Walk from Broadway Village to Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds (4.4 miles lap)

Visit fairytale hilltop madness with 16-county panoramic views on this 7-kilometer walk from Broadway Village to Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds, one of a series of circuitous walks on the 102-mile Cotswold Way walking trail between Chipping Campden and Bath.

The walk starts in the picturesque village of Worcestershire on Broadway, famous for its boutique hotels, shops and restaurants, and heads through the fields to St Edburga’s, which was once the parish church of Broadway. It then ascends through the woods to the Broadway Tower on Beacon Hill, the second highest point in the Cotswolds at 312 meters above sea level.

From Broadway Village to Broadway Tower Walk in the Cotswolds — broadway tower

This 18th-century tower was a printing press, an artist’s refuge, and the site of a nuclear bunker. It is now open to the public to tour the rooms inside and take in the views from above. From the Tower, the route goes down the Cotswold Way all the way to Broadway.

It takes about two hours to walk from Broadway Village to the Broadway Tower, but allow extra time to visit the Tower. It is moderately difficult with some steep ascents and descents.

Broadway High Street in the Cotswolds — High Street Broadway

Details of the Walk from Broadway Village to Broadway Tower and Map

Distance: 4.4 miles / 7 km.
Time: 2 hours (plus time to visit the Tower).
Height: Height increase 770 feet.
Complexity: Moderate.
Ways: Grass, dirt and rocky paths and sidewalks in the village of Broadway.
Availability: A couple of gates with obstacles to step over, and many gates with kisses. Several steep sections, especially on the way back to the village from the Tower.
map: OL45 Cotswolds*
toilets: Public restrooms on Broadway at Church Close Car Park (WR12 7AH) and Amusement Park (WR12 7DP). Toilets for customers at the Broadway Tower Cafe.
Facilities: Morris and Brown a café in the Tower selling hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and afternoon tea. Wide range of places to eat and drink on Broadway including Tisanes Tea Room, Leaf and Bean Restaurant, Broadway Hotel and Swan Inn near the start/end of the walk.

Map from Broadway Village to Broadway Tower Walk in the Cotswolds

Click on the map above to go to Wikiloca free app where you can download a map and GPS directions for walking from Broadway Village to Broadway Tower.

Start/end point

The starting point of the walk is the High Street Broadway War Memorial (WR12 7DP). If you are traveling by car, there is paid parking available at Church Close (WR12 7AH) and Leamington Road (WR12 7ET) car parks. Church Close is a couple of minutes’ walk from the war memorial, and Leamington Road runs further down the High Street so you can join the route at the amusement park turnoff.

If you are traveling by public transport, the nearest train stations are in Moreton-in-Marsh or Evesham. The Stagecoach 1/2 bus ride from Moreton-in-Marsh to Broadway takes 30 minutes (Monday to Saturday). Or the NN Cresswell Rural 4 bus from Evesham takes 20 minutes (Monday to Friday). But both have only a few services each day, so check the schedule beforehand.

You can also head to Broadway in style aboard the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway from Cheltenham Racecourse, although this service only operates on certain dates. Broadway station is approximately 15 minutes walk down Station Road to the starting point of this walk.

Broadway War Memorial – starting point of the walk

Walking Route from Broadway Village to Broadway Tower

Stage 1: Broadway Village to Broadway Tower

Start your walk next to the Broadway War Memorial. Walk east on High Street past the luxurious Lygon Arms* the hotel on your left, a 14th-century inn that has hosted celebrities from Oliver Cromwell and King Edward VII to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

Continue to the Broadway Museum and Art Gallery. Directly in front of the museum, a black sign that says “Walkway” and “Amusement Park and Picnic Area” points to the right. Follow this path which starts out quite narrow and then exits onto a grassy area with a playground on your left.

Signpost for an amusement park on Broadway — Turn right at the Activity Park sign and go down the alley.

Go through the Kissing Gate and go straight across the field, then through another Kissing Gate, marked with a green Cotswold Street Circle Walk sign. Cross the small bridge (be careful, it can be muddy around the creek here) and go through the other gate into the field.

