We will be in London in May and wanted to take a trip to the Cotswalds. We found several tours but they go to several places and we wanted to just spend the day in the Cotswalds. Using public transportation, what is the best way to get there? We especially want to visit the village of Bibury. Once there, what's the best way to get around? Any info on cost and how long it takes to get there would be very helpful as well.
Please take a moment and use the Frequently Asked Questions link as well as the Search engine to garner some insights into your question. Might also help with your trip research to purchase and read Rick's book on London. VERY informative. To enjoy the Cotswolds rent a car. To get to Bibury by a combination of public transport from London could take anywhere from 4 to 7 hours. Kind of like Murphy to Raleigh if there were trains and buses.
To see the Cotswolds you need your own car. Although you can get to a limited number of villages within the Cotswolds by bus from outside towns, their schedules are very limited and you practically cant get from village to village by public transportation. Bibury is scenic, but , like a lot of villages there is not much to do (and no shops that i recall). It is a great place to see when combined with other villages by car.
We booked a day tour to the Cotswold's while here in the U.S. We used Gray Line Tours.com. A day there was plenty for us. We really enjoyed our tour. Elaine
I really appreciate all the posts, thank you so much.
Brian the following is a web page showing bus transport in Cotswolds. Looking at this you can get an idea how difficult it is- or whether it meets your needs http://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/userfiles/file/transport/explore%20guide%20final%20small.pdf
The closest train station to Bibury is in Kemble which is 13 miles south of Bibury. You would leave from London's Paddington Station, it's an hour and 10 minute ride. There are no bus services from Kemble to Bibury...you would have to take a taxi there. This is probably your best way to get to Bibury. There is very limited bus services to Bibury from a few other villages/towns..but you would end up waiting around a lot.