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Short London stay before Cotswolds tour

Hello! We are a group of 4 from the US and it will be our first time in England. We are arriving at Heathrow on a Friday morning and leaving Sunday morning for a walking tour of the Cotswolds. Any suggestions on which area of town to use as a base for sightseeing Friday afternoon and Saturday that would also allow us to get a train to Moreton-in-Marsh arriving Sunday at 10:30AM? Does it make sense to stay in Paddington? Thanks!

Posted by
28247 posts

If you're looking for an alternative to London, Oxford would be great. There's good rail service from there to Moreton, and of course there's a great deal to see in Oxford.

I haven't traveled directly from Heathrow to Oxford myself, but I think the usual recommendation is to use The Airline bus. I'm hopeful someone else can elaborate on that.

Posted by
1227 posts

raileurope.com lists a direct train from London to Moreton-in-Marsh on Sunday mornings departing Paddington at 8:44 am arriving at 10:19. So yes, a hotel near Paddington Station would be ideal. There's no shortage of options there, and it's convenient to Hyde Park. The tube from Paddington gets you anywhere in London you want to see.

Honestly, the London tube system is so good that IMO it doesn't matter much where you stay from a tourism perspective. We're staying at a place on the north bank of the Thames this June, close to London Bridge. But we're not spending much time in the immediate vicinity.

Posted by
9261 posts

OP sent you a PM about accommodations in the Paddington neighborhood.

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks for your help everyone! Will stay in Paddington and are checking into the place Claudia recommended.

Posted by
16411 posts

Please don't use Raileurope for train information. It's a third party reseller that doesn't always list every train available.

You are better off with

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

This is the official rail website.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you! I noticed there is a lot of information about trains in England and I will have to do a bit of research and planning - thanks for the link!

Posted by
5466 posts

Check up on the GWR website if there is any Sunday engineering work that might affect your journey. You don't specify your dates but major work on 24-27 March & 27-31 July has already been announced. More minor work may not get such advance notice.