The Cotswolds are a range of limestone hills spread across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire, with wool towns and villages of honey-coloured stone, quiet valleys and an escarpment followed by the Cotswold Way. There is no single centre, and this page covers the places worth a trip, from Chipping Campden in the north to Castle Combe in the south. Blenheim Palace, at Woodstock on the eastern edge, belongs with Oxford.
Many visitors come on a day trip from London, so each entry says how to get there without a car: trains to Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham, Kemble, Cheltenham Spa or Chippenham, then the Pulhams and Stagecoach buses. Check Sunday services, since the bus to Bibury does not run, and note that Sudeley Castle closes for the winter while Snowshill and Hidcote cut their hours.
See Arlington Row in Bibury, the cottages on the UK passport
Bibury
1 to 2 hoursFree
See a row of stone weavers' cottages from around 1380 in the village William Morris called the most beautiful in England.
What it is
Arlington Row is a terrace of stone cottages on Awkward Hill in Bibury, built around 1380 as a monastic wool store and turned into weavers' cottages in the late 17th century; the cloth was hung to dry on the Rack Isle, the boggy water meadow opposite, now a wildlife habitat. The row appears on the inside cover of UK passports, and William Morris called Bibury the most beautiful village in England. Down by the River Coln, Bibury Trout Farm has bred native brown trout since 1902.
How to do it
Without a car, take the train to Kemble and a bus to Cirencester, then Pulhams bus 855, up to hourly from Monday to Saturday; it does not run on Sundays.
Good to know
The National Trust owns the row, but the cottages are private homes, so look from the lane and keep clear of doorways.
Cross low stone footbridges over the shallow Windrush, then see the village in miniature, down to a tiny model of the model.
What it is
Bourton-on-the-Water is laid out along the shallow River Windrush, crossed by a run of low stone footbridges. Behind the Old New Inn, the Model Village is a one-ninth scale replica of Bourton as it stood in the 1930s, built in Cotswold stone by local craftsmen over five years and opened on King George VI's coronation day in 1937; it is the only model village in the country recognised as qualifying for Grade II listing, and it even contains a tiny model of itself.
How to do it
Entry is £4.95 for adults, card only, with no booking, from 10:00 to 17:30 in summer and to 15:30 in winter. Pulhams bus 801 runs here from Moreton-in-Marsh station through Stow-on-the-Wold, hourly on Sundays too.
Good to know
The walk to the Slaughters starts at the war memorial.
Walk across the fields to two villages on lanes too narrow for coaches, one that lost no men in either world war.
What it is
The Slaughters are two small villages on the little River Eye, a short walk from Bourton-on-the-Water, on lanes too narrow for tour coaches to enter. Lower Slaughter has a 19th-century mill with its waterwheel and brick chimney, and Upper Slaughter is one of the few villages in England that lost no men in either world war. The Slaughters Country Inn in Lower Slaughter serves food.
How to do it
From the war memorial in Bourton, follow the Wardens' Way signs past St Lawrence's church, cross the A429 Fosse Way and take the footpath across the fields into Lower Slaughter. Walk beside the stream to the mill, turn left just after it and follow the path for half a mile, through gates and over a footbridge, up to Upper Slaughter. Come back along the Eye.
Good to know
The loop is about 5.4 miles (8.6 km), two to three hours, with gates and the odd stile.
Find the yew-framed church door in Stow-on-the-Wold
Stow-on-the-Wold
2 hoursFree
Walk the narrow alleys once used to drive sheep to market, then find a church door framed by two ancient yews.
What it is
Stow-on-the-Wold sits on an 800-foot (244 m) hill where several roads meet, including the Roman Fosse Way, and it grew on fairs held by royal charter since 1330: Daniel Defoe reported 20,000 sheep sold in a single day. The narrow alleys called tures that run into the Market Square were used to drive the sheep to sale. On 21 March 1646 the Royalists lost the Battle of Stow, a mile north of the town, and hundreds of prisoners were held in St Edward's Church. The horse fair, moved out of the square to a field near Maugersbury, still takes place every May and October.
How to do it
Pulhams bus 801 stops here between Moreton-in-Marsh station and Bourton-on-the-Water.
Good to know
Walk round to the church's north side for its door, framed by two ancient yew trees.
Set off on the 102-mile Cotswold Way from a wool town's High Street, climbing to Broadway Tower on the first stage.
What it is
Chipping Campden was a medieval wool town, and its High Street of local stone still shows the money: the Market Hall that Sir Baptist Hicks built in 1627 for traders, now owned by the National Trust, Grevel's House from about 1380, and St James', a grand wool church. The town is also the start of the Cotswold Way, the 102-mile (164 km) National Trail to Bath.
