Itinerary suggestion for last day in Cotswolds

I've been to all four and they are all good options. Stratford's at the bottom of the list for me. If you are not driving, book The Robin service to take you to Winchcombe and Sudeley Castle: Sudeley is a fanstastic visit.

Out of those I totally recommend visiting Blenheim. It's a fantastic place that is beautiful both inside and outside. Even if part of it is being restored or whatever i would still go. Sudeley is mildly interesting but Blenheim is something if I had the opportunity I would readily visit it again.

There is always Cotswald Wildlife Park. Not sure if you like zoos but it's well thought out and they have a white rhino. Very random, but we went there and really enjoyed it.

Mustledogs, a yes for Blenheim, though it's not cheap. No, if you are relying on public transportation.

My top choice would be Hidcote Manor Gardens. I'd probably go with the Shakespeare fanatic (I have one of those too) and go to Stratford but on my own, my second choice would be either Sudeley or Blenheim, which ever fits best timing and transportation-wise.

Blenheim is also very expensive. Personally, I didn’t love it and at the moment I believe it’s covered in scaffolding. I didn’t like it that much because it’s ridiculously busy, the food options were appalling and the gardens are quite disappointing. There’s nothing growing in the walled garden really at all.

If you have a Shakespeare fan in the party you should go to Stratford.

I was terribly disappointed by Suddeley Castle which I felt was very over rated and not particularly impressive in side. Blenheim Palace beats it hands down every time and I have enjoyed repeat visits - which I wouldn't bother with for Suddeley. Once was enough!

If you decided on Hidcote Gardens, (well worth a visit) check if nearby Kiftsgate Court Gardens is open too. Kiftsgate isn't as well known as Hidcote and is a completely different style of garden. The two make for a very interesting day.

Another suggestion is to spend the day on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway which runs between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway. There is a reasonable choice of trains during the day which would allow you to break journey and spend time at some of the intermediate stations. You could get off at Hayles Abbey Halt (make sure you let the guard know you want to get off here and also give the loco crews a very clear hand signal you want them to stop and pick you up). It is just a short walk to the ruined Hailes Abbey. Also go into Hailes Church which has some rather nice Medieval wall paintings.

Alternatively get off at Toddington which has the loco sheds and viewing area as well as a signal box you can go in. Broadway is also an attractive place to spend a while too.

Thanks so much for the feedback thus far everyone. Wasleys, the idea of the steam train looks really fun. I checked the calendar, however for the Tuesday we would go and it looks like that train only has stops st Toddington, Winchcombe, Gotherington, terminating at Cheltenham Race Course. I assume that wouldn’t allow us to see the Abbey ruins? It still might be a fun day regardless.

I am going to say that the gardens and manors and the train appeal to me more than Stratford as I am not as into all things Shakespeare as my daughter is. We also could go back to Oxford for more time there as we will only have a day and a half at the front end of the trip.

I really appreciate reading everyone’s perspectives as I put some ideas into place!

I also happened upon this sweet spot as a possibility, but wasn’t sure how to get there unless by hiring a taxi.
It’s in Filkins.

https://www.cotswoldwoollenweavers.co.uk/index.html

Both my daughter and I knit and love to learn about local wool history. This place looks like a fun spot to explore. They also rent bikes to use to check out neighboring villages and have a nice tea and cafe. Would The Robin be an option for getting there from Chipping Campden?

for the Tuesday we would go and it looks like that train only has stops st Toddington, Winchcombe, Gotherington, terminating at Cheltenham Race Course. I assume that wouldn’t allow us to see the Abbey ruins?

The timetables don't show Hayles Abbey Station as it is a Halt so the trains only stop there on request- to the guard on the outward journey and by signalling to the driver to pick you up. Make sure the driver can see you and clearly signal with your hand in the air that you want him to stop.

Filkins is outwith the Robin operating area. However it is served by Pulhams bus 64 four times a day from Swindon to Witney.

Thus it is easy to reach from Bath (train to Swindon) or Oxford (very frequent buses to Oxford) or even London (55 minutes from Paddington to Swindon).

Stuart, what about coming from our base in Chipping Campden? Google Maps shows a 38 minutes by car but over 3 hours by buses. That wouldn’t work. Hiring a round trip taxi might be possible? I could email a company and see the cost to do that or if they would.

Thanks for the clarification, wasleys. That would be an option if we could do that and hop off. That would be an unique experience!

Actually from Chipping Campden is much harder. There is a villager community bus V26 one way from Moreton in Marsh to Witney (connection to Filkins) on certain days of the week but it misses the first bus from Chipping Campden by 8 minutes.

@mustlovedogs- If you like wool history, there a great (IMO) book called Sheeplands by Alan Marshall. It's wool history essentially from the beginning of time, also as specifically related to Wales, interspersed with story telling.

Katie, thank you for the book recommendation! I’ll definitely check it out. Here’s a page from the Cotswolds Woollen Weavers website that has some interesting information about the sheep of this area.

https://www.cotswoldwoollenweavers.co.uk/cotswold.html

Stuart, I looked at the villager link for that route V26. I wonder, could we prebook a taxi to get us to MiM before the bus leaves at 0901? The problem then is the time of the return….hmmm. Maybe just pre-booking a taxi both ways would be the best option if we wanted to go here if a company would consent and it wasn’t too pricey.

We were able to pre book a taxi from MiM to Hidcote Gardens and have them pick up up later. Here's the list of Cotswolds drivers that we used:

Cheltenham/Winchcombe

Starline Taxis: 01242 250250
Bishops Cleeve Private Hire: 01242 696676

Cheltenham/Winchcombe/Broadway/Guiting Power

P-Private Hire: 07540 437546
Cotswolds Executive Cars: Tina- 07919 160630 or Steve- 07538 184691

Broadway/Chipping Campden/Moreton-in-Marsh

Cotswolds Executive Cars: Tina- 07919 160630 or Steve- 07538 184691
Mark Jepson: 07895 028448

Bourton-on-the-Water/Moreton-in-Marsh/Stow-on-the-Wold/Guiting Power

Hope Private Hire: 07585 308838 or 07748 983311
Stow Cars: Edwin- 07946 525039

katiecem, thanks you so much! I had done a bit of digging into past posts and found three companies through a link Nigel shared from the National Rail website. (It was a list of three taxi companies on the Moreton in Marsh station page) but your list provides even more options, so I am hopeful we can line up a couple of days when we can use this form of transportation. We actually love to ride local buses and trains when we’re on vacation, and as long as the amount of time needed doesn’t really interfere with our day, it’s a really fun way to see the area. However, getting to - and back- by bus to some of these places in the Cotswolds seems a bit more challenging, so having the taxi numbers to call and pre- book is awesome! Thanks for taking the time to share them all!