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Macmillan
Ways
Boston to Abbotsbury or Barnstaple
720km/450 miles total (464km/290
miles main route)
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A network of attractive routes linking the south coast, Bristol channel
and North Sea coast of England, taking in the Cotswolds, the Quantocks and
the Fens. Largely great tracts of rolling
pastoral countryside with some steep climbs.
The original Macmillan Way was developed to raise money for the
Macmillan cancer relief charity and was opened as a fully signed and
waymarked route in 1996. A lengthy extension, the Macmillan Way West,
followed in 2001.
The individual routes making up the network are as follows:
- Macmillan Way (main route) from Boston on the Wash to
Abbotsbury on the Dorset coast (464km/290 miles), with an alternative
route following the south bank of Rutland Water.
- Macmillan Way West from Castle Cary on the main route
across the Somerset Levels, the Quantocks and Exmoor to the north Devon
coast (163km/102 miles)
- Macmillan Abbotsbury - Langport Link,
a 38.5km/24-mile short cut for walkers from the north Devon coast
heading for the south coast, linking the main route at Evershot to Langport
on the Macmillan Way West to give a total distance from Abbotsbury to
Barnstaple of 202km/126 miles.
- Cross-Cotswold Pathway. A
138km/86-mile walk linking public transport interchanges at Banbury and
Bath via some of the most attractive parts of the Cotswolds. Essentially
follows the main route, with spurs at each end linking Banbury with
Epwell (11km/7 miles) and Box to Bath (9.5km/6 miles). An alternative
loop along the way visits Cirencester.
- Cotswold Link. Connects the Cotswold Way National Tail at Chipping Campden
with the Cross-Cotswold Pathway at Banbury 33.5km/21-mile.
The Cross-Cotswold Pathway and Cotswold Link connect with the
Cotswold Way National Trail to create the
Cotswold Round, a 331km/207-mile
circuit of this well-loved Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Update. On 26 June 2005, a series of linked walks aims to cover
the whole of this lengthy route in a day. For more about the Big Walk see
www.macmillanway.org or tel 024
7654 5858.
Public Transport
- Main route/Cross-Cotswold Pathway.
Railway stations at Boston (Skegness, Grantham, Nottingham), Stamford
(Cambridge, Stansted Airport, Peterborough, Leicester, Birmingham), Oakham (as
Stamford), Kettering (bus connection from route: Luton, London St Pancras,
Leicester, Nottingham), Market Harborough (connected to route via Brampton
Valley Way/Midshires Way: destinations as Kettering), Northampton (bus
connection from Maidwell: London Euston, Rugby, Birmingham), Banbury
(Leamington Spa, Warwick, Birmingham, Bicester, London Marylebone), Moreton-in-Marsh
(off-route, bus from Stow on the Wold: Worcester, Oxford), Bath (Bristol,
Swindon, Reading, London Paddington, Bradford-on-Avon, Salisbury, Southampton,
Maiden Newton, Weymouth), Bradford-on-Avon (Bath, Westbury, Salisbury), Bruton
(Westbury, Reading, Taunton, Exeter, Maiden Newton, Weymouth), Castle Cary (as
Bruton), Sherborne (Yeovil, Exeter, Salisbury, London Waterloo), Maiden Newton
(Bruton, Bath, Yeovil, Weymouth)
Buses at Obthorpe (for Thurlby and Market Deeping), Flore, Farnborough (for
Coventry), Stow on the Wold, Bourton on the Water, Cirencester, Coates, Box,
Beckington, Melbury Osmond, Abbotsbury and many other places along the route.
- West.
Railway stations at Castle Cary (see main route), Bridgwater (Bristol,
Taunton) and Barnstaple (Exeter). Bus services connect Minehead and Dunster
with Taunton (Bristol, Exeter, Castle Cary, Westbury, Reading, London
Paddington) and there are other bus connections along the route. Langport and
Evershot, on the Abbotsbury link, both have regular bus services.
For enquiry lines, see
Public Transport for Walkers.
