Colorful Walk Through the English Heartland

“High wild hills and rough uneven ways” is how Shakespeare in “Richard II” characterized the Cotswolds.

Some of the rough ways have been smoothed out since Shakespeare’s day. In fact, Britain’s Cotswold Way is often described as a model long-distance path, with a range of natural and historic attractions.

Foot paths, bridle trails, paved and unpaved country lanes comprise the Way.

Not for nothing is the Cotswold region called “the heart of England.” It’s a series of almost unimaginably green wolds (rolling meadows) topped by the occasional stone escarpment.

Pastures and fields are divided by long stone walls erected during the 18th and 19th centuries. Only the bleating of sheep breaks the silence of the countryside.

This is the England of stone cottages with thatched roofs, drowsy villages and friendly pubs.

The names on the land are as colorful as the Cotswolds themselves: Fish Hill and Folly Farm, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, Lower Swell and Upper Slaughter, Great Witcombe and Little Washbourne.

I walked half the Cotswold Way with The Wayfarers, an English outfit that leads mostly North Americans on weeklong walks through the countryside.

Here’s the deal: You and nine other walkers assemble at 9 every morning and your leader marches you over hill and dale, pointing out the medieval buildings and natural attractions en route.

Walkers stop for a picnic or at a pub for lunch, walk during the afternoon past field and stream, with more stops at gardens, castles, bucolic villages and, of course, for tea, arriving in the late afternoon at your evening’s accommodation--usually a historic inn or a friendly B&B.;

There you find your luggage transported and waiting for you. After a hot bath, you’re ready for dinner.

In other words, you walk a moderate 8-10 miles a day and Wayfarers does the rest.

One of the most popular Wayfarer walks--and with good reason--is along Cotswold Way.

As walk leader Chris Fulford said of the Cotswolds: “It’s wonderfully unspoilt countryside.”

Two five-letter words to remember the Cotswolds by are sheep and stone .

Between the late 14th and early 16th centuries, great prosperity came to the region; sheep grazers, wool merchants, weavers and clothiers grew rich.

They put some of their pounds into churches--what historians call the “Wool Churches.” Many of these, built in a last gasp of English Gothic style, are still used today and are open to visitors.

One of the finest is the splendidly towered Campden church in the historic market town of Chipping Campden.

Other creations in stone include the ruins of Hailes Abbey, founded by Richard, Earl of Cromwell, in 1246, and the restored 15th-Century Sudeley Castle.

Cotswold Way walkers can easily visit all of these tributes to the stonemason’s art.

Though touring the Cotswolds by car has been popular in Britain since the 1920s, you can’t get the same intimate look at the countryside from behind a windshield.

Afoot and afield, the land is more inviting, the locals more than willing to chat awhile.

We talked with a ruddy-faced pig farmer who told us how much smarter pigs were than other barnyard animals--and some humans she knew--and with a castle owner who had fallen on hard times. “It’s so hard to keep up a place like that,” he told us.

With a good map and guidebook, it’s possible to hike Cotswold Way unescorted, particularly for a day-hike.

Most hikers agree that the half of the path from Bath (the second most-visited place in England after London) to Cheltenham is pleasant enough, but doesn’t have the beauty or historical interest of the stretch from Cheltenham to Chipping Campden.

The prevailing wind is from the southwest, so most walkers prefer to travel the Way in the opposite direction, northeast.

Some English walkers say the Way is the best-marked footpath in Britain. I rather doubt it.

Americans used to crossing distinct trails over great tracts of public land will be surprised by Britain’s footpaths, which frequently cross private land. Often there is no particular path, but simply a route across sheep or cow pastures. Sometimes the hiker depends on signs and sometimes on intuition to stay on the trail.

Spring, summer and early autumn are fine times for walking. At all times, however, and in all seasons, be prepared for rain.

Carry a waterproof jacket with a hood, plus sturdy, broken-in walking shoes and double socks with polypropylene liner.

Unlike the roller-coaster coastal trails of Cornwall or the steep paths of the Scottish highlands, the Way offers mellow walking--an excursion into the countryside rather than a trek through “high wild hills.”