A Cotswolds Tour I am actually happy to recommend

I’ve lived in Moreton-in-Marsh, the Cotswolds, for nine and half years now. I have explored the Northern Cotswolds at length. I have walked, biked, and driven through nearly every town, village, and hamlet. And on top of that, I have made it a point to research each location too, so that I could write my Cotswolds blog posts. I thought I had an in-depth knowledge of the area, but yesterday, I found out I still had much to learn! Having seen Go Cotswolds, a Cotswolds Tour company, picking up and dropping off customers at the Moreton-in-Marsh train station, I decided to join their Cotswolds Day Trip Tour, led by expert guide Colin. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was prepared to go into it with an open mind to find out whether this was indeed a Cotswolds Tour I was happy to recommend.

So, in January 2024, I hopped on their minibus to explore the quintessential English countryside I get to call home. As we drove through rolling hills, past manor houses, and down the narrow country lanes to picturesque villages, I listened to Colin explain to my fellow travellers why the Cotswolds are so special.

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Why I don’t usually like “Cotswolds in a Day” tours

If you search for Cotswolds Tours, you will find hundreds of tours that will “show you the Cotswolds in a day”. Most of these start and finish in London and include the city of Bath and the town of Stratford-upon-Avon (neither of which are actually within the Cotswolds). Anybody who jumps on those large coaches to “experience the Cotswolds” might as well have watched a YouTube video because they would have gotten more from it! How can you say you’ve visited the Cotswolds if you don’t even visit the most important market towns in the area?

The Cotswolds span six counties and cover 787 square miles of beautiful countryside dotted with chocolate-box villages and honey-coloured stone cottages. There is no way to get a sense of the Cotswolds in just one day, especially not on these Cotswold Tours that come all the way from London. Surely you spend most of the time looking out the coach window? To understand the Cotswolds, you really need to stay in the area for at least a weekend, if not longer. There is so much to see and do, most of which happens outside of the “must-see villages” that these whistle-stop tours take you to. In fact, if you are short on time, those are the villages I’d skip!

With this in mind, I’ve always refrained from promoting any day tours on my blogs. However, Go Cotswolds caught my eye because they are a local tour company operating out of Stratford-upon-Avon and using only local guides, so I decided to go ahead and book their “Cotswolds in a Day Tour”.

About Go Cotswolds

Lisa and Tom Benjamin are the founders, and they work alongside four other guides, all of whom are local. They therefore know the Cotswolds like the back of their hand. They don’t just know the facts they’ve had to learn to be a guide of the area; they know the ins and outs of the Cotswolds because it is where they have lived for decades. But they know the funny stories and add their own anecdotes, too. I had a whale of a time discovering my backyard with Colin from Go Cotswolds. I had been to every single one of the places we visited, and yet I discovered so much I didn’t already know in each of those places.

A tour for people who don’t like tours

Colin told me that they run tours for people who don’t like tours, those who want to skip the large buses, and who are not keen on following umbrellas. The Cotswolds is their home, and just like me, they want to promote longer visits to the area and give back to the communities that call this Area Outstanding of Natural Beauty their home. Their Cotswolds in a Day tour is a taster tour. It has been created for those who travel to the Cotswolds without a car to give them the opportunity to explore and discover some of North Cotswolds’ nicest towns and villages.

There was a mix of people on the tour with me. Some had travelled from Oxford or London specifically for the one-day tour and finished the day telling me they would return to the Cotswolds to spend longer here. Others were here for a long weekend without a car and wanted the chance to see further afield. While one couple had a car and had been driving around the day before but did not know what they were looking at, so they booked the tour to get a better understanding.

Sustainable Tourism

What I liked the most about Go Cotswolds is that it is apparent from the outset that sustainable tourism is key to them. Not only are they promoting public transport to explore the Cotswolds, but they are also incredibly mindful of the communities they visit. One of the stops on the tour is a tiny little village with only 185 inhabitants. They call it their secret location, and I will keep it secret too, as the last thing the inhabitants of this little village want is any more cars rocking up.

Every time we stopped, Colin would recommend local businesses for us to visit (and spend our money in) and would make sure to remind us not to step on people’s drives or invade their personal space by taking photos on their doorsteps (sadly, it happens a lot in the Cotswolds). He had a funny story when we were in Bibury.

Is this not a museum?

Bibury is home to the UK’s most famous and photographed row of cottages. This tiny village sees 100s of tourists descend on it every day, all wanting to take a photo of Arlington Row. One day, the old lady who lived in Number 2 knocked on the door of Number 3 to ask if they could help her move something in her garden. “Yes, of course,” said the gentleman who lives in number 3, and so he stepped out of his house, went into his neighbour’s, and helped her move her garden ornament.

When he returned to his house, he found a family of Japanese tourists sitting at his kitchen table. They had removed the kettle and mug set from his wall, laid it on the table, and were busy taking photos of them pretending to drink English tea! They hadn’t realised this was someone’s home!

