Cotswold Way: Broadway to Wood Stanway

Introduction

We set off to complete the second section of the Cotswold Way on a blustery warm day. The section of the trail from Broadway to Wood Stanway is much more laid back than the first section. In this post, we’ll explore the highlights of this section, including its distance, how to get there, notable landmarks, and essential trail information.

Before we dive in, you should make sure you have suitable gear to hit the trail. If I were to complete this as a through-hike with Finch (ie. the whole trail at once), I’d be sure to get the items on my Gear Wishlist. For the humans, make sure you have appropriate footwear, and perhaps hiking poles to aid with stability in the muddier sections.

If you have any information you’d like to see in our posts on the next sections of the trail, let me know in the comments below!

Section Overview

• Distance: 6.5 miles (10.5 Km)
• Time it Took: with quite a few photo & water breaks, this section took us 2 hours 45 minutes.
• Getting There: We drove to Toddington and parked at the Toddington Station. This was free, and is open until 30 mins after the last train arrives at the station. From there, we caught the 606 Bus to Broadway, this was £2 each.
• Highlights: Broadway, Stanton
• Trail Information: There were some very muddy sections along the way, as you are walking through grass fields on your way out of Broadway. There are 248 metres of ascent in this section (75 m more than the first section).

Key Highlights

• Broadway: as mentioned in my post regarding the Chipping Campden to Broadway section, Broadway is a very lively village in the Cotswolds. When completing the initial section we arrived at 1pm and it was incredibly busy around time. This time, we arrived at just after 10am and it was slightly more peaceful. We got coffee from the Broadway Deli, which was such a lovely little place! I would have bought some local beers and maybe some delicatessen had it not meant we’d be carrying it the whole way back to the car.

• Stanton: what an adorable village! It was so quiet, and picturesque – it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. From what we saw, there are no shops or cafes, which is probably why it doesn’t have the hoards of tourists visiting every weekend like Chipping Campden and Broadway, but it was so stunning. There is a pub at The Mount Inn that looks really lovely. We weren’t quite ready for lunch yet, so we didn’t venture in but would definitely give it a try next time!

• The trail: This is an odd one to mention as a highlight, but the trail itself was so peaceful! It’s hard to say if it was because the forecast was for some extreme wind, where as it was a stunning sunny day when we completed the Chipping Campden to Broadway section. Or was it just because this section doesn’t have a highlight like the Broadway Tower, which is a destination on its own. But it felt like we had the trail to ourselves. I was a great way to recharge, and had we just completed the first section the day before, I would have been really grateful for the respite.

Trail Information:

• Difficulty Level: Medium
• Trail Conditions: The terrain was mostly flat, with a slight incline up to Broadway Tower. The downhill section after Broadway Tower was slightly muddy, and we saw a few people slip and fall during this descent. Make sure you wear suitable footwear and you should be fine. There were a few stiles to navigate on this section of the trail, however they did have handy little doors for your dog to go through, so we didn’t have to lift Finch over.
• Facilities: I was really pleased with the Toddington Station car park. Not only were there toilets and a cafe, there was also a hose we used to clean Finch up after the walk. Also it was free! Bonus!
• Additional Tips: Choose appropriate footwear. We were wearing our hiking boots, which are waterproof and have good grip and managed to avoid any slips and falls. If you are taking your dog with you, be sure they are well behaved around livestock, or keep them on the lead for most of this section, as the livestock fences were such that a dog could absolutely fit under them. I’ll admit that Finch was not in a mood to behave for this section (he’s in a bit of an unruly teenage phase at the moment where some days are much better than others!), so he was on his lead the majority of the walk.
• Extra Note: We didn’t actually make it all the way to Wood Stanway, leaving the path when it intersects with B4077 to go back to Toddington where we parked. The walk to Toddington Station from the path was not ideal, as it was along a fairly busy road that did not have any pavement. We plan on starting where we left off next time, so if I find a better way to get from the Toddington Station car park to the path I will update this post at that time.

Conclusion:

The second section of the Cotswold Way was a peaceful meander through fields and forest. I would say this section had perhaps less to see in terms of historical landmarks or view points, however I really loved the quiet on the trail. We have been to several of the “most beautiful villages in the Cotswolds” such as Castle Combe, or Chipping Campden & Broadway, and while those are often incredibly beautiful, they are also packed with crowds and traffic on the weekends. Stanton was amazingly quiet, with empty streets, you could get a picture of the beautiful buildings without 20 cars in your shot. I can’t wait for our next adventure along the Cotswold Way!

Have you completed sections of the trail? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear all about it.