Navigation

Maps, guidebooks, and apps

The trail is waymarked with the National Trails acorn in both directions, but you should still carry a reliable map and not rely on a phone alone. Combine paper mapping with a guidebook for narrative and checkpoints, and use an app to stay updated on the route and get the most out of your walk. Once you have chosen daily distances, see Stages for the official sections, and Useful Information for passports, luggage transfer, and tour companies.

Navigation apps

We recommend using an app on the trail to stay updated and get the most out of the Cotswold Way. The dedicated Cotswold Way app has become a community recommendation among walkers - for GPS tracking, offline maps, trail notes, and day-by-day planning.

Cotswold Way

Community supportedFree

More than a map: a trail planner and navigator built for this National Trail. Build your itinerary day by day, add personal notes to the map, and follow the route offline with GPS. Points of interest such as accommodation, food, and sights are included too. Free to download for iPhone and Android.

The app is shaped by walker contributions - tips, corrections, and local knowledge from people who know the trail. It is kept up to date as the route and facilities change, and it is built with a simple mission: to stay free, always, so anyone walking the Cotswold Way can rely on it without a subscription.

AllTrails

PremiumFree

A popular outdoor app with the Cotswold Way listed as a full route and as shorter sections. Use it to preview elevation, read recent trip reports, and follow the line on your phone. Offline maps usually need a paid plan - download before you leave Wi-Fi.

Komoot

PremiumFree

A route planner and navigator used by millions of outdoor enthusiasts. Komoot lists the Cotswold Way as a full hike with staged collections you can adapt into your own itinerary - useful for comparing daily distances, elevation, and surface types before you set off.

Turn-by-turn voice navigation, offline maps, and other trail features require a Komoot subscription. Community tips and photos still add useful local detail when you are comparing stages before you set off.

Paper maps and guidebooks

Carry a paper map at a scale you can read in wind and rain - typically OSExplorer (1:25 000) sheets covering your stages, or the dedicated National Trail mapping that ships with some guidebooks. A printed map shows escape routes, nearby settlements, and the wider landscape if waymarks are missing or ambiguous.

These guidebooks are widely used on the Cotswold Way. Buy from your usual bookseller, or follow the links below to find each title.