The Cotswolds is better in autumn than most people give it credit for. The summer visitors have thinned, the light is lower and more interesting and the footpaths are still good underfoot well into October. What follows is a practical guide to walking from two bases, Ewen near Cirencester and Clanfield in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, along with a few routes further afield that are worth making a day of.

Close to Ewen and Cirencester

The Thames Path passes close to Ewen, and the loop through Kemble and back takes around ninety minutes at an unhurried pace. The countryside here is flat and open, good to walk through in any season, and largely quiet once you’re past the first field. A longer option follows the Coln Valley east towards Bibury, around twenty miles out and back, with the river alongside for most of it. The valley in October is worth the extra effort.

Cirencester itself is five minutes from Ewen and worth folding into a walk. The Corinium Museum holds one of the best Roman archaeology collections in England and the market runs on Mondays and Fridays. More on what Cirencester has to offer here. The Wild Duck in Ewen is the natural start and end point for either route: rooms available if the legs make a stronger case for staying the night, and a Friday lobster evening if the timing happens to work out.

 

Close to Clanfield

The countryside around Clanfield is quieter than the Gloucestershire side. Stone walls, open fields, lanes that don’t require navigation beyond the basics. A two-hour circular from the village takes you out into proper Oxfordshire countryside and back without much planning. Burford is twenty minutes by car and worth the drive: the high street runs steeply downhill to an old stone bridge and the church at the bottom has a Norman doorway most people walk straight past. A walk around the town, then lunch, is a good half-day.

The Double Red Duke is the right place to end a walk from the village. Open fire, seasonal menu, nineteen rooms if the afternoon tips into something longer. The Mason’s Arms is directly across the road, with a bar that has been doing this since 1610 and eight bedrooms upstairs from September.

Further afield

The Cotswold Way runs 102 miles from Chipping Campden to Bath. In autumn the footpaths are dry, the views carry further than they do in summer and the path is considerably quieter than it is in July. The stretch around Broadway and Chipping Campden in October, when those villages are largely back to themselves, is particularly good.

Bibury remains one of the most photographed places in England. Go on a weekday morning in October and it’s a different experience entirely. The Coln Valley around it is good walking country and the trout farm next to the village has been there since 1902. The Cotswold Water Park, south of Cirencester, is less visited in autumn but worth knowing about for birdwatching and quieter walking.

A practical note

An OS map or the Komoot app covers most eventualities for any of these routes. Both the Wild Duck and the Double Red Duke are fine about muddy boots. Worth knowing before you decide how ambitious to be with the route. If you’re planning a cycling trip rather than a walk, there’s also a guide to cycling near Cirencester with three routes from the Wild Duck door.