Travel from Bath to Stow-on-the Wold via Mad Max tour

Well, I cannot advise you but did want to say we are planning to use Mad Max’s tour to move to Cotswolds for three nights. As you probably have figured out, public transportation between Bath and Cotswolds is difficult.
You also could take a taxi or bus to other towns in area if you want to explore beyond Stow-on-the-Wold.
Ironically, we are ending up with one more day than we had initially planned in Bath because-as you note, the tours don’t run every day.

Bath is nice enough, and it has a nice weir, some nice buildings, and a lot of hills.

I don't really understand the American fascination with it. One day there is plenty for me, but I live in an area of England with beautiful rivers, buildings and villages.

4 nights is a long time - but if you plans for a lot of things nearby maybe not.

Oh gosh, I'm a total Bath geek. I think the fascination for me is the juxtaposition of the gorgeous Georgian buildings with the Roman influence. I love to read novels set in the Regency period so to me Bath is just like living in a book. I've visited a number of times for multiple nights and still not seen everything on my to-do list. The Holburne Museum has some nice special exhibitions. I saw one presenting the works of Canaletto a few years ago that was fantastic. BTW, my love affair with Bath started long before I'd ever heard of Rick - maybe in the mid-1980's.

I have also taken this Mad Max tour and while just a quick taste of many small villages it was enjoyable. I've done 2 over the years with them, the Cotswold one plus the all day Stonehenge/Avebury/Lacock/Castle Combe one. Their driver guides are very good. Interesting, well versed in history and very engaging.

I think either of your plans will work as long as Mad Max is able to manage your luggage. The buses are the small 15 or so passenger ones so there is not a lot of space.

I've taken the same two tours as Pam. I'm guessing you already checked with Mad Max and they are able to drop you off in Stow. I did the Cotswolds tour two years ago and if I remember correctly, our lunch stop was in Stow. If this is still the case, you would miss out on the afternoon stops.

My experience in June was the same as Frank’s. We stopped for lunch in Stow-on-the-Wold. The van did let us off right on the square. If you decide to stay there, I stayed at the Old Stocks Inn on a RS tour and it was very nice. In fact, it was one of the nicest single rooms I’ve ever had!!

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. Pam & Frank, good point about the possibility of missing the afternoon stops on the Mad Max's Cotswolds tour. I just emailed Maddy back and asked her how the drop off would work and if there is room for luggage on the bus.

I followed this path in 2016. After arriving at London Heathrow, I took a bus to Bath. I spent 4 nights there, then took the train to Moreton-in-Marsh.

I spent 2 nights at a pub there, the Bell Inn. According to the website, it is "Considered by many to be JRR Tolkien’s inspiration for the ‘Prancing Pony’, ... in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, The Bell Inn is a fine example of a traditional coaching inn..." It is about a 3-block walk to the train station.

The day between, I took the Secret Cottage tour. I absolutely loved it. Take a look at their website to compare it to other tours of the area. Using a 7 seat Mercedes minibus, they pick you up and drop you back off at the train station. Use the drop down menu in the box just below Secret Cottage Cotswold Tourism Tours to find more details about the tour and the area, including info on Luggage Storage. The tours run everyday.

Lo, your Secret Garden tour looks delightful.

Mad Max tours emailed me back: "Stow on the Wold is our lunch time stop and there is one more long stop at Bourton on the Water and a brief comfort break at Tetbury before returning to Bath. Some people do travel on to Bourton on the Water and then return to Stow by public transport or taxi, others decide to stay in Stow and travel on another day to Bourton on the Water." They also mentioned that they do not run their Village Cotswolds tour on the weekends because of the crowds.

I'm leaning towards simply staying in Bath for 4 nights, getting over jet lag and taking easy day trips in the general area either with a mini-tour or on my own. Salisbury looks like a good possibility using the train. Any other suggestions?

Wells is a bit over 20 miles away.

We visited Wells and Glastonberry from Bath, driving our rental car. They are worth a visit. It is a full day.

Don't know much about the Mad Max tour, we stated in Chipping Campden and did the Rick Steves day drive tour on our own (didn't include Bath-- we did 3 separate nights in Bath).

If you stay in Moreton without a vehicle, getting around without a car will no be easy.

I was in Bath last October and wanted to take the Mad Max tour to Stonehenge +. Unfortunately I waited too long and when I tried to get a seat it was full. Maddy was lovely and called me to let me know that there had been a cancellation on another day, but unfortunately that was the day that we were leaving Bath.
So don't wait too long to sign up, whatever you decide.
And enjoy Bath! It's lovely!

Salisbury is very easy from Bath with lots to see there. If you can, plan to stay for Evensong at the Salisbury Cathedral which is at 530PM on weekdays. It lasts for maybe 45 minutes then you'd have about a 10-15 minute walk to the train station. In June you'll have sunset around 930/twilight until a bit after 10.

https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/worship-music/service-information

The train ride is about an hour and goes hourly from Bath Spa to Salisbury. Return trips looks like they go hourly until 8PM then there are ones that are every half hour.

Bath Abbey does not have Evensong every day. Check their schedule if you want to attend this service as they often have the said (not sung) service of Evening Prayer.

http://www.bathabbey.co.uk/

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions! SharYn, good to know about the Mad Max tours filling up. Pam, the information on attending an Evensong at the Salisbury Cathedral is very helpful. I'm adding it to my itinerary!

Christine, I'm not a huge church-goer at home but I LOVE Evensong particularly in a cathedral. It is just beautiful and the Salisbury one is particularly well-done. I've been to the service at Westminster Abbey and that felt more like you were in the midst of the tourist masses. The Salisbury one does of course have many tourists attending but there are also locals and it feels like the service is the worship service it's intended to be.

The Cathedral Chapter House is amazing as well. The carvings in there and other places in the Cathedral are not to be missed but here in particular you can see them up close. There is one carving of a man who appears to have Bell's Palsy with a severe droop to his face. There is one in the Cathedral that always reminds me of Fabio - remember him? The model on all the front of those bodice-rippers of the 80's? His hair is blowing in the breeze and he looks so darned charming and fun! There are docents located in the Chapter House and it's fun to chat them up. I usually ask what their favorite carving is and that will set them off on stories. Fun! There also is a nice cafe in the Cloisters as well.

There is an excellent museum across the Close from the Cathedral too. It's the Salisbury Museum - has a very good collection of artefacts from Stonehenge and other local neolithic sites but also sometimes have some interesting art exhibits. I saw a wonderful exhibition of Turner's pictures and drawings from in and around Salisbury. It was excellent.

OK...I'm actually not a shill for the Salisbury tourist board, lol!

I love Bath just as much when you are ready for gushing about it!