Why do I tell this story? Because tourists and tourism can have a negative impact on a location, especially one with as complex an ecosystem as the Cotswolds, if not managed properly. The Cotswolds offer vast, unspoiled countryside, small, tight-knit communities, and fragile, historic buildings. And it was clear from Colin’s words and actions that he and Go Cotswolds care about preserving what makes the Cotswolds so unique. This is why they support and contribute to several schemes and organisations working to preserve the beauty of the Cotswolds.

What did we do on the Cotswolds tour?

Colin collected the first passengers from Stratford-upon-Avon before then picking the rest of us up in Moreton-in-Marsh. Once we were all gathered in the rather comfortable 16-seater mini bus (think comfy reclinable leather seats and plenty of legroom), we headed off to our first stop for the day: Chipping Campden.

The drive between Moreton in Marsh and Chipping Campden takes between 10 and 15 minutes, and in that short time, I had learned enough about the Cotswolds to make the tour worthwhile. Everything that came after that was a bonus!

Chipping Campden

Not much has changed except for cars in Chipping Campden in 400 years! The buildings on the high street were built between the 14^th and 17^th centuries, and they pretty much remain untouched. 

Colin gave us some interesting facts about Chipping Campden before leaving us with recommendations of what to do and see while we explored the town at our leisure. I am dubbing Chipping Campden the friendliest town in the Cotswolds. Three locals stopped to chat with me as I took photos around the town. One of those was Mr Evans, an older man who stopped to ask if I wanted my picture taken in front of a door he had spotted me photographing.

As he leaned hunched over his walking stick, a tremble in hand, I decided against the photo and asked if he was local instead. We chatted for a good 5 minutes as he quizzed my knowledge of the town, surprised I knew that Chipping was the old English word for market and that I knew why the church was quite so big (thank you, Colin!). What I didn’t know though, was how or why Chipping Campden became a town.

You never know who your next teacher will be!

Mr Evans’ said that Chipping Campden was never big enough to be considered a town. However, King Edward III was struggling financially, and while pondering on how to resolve this issue, one of his advisors asked, “Is it not right, Your Majesty, that you make money from towns?”. If conversations were anything like in Game of Thrones, I imagine the King replied, “Well, yes, but do spit out the reason for such a question”. “If you make money from towns, Your Majesty, why not turn some of the larger villages into towns. That way, you will make more money.” – would have replied his advisor. And apparently, that is how Chipping Campden came to be a town. I have not checked these facts, so please do not hold me to them!

What I did during my hour in Chipping Campden

The hour we had to explore Chipping Campden alone gave me enough time to stop at Fillet & Bone for a pastry, which I enjoyed as I walked to the gorgeous Thatched Cottages at the end of Sheep Street. I then retraced my steps, picked up a hot chocolate from The Bakery Shop, and made my way to St James’ Church, one of the finest wool churches in the Cotswolds. What do I mean by Wool Church? The Cotswolds were known for having the finest wool in Europe, and as such, wool merchants were incredibly wealthy, and they donated a lot of this wealth to the church. For this reason, the Cotswolds has so many big, impressive churches for the size of the communities they serve.

I also took a peek at the remnants of the old Manor House, which was destroyed during the Civil War. The highlight for me, however, was the Alms. This row of houses was built 400 years ago for people in need, whether due to poverty, age, or health. They were run as a charity and are still used for the same purposes to this day.

You can read more about Chipping Campden on my Chipping Campden guide.

Dover’s Hill

After an hour of exploring Chipping Campden on our own, we all met back up at the minibus, where Colin gave us some more interesting facts and stories about life in the Cotswolds, as well as some very sound advice on what to consider when buying a thatched roof cottage! Now, here is a fact I didn’t know before.

To stop birds from feeding on newly laid thatched roofs, the thatchers would build a scarecrow on the roof in the form of a fox, owl or eagle. This worked as a good deterrent. However, the thatcher only ever built the scarecrow after you had paid for the work. This means that if you did not settle your bill, the birds would destroy your roof, and all your neighbours would know you hadn’t paid! And that is why I loved my Cotswolds Tour with Go Cotswolds. Little stories like this bring a location to life and allow you to see beyond the facades of the honey-coloured buildings.

At Dover’s Hill, we walked to the edge of the Cotswolds limestone ridge and admired the beautiful view that opened up in front of us. Colin told us about the Olympick Games that take place here every year (I can tell you from first-hand experience that they are a lot of fun), before we made our way to the Secret Village that lies right in the heart of the Cotswolds, which shall remain a secret! Plus, I don’t want to spoil the tour for you!

