Postcard-perfect scenes of pastoral England that form the backdrop of novelist Jane Austen’s famous novels are the setting for the latest self-guided hiking holiday that European walk operator, On Foot Holidays, has launched in the Cotswolds in southern England, just months before the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth on December 16 this year.
The new, week-long hiking route through the southern Cotswolds becomes the 39th self-guided walking holiday offered by On Foot Holidays in Europe and is now available for booking for this October or November (northern autumn) or from March to November in 2026.
The just-released, seven-night, ‘slow travel’ hiking trip between Cheltenham and the famous spa town of Bath where Jane Austen (born in 1775) once lived, takes walkers through pretty, honey-coloured villages like Castle Combe and through the rolling farmland, bucolic valleys and whispering woods of the southern Cotswolds away from the busy tourist areas of the region. The 108km route covers 10-23km per day and is graded medium in effort, with luggage transferred between hotels each day so walkers carry just a day pack along the entire route.
Low in carbon footprint and high in cultural immersion, the hike has been curated for independent hikers who will stay at a series of inns, family-run B&Bs and character-filled hotels, enjoying hearty British cuisine and ales along the way.
From Cheltenham, west of London, the seven-night ‘Southern Cotswolds’ walk traces a route south through picturesque landscapes and charming, medieval towns like Painswick, Sapperton, Tetbury, Bradford-on-Avon and the much-photographed, cute-as-a-button hamlet of Castle Combe, before the final night in the majestic, Georgian city of Bath.
The ‘Southern Cotswolds’ walk includes seven nights’ B&B and inn accommodation along the route, daily breakfasts, all luggage transfers between hotels, taxi transfer to the start of the walk, and all directions, information and maps – printed or in digital version on On Foot Holidays’ new Companion App. The holiday costs from £1355 per person, twin-share (about A$2809 depending on exchange rates). Shorter four or six-night versions of the walk are also available from £830 per person, twin-share (four nights).
* On Foot Holidays offers a 10 per cent saving when two of its hikes are booked at the same time for the one European holiday (discount applies to the cheaper holiday only). Conditions apply. A discount of £40 per room is also offered for walkers opting to use a digital walking guide on their phones without printed materials.
Visit England: The Southern Cotswolds – On Foot Holidays (direct link to walk) or www.onfootholidays.co.uk .
On Foot Holidays offers 39 self-guided walking tours in 11 countries across Europe. Accommodation and information packs are provided for all the routes. Walkers select their departure dates, luggage is transferred between hotels and all routes are designed by locals and tested by staff from On Foot Holidays.
