Mark Percy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Winchcombe
A walkers' town below the escarpment, with Sudeley Castle and Katherine Parr's tomb, the ruins of Hailes Abbey, Belas Knap on the hill and a steam railway.
- Nearest station
- Cheltenham Spa, about 9 miles, then the W or 606 bus from the town centre
- Parking
- Back Lane (GL54 5PZ), £1.50 all day, and Bull Lane (GL54 5HX), both paid by RingGo; Blue Badge holders park free
- Best time
- Mid-May for the walking festival; spring to autumn for Sudeley
- Dogs
- Not allowed at Sudeley Castle or in its grounds, but welcome at its visitor centre and café; on leads at Belas Knap, where sheep graze
About Winchcombe
Winchcombe is a small town of about 5,100 people (5,121 at the 2021 census) under the Cotswold escarpment, between Cheltenham and Broadway. It is inside the Cotswolds National Landscape, and it is a good base for walking: the Cotswold Way passes through, the Winchcombe Way loops out from it, and a castle, an abbey ruin and a Neolithic tomb are all within reach on foot. In the town, the free Winchcombe Museum in the former Town Hall keeps fragments of the Winchcombe meteorite, and a mile north at Greet, Winchcombe Pottery, where Michael Cardew restarted pottery-making in 1926, makes and sells everyday domestic ware.
Sudeley Castle and Katherine Parr
Sudeley Castle, on the edge of the town, is listed Grade I. It was built in the fifteenth century for Ralph Boteler, altered for Lord Chandos around 1572, and slighted on Parliament's orders in 1649. The Dent family, glove makers from Worcester, bought it in 1837, and their descendants own it today.
Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII's six wives, died on 5 September 1548, a week after giving birth to her daughter, and is buried in St Mary's chapel in the grounds, which George Gilbert Scott restored and which was rededicated in 1863. Elizabeth I came here three times.
In 2026 the castle and gardens opened daily from 14 March to 1 November, with an adult ticket at £24 and a family ticket at £59.50; it reopens for day visitors in March 2027, on a date still to be announced. Pet dogs are not allowed in the castle or grounds.
St Peter's church
St Peter's, in the middle of the town, was built in one campaign between about 1458 and 1468, paid for by the abbot of Winchcombe and by Ralph Boteler. It is listed Grade I, and it is known for the gargoyles that line its aisles and tower. At the west end are two stone coffins associated with the legends of St Kenelm. The town's abbey church once stood next door; it has gone. In the vale west of Cleeve Hill, Stoke Orchard's church has wall paintings of St James of about 1200.
Hailes Abbey and Belas Knap
Two miles north-east are the ruins of Hailes Abbey, founded in 1246 by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, after a vow made in a storm at sea. It drew pilgrims to a relic said to be the blood of Christ until it was denounced in the 1530s, and the abbey was dissolved in 1539. The National Trust owns it and English Heritage runs it; it opens for booked tours on the first weekend of each month.
On the hill south of the town is Belas Knap, a Neolithic long barrow with a false entrance and side chambers, where excavations in the 1860s found the remains of 31 people in its chambers. It is free and open in daylight, a steep climb of just over half a mile from a lay-by on the lane.
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The steam railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway runs heritage trains for about 14 miles between Cheltenham Race Course and Broadway, through Winchcombe station, Greet Tunnel and over the Stanway Viaduct. It runs from spring to late autumn, mostly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, weekends and bank holidays, with Santa and festive trains from late November into early January. The racecourse at the Cheltenham end holds the Cheltenham Festival each March, and Winchcombe, about 10km (6 miles) away by road, makes a quieter base for it. Between Cheltenham and Winchcombe, near Gotherington, the Bugatti Owners' Club's Prescott Speed Hill Climb holds spectator events from spring to November.
Walks from Winchcombe
The Cotswold Way runs through the town, and the stretch to Cleeve Hill, which climbs onto Cleeve Common, the highest ground in the Cotswolds and the highest point on the whole Cotswold Way at 330m, is 5.6 miles by way of Belas Knap. The Winchcombe Way is a 42-mile figure of eight, with one loop east by Stanway and Stanton and the other west over Cleeve Common. For a half day, the 5.5-mile (8.8km) circuit from Back Lane car park to Belas Knap is steep in places, with two stiles and a stretch of narrow road. Our list of long walks has the day loops on the edge above the town. A dog-friendly weekend in the Cotswolds is based at an inn here that takes dogs in every room, with Cleeve Common on the Saturday. For breakfast or a packed lunch before a walk, Café 21 on Bull Lane, off North Street, opens at 8am on most days and is closed on Tuesdays.
