Cotswolds

Hello Darrell. Riding in a Bus, I think a traveler could have a satisfactory day trip, visiting some of the well liked villages in the Cotswolds region (Gloucestershire). (Edit) Busses go from Morten in Marsh, south to Stow in the Wold and Lower Slaughter and Bourton on the Water. (Trains go to Morten in Marsh from Padington railway station at London). Busses go from Cheltenham, east to Bourton on the Water and Lower Slaughter and Stow in the Wold. (Trains go to Cheltenham from Bath, and from London). Thus, riding in busses, a person could go on a day trip from either Morten in Marsh or from Cheltenham, to three villages that were mentioned. Busses go from Morten in Marsh, north to Broadway and Chipping Campden. Busses go north from Cheltenham.
Descriptions of several villages in the northern Cotswolds are in the Lonely Planet book on ENGLAND.

I wouldn't trust a Lonely Planet, or any other, guidebook for details of individual bus routes in rural Britain. Most of these routes are heavily subsidised by the local authority, and these subsidies have been cut back severely in recent years, so many services no longer run. It would be better to check the journeys you want to make at Traveline South-West at http://www.travelinesw.com.

By bus you can get to Broadway, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, Moreton-in-Marsh and a few others. Most of the time you would have to change buses in Moreton-in-Marsh. To see the smaller, beautiful quaint villages you would need to have a car.

"To see the smaller, beautiful quaint villages you would need to have a car." ... or a bike. We rented bikes in Chipping Campden and toured the countryside all day. Great day and highly recommended.

If you want to see a lot of the Cotswold, you really need a rental car. The train only comes into one town. There are buses between many of the towns but you'll waste a lot of time waiting for buses. They are not that frequent. We had a rental car and saw literally every Cotswold town we could during a 3-day stay. We even toured Hidcote Manor Gardens and we drove to Blenheim Palace and Oxford on one of the days. Very scenic on the backroads into Oxford.

Today I looked at the bus timetables, at www.travelinesw.com
There are nine departure times daily (except Sunday) for busses departing from Moreton-in-Marsh, going south to Bourton-on-the Water. Those bus departures at Moreton-in-Marsh are scheduled for one Hour intervals. A sample of a bus schedule : Bus number 801 of Pulhams Coaches departs from Moreton-in-Marsh at 0810. It arrives at Lower Slaughter at 0833. A bus departs from Lower Slaughter at 0932. Arrives at Bourton on the Water at 0935. A northbound bus departs from Bourton on the Water at 10:37. Arrives at Stow-in-the Wold at 11:25. A bus departs from Stow-in-the Wold at 12:25. Arrives at Moreton-in-Marsh at 13:10. A person could stay for a longer amount of time at a town. There are few departure times at Stow-in-the Wold. I traveled in a bus from Moreton-in-Marsh. I plan to ride in busses there again, this year.

It's been several years since I visited the Cotswolds. At that time it was possible to catch a bus in the center of town (Moreton-in-Marsh) and visit the towns Robin mentions. The farthest stop was Stratford-upon-Avon. From that town, it was possible to catch another bus the few miles to Warwick. I visited the castle then reversed the bus trip to Moreton. Trains from London go to Moreton and Stratford. It is possible to walk to some of the other villages from the bus stop villages. It's easy and sometimes only a mile or two. I took a commercial bus tour of the southern Cotswold villages from Bath 4 or 5 years ago. That tour was very good and worth whatever they charged. I've only stayed in Moreton and Warwick, at B&Bs. The other towns have hotels and B&Bs, as well. Check a current guidebook for details as there are yearly changes.

We loved Chipping Camden (stayed 3 days/2nights there), and got there by bus from Morten. However, the bus schedule said the bus would be there by 10am to take us back to Moreton, but we stood there for more than 45 min waiting for it (I guess the timetables are just a suggestion), and we were pegged as the "punctual Yanks". So, if you are on a tight schedule you may need to rent a car.

I did a week long walking trip in the Cotswolds. We were based in a lovely manor house in Burton on the Water and we walked/trekked all over. Went to many of these delightful villages.
Everyday we could choose and easy, moderate, or long hike and we were told the night before where we would be going, how difficult, how much ascent, etc. Booked through HF Holidays and I would highly recommend them.