Oxford, Cotswolds & Hidcote

We did 28 days driving around Wales and England in October.
We spend three nights in Bath, stayed at the Brooks Guesthouse. I highly recommend this B&B. Also, have fish and chips at the Scallop Shell nearby.
We also spent six nights in Chipping Campden, using it as a base to see Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Stratford Upon Avon and visiting the many towns and cities in the Cotswolds.
We stayed at the Volunteer Inn, for 80 pounds a night. There is a nice pub as well as great Indian restaurant there.
Check out the book Back Roads of Britain, there is a very nice section about the Cotswolds.

Last summer I stayed in Bristol, intending to take the train over to Bath to pick up my MadMax tour. Unfortunately, I became ill and missed that tour, so I tweaked my itinerary a bit and took a GoCotswolds tour about a week later. It began in Moreton-in-Marsh, so I stayed in Oxford both before and after the tour.

Perhaps one of those options would work for you.

Thanks for the tips Geo. I'll look up that book for sure.

Acraven, thanks. The other tour could work except I'd have to make sure of the day as it only runs 3 days weekly. I'd have to be in the right place at the right time but I suppose I could take it from either Oxford or Chipping Camden which gives me a bit of leeway. Means I might be better to go to Oxford from Salisbury. I'd probably give Bath a miss in that case. Thanks

Is there a reason you are wedded to Mad Max? See some other tour ideas here https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186281-i1114-k10220155-Hidcote_garden_on_any_Cotsworld_tours-Cotswolds_England.html

Only that it was recommended to me and has such good reviews, epltd. I like the route they take and I prefer the smaller bus/group. More companionable for a day tour. I don't want to see the Cotswolds. I want to enjoy it and remember what I've seen of it. Appreciate the link. Have already discovered Snowshill Manor which looks like a good idea too if I can fit it in. Many thanks,

If you are travelling on your own and stuck with having to pay for rooms for 2, you may like to try and find rooms with this chain:>https://www.travelodge.co.uk/blog/news/top-tips-finding-29-room/

Also check out www.yha.org who have shared accommodation - which you may not like - but also have private rooms.
I think you may find that www.booking.com have a way in which you can find the cheapest prices for single rooms.

Check out where any planned accommodation is located and have a look on street view.

www.traveline.info is a good way of finding bus routes.
www.nationalrail.co.uk is best for trains. Some routes are cheaper by splitting the ticket. This is often the case where you change trains /companies. Check out Oxford to Chester or Conwy via Hereford - with that being a split & also via Birmingham (New Street) - with being the split. On longer journeys - pre-book specific train(s) in advance - like 11 weeks out for cheapest fares.
It is well worth going to Bath - even as a day trip on the train from Salisbury - check out the price of a day return.

Snowshill is a very small village and may have no bus service. Nearby Broadway is well worth seeing.

Thanks James. The more I save on accommodation the more I can spend on doing and seeing and exploring. Entry fees and the like. I have used YHAs in the long ago but can afford a little more comfort these days. If I had to I would though. It's a beautiful world and I want to see as much of it as I can. Appreciate the links, especially the bus and train links. Brilliant.

Pleased you found the links helpful. Here is a map of the rail network:> http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/routemaps/nationalrailnetworkmap.pdf

So helpful, James. Thank you.

Appreciate your thoughts.

I don't think Salisbury to Bath route is going to work for me unless I hire a car and drive to Chipping Camden. Not up for the train & bus options. So back to Mottisfont.

I've checked out my accommodation options and think it would be nice to stay locally in Dunbridge for the night. After studying maps and rail and bus timetables/routes I've come to the conclusion it might be easier to take a taxi from there to Hursley and hop a bus to Winchester. Then the train to Oxford. It wouldn't matter if I had a bit of a wait in Winchester because there is plenty to see.
I could spend the next day in Oxford which I planned to do anyway and then hire a car and head to Chipping Camden. Will still take a bus tour and use the car to see a bit more. I can take the hire car back to Oxford and catch the train to Chester.