When to come
Mid-May for the Winchcombe Cotswolds Walking Festival, three days of guided walks (21 to 23 May in 2027), and from spring to autumn for Sudeley. The railway and the castle both close for the winter. For a bed, see where to stay in Winchcombe. From late November to 30 December, Spectacle of Light lights an evening trail through the gardens of Sudeley Castle on selected evenings. The Cotswolds in March has a day out from Winchcombe, and the Cotswolds in December the light trails and late shopping.
Last verified 1 November 2026 by our editors
Part of
The Cotswold Edge
The western escarpment, where the wolds end in a wooded edge above the Severn vale: Winchcombe and Sudeley, Belas Knap, Cleeve Hill and the Cotswold Way along the top.
Things to do in Winchcombe
Historic houses and heritage · Winchcombe
Sudeley Castle and Gardens
A castle on the edge of Winchcombe where Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's last queen, is buried, with gardens, a Tudor history and the Dent family's home.
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Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway
Family days out · Winchcombe
A heritage railway running steam and diesel trains for 14 miles between Cheltenham Race Course and Broadway, by Winchcombe and Toddington.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly · Rainy days
Verified Oct 2026
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Hailes Abbey
Historic houses and heritage · Winchcombe
The ruins of a Cistercian abbey near Winchcombe, founded in 1246, once a place of pilgrimage, now open for booked tours on the first weekend of each month.
Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Belas Knap Long Barrow
Historic houses and heritage · Winchcombe
A Neolithic long barrow on the hill above Winchcombe, with a false entrance and side chambers, free to visit and on the Cotswold Way.
Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Where to stay in Winchcombe
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The White Hart Inn
Inn · Winchcombe
An inn with sixteen rooms on Winchcombe's High Street, with dog-friendly rooms and a restaurant and bar open all day to non-residents.
Dog-friendly · Wedding venues · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Sudeley Castle Cottages
Self-catering · Winchcombe
Nineteen holiday cottages on the Sudeley Castle estate at Winchcombe, sleeping three to fourteen, some dog-friendly, with free castle entry in season.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Lion Inn
Inn · Winchcombe
A restored fifteenth-century coaching inn on North Street, Winchcombe, with nine rooms, run by Butcombe.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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Elms Farm
B&B · Winchcombe
A converted freight wagon and five Caravan and Motorhome Club pitches on a working farm at Gretton, about two miles north-west of Winchcombe.
Verified Oct 2026
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North Farmcote
B&B · Winchcombe
Bed and breakfast in a farmhouse above Winchcombe, built around 1840, its owners say, as a dower house for Lord Sudeley's mother.
Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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Cleeve Hill Hotel
B&B · Winchcombe
A 12-room bed and breakfast hotel on Cleeve Hill, about three miles south-west of Winchcombe, with views over the Severn Vale and a door onto Cleeve Common and the Cotswold Way.
Walker-friendly · Dog-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Where to eat and drink in Winchcombe
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Hayles Fruit Farm
Farm shops and delis · Winchcombe
A fruit farm at Hailes, about 3 miles by road from Winchcombe, with a farm shop, the Orchard Kitchen tearoom, pick your own and its own Hayles cider.
Family-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Pheasant Inn
Pubs · Winchcombe
A traditional Cotswold inn at Toddington, about 3 miles north of Winchcombe, with homemade food, Donnington ales and a beer garden.
Family-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
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Café 21
Cafes and tearooms · Winchcombe
A small café on Bull Lane, off North Street in Winchcombe, serving breakfast baps, homemade Homity pies, salads and daily specials to eat in or take away, open from 8am most days.
Walker-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Walks in and around Winchcombe
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Winchcombe, Belas Knap and Cleeve Common
Walk · Starts in Winchcombe · 4 hrs, 15 mins · Circular · Dog-friendly
A 9.2-mile (14.8km) moderate loop of four to four and a half hours from Winchcombe: up the Cotswold Way through the Sudeley estate to Belas Knap, west along the byways to the top of Cleeve Common, then down by Postlip's Norman chapel and Breakheart Plantation.
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Cotswold Way: Winchcombe to Cleeve Hill
Walk · Starts in Winchcombe · 2 hrs, 45 mins · Dog-friendly
A 5.6-mile (9km) one-way walk on the fourth section of the Cotswold Way, moderate and two and a half to three hours: from Winchcombe by Sudeley up to Belas Knap, down through Breakheart Plantation to Postlip's Norman chapel, then up to the golf club on Cleeve Hill.
