Tired of the busy city life and needing to breathe some fresh air? I hear you!

So last weekend Paul and I went to the Cotswolds for some well deserved R&R. It was such a beautiful and fun trip.

We found a last minute deal on Bookings.com and stayed at a dog-friendly hotel near Gloucester with Dinner and Breakfast included (Hatton Court Hotel) – £104 in total.

We checked in at the hotel at 1 pm and then left straight after for our first walk.

Since we haven’t put lots of thoughts and research into it, we went for an easy walk we found whilst driving.

River Severn & Apperley from Tewkesbury – See the walk here

“The River Severn provides a focus for this walk which starts from the attractive town of Tewkesbury with its wonderful Abbey. The outward route follows the Severn Way following the river to reach Apperley. Here the walk turns inland and continues across fields to Deerhurst and back to the start. The walk also offers good views to the Malvern Hills which line the western skyline”.

  • Type: Circular Walk
  • Distance: 12.2km / 7.5 miles
  • Duration: 4 – 6 hours
  • Grade: Easy/Moderate

I have to say, the path wasn’t very clear and the instructions on the website were very generic (www.walkingbritain.co.uk).

 

The walk itself was pretty and, with the risk of getting lost a couple of times, it turned into a real adventure. Coco absolutely loved running in the tall grass and playing with sticks.

We completed the 12.2km walk in about 4 hours. My apple watch showed that I burned 583 Active Calories. That included running after Coco when she was trying to jump in the river.

In the evening I soaked my tired legs muscles into a hot bath and had a lovely dinner at the hotel restaurant: steak fillet, side of greens and sweet potato wedges. With a side of a bottle of Malbec (drinks weren’t part of the B&B deal). Vegetarian options were available on the menu.

The day after we were up early eager to discover more pretty locations (Coco especially).

For the second day, we found a more detailed site (www.nationaltrail.co.uk) with much better explanations and a map attached.

 

Stanton, Snowshill and the Edge – See the walk here

“This beauty of a walk leads you between two of the most picturesque villages in the Cotswolds, over hilltops, down valleys and through shaded woodlands. Whilst slightly more challenging than the previous one, your efforts will be rewarded by warm pubs and some of the most splendid views in the country”.

  • Type: Circular Walk
  • Distance: 9.6 km / 6 miles
  • Duration: 3½ -4½ hrs
  • Difficulty: Moderate, some steep sections and styles. Muddy sections after wet weather.

The weather was in our favour as a lovely sunshine accompanied us for the whole length of the walk.

This was by far my favourite of the two and if you ever venture in the Cotswolds I really really recommend you to give it a go.

The path was very well indicated, we didn’t have to worry about getting lost and could enjoy some spectacular views of the countryside.

Coco on the leash most time, but she still enjoyed to be open-air and randomly getting scared and some animals here and there. Large parts of the walk were on fields with sheep, lambs and horses, so dog owners are asked to keep their hounds on the lead.

We completed this walk in about 3 hours and I burned around 528 active calories. I didn’t run after Coco to do that I promise! There were few steep hills which spiked our heart rate.

At the end of the walk, we were hoping to get lunch at Stanton pub the Mount Inn, which was highly recommended by the reviews.

Unfortunately, the kitchen closed at 2.30pm and we didn’t make it on time so we head to a nearby village, Broadway and we ended up at The Lygon Armes. They served great food and dogs were allowed in.

We ended the day driving up to the Broadway Tower, a small castle on top of a hill with a picturesque view of the Severn Vale into Wales. There is also a walk that you can do from (or leading up to) the tower following the same website (see the walk here).

We were way too tired to go for another walk by that point, so very much satisfied by the weekend, we made our way back to London.

If you like me love the great outdoors I highly recommend to head to the Cotswolds!

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