Staying in the Cotswolds

Cotswolds would be a lovely area to rexlax and enjoy the charm of the beautiful villages. I would suggest staying in Bourton-on-the-Water. There is limited bus service...going to some of the larger villages...not going to the real small villages.
Your husband is right.....you could get to Moreton-in-Marsh in 1 hr 40 minutes...but the Costwolds deserve more then a day trip.

What do you like about Bourton on the Water? Do you like that area to base more than RS's recommendations of Chipping Campden, Moreton in Marsh, or Stow on the Wold? Also Rick mentions that many of the small towns in this area shut down after 5pm, does this mean there's nothing to do in the evening besides dinner? I thought the Cotswolds might be a good choice after spending time in London and the busyness of that area. Any thoughts on things we can do with our 21 year old son? He likes hiking and pubs, so I know that at least would work!

The biggest "location" within the Cotswolds is Chipping Camden with a long High Street and a number of places to stay. Stow on the Wold is very popular , although smaller, it is surrounded by little hamlets and villages- Upper and Lower Swell, Upper and Lower Slaughter. The other larger villages are Burford, great high street down to a river and a pack horse bridge, and Bourton on the Water and Broadway. In my opinion both Broadway and Bourton can be a little overrun during the day. The Cotswolds do however need a car to truly enjoy. There are very limited bus services to a few of the villages and the train to Morton on the marsh. Again to me, Morton is on the edge of the Cotswolds. many small hamlets and cross roads where you can stay at the local inn. Things to see other than cute villages: Blenheim palace, Cotswold rare Breeds Farm, Chedworth roman Villa (ruins). We also found village festivals, farming exhibitions, hiking. A day trip will give you some exposure, but the joy of the Cotswolds is ambling along, stopping where you want, taking side roads and just absorbing the ambiance. I would say at least two nights

You could have done it as a day trip and had a whiff of the beauty and special appeal of the area if you had had a car, but I really can't see it as a train and bus job. The thing with the Cotswolds, after you have swooned at the villages and towns and had tea and scones, is to get out and walk. You want to walk from Stow-on-the-Wold (where the wind blows cold, was the doggerel when I was a kiddie) to Bourton-on-the Water via Lower Swell and Upper and Lower Slaughter. (I'd probably catch a bus back to Stow, its a pretty good pull up the hill). Those things are tough to do in a day which has over 2 hours train and bus each way to and from London.

Lots of things to think about. We didn't really want to rent a car because of the annoyance of going to get it and doing all the paperwork can take a couple of hours. Would it be feasible to take a bus/train to a town, make it the homebase for two days and then just enjoy the scenery and see what we can see and enjoy while walking. Also could we bus from one town to the next? I am not sure how crazy that would be. Last year we took a cooking class in the hills of Florence. The chef picked us up in her car to get to the class, but we had to get our own way home. They had a taxi or we could walk the "couple of miles" back into FLorence. Well the couple of miles was really a couple of hour walk, about 3-5 miles down hill on curvy roads with NO shoulders. There was no way we could have walked down the mountain. Anyway, we laugh about it now but it would have been a tough walk. I haven't used many buses in the US, only campus ones! So I don't know a lot about bus travel in any country and I want to have the proper perspective. thanks

There is a web site (Google) for bus services in Cotswolds. There is really only minimal bus service. Most busses i found are from a town outside the Cotswolds into the edge of the Cotswolds for one or two villages. There are a very few services which do this and go through a few more villages, all seem to end at Stow. I did not find any service that travels within the Cotswolds connecting various villages. So, if you want to include Stow as your main base, you can see a handful of other villages by bus- but check what they are and the timetables to se if you can work out something that appeals. You also need to get to the town (outside the Cotswolds) where these bus services originate realistically, though these choices are very limited (and limiting). You will be much happier with a car

To get to Bourton-on-the-Water, for example, follow the directions (towards the bottom of the page) on http://www.bourtoninfo.com/directions.aspx

I think once you go through the hassel of getting a car, the amount of freedom you will gain is worth it. You also waste time waiting for buses and figuring out those schedules and you have to time your sightseeing to fit the bus schedule, so both take time. It is such a lovely drive around the countryside and you can end up at little places that you cannot go on a bus. We found the village of Greater Tew and had a wonderful walk down an English Lane and lunch at the only place there to eat. It is really just a bunch of beautiful thatches and a school, but it is one of those places that were not touristy.

In 2005 my mother and I stayed in Broadway at the Olive Branch. It was really lovely and one of the highlights of our 21 day trip. The owners were extremely accomodatign and they had parking. Not sure how easy it is to get to by bus as we had a car for our trip. Stayed several nights and it was easy drive to other Cotswold towns as well as Stratford-upon-Avon. And the Broadway tower has the loveliest view of several miles. I think it is certainly worth renting a car for a couple of days to get out and about on the little roads through all the villages.

I would highly recommend staying in the cotswolds, vs. daytripping from London. Relax, you will. We stayed in Chipping Campden, at the Lygon Arms B&B (technically a Hotel, but is run like a B&B). It was excellent, and the town was charming. We rented bikes locally, and toured many of the surrounding hamlets. Hiking paths connect each of the hamlets, too.

Thanks for all the information and the link to Bourton on the Water travel directions. I'm not sure what we'll do but if we do use the bus we will look at it as part of the adventure. Can't wait.

We just returned last night from a 15 day trip to England, part of it in the Cotswolds. We stayed in Witney at the Hawthorn B&B which was very nice. We loved Witney. I'm told there is a bus from London to Witney. The B&B was a 10 minute walk from the town, though I saw there was a B&B right in the town. We did have a car and from Witney drove to many of the little villages. The country lanes are so picturesque and easy to drive on.

Sandra - a few years ago my wife and I trained to Oxford, rented a car and based out of Moreton-in-Marsh for 4 days in the Cotswold. We had a very enjoyable time. We took day trips to Warwick Castle, Stratford, Blenhiem Palace.