How to do it
Its first stage, 6 miles (9.6 km) to Broadway, climbs onto the escarpment at Dover's Hill, where the Cotswold Olimpicks are held on the first weekend of June, crosses fields to Broadway Tower and drops into Broadway village, with 173 metres of ascent. Without a car, Stagecoach bus 1 runs from Moreton-in-Marsh station a few times a day, and Pulhams 606 links Campden with Winchcombe and Cheltenham.
Good to know
Check the bus back before you set off.
Time needed
A full day with the walk to Broadway
Best time
First weekend of June, for the Olimpicks on Dover's Hill
Climb Broadway Tower, then go down into its nuclear bunker
Broadway
2 hoursBook ahead
Climb a mock Saxon tower on a beacon hill for views over 16 counties, then go down into a bunker that tracked nuclear blasts.
What it is
Broadway Tower stands on Beacon Hill, 312 metres above sea level on the Cotswold escarpment, where a beacon warned of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Capability Brown had the idea, James Wyatt designed the mock 'Saxon' tower, and it was completed in 1798 for the 6th Earl of Coventry; later William Morris, Rossetti and Burne-Jones holidayed here, and Morris began his campaign to protect old buildings while staying in it.
How to do it
A ticket covers the tower museum, the roof platform, with views over 16 counties, and the deer park; it opens daily 10:00 to 17:00, last admission 16:45, and tickets can be bought online, even on the day. Walk up from Broadway on the Cotswold Way.
Good to know
A separate guided tour goes down into the Royal Observer Corps bunker, operational from 1960 to track nuclear blasts, on weekends, bank holidays and selected days.
See Castle Combe early or late, when the day visitors have gone
Castle Combe
1 to 2 hoursFree
Walk down from a 14th-century market cross to the bridge over the By Brook, where only about 50 people live in the centre.
What it is
Castle Combe lies in the wooded valley of the By Brook in Wiltshire, at the southern end of the Cotswolds, and its streets have appeared in Doctor Dolittle (1967), Stardust and War Horse. Only about 50 people live in the centre, there are no rows of souvenir shops, and the average visit lasts just over an hour. The 14th-century market cross, put up when the village won its weekly market and a sign of its old cloth trade, stands where the three main streets meet.
How to do it
Walk down from the cross to the bridge over the By Brook for the classic view. Drivers must use the car park at the top of the hill, as parking in the lower village is virtually impossible. Without a car, take the train to Chippenham and a local bus.
Good to know
The parish council suggests early mornings, late afternoons, weekdays or winter.
See Charles Wade's 22,000 objects at Snowshill, then the lavender
Snowshill
Half a day with the lavenderBook ahead
Wander a manor one collector filled with over 22,000 objects, from samurai armour to toys, under the motto 'Let nothing perish'.
What it is
Snowshill Manor is a 16th-century Cotswold stone house near Broadway, filled by one man: Charles Paget Wade, architect, craftsman and collector, who restored it from 1919, lived in a small cottage in the garden and kept the manor for his collection. By his death it held over 22,000 objects, from samurai armour to toys, clocks and musical instruments, gathered under his motto 'Let nothing perish'. He gave it to the National Trust in 1951. On the farmland around the village, Cotswold Lavender grows 45 acres of lavender, open from mid-June to early August.
How to do it
In the 2026 season the house opened 11:30 to 16:30 and the garden 11:00 to 17:30, with earlier last admissions from late October and fewer dates in November. Come by car or taxi.
Good to know
The garden is a 500-yard hilly walk from reception.
See Katherine Parr's tomb and the gardens of Sudeley Castle
Winchcombe
Half a dayBook ahead
Visit the last home of Katherine Parr at Sudeley, the only privately owned castle with a queen of England buried in its grounds.
What it is
Sudeley Castle, just outside Winchcombe, was the last home of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth wife, who remarried after his death and is buried in the castle church: Sudeley is the only privately owned castle in the world with a queen of England buried in its grounds. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed in 1535; in the Civil War Parliament besieged and slighted the castle, which stayed largely in ruins until the Dent family bought and restored it from 1837. The visit covers the castle rooms, the romantic ruins and ten gardens, with daily talks and tours.
How to do it
It opens daily from mid-March to the start of November, 10:00 to 17:00, for £24 per adult in 2026; check the season dates before going. Without a car, take Pulhams bus 606 or the Stagecoach W from Cheltenham to Winchcombe and walk up Rushley Lane.
Walk a sequence of outdoor rooms walled by hedges in one of Britain's most influential Arts and Crafts gardens.
What it is
Hidcote, in the hamlet of Hidcote Bartrim near Chipping Campden, is one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain. Lawrence Johnston, an American who had become a British citizen, began laying it out in 1907, the year his mother bought the estate, as a sequence of outdoor rooms walled by hedges: the White Garden, the Long Walk, the Red Borders, the Fuchsia Garden, the Bathing Pool Garden, the Stilt Garden and more. He handed it to the National Trust in 1948, and plants selected here carry its name, such as the narrow-leaved lavender 'Hidcote'.