Publications
- The Macmillan Way: Boston to Abbotsbury. £9 + p&p.
Main guide with maps, route description and information on features.
Order here!
- The Macmillan Way South-North supplement. £3.30
To be used in conjunction with the above guide for those wishing to walk south
to north.
- The Macmillan Way Planner. £2.75, regularly updated
information and accommodation booklet
- The Macmillan Way West: Castle Cary to Barnstaple. £6.25 + p&p.
Order here!
Guide with maps, route descriptions and additional information.
- The Macmillan Way West Planner. £2.25, regularly updated
information and accommodation booklet
- The Macmillan Abbotsbury-Langport Link. £3.50
Guide with maps, route descriptions, accommodation details and additional
information.
- The Cross-Cotswold Pathway. £3.50.
Guide to the complete route from Banbury to Bath, with with maps, route
description and information on features.
- The Cotswold Link, £1.75.
Route guide to the link between Bath and Chipping Camden, with maps, route
description and background notes.
- Cotswold Accommodation, £1.25.
Regularly updated accommodation booklet covering Pathway and Link.
All available from The Macmillan Way Association (see below), who can
also supply notes on bird-spotting along the routes and cloth badges.
Contacts
- The Macmillan Way Association St Mary's Barn, Pillerton Priors, Warwick CV35 0PG,
tel 01789 740852
www.macmillanway.org
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Regions
East
Midlands
Southern England
Southwest England
West Midlands
Local authorities
Devon
(West branch only)
Dorset
Gloucestershire
Lincolnshire
Leicestershire
Northamptonshire
Oxfordshire
Rutland
Somerset
Warwickshire
Wiltshire
Connecting routes
Centenary Way (Warwickshire)
D'Arcy Dalton Way
Donnington Way
Gloucestershire Way
Grand
Union Canal Walk
Hardy Way
Heart of
England Way (E2 Dover branch)
Hereward Way (E2 Harwich branch)
Jubilee Trail (Dorset)
Jurassic
Way
Kennet & Avon Walk
Leicestershire Round
Leland Trail
Mendip Way
Midshires Way
Monarch's
Way
Nene Way
North
Cotswold Diamond Way
Oxford Canal Walk
Oxfordshire
Way (E2 Dover branch)
Rutland Round
South West Coast
Path
Viking Way (E2 Harwich branch)
Wardens' Way
Wessex Ridgeway
Windrush
Way
Cotswolds
Cotswold Way
Limestone Link Path
West
Channel to Channel
Coleridge Way
River Parrett Trail
Samaritans Way South West
Tarka Trail
Two
Moors Way
Abbotsbury - Langport Liberty Trail
Parks and countryside
Cotswolds AONB
Dorset
AONB
Rutland Water
West
Exmoor National Park
Quantock Hills AONB
Maps
Explorer
OL15,
OL45,
117,
129,
142,
143,
156,
168,
191,
206,
207,
223,
233,
234,
235,
248,
249,
261
West:
OL9,
129,
129,
140,
141,
142
Abbotsbury - Langport:
OL15,
117,
129
Cotswolds:
OL45,
155,
156,
168,
179,
191,
206
Landranger
130,
131,
141,
151,
152,
162,
163,
172,
180,
181,
183,
193,
194
West:
180,
181,
182,
183,
193
Abbotsbury - Langport:
193,
194
Cotswolds:
151,
162,
163,
172,
173
Route is shown on maps.
More about maps
Visitor
information
Banbury
Bath
Boston
Bradford on
Avon
Cirencester
Dorchester
Frome
Market
Harborough
Northampton
Oakham
Malmesbury
Sherborne
Spalding
Stamford
Stow on
the Wold
Trowbridge
Weymouth
Yeovil
West
Barnstaple
Bridgwater
Glastonbury
Lynton and Lynmouth
Minehead
Taunton
Accommodation
Click here for
B&B listings
See also Publications (left).
Holiday operators
Contours (Cross Cotswold Pathway and Cotswold Round)
Wycheway
(West)
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