The Cotswolds

Wiil you have a car? We stayed in Northleach during a January trip. Nice quiet samll town, good for the Southern Cotswolds. We didn't hike too much as it was wet and muddy. Hope this helps.

Broadway and Chipping Camden are usually considered the most interesting.

Will you have a car? It's best to have one there. Especially in January. (and bring rain gear and boots)

We had considered driving -- and neither of us have ever driven on the other side of the road -- so we had hoped to take a train. There's a station at Moreton-in-Marsh.

Is a car an absolute necessity?

Lane: Unfortunately, that's just about the only train station in the Cotswolds. Most travelers find that part of the joy of the Cotswolds is exploring it; and without a car, you're limited to the bus system, and in January waiting for buses might not be much fun, and it slows you down a lot (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

Is a car an "absolute necessity?" If you ask the question in that way, then the answer is: no, it's not an absolute necessity. However, I'd estimate that roughly 95% of American travelers (reporting in on this forum) choose to rent a car to explore the Cotswolds; and there are reasons for that. It's one of the few areas in southern/central England not well served by rail.

Regarding driving on the left, I didn't find it hard at all. The steering wheel being on the right side of the car helps remind you to do it correctly.

I was unusually attentive until I got the hang of it, so that offset any problems with things being different (like having to shift with your left hand).

I was afraid going clockwise in roundabouts would throw me, but since the traffic is already flowing that way, it just comes naturally.

I have a Cotswold line timetable from last fall (although at the moment I don't remember where I put it!!!) However, in doing a Google search I see that the Cotswold line will be out of service for much of the summer as they are improving the line.
While this won't affect you in December, I just thought I would mention it so everyone knows.

There is bus service and if you google you should find more information. You could hire a car from Oxford as well. By the way, there are other stations besides Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds and bus connections from one town/village to another.

Broadway is a fabulous place to stay.

And it doesn't necessarily rain ALL the time!! I have spent a lot of time in this area in January visiting friends and sometimes it is quite nice...you just never know. And it is always warmer than the NE part of the US!!

Another nice place to go is Cheltenham which you can reach by train. It is in the southern part of
Gloucestershire.

And speaking of rain, who would have thought that the month of June would be a washout in the NE this year!!!!!!!!!!

My husband and I stayed at The Crown Pub in Broadway. It is a "cozy" pub with the rooms above. Not really noisy...Very nice. We did our daily driving to other little villages from there...

We're traveling via train from Bath to Moreton-in-Marsh, and have pre-arranged a taxi (Tony) to take us from the station to our hotel in Stow-in-the-Wold...and then a few days later, collect us at the hotel and bring us back to the station. We'll hike from Stow, and explore what we can (Chipping Campden, for instance) via bus. But we're traveling this summer. I'll share insights when we get back about Cotswolds sans car...

Thank you everyone for the input.

Lane