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Cotswolds Cycling May 2027

Posted by (Seattle, WA) on

Still planning our 30-day trip to England. This query focuses on 5 nights/4 days for cycling the Cotswolds. I am hopeful that

  1. Some of you experience with the vendors shown below and
  2. Others of you might comment on the merits of various itineraries summarized below.

My original thought was to take a trip from Moreton-in-Marsh or Oxford to Bath, with Cycling for Softies or with Active England Tours. HOWEVER, I am wondering whether that might be too far or too much travel on busier roads. Perhaps we might might be better off to take a bus or other transport to Bath once the self-guided cycle tour is complete, but that would likely mean a single night in Bath, rather than two nights in Bath. Options:

  • Mac's Adventures - not that well reviewed, though a few years back, a couple of folks on the forum suggested them on two different posts; I don't know that either of them (Hank from Seattle and Susan from Dalton, MA) actually used Mac's, themselves.
  • Cycling for Softies - 5 nights: Moreton in Marsh, Bibury, Painswick, Tetbury, Bath. Their itinerary, here
  • Active England - 5 nights: Oxford, Burford, Burford (loop day), Rodborough, Bath. Their itinerary, here
  • Adventure Velo - 5 nights: Moreton in Marsh, Bourton on the Water, Fairford, Frampton Mansell, Cirencester. Their itinerary, here
  • Cotswold Journeys - 5 nights: Chipping Camden, Winchcombe, Bourton on Water (2 nights), Chipping Camden - Itinerary here OR 5 nights: Chipping Camden, Upper Slaughter, Woodstock (2 nights; allows for day trip to Oxford or to Blenheim Palace), Chipping Camden, itinerary here
  • Saddle Skedaddle - We would work with them to trim 2 nights from their 7-night tour based from Moreton-in-Marsh, Bourton-on-the-Water and Woodstock, itinerary here. They run loops out of the first two and also a two day trek over to Woodstock and back. That 2-day trek does not really have time to visit Blenheim or Oxford, near as I can tell. However, neither of those two destinations are part of our 30-day trip plan, anyway. (We will be using Saddle Skedaddle for a 5-night/4-day cycle in the Lake Dist.)

So, once again, any thoughts or refinements that those of you on the forum may have to offer will be cheerfully considered. TY.

Posted by
2072 posts

I'm not going to be a huge help here but I'll give you what I know. I have not done a cycling tour with any of the companies you mention. If I'm honest I would not be doing a trip in the Cotswolds anyway. It's perfectly fine but nowhere near my favourite place to cycle in the Uk and it does get extremely busy, particularly with US visitors for some reason.

Mac's Adventures I am aware of and seem to have a decent reputation.

Cycling For Softies have been around for years and always had an excellent reputation. They always used to insist that you carried all your stuff with you rather than luggage transfers and that's why I never did a tour with them. That was more than 20 years ago though.

I know absolutely nothing about Active England, Adventure Velo and Cotswold Journeys and I can't even open the links for the first two.

Saddle Skedaddle I know a bit more about as I vaguely know one of the company's founders and my wife and I used their travel expertise on a number of Fair Trade holidays we went on before Covid as they did all the logistics for the people who ran them. They were always excellent. I keep looking at their cycling tours but have still never done one.

Just to confuse you a bit more this is a tour run by Exodus, a large UK based adventure travel company. It's sold as a private journey and it's not clear whether they would run it for two of you. It's also a bit more cycling than the other tours but I guess if it's a private tour that will be negotiable anyway.https://www.exodus.co.uk/trips/united-kingdom-holidays/cycling/cycle-cotswolds-oxford-to-bath-private-group-adventure/muo#overview I have done a tour with Exodus, to South Africa, about 10 years ago and that was well run and is still offered by them.

As an aside I've just come back on Sunday from a 9 day trip to Georgia, cycling with Explore, Exodus' rival adventure travel company

Posted by
1026 posts

If I'm honest I would not be doing a trip in the Cotswolds anyway. It's perfectly fine but nowhere near my favourite place to cycle in the Uk and it does get extremely busy, particularly with US visitors for some reason.

Food for thought. Since the only thing booked, yet, is airplane journey, what would you suggest instead? We will need to replace a Cotswolds cycle with some other self-guided cycle tour. Perhaps in or near the Norfolk Coast? Derbyshire/Peak District? Yorkshire? Kent?

Right now, current plan:

  • 4 nights London
  • 3 nights Cambridge
  • 3 nights Bakewell (maybe a day or even two cycling)
  • 5 nights Lake District (4 days cycling)
  • 3 nights Stratford-Upon-Avon (hopefully a day cycle to Baddsley Clinton)
  • 4 (5?) nights Cotswolds (4 days cycling)
  • 2 (1?) night(s) Bath
  • 1 night Salisbury
  • 3 nights Tunbridge Wells
  • 3 nights London
Posted by
2072 posts

Fred - the one thing that the Cotswolds has going for it rather than other areas is that there are so many people who go there companies respond with plenty of choice of cycling tours. The areas I prefer are less busy, which is a big plus for me, but which means the facilities are less developed.

Given your overall plans I would choose if you can find a provider would be the English/Welsh borders i.e. Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys It's the area to the west and north of the Cotswolds - stunningly beautiful and in my view way better.

I had a quick google and came up with Drover Cycles in Hay-on-Wye. They do bike hire (not clear if you need that) but this page links into 4 rides from Hay to give you some idea of what would be possible from a base there -https://drovercycles.co.uk/leisure-cycling-from-hay-on-wye/

Hay is a beautiful small town right on the border between England and Wales. It's famous for its book festival in late May which attracts authors from all over the world - Bill Clinton came one year. I'm not clear when your trip is but it would be best to avoid the town when the festival is on.

I'm sure there will be other options but they might need some searching for.

There are plenty of other areas but that one is a particular favourite of mine and would fit in to your plans geographically.

Posted by
1026 posts

Food for thought.

We would immediately precede the book fest; our departure day would be fest first day.

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