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- Walkers
- Autumn
A weekend in the South Cotswolds: Tetbury, Malmesbury, Castle Combe and Lacock
A two-day South Cotswolds weekend by car: Tetbury's Market House and Westonbirt Arboretum on Saturday, a night beside Malmesbury Abbey, then Castle Combe, Biddestone and Lacock on Sunday. About 45 miles of driving.
- 2 days
- By car
- Base: Malmesbury
- About 45 miles (75km) driving
- Best on a weekend
Saturday: Tetbury, Westonbirt and Malmesbury
Day 1 · The market town, the National Arboretum and the abbey town on the Avon
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10am
10am Market town 15 minutes here
Tetbury
Park free at the Old Railyard. Saturday is a market day under the Market House, built on stone pillars in 1655.
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10.15am
10.15am On foot
A 1.7-mile (2.7km) loop on paved paths: St Saviour's, the packhorse bridge at Cutwell, Bath Bridge, St Mary's and the Market House, back along the old railway.
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11.15am
11.15am Eat and drink 1 hour here
Coffee and an early lunch on Long Street
The Gilbertine Kitchen serves breakfast and lunch from Wednesday to Sunday.
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12.30pm
12.30pm Things to do 2 hours here
Westonbirt, the National Arboretum
About 10 minutes by car. About 15,000 trees and shrubs and a treetop walkway. Adult £22 at weekends and £19 on weekdays until 15 November, then £19 at weekends and £14 on weekdays (2026); child £5. Book ahead in autumn.
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1pm
1pm On foot
A nearly level 2.5-mile (4.2km) loop from the treetop walkway through Silk Wood, where dogs can run off the lead, by Oak Avenue and the maples.
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2.45pm
2.45pm Things to do 30 minutes here
Malmesbury and the Athelstan Museum
About 15 minutes by car. Free, in the Town Hall on Cross Hayes: King Athelstan and Eilmer, the monk who flew. Saturdays 10.30am to 4pm, Sundays 11.30am to 3.30pm.
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3.15pm
3.15pm Market town 45 minutes here
Malmesbury Abbey
The Norman nave of about 1160 to 1180, free and open daily. It closes at 4pm Monday to Saturday (12.30pm to 3.30pm on Sundays), so come before four. Look up at the carved Apostles in the south porch, and find Athelstan's empty tomb.
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4.15pm
4.15pm On foot
A 2.5-mile (3.9km) loop from Cross Hayes, down past Daniel's Well and round the town by the river and the old silk mills. Mostly level, with some stiles.
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7pm
7pm Places to stay The night here
Dinner and bed at the Old Bell
Beside the abbey, a Grade I building that says it has welcomed guests since 1220. Dogs welcome in many rooms.
Sunday: Castle Combe, Biddestone and Lacock
Day 2 · The By Brook valley in the morning, a village green at lunch, the abbey after
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9am
9am Village 1.25 hours here
Castle Combe
About 25 minutes by car. Park on Dunns Lane at the top and walk down: drivers are fined for parking in the village. The White Hart opens at 9am, with pastries until 11.30am.
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10.30am
10.30am Village 1.5 hours here
Biddestone
About 10 minutes by car. A large green, a duck pond made in 1661 and a Norman church, with far fewer visitors than Castle Combe.
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12pm
12pm Eat and drink 1 hour here
Lunch at the White Horse
The pub on the green, open from noon on Saturdays and Sundays, with food from 12.30pm, and generous to dogs and muddy boots. It is closed on Mondays.
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1.30pm
1.30pm Things to do 2 hours here
Lacock Abbey and the Fox Talbot Museum
About 15 minutes by car. Adult £21 from March to October (2026); abbey rooms last entry 3.45pm, and closed from November to February. Car park £5 for non-members.
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3.30pm
3.30pm Village 1 hour here
Lacock village
Four streets of the medieval plan: St Cyriac's church, the fourteenth-century tithe barn and the lock-up on East Street. Tea at the George Inn, which serves food until 8pm.
In more detail
A weekend in the South Cotswolds is quieter than one in the north, and the places are as good: the pillared Market House in Tetbury, the trees at Westonbirt, the abbey at Malmesbury, the street down to the By Brook at Castle Combe and the abbey village of Lacock. By car it is about 45 miles (75km) over two days, with Malmesbury in the middle for the night.
Why the South Cotswolds for a weekend
The southern wolds fall towards Bath and Wiltshire, and they draw fewer people than Bourton or Bibury, except at Castle Combe on a summer weekend. The four towns and villages here are all within about 25 minutes of each other. This route also works from London: Kemble and Chippenham stations are on the line from Paddington, if you hire a car there.
Saturday: Tetbury, Westonbirt and Malmesbury
Tetbury is an old wool market town. Start at the Market House, built in 1655 on three rows of stone columns, and follow the town walk by Bath Bridge to St Mary's, rebuilt from 1777 as a tall Gothick hall with box pews. Highgrove Gardens are close by, but only on a guided tour booked ahead, on selected dates from April to September.
Westonbirt is the National Arboretum, and in autumn its maples are at their best. Allow two hours or more. Dogs can run off the lead in Silk Wood, and the treetop walkway works for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Malmesbury stands on a hill almost ringed by the Avon. The Athelstan Museum tells the stories of King Athelstan and of Eilmer, the monk who, the chronicler William of Malmesbury says, flew from a tower on wings early in the eleventh century; it is free and closed on Mondays. Then cross to the abbey, whose great Norman nave has been the parish church since 1541, past the market cross, built to keep market folk dry. Before dinner, walk the loop along the Avon, about an hour.
Sunday: Castle Combe, Biddestone and Lacock
Come to Castle Combe early: by late morning at weekends the street is full. From the car park walk down past the market cross and St Andrew's, with its medieval clock with no face, to the bridge over the By Brook. The parish council puts the average visit at just over an hour; walkers can take the circuit from Ford up the By Brook instead of driving in.
Biddestone, a few miles away, is the antidote: a large green with a duck pond of 1661 and St Nicholas's church. Its heritage trail runs 6.5 miles to Slaughterford and back, if you would rather walk than see Lacock.
Lacock lies a few miles beyond the southern edge of the Cotswolds National Landscape, and almost all of it belongs to the National Trust. Lacock Abbey was a nunnery made into a house; in 1835 Fox Talbot made the earliest surviving photographic negative here. Leave time for the village: St Cyriac's church, the tithe barn and the lock-up. Our guide to Cotswold film locations covers its screen career.
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Swaps for rain or a quieter weekend
On a wet day, Lacock Abbey's rooms and the Fox Talbot Museum are under cover, and the Athelstan Museum is free. From May to September, Rodmarton Manor near Tetbury opens its Arts and Crafts house and garden on Wednesdays, Saturdays and bank holiday Mondays. For quieter walking, try the 6.5-mile walk from Tetbury to Ashley in place of Westonbirt.
Where to stay for a weekend in the South Cotswolds
Malmesbury is the middle of this route. The Old Bell, beside the abbey, is a Grade I building with an Abbey Row restaurant and afternoon tea; the Kings Arms on the High Street has 15 rooms and tapas. In Tetbury, the Snooty Fox is on the Market Place; in Castle Combe, the Castle Inn has 12 rooms; in Lacock, the Red Lion has five. See also places to stay in Malmesbury and in Tetbury.