In 2024 Chiltern Young walkers walked Shakespeare’s Way, a walking trail that spans 146 miles (235 km) connecting Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born, to London and The Globe Theatre, where he gained fame as a playwright and actor or Twixt Stratford-Upon-Avon and the Globe as the waymark signs reminded us along the way. This scenic trail winds through charming villages, ancient woodlands, and along the banks of the River Thames. Offering a journey through some of England’s beautiful Cotswolds and Chiltern Hills, both national landscapes, the new name for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The trail is thought to follow a route that Shakespeare might have traveled when moving between Stratford and London, reflecting the countryside that could have inspired his works and opened in 2006, allowing modern hikers to retrace the steps of England’s greatest writer.
Along the way we had flooding, torrential rain and unexpected blazing sunshine. We walked through The Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace, Oxford, The Chilterns, Marlow and a long portion of The Grand Union Canal and the River Thames and of course finishing in central London. We'd like to thank everyone who has taken part in any section over the year, and congratulations to anyone who has walks the whole thing. We know some people have even caught up with sections on their own as well. It's been a delight to see so many people take part along the way.
1. Stratford-upon-Avon to Shipston-on-Stour
Was our plan to complete the first two sections in one weekend affected by rain, yup. Was it still an incredible Saturday doing the first 15.5 miles of Shakespeare's Way with 35 of the best people? You betchya! 🥳 We met at 10:00 am outside Shakespeare's Birthplace to start the walk, crossing over the River Stour a number of times before catching the bus back to Stratford-upon-Avon at then end. Alas, the route's proximity to the river proved to be less helpful for the original plan second leg, after a night of heavy rain the river in Shipston-on-Stour had burst it's banks so to avoid a day of potential wading and diversions (and guaranteed extreme mud) we took the difficult decision to postpone for later in the year.
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 1. Stratford-upon-Avon to Shipston-on-Stour
2. Shipston-on-Stour to Chipping Norton
🌞 Re-arranged from February to August, sunshine and showers, blackberries and apples, hills and woodland, it was a day of variety in the Cotswolds. The irony that it was absolutely pouring with rain as we met on Saturday morning in August was not lost on us ☔ and luckily we got some good dry and even sunny spells during the 12.5 miles!
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 2. Shipston-on-Stour to Chipping Norton
3. Chipping Norton to Woodstock
We started in the picturesque town of Chipping Norton in the pouring rain before striking out South-East along this historical route. 🌞 Happily, the sun came out about an hour in and by the time we reached our lunch/pub stop at The Crown Inn at Church Enstone we were bathed in warm spring sunshine and ate our lunch surrounded by daffodils and grabbing a drink to refuel. Thanks to the pub for tolerating the slightly bedraggled walkers! 🐑The route then took us through Ditchley Park - a favoured bolthole of Winston Churchill during the war as it was deemed less "conspicuous" than nearby Blenheim Palace, where we stopped for a group photo and to admire the lambs. 😍 We made excellent time and were able to pick up the earlier bus back to Chipping Norton from just north of Woodstock! Thanks to Marco for the group photo!
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 3. Chipping Norton to Woodstock
4. Woodstock to Oxford
We started by catching the bus from central Oxford out to Woodstock and we had blazing sunshine. Too blazing in fact, some of us were a little red on the walk the next day. Views of Blenheim Palace, a meander through Woodstock and lovely sections along the canal and into Oxford via Port Meadow. 🌷 Other highlights included first proper bluebells of the year, an impressive McGuivering of a boot that decided mid-way through was a great time to part company with it's sole and (to Beth the walk leader's delight) a lot of canal boat cats! 👍 Thanks to everyone who came along and was mercifully chilled about a bit of a bus mishap at the beginning and the route being slightly longer than anticipated due to the fact that there's two options of Shakespeare's Way around Port Meadow depending on which map you're looking at (Beth, we agreed, chose the longer, but prettier, one) 😂
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 4. Woodstock to Oxford
5. Oxford to Stadhampton
Out along the towpath for 5 miles before we headed east towards Stadhampton. Early on we posed for a group picture in front of the iconic Christchurch College because who can pass up such a good photo opportunity! A lovely route and the promise of a pub 0.5 miles from the end really helped motivation to get there in time for a well-earned drink before catching the bus back to Oxford. Being able to walk over 50 miles of this route entirely using public transport to get back to the start is a really lovely way to do long distance walking, so kudos to the Oxfordshire and Warwickshire public transport system for making this possible!
