In September 2020 I walked the length of the Cotswold Way, from Chipping Campden to Bath Abbey. I grew up less than two miles from part of the trail and had never walked more than its shortest sections, so this was a long-overdue case of putting that right. I carried everything I needed, camped along the way and stayed fully self-supported, finishing 105 miles and a little over 13,000 feet of climbing later in four and a half days.

The route has a habit of choosing the hill over the easy option, heading up and down and up again through picture-postcard villages and long ridgelines with views across the Severn Valley. Along the way I wandered alone around Belas Knap, a 5,500 year old burial mound, climbed to the highest point of the route on Cleeve Hill, and found welcome shade in the woods of Cranham, Painswick and Woodchester. Painswick won my prettiest village of the week award and was where I met the only two other through hikers I saw, heading the opposite way, for a swap of tips. To help keep my pack light and with the warmth of stummer still in effect, I slept under a tarp, with the night sky for company, rather than carrying a tent.

It’s a trail that suits first-timers and old hands alike, and while most people take seven to ten days, I enjoyed doing it as one shorter, happy push. The final surprise is Bath Abbey, which stays hidden among the narrow streets of the beautiful town until you’re almost at its front door. I sat for a few minutes to take it in, then ran through the city to catch a train that left sooner than I’d realised.