Does this sound like a good idea or not? Would I have difficulty getting a taxi in Dunbridge for instance. Are buses running regularly from Hursley. I got the idea that Hursley was handy and easy far as transport in that area from another forum thread and would welcome some local input. Is it easy driving in and out of Oxford? I'm confident in a car but like to know where I'm going and what I'm likely to encounter.

Thanks for your patience everyone. Once I know how I'm getting to the Cotswolds I can plan that part of the trip in more detail.

The road network around Oxford can be a bit confusing - although everything is well signposted. The middle of Oxford is old narrow streets where cars are banned. Around the edge of Oxford are Park & Ride sites - where people drive into open air car parks and dump the car to take shuttle buses into the centre. Here is a map of the Oxford area - (suggest you drag on the yellow man to get street view):> https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.756078,-1.2512352,12601m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e1

https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/public-site/park-and-ride

Don’t forget to order an automatic as most Brits favour a manual.

Thanks James. Looks like two motorways heading north and a matter of knowing which one I'm supposed to be on and how far before I exit. I've driven in Germany though and a few other countries so don't expect any real problem. Find the long drives too tiring now that's all.

Appreciate if anyone can recommend a reliable hire car company in Oxford.

Two motorways between where and where, exactly, Katy?

I didn't zoom right in Nigel but one looks like the A4165 and the other A 4144. Roundabouts and a more involved network of highway ahead. It was just a cursory look because I'm a long way off having to know the detail. At the moment I just want a general idea of whether this itinerary will work for me or not.

I'm a little confused. The A4144 is the Woodstock Road, the A4165 is the Banbury Road.

Unlike Germany where an "A" prefix means motorway, in the UK it only means a main road. Our motorways start with "M" like the M40, the new motorway which goes to Oxford and Birmingham from London. "A" roads are more main roads but can be anything from multi-lane divided highways (dual carriageways) to small one lane roads. The Banbury Road in Oxford, particularly in Summertown is very slow at times and comes complete with 20 mph speed limits and a bus lane in one direction.

Where exactly are you trying to get to from Oxford? Is it the Park&Ride or is it Chipping Campden?

By the way, the next step down in roads after "A" roads is "B" roads which can be quite small, slow and winding. The more digits in the road number, generally the further down the pecking order we go. Single digits like A5 and A1 are long distance main routes, so to a degree are two digit ones like the A34 which approaches Oxford from the south coast. 4 digit ones are usually short and slow.

Most "B" roads are 4 digits.

And, yes, there are "C" roads but you'd never know it, and unclassified roads just have names, or sometimes not even that. On country lanes which are single track with passing places the vehicle nearest the passing place is expected to pull in to it or stop opposite it if it is on the other side and wait for the other vehicle to pass, generally with a mutual exchange of gentle hand raising.

Nigel - what a great explanation of road names / number schemes! I and most likely many others appreciate the time and care you take in your responses!

Nigel I just saw what looked like major roads going north from Oxford and assumed they were motorways. My mistake. I only took a cursory glance at the map. On the map I followed the road which went to Moreton-in-Marsh. I noticed there's a minor road to Chipping Camden from along there somewhere.

I'm glad you brought it to my attention because it's very useful to know all that. I've just seen mention of Moreton-in-Marsh being on the Fosse Way and I'd love to see the Roman villa at Chedworth. Amazing. Will make up for not seeing Hadrian's Wall. I think I'll be staying an extra day in the Cotswolds!

The Fosse Way, an old Roman road, is one of the very few nearly straight roads in the area. Not completely straight, mind you, but more than most.

And I've read it was built by the Celts and not the Romans? No idea though.

Some think that it was a ditch with fortification that was converted to a road by the Romans.

Roman roads are still in use, of course, paved over all over Europe. The Roman legions built most of them when they weren't fighting. The roads are amazingly straight with bridges, etc. European roads didn't equal them until the 19th Century.