copse with a stile in it.
At the end of the copse you turn left and then following the tree-line to the end of it, you turn right and head up into Lynches Wood and across a stile. The wood is also believed to be a site of Roman activity, there is evidence of the terraces of a vineyard and you may lucky enough to see artichokes which they introduced to Britain growing in the wild. It also has a great display of bluebells in May.
After going through the wood, you head up to the top of Dover’s Hill and then back down Hoo Lane to Chipping Campden for some local refreshment.
Summary
Whilst not an exhaustive list of local walks to Chipping Campden, we hope that we have provided enough information for you to enjoy yourself out and about in the Chipping Campden countryside during your stay. If you know of any other walks that you have enjoyed close to Cotswold Charm, let us know and we will add them to our list for others to enjoy. In this article we have covered:
- Local walks to the town
- Walks around Chipping Campden
- Chipping Campen dog walks
- Walks near Chipping Campden
- A Chipping Campden short walk to enjoy
To supplement this Chipping Campden walks article, why not read through the wonderful Chipping Campden events that happen each year and book your stay with us when there is something special going on such as Dover’s Games or Scuttlebrook? There are also lots of places to eat in Chipping Campden too with something for all the family, all year.
