Bath & the Cotswolds

I think a great way to see the Cotswolds is by doing a multi-day walk. My husband and I did a 4-day self-guided walk to/from Bath and stayed in 3 charming villages along the way. We used Cotswolds Walks and found then very easy to work with. We like to hike (but I would call this more of a walk) and were blown away by this experience. Yes, it rained; yes, we walked through cow dung; yes, we passed very close to a bull; yes, I would do it again in a heartbeat. 18 months later, I recall visions from that trip almost daily. You may not see as large an area, but I think you will feel like you really experienced the Cotswolds. There are walks in other areas of the Cotswolds as well.

I enjoy Bath a lot and could cheerfully spend several days there. If you are going in September and are Jane Austen fans, there is a festival Sept 9-18 2016. If you are not JA fans and still are going to travel to Bath during that time, the festival will not have an impact on your visit except to see random people in Georgian dress in the streets of Bath, lol. Kind of adds to the ambiance!

If you can manage Bath on days other than Friday and Saturday nights your hotel prices will be cheaper. At many hotels there is also a minimum of 2 nights on the weekend.

There are a couple of good day trip companies out of Bath. I have used Mad Max for a combo trip of Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock and Castle Coombe and thought they were quite good.

This is a good website to give you info on the sights available in Bath.

http://visitbath.co.uk/

I particularly enjoy the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey (check to see if there is a concert when you are there), Royal Crescent and the buildings on the Circus nearby, the museum at #1 Royal Crescent, the Holburne Museum, Prior Park (not necessary to see for a 1st time visitor), the tiny Georgian Garden. I thought the Fashion Museum was just OK. The Jane Austen Center is a waste of money and time. I have missed the Victoria Art Museum, Museum of Bath at Work and the Botanical Gardens as well as walking along the tow paths. I've done several walking tours of Bath and learned something new each time!

Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage site. To me one of the really interesting things is seeing the Roman ruins next to the Georgian era architecture.

From what I saw on a Cotswolds website it looks like there is pretty good public transport between all of the towns, is that accurate?

That's not how I'd describe the very sparse bus service between most of the villages. You probably can fairly easily - but not frequently - get a bus between Moreton-in-Marsh to Stow-on-the-Wold and then on to Cheltenham or Cirencester, but those are towns not villages.

Buses visit some villages (I am aware of Lower Swell and Upper Swell) once or twice a week.

Where did you see that there is "pretty good public transport between all the towns"?

Nigel,
I found this link.
http://www.escapetothecotswolds.org.uk/visitor-info/gettinghere/

The Cotswolds is one of the places in England where your enjoyment will be seriously curtailed without a car. Public transport is limited.

I wouldn't want to be planning much walking if you are visiting mid October or November. The clocks change at the end of October, so it gets dark by c 4.30pm.

Flying into Bristol will avoid the rail journey from London, but there are fewer flight options.

This will be my husband's and I second time spending a week in the Cotswolds. On the first occasion, we rented a cottage in Blockley. We trained to Moreton in Marsh and took a taxis to reach the cottage, we had reserved a rental car, but the location was closed by the time we arrived. The next morning we walked into Moreton in Marsh and picked up our rental car. We spent the next days driving to surrounding villages and doing circular walks.

By the way, it was not that difficult driving. I drove and my husband was the navigator. He made sure to remind me to stay to the left. I was very proud of his ability to stay calm and use a soothing tone. Plus, his navigation abilities were outstanding. I will admit I was extremely cautious, especially the first day.

This year, we decided we would use Cotswold Walks. We will be in Bath, so all we must do is reach Winchcombe to begin our self guided walk The Cotswold Line. Cotswold Walks takes care of transporting luggage to each new village and arranging hotel rooms, along will supplying maps. This is a linear walk and upon reaching Moreton in Marsh we will take the train back into London. The firm has numerous self guided walks to select from and even do guided walks.

I really enjoyed the beauty of the country side. I agree with previous poster, you will be close to livestock, mud, muck and possibly rain. I am so looking forward to our walk. Hopefully, this will aid you in your decision making process.

Susan,

that is one happy, glossy, optimistic website. It wants you to come.

Everything it says is technically true, but start looking at the bus maps, see that there are great swathes of nothing - there are all sorts of wonderful places if you draw a straight line from Stow-on-the-Wold to Cheltenham, or from Moreton-in-Marsh to Cheltenham, and there is just miles of nothing on the map. By car you could see so many things - and so easily - that your neck would wear out from the strain (I'm biased, some of my happiest boyhood memories are going around these areas on foot, or with the dog, on a bike or in my uncle's Rover 2000 or my other uncle's Ford Zephyr , and I know it like the back of my hand) in the same area that the bus map shows nothing.

