Planning a visit to the Cotswolds from London for a few days?
Lots of our fabulous visitors from abroad come to the UK to specifically visit our capital London. It’s a brilliant city, full of so much to do.
But did you know that London doesn’t have to be the ONLY thing you see in the UK? For something completely different, come to the beautiful Cotswolds!
A visit to the Cotswolds from London is really easy by train
London is one of the biggest and best cities in the world, with a world-class public transport system. Wherever you are in London, you’re never far from an underground (‘tube’) station, a mainline train station, or a bus stop.
But public transport gets a bit more tricky once you step outside of the M25 (the big motorway circling London)…
The Cotswolds covers a vast rural area, and its public transport services are sketchy to say the least. However, a few key towns and villages are connected by rail – so you CAN visit the Cotswolds from London by taking the train! Even better, it’s direct!
Moreton-in-Marsh: visit the Cotswolds from London by train
Only a small handful of Cotswold towns and villages have a train station, so the best one to head for is Moreton-in-Marsh. You can take a direct train here from London Paddington station 7 days a week. It takes 1.5 hours one way.
Moreton-in-Marsh is a pretty, busy little Cotswold market town in the northern half of the Cotswolds National Landscape. The wide tree-lined High Street is home to many quaint shops, galleries, cafes, pubs and restaurants, and a street market is held here every Tuesday. There are plenty of accommodation options here, too, in case you wanted to stay longer!
From Moreton-in-Marsh you can take a bus to some other Cotswold towns and villages, including Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water. You’ll need to study the bus timetables carefully though – the services are very infrequent and, out here in the countryside, there’s no such thing as a night bus!
Visit the Cotswolds from London by taking a tour
The problem is, Moreton-in-Marsh isn’t a very big place, so if you come for the day, you might be wondering what to do after an hour or two! You could use the public buses to see a few other villages, but this can be really frustrating! Taxis can be very expensive (there’s no Uber around here!) and private tours can be way out of budget for many people.
Go Cotswolds has the solution!
Get TO the Cotswolds by train from London, but then EXPLORE more of the Cotswolds with the best family run, local tour company.
Go Cotswolds – family-run guided tours of the Cotswolds since 2014
Established way back in 2014, we are the original and best locally run guided tour company in the Cotswolds, providing full-day minibus tours on a per person basis. And with over 1,500 amazing reviews on Tripadvisor, we’re also the best!
What do I mean by ‘per person’ tours’? Well, for our small-group tours, we charge per person, not per vehicle.
With us, you can take a beautiful guided tour of the Cotswolds in our comfy heated/air conditioned minibus from just £65 per adult (£55 for children, 2024 prices). You’ll share the tour with other people, but what’s that saying? “There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven’t yet met.”
Led by one of our small team of friendly local guides, our per-person tours are ideal for solo travellers, couples and small groups. And, if you’re a city dweller without a car, it means you can visit the Cotswolds from London by train – this is a very affordable option, even factoring in the cost of the train fare!
Our tours
We have several Cotswolds tours to choose from:
Our Cotswolds in a Day tour lets you visit 6 different locations in the Cotswolds, so you get an overview of what the Cotswolds is all about.
You’ll visit the stunning viewpoint at Dover’s Hill, the pretty towns of Chipping Campden and Stow-on-the-Wold, and the must-see villages of Bourton-on-the-Water and Bibury. There’s also our superb ‘secret village’, which you wouldn’t be able to access by public transport at all!
Then we have our wonderful Secret Cotswolds tour! Want to discover quiet, hidden Cotswold villages that are off the usual tourist trail? Our ‘Secret’ Cotswolds tour is for you! As well as better-known Burford and Broadway, you’ll discover some of the gorgeous locations that most visitors miss, but wish they’d seen!
Need to stretch your legs a bit more? Try our Cotswolds Walks & Villages tour. This tour, available May to September, is all about walking some of the Cotswolds’ beautiful trails.
First stop is the iconic Broadway Tower, then we hit the beautiful village of Broadway. After that, your guide will lead you on a glorious just-under-3-mile circular walk through the pretty Windrush Valley, where you’ll discover quiet, hidden villages far off the beaten track. Finally, we’ll have free time to wander, shop and relax in the beautiful and fabulously historic town of Burford.
We also have a weekly Bath & Stonehenge tour, Christmas tours, and offer private tours for groups of 6-16 as well.
Ready to visit the Cotswolds from London with us? Click here!
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