Travelling from Stratford upon Avon to London via Cotswald, Oxford and Windsor castle

"If I am to take a toursit taxi, how much will it cost me to cover from Stratford to London via Cotswald, Oxford and Windsor?"

It would cost a small fortune, BTW it's the Cotswolds

not such a small fortune - probably quite a large one - the Cotswolds is a large area. Nearly 100 miles in direction and about 25 in the other, primarily traversed by single lane tracks and smaller roads - exquisitely gorgeous and well worth exploring, especially on foot - that is a lot for a taxi to cover, let alone the stops for Oxford and Windsor.

Tough to fit all that into a normal human day.

Your first four days look fine but the rest of it is crazy rushed.
In the Lake District, Windermere is at the southern edge of the park. This lake is the only one in the area that allows higher speed, motorized boats. It's more of a sporting lake than is typical in the area. For the true Lake District you need to go further north along the A591. If you are relying on public transport, the bus service in the area is excellent. You won't get around as fast as you would if you had a car but you will definitely get an overview. I recommend hopping on the public bus heading north and stopping in at Grasmere, Ambleside and Keswick. The bus ride up is gorgeous and you can get off and then catch another bus, hopping your way up the A591.
I'm assuming the purpose of Day 6 is to see a play at the RSC? That's all you'll have time for.
Day 7 is not possible unless you just want to drive all day. Consider cutting out the Cotswolds and Windsor and head for Oxford. It's less out of the way and will put you on a direct rail line to London the next day. Plus it's a spectacular city to spend time in.
You'll be able to touch on a few things in London with the last part of this schedule. I'm assuming you'll be back to England and, next time, you'll know where you want to return to to get a closer look.

Just a though....You can take a local bus from Stratford Upon Avon to Moreton on Marsh in the Cotswalds and catch a train from Moreton into Paddington Station in London. Quick trip.

You do have to make a choice for day 7 and as a single-town stop, I'd probably choose Oxford, with more to see, over Moreton, which will tempt you with more transport connections to the neighboring towns. If this is a Sunday, then remember that bus plans won't work. (In several visits, I still have not made time for Windsor.)

Thanks Anita.

If I go direct to Oxford from Stratford as you suggested, how do I visit Windsor? Do you suggest that I come back from London?

I am trying to add one more day to my trip. Please suggest how I should cover Windsor? What about a coach tour?

Thanks in advance.

Mathew

If you wish to visit Windsor from Oxford, this can be easily (& cheaply) done by train. Trains are roughly every 30 minutes & you will need to change at Slough. (In some cases, on the return, you will also need to change at Reading). Journey time is just over an hour in most cases. Should you wish to do the journey from London, Paddington will be your departure station.

Now, go to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk and put in for OXF to WNC. (You will see that the 'cheap' £16 return fares kick in for the 9.01 departure on weekdays. Weekends will not matter). Click 'Detail' to find out about change points. Pay on the day.

You might also like to consider going to > www.blenheimpalace.com which is near the village of Woodstock - about 7 miles NW of Oxford. (Stagecoach bus S3 - see www.transportdirect.info).

You can also get to Bath from Oxford by train in about 1 hour 30 minutes with 1 change at Didcot. http://visitbath.co.uk

PS. When going by train from Windermere to Stratford-upon-Avon, you may well find it cheaper to buy split tickets with the split being at Birmingham. (You arrive at New Street and have to walk to Moor Street - well worth a look at some of the Victorian buildings in central Birmingham). Most of this journey will be on Virgin Trains. Please note that on this long journey, you would be well advised to advance book to get the best price. You will also find that Virgin is the most likely company for Edinburgh to the Lake District.http://www.virgintrains.co.uk

You could also take part of one of your days in London to go out to Windsor. Easy to do by rail. If you get an early start you can see the castle, have lunch in Windsor or, better yet, Eton, and be back to London in time for afternoon tea!

If you go to Stratford upon Avon first then you could take the train to Oxford, then train from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh (Cotswolds) you will not have to change trains, if you do it in reverse Oxford first then Stratford, will have to change trains twice when taking train from Stratford to Moreton-in-Marsh. From Moreton in Marsh take train into Windsor, there will be changes, then train from Windsor to London. I would book the train tickets as soon as you can, they will be more if you get them closer to travel date.

Taking a train from Stratford-upon-Avon to Moreton-in-Marsh is not practical as it is a very circuitous route (& expensive). To link these 2 places - follow Carolyn's suggestion and use a local bus.

I think that looks like a scary itinerary by public transportation. Just too many things can go wrong (from everything I've read and heard) with relying on timely bus/train transport there. If you're determined to see everything quickly and efficiently, I would find a way to travel directly from Windermere to London.

Then I would get an Evan Evans tour-- this one hits Stratford, Oxford and the Cotswolds in a full day. This way you get to see everything and they take care of the transportation. Of course, you could still stop at SuA for 1 day between Windermere and London and then do things you won't be doing on your tour.

Good luck!