Then check some of the schedules and you will see that you will do a lot of waiting, especially if it is not a school day, and especially if it is a Sunday or Saturday.

The bus I mentioned earlier apparently no longer serves the Swells - I guess we had it easy when it was Tuesday afternoons only.

Can you get to the major towns by bus - Chipping Campden, Chipping Norton, Stow, Moreton, Burford, Bourton-on-the-Water? Yes. And if you plan very very carefully you won't have to wait at the stop too long, and you can plan your return or continuing journey in a similar way so you know when to get up from your teas and scones and wander over to the stop.

Villages are a completely different matter, and that is where the quintessential beauty is.

Of all the train stations listed on that webpage the only one at all useful for the northern Cotswolds is Moreton-in-Marsh.

Thank you everyone I appreciate the feedback!

Everyone is always worried about driving on the left side of the road...when you get off the main roads...the byways are so narrow there is only the middle. Don't worry about the roundabouts...they are fun because you and no one stops...but it helps if you have a person as navigator on your right to tell you when your turn is coming up and to merge NOW! Seriously if you drive at all you can adjust to driving on the left pretty quickly...but turning on the car at first can be tricky...some autos have you point somewhere with the electronic key. Also they still charge extra for automatic transmissions...but most now have dashboard navigation. If you really want to see stuff and not waste time, especially in the Cotswolds, you should drive yourself or hire a small tour driver....or you can hike on the footpaths...wear water resistant shoes.

When planning for my trip in May, I was avoiding the Cotswolds, thinking it might be over-hyped. Then someone mentioned this small bus Secret Cottage tour. It sounds like the best option for me, as a 70-year-old traveling solo. I know it isn't perfect, but it does seem to get good reviews. I'll not do it as a day trip from London, but rather spend 2 nights in Moreton-in-Marsh at the Bell Inn after I'm in Bath for 4 nights at the Kennard.

I'll get there by train from Bath. It's too early to check the exact schedule for the arrival day, but using the same day of the week and time in March, it looks like it takes about 2 hours with 2 train changes for trains at the time I would want to travel. All times are called "off-peak" and the cost for this dummy price and schedule is 39.80 GBP with a Senior Railcard.

Having not done this yet, I can't really tout it as an option for you. It's just what I have planned.

I'd be very cautious about basing any future itinerary on past or present bus services. Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire County Councils look likely to remove some to all subsidies to buses in their areas. What will come out of this shakedown is anyone's guess at the moment.

We took the "Secret Cottage" tour from Moreton-in-Marsh in September (http://www.cotswoldtourismtours.co.uk/) and found it to be an enjoyable day well spent. We have stayed in the Cotswolds in the past and toured the area but chose to take this tour in order to see some of the smaller villages without having to drive. The tour guide was excellent, the group small, and the food (morning coffee, lunch, and afternoon tea) excellent. We highly recommend this tour if you have a limited amount of time to see the area, don't want to drive, or just want a lovely day tour.

Hi Pam, thank you for the info on Bath, I appreciate it! It looks like a great place to spend a few days. Looks like there are quite a few restaurants/pubs/bars to visit as well. On our last trip (Belgium) we struggled to find good food (besides the street waffles and fries, haha). Thanks!

You can see some nice Cotswold towns by train and bus, but really to get the benefit you need a car, or to do a tour. If you are carless in Bath, a nice day out is go south by train which runs down through the very pretty Avon valley. The hamlet of Avoncliff has a nice pub (the Cross Guns), and a canal that cross the river on a viaduct. Then a bit further south is Bradford on Avon which has the look of a pretty Cotswold town. If you travel far enough you get to the Cathedral City of Salisbury, which is very nice, and you get get buses from there out to the ancient ruin that is the town of Old Sarum, and also to Stonehenge. Bath itself, of course, is lovely.

There is no reason that you have to have a company plan your walking/hiking trip. My friend and I walked the Cotswolds Way in September 2014, we planned and booked our B&Bs ourselves, it saves a lot of money.

We did use Peter at Volunteer Inn to take our bags from B&B to the next B&Bs. You could start in Bath, or start in one of the villages, we walked north to south, Chipping Campden to Bath. There are several good books about the Cotswolds Way, I recommend getting one, look at the map of the trail to see which section you want to walk. I'll tell you that one of the most amazing view was on Cleeve Hill, which is the highest point of the Cotswolds Way national trail. The trail goes thru sheep pastures, cow pastures, corn fields, woods and villages. All the B&Bs we stayed at were great. If you would like to have a name of a book, B&Bs or any other info, send me a message.