Cotswolds

how will you get around - bus, tour minibus, car or on foot or bike? Different answers depending.

Maybe bus. Are there any trains? Some walking.

Hi Elodie -

I’m going to suggest Painswick and Slad as nice places to stay/visit. It’s been a while since I was staying in the Cotswolds, so I have no insight on hotels, etc to stay at. I’ve just booked some pretty remote accommodation for myself much further north using Booking.com, so that might be a start.

There’s no rail in the Cotswolds to my knowledge, but you can gain access by rail to Moreton in the Marsh as a jump off point for Chipping Camden and an ‘in’ to the area. I suspect that the Cotswolds are fairly poorly served by bus services. That said our trip through the Cotswolds was on foot on the Cotswold Way, so we were always heading for Bath to make our transport connections home! (The CW is a little over a hundred miles starting in Chipping Camden and heading southwest to Bath. There’s some pretty good walking as I recall but there is some wilful ascending and descending of the escarpment on route and there are golf courses to cross or dodge round, lots of them!).

If you want to see as much as possible and aren’t hiring a car, and walking isn’t going to achieve your requirements, maybe looking to hire a bike if you are fairly energetic is a good idea.

To be honest, I am with my fellow Brits here who are rather puzzled by the appeal of the Cotswolds, but there is no denying that generally it is a very pleasant area and if it’s what you want to see, then fair enough, go for it! Hope you can pull your trip together OK and have a great time!

Ian

Thank you Ian. Now I've got some thinking to do about how well get around in that area!

Elodie, do some searching here and on TripAdvsor Cotswold forum, as there is lots of information about traveling by train and bus. Lots of discussions about trains, buses, etc. in the Cotswolds. It is a little confusing because there is more than one train line and many bus lines. Most people don't recommend the buses because of the schedules, but we managed to get around on trains and buses with careful planning. We also did some hiking on the Cotswold Way, but not all 100 miles :-).

Thank you. My brother, who in traveling with, is a great follower of Trip Advisor at he's probably checking that. Lugging a suitcase is why Im looking for the easiest way!

If you don't have a lot of time for the Cotswolds in your itinerary, a day tour may be right for you.
I recommend taking the train to Moreton in Marsh from London, stay for the night, then the following morning get onboard this tour:
Go Cotswolds. They pick up at several locations.
https://www.gocotswolds.co.uk/

Since your brother is a big Trip Advisor fan, here's their take on this tour (Certificate of Excellence):
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g186399-d6696369-Reviews-Go_Cotswolds-Stratford_upon_Avon_Warwickshire_England.html

Some towns/villages in the Cotswolds include:
Chipping Campden
Broadway
Stow-On-The-Wold
Bourton-On-The-Water
If you decide you want hotel recommendations for a certain town, let us know which one.
There's no point in us throwing out names of hotels until you decide what town or village you want to stay in.

You can also take the train from London to Stratford-Upon-Avon, check into a hotel there, and be picked up the next morning at your hotel by this tour.

Thank you Rebecca. I'll have my brother check out the link. It will be a quick trip to the Cotswolds unfortunately so we'll be trying to a lot in a short amount of time.

Here's a possibility for a day tour: Secret Cottage Tour. Your brother will probably find it on Trip Advisor. I linked directly to the tour's website.

I did it in May 2016, staying in Moreton-in-Marsh the night before and the night after. The pick up and return are at the Moreton-in-Marsh train station. Most of the people on it were day-trippers from somewhere else.

Be sure to explore the website and compare it with any other options you find. I loved every minute of it. It goes to places where no public transportation does.

This sounds very intriguing. I copied and sent your message on to my brother who is planning our itinerary!
Thank you!

We stayed in Chipping Campden for six nights and used it as a base to see the Cotswolds, Stratford Upon Avon, Blenheim Palace and Oxford. The Volunteer Inn is nice and has a great pub as well as Indian restaurant.
You would need to rent a car if you stayed there.

Thank you! We had not planned on renting a car but you still have some good suggestions.