Cotswold Way

It’s been almost 5 months since I returned from the Camino de Santiago and I’m itching to get walking on another adventure; my strolls around the local country park and area have not been sating my thirst for the outdoors and my planned Camino Portugues in August is too far away for me to wait.

Once again I’m back on YouTube watching trekking videos. Two have caught my eye; Hadrian’s Wall and the Cotswold Way. Hadrians Wall was a consideration for my Prostate Cancer UK charity walk back in 2020, but the Cotswold Way will be easier for me to get to and from.

According to the Cicerone guide, the 102 mile trek is usually done over 13 stages. However, I only have one week leave from work; so I’m going to attempt to cover that distance in 5 days. I’ll be starting in Chipping Campden on the 9th March and arriving in Bath on the 13th.

It will be a mixture of camping and BnB due to the lack of campsites at the stage ends I plan to stop at and Judging by the recent weather, it maybe on the chilly and wet side! The equipment I took on the WHW will likely cut it for the March climate, however, I feel I would benefit from getting a sleeping mat suited for colder weather.

Through my obsession of gear review videos I’ve learnt that getting a warm sleeping bag is only half the job. The insulation doesn’t work if compressed; you can have the best, all singing and dancing sleeping bag in the world, but it will not stop the cold seeping in from the ground where it is squished by your body.

Not to get too technical, but the efficiency of a sleeping mat is measured by the “R” value. The higher it is, the warmer it is. Off the back of my WHW adventure, I looked into sleeping mats, as the inflatable one I took has a low rating that resulted in a couple of cold nights.

A cheap option is to buy a foam mat with a good R value and use my current inflatable one on top of that. This can save a lot of money, as you’re looking at over £100 for a decent inflatable one.

I picked up a folding mat in a sale a year ago, but it’s still very bulky; I keep eyeing it up and I can’t bring myself to lug it around on a thru hike. I hit the internet in search of a 3+ season inflatable mats.

I’ve settled on the Exped Synmat 7. It’s a bit on the heavier side at 855g, but the lighter ones are weightier on the wallet. I had a few gift cards from Christmas that I put to good use in this purchase.

The route starts in Chipping Campden, an important market town for the wool trade in the 17th century. I’ll be making my way there by bus and stopping a night before setting off in the morning. My journey will pass many battle sites from the English civil war, ancient Roman settlements, quaint villages before arriving in the historic spa town of Bath, where the route terminates at the abbey.

I’ll be swapping the yellow arrows that guided me across Spain, for acorns that mark the route through the Cotswolds. Fingers crossed the weather will be kind to me!