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Winchcombe and Sudeley Castle
Walk · Starts in Winchcombe · 1 hr · Circular
A 2-mile (3.2km) easy circular walk of about an hour from Winchcombe, with no stiles: down Vineyard Street, along the Sudeley Castle drive by the lime avenue and the lake, and back by Rushley Lane and beside the River Isbourne or along Broadway Road.
Sights in and around Winchcombe
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Beckbury Camp, Hailes
Sight · Hill fort or barrow · Winchcombe
An Iron Age hillfort on the Cotswold edge above Hailes, near Winchcombe, its bank still up to 4m high, with the nineteenth-century monument called Cromwell's Seat, where the story goes that Thomas Cromwell watched Hailes Abbey burn. On the Cotswold Way.
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Dent's Terrace, Winchcombe
Sight · Historic building · Winchcombe
A row of ten almshouses of 1865 on Abbey Terrace, Winchcombe, by Sir George Gilbert Scott and J Drayton Wyatt for John and Emma Dent of Sudeley Castle: cream, yellow and pink stone under stepped gables. Grade II.
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River Isbourne
Sight · River · Winchcombe
The River Isbourne rises at a spring on Cleeve Hill above Winchcombe and runs north past Postlip, Winchcombe, Toddington and Sedgeberrow to join the Avon at Evesham. A waymarked path of some 14 miles, the Isbourne Way, follows it.
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St James' Chapel, Postlip
Sight · Church · Winchcombe
St James' Chapel is a small Norman chapel of about 1140 beside Postlip Hall below Cleeve Common, with a chevron-carved doorway, used as a farm building for centuries and restored for Catholic worship in 1891. Grade I; seen from the Cotswold Way.
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St Peter's Church, Winchcombe
Sight · Church · Winchcombe
St Peter's is Winchcombe's Grade I parish church, built in one campaign in about 1458 to 1468, with some 40 carved grotesques round its walls, a fan-vaulted tower and two stone coffins tied to the St Kenelm story. Usually open daily.
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Tithe barn, Postlip
Sight · Historic building · Winchcombe
The tithe barn at Postlip is an eight-bay stone barn, probably of the fifteenth century, below Cleeve Common near Winchcombe, with raised crucks inside, said to have dried the town's tobacco in the 1600s and home every July to the Cotswold Beer Festival.
Stories about Winchcombe
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Christmas in the Cotswolds
Story · Guides · 10 minute read
Christmas in the Cotswolds: Blenheim's and Sudeley's light trails, Christmas markets at Cogges and Stroud, steam trains to Broadway's late-night shopping, candlelit carols, Boxing Day mummers, winter walks and inns with fires.
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Country houses and castles of the Cotswolds
Story · Guides · 11 minute read
Blenheim, Sudeley, Berkeley, Snowshill, Chastleton, Stanway, Kelmscott, Rodmarton, Dyrham, Lacock and the ruins: the Cotswolds' great houses and castles, who built them, when they open, and which suit children, gardeners or a day by train.
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Famous people with Cotswold connections
Story · History · 10 minute read
The writers, composers, scientists, queens and prime ministers whose lives are tied to Cotswold places, from Tyndale and Katherine Parr to Laurie Lee, Holst and Edward Thomas, and where to find their traces.
Getting to Winchcombe
- By bus
- Stagecoach's W (about 30 minutes) and Pulhams' 606 (about 48 minutes, six a day on to Broadway and Chipping Campden) each run about hourly from Cheltenham, Monday to Saturday; no Sunday bus.
- By train
- Cheltenham Spa is the nearest station, about 9 miles away; take a taxi, or the W or 606 from the town centre.
- Parking
- Back Lane is £1.50 all day, and Bull Lane charges by the hour; both are paid by RingGo, and Blue Badge holders park free.
Access
Belas Knap is a steep climb of just over half a mile from the lay-by on the lane, with two stiles and a kissing gate.
| Hailes Abbey | 3.1 mi |
|---|---|
| Cheltenham | 8.1 mi |
| Broadway | 8.7 mi |
| Stow-on-the-Wold | 14.3 mi |
Places near Winchcombe
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Guiting PowerA small stone village round a green on the Wardens' Way and the Windrush Way, a few miles from Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park, with a twelfth-century church.
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Hailes and DidbrookTwo hamlets under the escarpment north-east of Winchcombe: the ruins of Hailes Abbey, a painted twelfth-century church across the lane, a fruit farm with a café, a halt on the steam railway, and the Cotswold Way climbing to Beckbury Camp.
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TewkesburyThe abbey town where the Avon meets the Severn, 8 miles from Winchcombe: the largest Norman tower in England, the battlefield of 1471 and its medieval festival each July, Ashchurch station and the 40 bus, the 42 to Cheltenham, and the Cotswold edge at Bredon Hill and Cleeve.