Continue straight ahead on this path as it passes through a couple more kissing gates and across a field with a wooden sign showing you are heading in the right direction. Keep walking to the end of the field – note the beautiful thatched cottage on your right as you walk.

Signpost from Broadway Village to Broadway Tower Walk — Follow the path through the field past the wooden signpost.

Pass through the wooden gate marked ‘Public Walkway’ on Snowshill Road and turn left (watch for traffic), follow the road past Broadway Court and St. Edburgh’s Church.

The church was the original parish church of Broadway at the time when the village was further south towards Snowshill – the center of Broadway later shifted a mile to its present position after the High Street grew along the stagecoach route. It is dedicated to Edburga, granddaughter of Alfred the Great, and parts of the building date back to the 12th century.

St Edburga's Church off Broadway in the Cotswolds — Follow Snowshill Road past St Edburga’s Church.

Just past the church, turn left through an ornate metal gate onto a road called Conigry Lane, to your right there is a picturesque little gatehouse. Follow this trail, which climbs uphill for about 800 meters, through a forested area with bluebells and wild garlic in the spring.

At the top of the path, turn left and go through the metal gate (these are combination gates with a small step to climb over) and follow the path that turns left across the field and in front of the bungalow. Follow this path for 200 meters. Before you reach the gate with two stone pillars, turn left, go through another combination gate and follow the rocky path uphill.

Conigry Lane and old gatehouse near Broadway, Cotswolds — Turn left and walk down Conigry Lane past the old gatehouse.

When the trail enters a small paved road, turn left and follow the road uphill past Rookery Farm. Just before you reach the top of the hill, turn left through the Kissing Gate marked with the Cotswold Way Circular Walk sign (the main gate was broken on our last visit).

Walk across the field and through the gate in front of the Morris & Brown Cafe in the Broadway Tower where you can stop for a bite to eat and drink (there are also restrooms for customers).

Morris & Brown Cafe at Broadway Tower — Cafe Morris and Brown

Then continue down the cafe road on your right, past the shepherds’ huts and through the tall metal gates on your left into the Tower grounds (from here you will be asked to buy a ticket – admission is £14 for adults, £6 for children aged 11-16 or £3 for children aged 6-10). You will see the tower in front of you and pay attention to the red deer in the fenced area to your left.

broadway tower was built for Barbara, Countess of Coventry by her husband, the 6th Lord of Coventry, and she could see the lighthouse here from her home in Worcester 22 miles away. It was the brainchild of Capability Brown, but he did not live to see its completion.

Instead, it was completed by architect James Wyatt in 1798. And while it was designed as a frenzy, it ended up being used as a printing press, a retreat for artists including William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and a farmhouse before being opened to the public. Today you can take a tour of the recreated rooms inside and see views of 16 arrondissements from above.

The tower is also a place nuclear bunker, built 15 feet underground during the Cold War and manned by men and women from the Royal Corps of Observers who worked there for three weeks. You can take the 45-minute tour on weekends and public holidays from April to October (book your tickets in advance on their website).

The Black Kissing Gate on the Cotswold Way behind the Broadway Tower — Pass through the tall black kiss behind the Tower and follow the path to the left.

Stage 2: Broadway Tower to Broadway Village on Cotswold Street.

When you’re ready to continue, there’s a tall black metal kissing gate just behind the Tower. Pass through this and turn left onto Cotswold Way. Follow down the slope marked with the Cotswold Way signs (ignore any signs of the Broadway Tower Circle Walk).

There are benches halfway where you can stop and take in the views. Then several steps of descent, and then a steeper descent. The path passes through several gates, descending down a slope, crossing a field where the route is marked with wooden posts.

As the path becomes flat, it crosses a stone bridge over a stream. Go to the houses in the corner of the field, where you will see a gate leading through an alley between houses.

Go through the alley and then turn left as it joins the High Street. Follow the High Street back through the village, passing the corner of the Activity Center and then back to the war memorial. If you want to stop for a drink, the Broadway Hotel and Swan Inn are near the war memorial on both sides of the road, and both have summer beer gardens.