Follies of the Cotswolds: A Weekend Walking Itinerary

Every weekend, thousands of walkers cross the Cotswolds without looking up. That tower on the skyline, the sham castle at the end of an avenue, the ornamental dovecote, the pavilion built to be admired from one particular bench and never lived in — the limestone belt is full of follies. This itinerary links some of the best of them: one day on the northern escarpment above Broadway, one day in the valleys behind Painswick, with roughly twelve miles of walking in total and plenty of chances to cut things short.

The shape of the weekend

Two bases make sense: Broadway or Chipping Campden for the Saturday, then Stroud or Painswick for the Sunday. Alternatively pick a single base between the two — Cheltenham works well — and drive to each start. Both days are designed as loops, so you can leave the car where it is and walk.

• Saturday morning: Broadway village to Broadway Tower, about 1.5 miles uphill
• Saturday afternoon: the ridge path towards Snowshill, returning through fields and lanes
• Sunday morning: Painswick Rococo Garden and its follies
• Sunday afternoon: Painswick Beacon and a Cotswold Way loop

Nothing here needs more than a decent pair of boots. The climbing is gentle apart from the push up to the Tower, and every stage has a village at the end of it with somewhere to sit down.

Saturday morning: Broadway to Broadway Tower

Start on Broadway's High Street and pick up the Cotswold Way, which runs through the village. The waymarks take you up past the churchyard, out across fields and onto the hill. It's a steady climb on good ground, and the tower shows above you long before you reach it.

Broadway Tower was designed by James Wyatt for the 6th Earl of Coventry and finished in 1799. It stands around 20 metres high on the ridge, on the site of an older beacon; the story goes that the earl wanted to know whether a fire lit here would be visible from his seat at Croome Court. It is a folly in the proper sense — built for effect, then put to a dozen different uses, from a printing works to a retreat for William Morris and his circle. There's a charge to climb it, and the view from the top takes in the Malverns, the Severn and, on a clear day, the Welsh hills.

Saturday afternoon: along the edge to Snowshill

Rather than retracing your steps, drop off the ridge on the Snowshill side. A bridleway and field paths lead north-east, downhill and easy, into the village — about two miles. Snowshill is small, with a pub and the National Trust's Snowshill Manor, where Charles Paget Wade filled room after room with craftsmanship. Check opening days before you build the afternoon around it.

To get back to Broadway, either follow the escarpment path south along the top — the best views of the day, with the Vale of Evesham laid out below — or take the lane and field paths straight down into the village. Allow three to four hours with a stop.

Sunday morning: the follies of Painswick Rococo Garden

Painswick Rococo Garden is the reason this day exists. Laid out in the 1740s for Benjamin Hyett, it was a place for parties and picnics, filled with structures meant to be looked at rather than used: the Red House, the Eagle House, the curved Exedra, the Alcove, the Pigeon House. The garden vanished under scrub for two centuries and has been brought back since the 1980s.

Walk up into the valley and the design starts to make sense. Each folly is placed to be glimpsed from another, framed by trees, with the hills beyond. It isn't a large garden — ninety minutes will do it justice — but it rewards slow looking. Check opening dates before travelling; the garden isn't open all year, and its late-winter snowdrop weeks get busy.

Sunday afternoon: up to Painswick Beacon

From the garden it's a short walk into Painswick itself, worth a circuit for the churchyard yews and the curious tombs, and then the Cotswold Way climbs north-east to Painswick Beacon. The beacon sits on Kimsbury Camp, an Iron Age hill fort on the ridge, and the view is the widest of the weekend: the Severn estuary, May Hill, the Forest of Dean and the Welsh hills beyond. There's a trig point and plenty of room to sit.

Come back a different way for variety — drop towards Sheepscombe and loop round into the village for tea. If the weather is closing in, the valley paths below the Beacon are gentler and much quieter.

If you have longer, or the weather turns

Three swaps and extensions worth knowing:

• Cirencester Park. Alfred's Hall, a Gothic sham castle of 1721, sits among the rides and avenues of the Bathurst estate. The park is private land with public pedestrian access on defined routes; check the estate's current arrangements before setting off.
• Woodchester Mansion. An unfinished Gothic Revival house in a wooded valley, with National Trust parkland and a lake below. Low-level, sheltered walking, and a good choice when the ridge is in cloud. The mansion itself opens on limited days.
• Sezincote and Sudeley. Sezincote's Indian-style house and garden near Moreton-in-Marsh, plus the ruins at Sudeley and Hailes, are comfortable half-days if the forecast ruins your plans.

With a third day, the obvious addition is Chipping Campden to Broadway along the Cotswold Way: high, open and straightforward, with the Tower waiting at the end.

Practical notes

Carry a proper map rather than relying on a phone. OS Explorer OL45 covers the Broadway and Stow area; OL179 covers Painswick, Stroud and the escarpment. Signal is patchy in the Painswick valleys.

• Expect mud from October to April. The clay in the valleys holds water for days after rain.
• Shut every gate, and put dogs on a lead around sheep and cattle — the ridge is grazed year-round.
• Parking is charged at Broadway Tower and at the Rococo Garden, and village car parks fill early on sunny weekends.
• Sunday buses in this part of Gloucestershire are thin. Check timetables before you plan around one, and have a fallback.
• Daylight is short from November to February. Start early and pack a torch.

If you're building back up to hill walking after illness or injury, it's sensible to speak to a health professional before committing to a two-day route. Otherwise: boots, waterproof, water and a willingness to stop for cake. The follies will still be there next weekend.

Photo: Couleur / Pixabay