Getting around Cotswolds without a car?

Look online for small group tours in the Cotswold area; they use passenger vans. Cotswold is known for public access footpaths. They do have buses that you can ride back near your village. Check www.nationaltrust.org.uk for info on sites to visit. If you take a tour some sites will be included with your ticket. We did drive when we were there. You don't have to worry about driving on the left, as the roads are narrow and you can drive down the middle, LOL!

You won’t be getting around to see many of the iconic towns in the Cotswolds without a car. Very few towns have train stations ( Moreton-in-Marsh is one that does) and buses run infrequently.

If you do plan to still go without renting a car, Kathleen’s suggestion to book with a tour group is a practical plan,

I’m in the Cotswolds now (Bourton-on-the-Water). I have a rental car, but there are regular buses connecting Moreton-in-Marsh with Bourton (one or two per hour) as well as Stow-in-the-Wold and several other towns. There are several trains daily between London-Paddington and Moreton. While sticking to buses would limit the number of towns you could visit, you could certainly reach enough places to fill a stay of a few days. Bourton is very pretty, and a good base for walks to the Slaughters and Stow, as well as other easier strolls. Stow is also a good base. Chipping Campden and Broadway in the northern Cotswolds are nice, but a little less well connected.

We took the train to Moreton-in-Marsh, the bus to Stow-on-the-Wold where we stayed and used the bus system to get around to different villages as well as walked different paths and used the bus to get back because it’s uphill to Stow. Took the train back to London after a week. No car needed and saw quite a bit.

Thank you so much to everyone who has replied so far! These suggestions are really helpful and I’m hoping I’ll be able to make it work with buses and walking, even if I have to stay in a somewhat small area.

Sb16, we are headed to the Cotswolds for about a week and I have planned out an itinerary using only buses, taxis and The Robin, which is a local transportation service you can book ahead. We are also taking a day trip to the southern Cotswolds with Go Cotswolds! Touring Company. If you are willing to plan and work within the bus route times (the companies are Stagecoach and Pulhams) and maybe are there over a weekend when the Heritage Bus 11 is running, you can get to quite a few places. There are also several taxi service companies you can look up. We have found Cotswolds Executive Cabs, (Tina and Steve) to be very prompt and helpful as I have pre- booked a couple of rides already. Red Lion Taxis was recommended by our leasing company, too.

I will have more to report on regarding the ease of using public transportation while there once we get back. I’m hopeful we will feel it was an acceptable way to see this part of the country. Yes, it’s always easier to rent a car, but it’s not something everyone feels they want to do.

Moreton-in-Marsh has a train station and a connected bus network. We stayed there in May of this year and used the buses to get to many of the towns, then walked the paths to other towns and easily found the bus back. You do need to take a photo of the bus schedules, just so you have it available, but it was fairly straight forward.

The train station is right by where the bus stops are also.

We have spent time in the Cotswolds without a car and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. We arrived in Moreton in Marsh by train and stayed there 2 nights. One day we booked a taxi/private driver to take and pick us up from Hidcote Gardens. They dropped us in Broadway after which we took a bus back to MiM. We also spent 3 nights in Bourton on the Water. We rode the bus to Stow on the Wold and spent one day there. We walked from Bourton to the Slaughters and back another day. You won't see everything but you'll definitely get a nice visit even without a car.

Rather than taking photos of the schedules you can also download pdf versions from the respective websites - Pulham, Stagecoach and Troopers Lodge.
I saw something this week which claimed that the Pulhams name is to vanish. They are already operationally part of Thames Travel/Oxford Bus company (the people who run the Heathrow to Oxford bus).
Apparently everything is to be merged together under the one name, one to watch.

If the name Pulhams does vanish that will be the end of an era for the locals, even though services are either not changing or even improving.

That would be a shame. Pulhams is a name I grew up with and have known all my life. Already lost Blank and White, and Midland Red.

Pulhams were always a cut above.