Historic Inns of the Cotswold Way

2026-08-24 | Cotswold Way Team

A Cotswold Way day is often measured in miles and hills - but the evenings belong to the inns. Honey stone walls, low beams, and a pint poured while your boots dry by the door are as much part of the trail as the white acorn waymarks. This piece picks five historic inns on or beside the National Trail, north to south, with a short note for walkers and a link to each official website. Menus, opening hours, and rooms change - always confirm details before you rely on a stop.

For a wider look at cafes, pubs, and restaurants along the route, see our Food and drink page, and match overnight stops to Stages.

The Eight Bells, Chipping Campden

Plate of fish and chips with mushy peas at The Eight Bells — Hearty plates after a start-day stretch from the Market Hall

Beamed dining room with stone walls at The Eight Bells — Stone floors, beams, and a quiet corner before Stage 1

Built in the fourteenth century to house the stonemasons working on St James' Church - and later named for the bells stored there - The Eight Bells sits in the heart of Chipping Campden, yards from the Cotswold Way start at the Market Hall. The inn was rebuilt in the seventeenth century and extended in the Georgian period; today it is a family-owned gastropub with open fires, a courtyard garden, and seasonal cooking. It is a natural first-night or eve-of-walk stop when you arrive by train and taxi, and a reliable place for a proper meal before Dover's Hill and Broadway Tower.

Visit The Eight Bells website

The Crown & Trumpet, Broadway

Outdoor tables and yellow flowers outside the Crown and Trumpet in Broadway — Tables by the Cotswold stone facade, just off the village green

Dark ale and newspaper by a fireplace at the Crown and Trumpet — A post-walk pint by the fire after Stage 1 into Broadway

This seventeenth-century Cotswold-stone inn sits just behind Broadway's village green, a short step from the Way as it drops from Broadway Tower into the High Street. Walkers know it as a traditional house with homemade food, real ales, and a handful of rooms if Stage 1 ends here. Lunch on the green or an evening meal after the undulating farmland toward Stanton both work well - booking is wise in season, especially at weekends.

Visit The Crown & Trumpet website

The Mount Inn, Stanton

Two pints of Donnington Brewery beer on the terrace at The Mount Inn — Donnington ales with Vale of Evesham views from the terrace

Seared scallops with pea puree at The Mount Inn — Local plates for hungry walkers on Stage 2

Stanton is one of the trail's most photographed villages, and The Mount Inn stands at the high end of the street with wide views across the Vale of Evesham. This seventeenth-century Donnington Brewery house is right on the Cotswold Way - a natural lunch or early-evening stop after Broadway, or a celebration pint if you overnight nearby. Expect tied ales from the local brewery, a large garden and terrace in fair weather, and an inglenook fire when the escarpment is wet. Food is cooked to order with an eye on local suppliers.

Visit The Mount Inn website

The Falcon Inn, Painswick

Light lunch plates and Woodchester Valley wine at The Falcon Inn — Seasonal plates and local wine in the bar and dining rooms

Candlelit dining table with evergreen centrepiece at The Falcon Inn — Warm dining ambience after a long mid-trail day

Painswick - the "Queen of the Cotswolds" - sits on the Way between the harder climbs around Cleeve and the valleys toward Stroud. The Falcon is a Georgian inn on New Street (established 1828), opposite the famous yew churchyard, with a bar and restaurant serving locally sourced dishes and rooms upstairs if you want to break the walk here. It suits a rest-day lunch after exploring the Rococo Garden, or an overnight when your itinerary pairs Painswick with the longer stages either side.

Visit The Falcon Inn website

The Old Spot Inn, Dursley

Bowl of soup with seeded bread and Netherend Farm butter at The Old Spot — Lunchtime cooking with Gloucestershire produce

Pint of dark mild beside a brass handpull at The Old Spot Inn — Cask ales and low-ceilinged bars at the foot of Stinchcombe Hill

Nestled at the foot of Stinchcombe Hill, The Old Spot is an award-winning traditional hostelry dating from 1776 - low ceilings, connecting bar rooms, and walls lined with breweriana. It sits on the Cotswold Way through Dursley, so it is an easy lunch stop after the southern escarpment stages or a celebration pint when the day ends nearby. Expect a rotating range of cask ales and lunchtime food focused on local produce; check the website for current hours before you bank on an evening meal.

Visit The Old Spot Inn website

Planning your pub stops

Match inns to your overnight towns when you book beds - Broadway, Stanton, Painswick, and Dursley all sit naturally on common stage splits. Summer weekends fill quickly; wet days make a table near the fire feel essential. For hotels and pubs with rooms along the full route, browse Hotels and pubs, and keep an eye on local events if your walk coincides with a festival week.