Classic Cotswold Walk

Location: The Cotswolds, Great Britain. Holiday type: Independent walking, hotel-to-hotel. Activity level: Choose 1 or 2 boots Duration: 6 days (5 nights) Hotels: A mix of luxury/stylish, mid range/good value. Meals: Breakfasts. Prices from: Please call. Departs: Daily from 6 May '12 to 28 Oct '12   JFMAMJJASOND

Highlights This 5-night circular walk takes in the very best of the British Cotswolds: its 'chocolate box' villages, pretty flower-festooned houses, quaint tea shops and welcoming pubs oozing with quintessential charm and character. En route, you'll pass Iron Age forts, Saxon castles, stone follies and ancient churches.

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1 - Arrive in Bourton-on-the-Water

Regularly voted the prettiest village in England, Bourton-on-the-Water is one of the showpieces of the region and its hidden streets are crammed with tiny shops, Tudor houses and gourmet restaurants for dinner.

Day 2 - Bourton to Winchcombe (9mi/5hr or 13mi/6hr)

Walk alongside the Windrush, lined with bright daffodils, to the beautifully timeless villages of Naunton and Guiting Power. Then on through shady woodland before descending to the ancient Saxon capital of Winchcombe and nearby Sudeley Castle, last resting place of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth wife.

Day 3 - Winchcombe to Broadway (6mi/3.5hr or 10mi/5hr)

An ancient pilgrim's route leads from Winchcombe to the eerie ruined arches of Hailes Abbey. It's a gentle climb up to the Iron Age Fortress at Beckbury Camp for superb valley views. After passing Stanway House's magnificent gatehouse and tithe barn, enjoy a pub lunch in Stanton (used for TV period dramas it is so perfect!), then amble through open meadows to charming Broadway, Jewel in the Cotswold Crown.

Day 4 - Broadway to Moreton-in-Marsh (8mi/4hr or 12mi/6hr)

Today's walk takes you beneath the Worcestershire Hills, stopping off first at Broadway's Tower, the C18 folly inspired by Capability Brown, where you're rewarded with stunning unspoilt views. It's then a gentle descent to Chipping Campden's covered market, almshouses and silversmith. Stop for lunch in pretty Blockley, then descend to Batsford - the arboretum here is filled with spectacular Coral Bark Maple trees and russet berried Mountain Ash. Your final stretch is an easy stroll to the thriving market town of Moreton, located at the head of the beautiful Evenlode Valley.

Day 5 - Moreton to Bourton-on-the-Water (8mi/4hr or 12mi/6hr)

Follow the Roman Fosse Way before branching off through wheat fields and copses of hawksbeard and buttercups, and descend to the antique shops of Stow-on-the-Wold for lunch overlooking the stocks on the village green. Listen for woodpeckers in oak woods on the way to Lower Slaughter, from where a gentle stroll brings you back to the tourist honeypot of Bourton on the Water.

Day 6 - Leave Bourton-on-the-Water