10 9 7 8 6 2 3 1 5 4 Perhaps the purest expression of what to the legacy of England’s greatest son, we understand by ‘The Cotswolds’ is William Shakespeare. found in the north. Here, the hills make a Out in the country, there is a gentle last glorious stand before sliding down pace to life, disrupted only by the tourist to the lush flatlands of the Vale of trail snaking from honeypot to Evesham (famed for its fruit and honeypot. In between, in the places vegetables). Here, the stone is a little never considered, the area is often at its darker, more honey in hue than in the best – in the beech woods above south, a last vibrant sparkle before the Mickleton, on the maze of shaded lanes dull bricked tones of the Midlands. Here, between Stanton and Snowshill, and too, is the most beautiful town upon the top of Windmill Hill. (Chipping Campden), some of the most For all its obvious beauty, this is a beautiful villages (Stanton and soothing rather than uplifting landscape Snowshill, for starters), the finest garden with a firm and enduring historical (Hidcote), some of the best views (from legacy and a gently-spoken sense of Dover’s Hill and Broadway Tower), two ‘Englishness’. And out of season, at the of the finest houses (Sezincote and margins of the day when the crowds Compton Wynyates) and, at the furthest dissipate, even the busiest and most- reach, Stratford-upon-Avon, a town alive photographed street finds a serenity. 74 Edgehill view The North 1 Over to Snowshill 76 6 On Dover’s Hill 86 Take the scenic route to Snowshill, Some 400 years before the London a golden hillside village with a Olympics, high above Chipping manor house that has to be seen Campden were the ‘Cotswolds to be believed Olimpicks’ 2 Broadway’s neighbours 78 7 Hidcote and Kiftsgate Gardens 88 If bustling Broadway becomes too From pasture to parkland, a varied much, seek out the sleepy villages ascent leading to one of the country’s of Laverton and Buckland most celebrated gardens, Hidcote Manor 3 Up to Broadway Tower 80 8 The view from Windmill Hill 90 Cotswold icon, inspiration to A short and simple excursion from William Morris and the objective on Compton Wynyates, England’s the best walk from Broadway finest Tudor country house, to a tiny hilltop windmill 4 Sezincote 82 A short hop from Bourton-on-the 9 Edgehill battle cry 92 -Hill: an architectural fantasy, part Echoes of the Civil War resonate Cotswolds, part Rajasthan along the northern edge of the Cotswolds scarp 5 From Blockley to Batsford 84 Cross a low, rolling ridge bound for 10 In search of Shakespeare 94 an immaculate estate village built Here was the Bard: pursue by the grandfather of the famed Shakespeare through the streets of Mitford Sisters Stratford-upon-Avon 75 X1 THE NORTH Over to Snowshill Distance 10km Time 3 hours 15 the village. After 400m, turn down to the Terrain open pastures, lanes, woodland right, over a stream and into a copse. and minor roads – boots recommended Emerging into the open, climb to the right, Map OS Explorer OL45 Access bus (606) guided by Cotswold Way markers, into a from Cheltenham and Broadway calls at cleft in the hillside (to the right of the Stanton turning, off the B4632 main woods) and up to Shenberrow Buildings. Pass left of the farmhouse, Explore the windblown top and shaded through a gate and onto a track. lanes of the ridge rising east of Stanton, Follow the track north to a junction with en route to sleepy Snowshill, a golden another; jink left and then right onto a hillside village with an extraordinary track to continue north along the top of the manor house at its heart. ridge. After 500m, continue ahead along the Start from the Village Hall in Stanton. Cotswold Way path, ignoring the track to Follow the road south and bear left along Laverton Hill Barn. Bypass two further the High Street to a tiny triangular green, turnings, this time on the left – one on the branching right by the Stott lantern, a open top and one in descent by woods coaching light hanging from a pole. Round – and re-enter fields. Contour the bend and fork left onto a track out of right around the bottom of 76 OVER TO SNOWSHILL the field into a second, and then slant right crafts, historical curios and everyday over the crest to meet another lane, this objects of beauty in his rambling home – time tucked to the side of lush woodland. ‘Let nothing perish,’ he said. At the green Swing right through the gate and return keep right, pass the Snowshill Arms and south along the shaded lane. church, following the road out of the After 750m, bear off to the left through a village and up between wooded banks. metal kissing gate by a copse. Descend the Swing right along the no-through road, pasture to a wooded dell by the stream in pass the house to the right and fork right the valley bottom. Head straight up the far at the junction. Branch left into the field side to a gate by a National Trust sign after 75m and cut diagonally right towards (Snowshill Manor), and then rake right Littleworth Wood (National Trust), aiming over a hummocky pasture. Cross the to enter the woods midway up. Drift up entrance to the manor car park and turn through the woods along a path to meet a right up the road into Snowshill. (If you minor road. Bear right along this, soon wish to visit the manor – it is well worth it enough reaching the track junction crossed – turn down the car park driveway). earlier; continue straight over to weave Keep right at the junction to pass the down the hillside on a lovely and very clear side of the manor, the home of English path, reaching Stanton by the Mount Inn. eccentric Charles Paget Wade, who drew Head back down through sleepy streets to together an enormous collection of artisan the Village Hall. The Cotswold vernacular, Snowshill 77.