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 5. Oxford to Stadhampton
6. Stadhampton and Maidensgrove
Leaving the Cotswolds behind and heading into the southern end of the Chilterns with a hillier walk than the previous ones we tackled some stunning paths, 12 miles to be exact! We were particularly pleased to cross over and briefly walk along The Ridgeway National Trail enroute, having completed that a year before. 🍻 We finished with a well-earned drink at Five Horseshoes having conquered what we dubbed The Hill of Doom and the bus back into Oxford.
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 6. Stadhampton and Maidensgrove
7. Maidensgrove to Marlow
Now firmly in the Chilterns, we noticed the route going up and down quite a bit. 24 of us set out from Maidensgrove common on an unexpectedly warm day - and 24 of us strode into a bustling Marlow 11.5 miles later!😊 We also exited Oxfordshire and are now back in Buckinghamshire for the next few sections. Along the way we were treated to glorious views of Stonor Park and wild deer 🦌, the village of Hambleden - famous for its use in films such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and TV shows such as Band of Brothers and Good Omens - and an EXTREMELY welcome drink at The Stag and Huntsman pub just over halfway through. ❤️ Thanks to everyone for coming along and being so flexible with the lift sharing at the start and end!
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 7. Maidensgrove to Marlow
8. Marlow to Burnham Beeches
A lovely gang of 30 joined us to take on a beautiful 10 mile of the route on a Sunday with one hill around halfway through this was a remarkably flat route for The Chilterns. A walk of two halves, we first enjoyed 5 miles along the Thames from Marlow to Cookham before striking out across the countryside where we enjoyed lots of woodland and open fields towards Burnham Beeches and finishing at Farnham Common. About 8 miles in we enjoyed a very well-earned drink 🍻 at The Blackwood Arms at Littleworth Common and then a sneaky ice cream right at the end from Burnham Beeches eco café.
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 8. Marlow to Burnham Beeches
9. Burnham Beeches to Hayes
Despite heading nearer to London, we will still enjoy some beautiful views, namely through the glorious woods at Black Park Country Park and Stoke Common. Once we reached the Grand Union Canal, we came accross an uninvited guest, this crayfish!
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 9. Burnham Beeches to Hayes
10. Hayes to Hamersmith
Water was the main feature of Saturday's walk, which took place entirely along either the Grand Union Canal or the River Thames - all 13 miles of it!
We were particularly lucky to stumble across a community event celebrating the Southall Wellbeing Way and wetlands in collaboration with Lets Go Southall and our friends at the Canal and River Trust. You could really see the community effort that had gone into the area and it was one of the most pleasant sections so far, so thank you! The walkers were especially touched by the invitation to come enjoy some (delicious) samosa and cupcakes even though we couldn't stay for the speeches 🥰
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 10. Hayes to Hamersmith
11. Hammersmith to The Globe, Southwark
Started this walk quite early because we had a master plan - to celebrate finishing The Shakespeare's Way by actually going to see a play at The Globe Theatre and we made it! 146 miles complete, finally reached The Globe Theatre after starting from Shakespeare's Birthplace in February. So happy to conclude this with such a great bunch of people and a seeing A Comedy of Errors. A fitting way to end The Shakespeare's Way.
Download gpx Shakespear's Way 11. Hammersmith to The Globe
Shakespears Way GPX routes