3 Day Self Bike Ride in Cotswold's Area

Posted by Daniel (Florida) on 01/12/24 01:20 AM

Hi,

I will take a cruise from Southampton in mid-June and have 5 days before the ship leaves port. I would like to self-bike ride the Cotswold's area using a base village for three days. My wife and I are just leisure bike riders and not serious cyclists. I would bike ride the areas stopping in different villages along the way and returning to my base village each night. I am looking to ride no more than 3-4 hours each day. I was thinking about using Bourton-On-The-Water as a base for three days and then spending my other two days in Bath. Would Bourton-On-The-Water be a good option for a self-bike ride? Would there be other villages that would be more suitable for this itinerary?

Also, I will be flying into Heathrow Airport.

Thank you in advance.
Dan

Posted by Claudia

Land of La

01/12/24 01:40 AM

8669 posts

Hate to bust your bubble but not the best way to see the Cotswolds.

Roads are narrow, lots of hedges and traffic flows opposite the way you are used to.

And what type of bike? Yours? A rental?

Others will offer their thoughts and experiences.

Posted by Hank

City of Seattle

01/12/24 02:20 AM

1768 posts

Daniel I have a lot of experience doing leisure bike riding in Europe, but none directly in the Cotswolds. A very good indicator in your favor is that many different companies run self-guided bicycle tours in the Cotswolds. So it should be completely doable.

I would take a look at this tour from Mac' Adventures. Not suggesting that you sign up for it, but rather it should give you a good idea of where the good riding is, and which village to base in - just take a look at the map.

This tour uses two villages as home base for riders. That's a good indicator that there will be bicycle rentals available in one or both of those villages. If you rent bikes somewhere in those villages, extremely likely that the shop will be able to provide you with a map and or GPS tracks of the best riding.

Have a great time!

Posted by Al

01/12/24 02:21 AM

96 posts

I have cycled in the Cotswolds in my younger days and had no problems.
A better website might be cyclinguk.
I would stay in Moreton-in-Marsh for convenience.
- looks like trains from Southampton with only 1 change ( check national rail site ).
- Moreton-in-Marsh is the only train station in the Cotswolds.
- train to Oxford and direct bus to Heathrow would be an easy way to the airport.
- There appears to be a bike rental shop in Moreton-in-Marsh (Cotswolds cycle have a website and cyclinguk should have more info ) and it would be convenient to rent and stay in the same village.
- villages are close together and are within 2 hours of Moreton.
- bike shop, tourist website, sustrans and cyclinguk website should all be able to give tentative routes.
Good luck and enjoy

Posted by stephen

Greeley, co, usa

01/12/24 02:22 AM

2406 posts

cyclinguk.org is the website to check out

Posted by isn31c

Lake District, England

01/12/24 03:35 AM

5748 posts

There are a large number of bridleways and what are called quiet lanes.
Bridleways are off road paths for horseriders and walkers.
Quiet lanes are narrow lightly trafficked lanes where priority is given to horseriders, walkers and cyclists.

Posted by Daniel OP

Florida

01/12/24 12:11 PM

20 posts

I thank you all for the providing your thoughts. I will definitely take a look at the information/suggestions that were provided and modify my itinerary.

Thanks again.

Posted by geovagriffith

01/12/24 01:02 PM

7667 posts

We stayed at the Volunteer Inn in Chipping Campden and used it as a base for six nights in 2017. We didn't bike, but the inn is great, has the best pub in town and spacious rooms at reasonable rates.

Posted by Carolyn

Cincinnati, Ohio

01/12/24 01:16 PM

13 posts

My husband and I took an all day guided tour of the Cotswolds with Peter at https://www.cotswoldelectricbiketours.co.uk
We are in our late 60s and casual bike riders and we enjoyed the e-bikes since the area we biked was fairly hilly. We stayed in Moreton-in-Marsh and took the train to Kingham for the tour. Peter will pick you up at the train station. I know he also has a tour that leaves from Moreton-in-Marsh. We loved biking the Cotswolds. Just another option for you.