Cotswold Way Part 1 - Bath to Cold Ashton

A group of us started the Cotswold Way on a cold crisp January day.
Extending from the quintessentially English market town of Chipping Campden to the Roman city of Bath, the 102 mile (164 km) Cotswold Way has existed as a promoted long-distance walk and had its 50th anniversary in 2020.
Following the western edge of the Cotswold Hills, the route journeys through rolling pastures, beech woodland and honey-coloured villages built from Cotswold stone.
We will be walking the Cotswold Way as a series of day hikes over the next few years. Being a point to point walk meant having cars at the start and finish, so after some shuttle runs and a getting park and ride bus into the city we were ready to start the walk.
Although the route is most commonly done from north to south, we are doing it from south to north. Staring outside Bath Abbey we headed past the Circus and The Royal Crescent and then on through Royal Victoria Park.
The journey continues through the suburbs of Bath before heading up into the Cotswold hills. There are many fine views back over Bath and the Avon valley, perhaps the best being from Prospect Stile.
Link to route - explore.osmaps...