Plan your trip

WALK IT

We suggest taking three days to ‘thru-hike’ the Gustav Holst Way. Saturday to Monday is easiest if you’re relying on public transport (see below). A midweek or fourday itinerary gives you greater flexibility and the official guidebook by Frank Partridge recommends several detours. It’s published by Reardon Publishing (currently £7.95 at walkingbooks.co.uk). The trail isn’t shown on Ordnance Survey maps, but overlaps with the Cotswold Way and other trails for long stretches. You’ll need Explorer OL45: The Cotswolds and 179: Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud. The churches at Cranham and Wyck Rissington mark the start and end of the 35-mile waymarked route (get a GPX plot at bit.ly/gustavholstway).

GETTING THERE (AND BACK)

Frustratingly, neither trailhead is served by public transport, but there are bus stops not far away, bringing the overall distance walked to 37½ miles (60km). A mile by lane from Cranham, The Royal William pub on the A46 is served by the 66 ‘Gold’ from Cheltenham to Stonehouse via Stroud (all have mainline railway stations). Buses run roughly every hour from Monday to Saturday (stagecoachbus.com). Walking a further mile-anda-half at the other end of the trail, you come to Upper Rissington, just south of Wyck Beacon and the Oxfordshire Way, where the 802 departs for Kingham Station. It’s also a Monday to Saturday service (pulhamscoaches.com).

WHERE TO STAY

14 miles in, Cheltenham is an obvious first port of call, where accommodation ranges from swanky hotels to humbler B&Bs. You could push on up to Cleeve Common, where we made a detour north to the Cleeve Hill Hotel, which enjoys lavish views over the Vale of Gloucester. A room and hearty breakfast for two costs around £125 (01242 672052; cleevehillhotel.co.uk). The next day you may be best off yomping the 20 miles to Bourton, where guesthouses and inns are plentiful, leaving a easy final day of 3½ miles.

WHERE TO EAT

The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust café at Crickley Hill is perfectly situated for a lunch break on day one, serving hot drinks, snacks and baguettes (open from 9am to 5pm). Pubs at Guiting Power and Naunton afford refuelling opportunities on day two. Try the Donnington Brewery Black Horse Inn at Naunton, where the scrumptious pie of the day is £11 (01451 850565; blackhorsenaunton.co.uk).

MORE INFO

Make time to visit Holst Victorian House on Clarence Road in Cheltenham, where Gustav was born. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm (holstvictorianhouse.org.uk). For more eating out options and places to stay, head to cotswolds.com or ring Cheltenham TIC (01242 387492).