Cotswolds

There's only one village in the Cotswolds with rail service: Moreton-in-Marsh. It's not one of the places most often mentioned when people discuss the "best" villages to see, so that would mean hopping on a bus to one of the neighboring towns. I think MiM is sort of the bus hub for that area, so I'm sure it's doable, but you'll want to check the schedules in advance (be careful about day of the week).

I chose to spend the night in Oxford and take a quick train ride to Moreton early enough in the morning that I could pick up one of the GoCotswold van tours departing from the Moreton RR station. Therefore, I can't tell you how well the train+bus approach will work. An issue I've had elsewhere is that buses to small villages tend to be infrequent, which doesn't necessarily work too well when you're going to a place that you can cover completely in 1 - 2 hours.

You might take a look at the LondonWalks website to see whether that company is offering a trip to the Cotswolds during your timeframe. I am nearly certain their trips start with taking the train, whereas a lot of bus tours from London involve (duh) buses the entire way. I think the train would be more comfortable and probably faster, leaving you more time to see the Cotswolds. The schedule currently posted runs just through April 30, so if your trip is later than that you'll need to wait to find out what they will be offering that might work for you. I don't know what they charge for the Cotwolds tour, but I'm sure it's reasonable. Be sure you understand whether you are to pay for your own rail ticket; it may work that way.

I signed up for Becky's Secret Cottage Tour online before I left the States in Sept. 2017. Many dates were booked 5 months out and I found a weekday that coincided my trip dates. It's been suggested that weekends are mobbed and that's why I chose a Tuesday.
I took the train from Paddington station to Moreton-on-Marsh where Becky's mini-van picked us up right at the train station. 7 people to a van! She has wry sense of humor and the day was very pleasant. We saw many remote villages that are only easily accessible by car. She took us to her genuine thatched cottage for mid-morning tea, luncheon and late afternoon cream tea. What a lovely day!

Took the train back to Paddington and met friends at 6:30 pm at a pub for a light supper!

Recommend you carefully note acraven's 1st sentence: "There's only one village in the Cotswolds with rail service: Moreton-in-Marsh."
In general, to really explore the Cotswolds, it's is one exception to the rule of taking trains in most of "England." Cotswolds.

From Paddington we took the train to Moreton-on-Marsh. From there we caught the local bus for about3-5 miles to Stow-on-the Wold. A wonderful village. We used Rick's book to select a nice B&B, run by James Brown, an incredible character who was a true joy. I remarked to him that I only knew the great James Brown as a soul singer and he riffed a few bars of " I Feel Good." There are some good places to eat, and some delightful hikes to little villages such as Upper and Lower Slaughter. In Lower Slaughter we stopped on a Sunday to watch a match at the local Cricket Club, players decked out in their whites, vintage small village England! A short bus ride will take you to Burton-on-the- Waters, more touristy, but a must see in the Cotswolds. I would suggest that it is definitely worth spending two nights in the Cotswolds to relax and get the feeing of small village England. Enjoy! Hank, Novato, CA

Thank you all very much!! Great information!

Take the train from London Paddington Station to Moreton-in-Marsh. Once there you could take bus or cab to either Bourton-on-the-Water which is a lovely village, Broadway or Stow-on-the-Wold. There are buses, but they don’t run real frequent.