Stow on the Wold

After spending 20 minutes wandering around the Secret Village, which featured in the opening scenes of Bridget Jones’ Diaries, we made our way to Stow-on-the-Wold, home to Tolkien’s famous Doors of Durin! Stow-on-the-Wold is a gorgeous market town and home to the oldest pub in Britain! We ate there recently, and the food was superb. To think that it has been serving weary travellers for over 1000 years!

Colin used the drive between the Secret Village and Stow-on-the-Wold to explain the civil war and the important role that Stow-on-the-Wold had played in it. It was, after all, where the final battle took place. Once again, Colin left us with lots of interesting facts and plenty of recommendations of where to find some good food and a nice coffee to warm us up.

I discovered Cotswolds Baguettes, a freshly made takeaway baguette shop. Think Subway, but with local produce, better choices, and much more taste! I treated myself to a bacon, cranberry, and brie baguette and found a bench in St Edwards Church to enjoy it. I then went to the very busy Coach House Coffee for my second hot chocolate of the day (it was very cold outside!) before taking a stroll to Stow Well, where locals collected their water until 1937.

Check out my guide for more information on things to do in Stow-on-the-Wold.

Bibury

After our lunch break in Stow-on-the-Wold, our Cotswolds Tour continued to Bibury, home to England’s most photographed row of cottages. This is one of the stops that the big London Coach tours stop at. I can’t deny that the Arlington Row of cottages are beautiful. They are like something out of a movie set. However, they are not the Cotswolds. In fact, aside from the Cottages and the Trout Farm, there is little more to Bibury, and yet thousands of tourists descend on this little village to get the famous photograph (which then requires lots of editing to remove the 100s of other people that are also there).

Why you need to see more than just Bibury on your Cotswolds Tour

If you were to join a London Cotswolds Day Tour, you would be made to believe that Bibury is everything the Cotswolds is about. But there is so much more to it. The Cotswolds spans six counties and is England and Wales’s largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There is huge development protection, so you won’t find any McDonald’s or Starbucks chains here. Instead, villages and towns are dotted with locally owned independent stores selling locally sourced produce. There are so many family-run businesses in the Cotswolds! But Bibury is so tiny that except for The Swan Hotel and the Trout Farm, there are very few other businesses, and therefore, the hoards of tourists that visit Bibury end up contributing nothing (or very little) to the local economy.

But I agree with Go Cotswolds; it is worth a short stop; after all, it isn’t every day you get to see the cottages that appear on the first page of the British passport! Add to that, that Go Cotswolds takes you down a hidden valley to get to Bibury, instead of down the main Fosse Way Road. Now, that road is one I had never been down before! It was beautiful how it meandered back and forth over the Colne River.

For more information on Bibury, visit my Bibury Guide.

Bourton on the Water

Dubbed the Venice of the Cotswolds, Bourton-on-the-Water was our final stop of the day. This is the other stop you will likely find on any London Cotswolds Coach Tour itineraries. It is undeniably one of the most beautiful towns in the Cotswolds, with the River Windrush meandering through the centre, but it is also one of the more commercial towns. I really think Go Cotswolds have struck the right balance on their day tour. Visitors, of course, want to see the highlights, and Bourton-on-the-Water is one of them, but because these are part of a broader itinerary, their guests get a much better taster of what life in the Cotswolds is like.

As with the rest of the stops, Colin did a great job of bringing Bourton-on-the-Water alive for us and gave us some great suggestions of places to visit. One that I highly recommend to anyone is the Bourton Model Village. It is the country’s only Grade II listed model village and a brilliant replica of Bourton-on-the-Water. I’ve been there before, so instead, I found myself my third and final hot chocolate of the day from The Coffee Hub!

For more information on Bourton please see my Bourton-on-the-Water Guide.

Conclusion

I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy it when I booked the tour, but I am so glad I did because it was informative and really good fun. Being a small group tour meant the day still felt very personable, and Colin remembered every single one of our names. It was also lovely that we were given plenty of time to explore that location at every stop. So, if you are visiting the Cotswolds by train and want to support a family-run business, then there is no better way to explore a mix of villages and towns than with Go Cotswolds. Even if you have driven to the Cotswolds, I still suggest you leave your car parked up and join Go Cotswolds on the Cotswolds in Day Tour. It is a great way to see some of the highlights of the Cotswolds.

They do have a couple of other tours, too. In 2024, they are launching the Secret Cotswolds Tour, which includes my favourite village, Stanton! Although Lower Slaughter is heralded as the prettiest village in the Cotswolds, I’m afraid I have to disagree. That accolade should belong to Stanton! They also offer a Cotswolds Walks and Villages Tour, which I’d highly recommend as there is no better way to enjoy the Cotswolds than on foot. And last but not least, they also offer private tours, should you wish to tailor the itinerary to suit you. If you are interested in exploring hidden gems and the little villages that dot the Cotswolds Countryside, then a private tour is definitely for you!

However you choose to explore the Cotswolds, I hope you enjoy it! And if I can help plan or answer any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

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