Visiting the Cotswolds whilst on holiday in London?

[Ridingaroundonbuses]

I would like to visit the Cotswolds this summer whilst on holiday in London. Can anyone give me any tips on what part of the Cotswolds is good to visit and what station I would go from. I would ideally like to book in advance to get the best and cheapest tickets I can for the train.

TIA

You'll need to hire a car. It's all so far apart.

A coach trip is probably the best idea. My DS plays cricket for a team in one of the Cotswolds league. We are just north of the Cotswolds but he regularly plays in some beautiful villages. Broadway is very touristy but when you move away from the main road it’s a lovely village.

Bentham palace is a nice day out. Again you could probably find a coach trip there from London.

Although Henley isn’t really Cotswolds there is a good train link and it has a similar feel.

Oxford is a great place to visit.

I would also look at Bath. Lots to see, great shopping and a pleasant town to visit. We stayed there overnight last year in a lovely air BnB close to the town centre. We spent the day shopping and eating then spent the early evening in the spa. It was a beautiful evening and we watched the sun set from the roof top pool.

If you have children it’s close to Longleat, my DS’s favourite animal park.

It really depends what you want from the visit and the time you have.
There are some.pretty villages/ towns accessible by train that have been suggested already.
But if you are after the more country side feel/ walks.in the hills etc... that would be harder to achieve on a day trip by train.
If you are there making of the more classic images of the Cotswolds like bibury, Bourton on the water etc .. it will take more planning as you will need to check bus times or taxis etc as they don't have their own stations.
For example.winchcombe is nice and you can visit sudley castle and Broadway, snowshill village and Bourton on the water are all within easy reach but non have a main line train station you would need to get a train to kingham, moreton or Cheltenham and then bus (but you wouldn't fit them.all in, in a day if you used buses) or pay to hire a car or lots of taxing around and I would plan ahead with taxis for that sort of trip.

The op literally says train.

It’s actually about 800 square miles! A lot to explore.

I live just outside beautiful Broadway.

As others have said, it depends what you want from the visit. Trains will not get you to the pretty places like Bourton, Broadway, Bibury, the Slaughters etc. Public transport such as a bus isn’t non existent, but just few and far between.

If train is the only option then I would really suggest Oxford, Bath or Cheltenham as a day trip. You can also go to Moreton in Marsh from Paddington, and once there it’s a pretty market town, but with the aforesaid inconsistent bus service to get anywhere else you’re relying on taxis really.

I would probably either book a coach tour, or hire a car personally if you really want to see the true Cotswolds.

I would recommend a coach trip.

I don’t drive so I will investigate coach trips. Thanks for all the info.

Footprints does a one-day tour of the Cotswolds from Oxford https://footprints-tours.com/oxford/tours/oxford-day-trips/oxford-day-trip-cotswolds-full-day/. You'd need to stay overnight in Oxford as it sets off at 8.30am.

I did a coach trip from London to the Cotswolds years back @Ridingaroundonbuses
It was fabulous.
Did Blenheim Palace- that was amazing.
I also did a day trip from London to Castle Howard in Yorkshire, a spectacular house that featured in the first series of Brideshead Revisited was filmed there.
My Mum loved the series so we went.
By train and bus.