How to do it
Tickets are released about two weeks ahead. Plan a car or a taxi from Chipping Campden or Moreton-in-Marsh station.
Good to know
Opening hours change with the season and are shorter in winter, so check the National Trust page.
Shop and lunch at Daylesford, the organic farm near Kingham
Daylesford, near Kingham
2 hours with lunchNo booking needed
Shop the butcher's counter, creamery and bakery of a farm shop that grew from one family's switch to organic.
What it is
Daylesford Farm is where Carole Bamford's switch of the family farms to organic led, in 2002, to a farm shop and café on the Daylesford House estate, now the flagship of a chain that also has shops in London. The farm shop is laid out as a butcher's counter, a deli, a creamery, a bakery and produce from the market garden, and the estate also runs a cookery school, restaurants and a spa, all booked separately.
How to do it
The shop opens 09:00 to 17:00. Without a car, take a Cotswold Line train to Kingham: the walk from Kingham village runs north along a farm track, about 40 minutes. The estate publishes maps of its farm walks on the public footpaths if you want to stay longer.
Good to know
The track gets very muddy in winter, so a taxi from the station is the dry option.
Great Western Railway runs the Cotswold Line from London Paddington through Charlbury and Kingham to Moreton-in-Marsh, roughly an hour and a half to Moreton, the best rail gateway. Kemble, on the line to Gloucester, is the station for Cirencester and Bibury, Cheltenham Spa for Winchcombe and Sudeley, and Chippenham, on the main line to Bath, for Castle Combe. From Oxford, Pulhams bus X52 runs through Witney, Burford and Northleach to Cheltenham.
Getting around
Without a car, plan around a few bus routes. Pulhams 801 links Moreton-in-Marsh station with Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water and Cheltenham, hourly on Sundays too; Pulhams 855 runs up to hourly from Bourton through Northleach and Bibury to Cirencester, Monday to Saturday only; Pulhams 606 joins Chipping Campden, Winchcombe and Cheltenham. Snowshill and Hidcote need a car or a taxi. Day tours from London, Oxford and Bath cover several villages in one go.
How many days
In must30's view, three days without a car: one for Bourton-on-the-Water, the walk to the Slaughters and Stow on the 801 bus, one for Chipping Campden and the Cotswold Way to Broadway Tower, and one for Bibury from Cirencester or Sudeley from Cheltenham. A day trip from London covers two or three villages well; Castle Combe fits best from Bath.
When to go
Spring to early autumn is the season for the houses and gardens: in 2026 Sudeley opened daily from 14 March to 1 November, and the lavender at Snowshill flowers from mid-June to early August, best in July. Bank holidays bring the biggest crowds, and Castle Combe's only car park is then very likely to be full. Autumn and winter are quieter; the villages and footpaths stay open all year. Stow's horse fair is held every May and October.
Where to base yourself
Moreton-in-Marsh is the practical base without a car, with its station and the 801 bus. Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water put you in the middle, on the same bus. Chipping Campden suits walkers starting the Cotswold Way, and Cirencester, near Kemble station and on the 855 to Bibury, is the base for the south. For Castle Combe, stay in Bath or in the village itself, which goes quiet in the evening once the day visitors leave.
Questions travellers ask
Can you visit the Cotswolds without a car?
Yes, if you plan around the buses. Take the train from London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh, then Pulhams bus 801 to Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water, which runs hourly even on Sundays. Bibury is on the 855 from Bourton or Cirencester, Monday to Saturday only, while Snowshill and Hidcote need a taxi.
Can I do the Cotswolds as a day trip from London?
Yes. The train to Moreton-in-Marsh takes roughly an hour and a half, and from there the 801 bus reaches Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water, where the walk to the Slaughters starts. Coach day tours from London fit more villages into a day, with less time in each.
When is the lavender in bloom in the Cotswolds?
Cotswold Lavender at Snowshill opens its fields from mid-June to early August, and the lavender is at its best from late June through July. In 2026 the fields closed on 5 August; they reopen in mid-June 2027. Flowering varies with the weather, so check the farm's updates before you go.
Can you go inside the cottages of Arlington Row in Bibury?
No. The National Trust owns the row, but the cottages are private homes, apart from Nos. 1 and 9, which are let as holiday cottages. View them from the lane and the footpath without blocking doorways.
Is Blenheim Palace in the Cotswolds?
Blenheim Palace stands at Woodstock, on the eastern edge of the Cotswolds near Oxford, and is easiest to visit from Oxford, so it is covered on the Oxford page rather than here.
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