Cotswolds

Hi Darrell, there is bus service to some of the villages but not all. Depending on what village you stay in you might have to take a bus to Moreton-in-Marsh and change buses. It really is easier to have a car in the Cotswolds. I know that there is a village in the Cotswolds where you could rent a car for a couple of days if you wanted to.

This is a frequently asked question here and Robin has given the standard answer given on this forum (that Cotswold bus & train service are limited and it's one place where renting a car makes sense). Probably 90%+ of the travelers on this forum either rent a car or sleep in Bath and do one of the day tours out of Bath to the Cotswolds, if they don't want to drive in the UK.

Hello Darrell. Yes, you can. I saw beautiful and very appealing farm land in northern Gloucestershire, riding on a bus from Moreton-in-Marsh, north toward Stratford. I think I especially liked the land a short distance north of Chipping Campden, early in the morning in June (2003). And, a bus goes from Moreton-in-Marsh, south to Stow-on-the-Wold and to the Slaughters and to Bourton-on-the-Water and ends at Cheltenham. Information of bus schedules is at the tourist informaion offices, and there is a telephone number for Cotswolds bus travel information. In Rick Steves' book on ENGLAND, he said "The north Cotswolds (northern Gloucestershire) are best". I would ride in a train to Moreton-in-Marsh, sleep in the Treetops B & B there, and the next day ride in a bus to Chipping Campden, rent a bicycle at Chipping Campden, and return to Morten-in-Marsh, by bus, that day. You can ride in busses between other villages in the "Cotswolds" region, depending on the number of days you will be there.

The Cotswolds are to hiking.

I stayed in Moreton-in-Marsh in 2007. The local area buses leave from the center of town and run on a regular schedule. The bus to Stow-on-the-Wold ran every hour or 1-1/2 hrs. I visited Stow and Bourton-on-the-Water using that bus. As far as I know, there is a bus that runs from Moreton to Stratford-upon-Avon; it may be the same bus running to the other two towns. If you visit from Bath on a tour, you will visit the southern Cotswald towns as far north as Stow-on-the-Wold. You may be able to arrange to be left in Stow for an overnight stay. Prince Charles has a place in one of the towns. It's a wonderful part of England. I could spend a week or two there.

I don't know if they bus system will be the best alternative. The roads are narrow and your sights may be limited. We rented a car and it was more relaxing and freer than waiting on the transit. If you do have the chance, I would rent a car. There is a car rental in Moreton-in-Marsh that would be helpful. I hope this helps!

Rick's opinion is that a rental car is the best choice of transportation for seeing the Cotswolds.

But what Swan and Ron are saying is that, you can also make the bus system work, if for some reason you choose not to rent a car. Seeing it by bus will not give you the flexibility that a car does--but it's helpful to hear from Swan and Ron that you can make it work, if you choose not to rent a car.