Stow-on-the-Wold : Sunday Walk

For those camping, we will start from the campsite and head towards town to meet the others at The Bell Hotel. From there we will head downhill to visit a group of villages which are off the main tourist routes. Maugersbury is the first, barely half-a-mile from Stow, and is stuffed with lovely buildings, including some very unusual ones. A further descent is followed by the inevitable ascent, but the top of Icomb Hill is easily gained. We then head down Icomb, where there are some great views to be seen from below a horse chestnut tree, before completing the descent to Icomb, which is tiny but picture-perfect gorgeous. The footpath then leads through farmland, which is in the process of being transformed through tree-planting, to Bledington, where St Leonard's Church is exquisite even by Cotswold standards. Church Street then leads to a large green, with a stream, friendly ducks and a popular pub. A byway and bridleway are followed through woodland until we reach Oddington, where the stand-out feature is St Nicholas' Church, with its macabre doom painting. There are more lovely cottages, and two more pubs, before we pick up the Macmillan Way to return to Stow. There are a couple of pub stop options en-route so can choose which one (maybe two) depending on timings. Lunch Required