London Walks

I’m interested as well since I was planning to go on that walk in May. I hope you get feedback!

I did it in May 2016 and highly recommend it. Of course it would always be better to go and spend some days in the Cotswolds, but that just wasn't possible for me, and for being able to go for the day, I loved it.

I would advise arriving earlier than the prescribed meeting time. I did, but then hung out in other parts of the station, and only went to meet up with the group at the time on the schedule. By then, there were so many people there that the guide had to turn people away (because the bus they hire to meet up with the train will only fit so many). An extraordinarily gracious student who was studying in London voluntarily gave her seat to me as she said she could come back on another weekend in the summer when they would be running the walk again. I will never forget that kindness!

Oops edit to add: Mine was just Cotswolds, didn't have Oxford as well. So I don't know what to say for sure!

I have a hard time imagining a day-trip from London that includes both Oxford and the Cotswolds. I liked Oxford a lot, but you can do that on your own. Just hop on a train (cheaper tickets if bought in advance) and take the walking tour offered by the Oxford Tourist Office. (There are other walking tours as well.) Then consider going to the Ashmolean and/or Pitt-Rivers Museums. Oxford is a very full day; I was glad to have more like 1-1/2 days in town.

If I were going to do a day-trip from London, I would prefer that it be just the Cotswolds, which are very difficult to manage on ones own. The London Walks approach of putting you on a train is intelligent, because taking a bus all the way from London would be a lot slower. Perhaps the group takes the train only as far as Oxford (there's service of some sort all the way to Moreton-in Marsh) and the "Oxford" part of this tour is just what you see as you head out of Oxford on the bus toward the Cotswolds? That would be relatively OK, since it would maximize your time in the Cotswolds.

With time available, I'd urge you to spend 3 nights in Oxford. On one of your two full days there, you could take a GoCotswolds bus tour. Those leave from the Moreton-in-Marsh train station, which is a short ride from Oxford. That's how I handled my Cotswolds visit. Bonus: hotels in Oxford are normally quite a bit less expensive than London hotels.

Hi Andy! When I took this London Walks, it included only the Cotswolds and filled our day. We easily found our guide, Richard, at the train station in the morning and then spent the day exploring the area. We walked quite a bit through beautiful and peaceful countryside, ate lunch on our own and explored the little town we were in (sorry I don't remember which one it was!). It was a lovely, full day and a lovely memory. To include Oxford I, also would think is a lot for just one day. That said, this was a while ago and I'm sure their itinerary will make the best use of your time. I have taken several London Walks and have always enjoyed each one immensely. I think I'd go for it!

We did this tour in May 2012. We chose it because we were staying in London for a week with our kids and wanted them to get a taste of the Cotswolds, when we weren't up for renting a car / etc. If you will enjoy getting a 'taste' of Oxford and the Cotswolds, I would recommend doing it. It was a well organized trip, and I felt like it told me enough about which places I would choose to go back to for longer. Our kids weren't that interested in Oxford, but really enjoyed the Cotswolds, for example. As others have said, you won't get a thorough look but I thought it was a great way to see something outside London as a day trip.

I just re-read the post above and thought I would clarify how our trip worked: We did take a train to Oxford and then got on a bus. On the way out of town we were told about Oxford and its history, and then information about the countryside on the way to the Cotswolds. I think we had 2-3 stops in the Cotswolds including for lunch. When we got back to Oxford we did a walking tour there that included some of the key sites, including a historic dining hall, etc. So the Oxford component included more than just the bus ride out of town - there was a 1-2 hour walking tour in the town, including a break during which we enjoyed the bookshops!

I have been with London walks before on a special Beatles walk. It took us to Abbey Road, the art exhibition of The Beatles Posters and a whole bunch of other Beatles landmarks across London.

Thought the service was great but never done the cotswolds tour.