The Cotswolds

I visited the Cotswolds on a day trip from London on a train from Paddington station to Moreton-in-Marsh in September and had a wonderful time. It was a highlight of that trip to London. It was lovely and green and nicely warmish in September. It won't be lovely in November, it will be dark earlier and likely cold and damp, definitely not a green countryside. I hate to be a downer but I would think about another day trip that won't depend so heavily on the landscape being lovely and green and warm enough to wander around some of the villages.
Windsor Castle and so many other opportunities that will depend on your interests.

Sorry, but the Cotswolds are all about enjoying the countryside and November isn’t the best time for seeing the English countryside, particularly by public transport. It may well be cold and wet and daylight hours will be short. There will be little colour left in the gardens.

I certainly wouldn’t want to be cycling at that time of year.

If it’s a must, I would take a day trip by coach from London so you don’t feel that you have wasted an overnight trip if the weather is inclement. It’s an area that really needs a car to cover in a short time if you don’t take a tour.

London Walks does day trips to the Cotswolds and elsewhere. I haven't taken one but I have taken some of their walks in London, and they have a very good reputation. Don't know if they go to the Cotswolds in November but the website should tell you.

I, also, am doubtful about the Cotswolds at that time of year, but this is how I visited them in August 2017: I spent several nights in Oxford (much to see there). I pre-booked a one-day GoCotswolds van tour that departed from the Moreton-in-Marsh train station. M-I-M is a relatively short train ride from Oxford. I enjoyed the tour a lot and felt that a day was a reasonable amount of time to see part of the area for a person who did not plan to do any village-to-village walking. The villages are mostly quite small, so you can walk through their historic areas rather quickly.

There are additional companies offering tours from M-I-M, including Secret Cottage Cotswold Tours, which has drawn positive comments on this forum.

If you want to go then go, no matter the month of the year, you will see the beauty of the villages (sure when it’s all green etc, it is prettier, but the real beauty is the homes and buildings).....leave London Paddington Station to Moreton-in-Marsh. I would suggest going to Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Campden, Broadway and Stow-on-the-Wold if you stay the night, if you decide you are only staying a day then just pick a couple of villages to visit.

Moreton-in-Marsh, aside from being the only village with a rail station, also seems to be the bus-transportation hub. So if you decide not to take a one-day tour out of M-I-M, you might still do best to stay there to facilitate visits to other villages. If you poke around on the internet I'm sure you'll find info on bus schedules.

A different idea would be to take the train to Oxford, then take 45min bus to Blenheim Palace visit Palace and extensive estate, check their official site for hours, special events and admissions. Spend night in Woodstock which is on the edge of the Cotswolds which are 20 miles away if you have extra time to visit before dark. Return to Oxford the next day: visit world famous Ashmolean Museum and Bodleian Library, walk thru town and colleges. Return to London (lots of trains).

My wife and I are cyclists and no way would we have biked in the Cotswolds when we were there last October.
Forget biking in November. Its too cold and frankly I didn't see bike lanes. You might be able to use a Mountain Bike and use some of the hiking backroads, but not so late in the year.

We stayed six days in Chipping Campden and used it as a base. Renting a car or taking a tour would be your best bet.

We did one entire day doing the Cotswolds all the way down to Cirencester and back up to Broadway.

Try renting a car in Oxford and driving to the Cotswolds, use Rick Steves Great Britain guide for your full day there.
You might wish to spend a day in Oxford, it was worth it for us.

There are guided tours from London that you might wish to consider.

I wouldn’t recommend trying to to drive all day long to see the Cotswolds. Pick a few villages that you really want to see, then visit them. Save the others for your next trip.

Secret Cottage Tours -- definitely!

I've been taking day trips from London since 1990, and this is in my top 5.

Have a wonderful trip!