Cotswolds Day Trip

Private tour to the ‘golden stone’ villages and scenery of the Cotswolds

I’m a London born and bred tour guide and I do love my city. But I love my English scenery and history too. I enjoy providing commentary and historic anecdotes about all my tour destinations. This private tour from London visits the iconic scenery and rolling hills of the Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds rural landscapes and stone villages are world famous. It’s one of the most well known areas of English countryside and officially designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (an AONB is similar to a US National Park). The purpose of this AONB is to conserve and enhance the natural landscape and its ‘golden stone’ villages. With no urban centres in the Cotswolds much of the land is still given over to farming and livestock.

Our private Cotswolds tour from London drives through lush countryside and rolling hills making stops in some of the famous ancient villages, where I guide short walks and we discover the history and architecture of our surroundings.

We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting the villages we stop by: Charlbury to Spelsbury, Chadlington to Bledington, Woodstock to Stow-on-the-Wold. We may walk by the gentle waters of the River Coln, which flows through Bibury to see the 17^th century weavers cottages.

On the banks of the winding River Eye lies Lower Slaughter, a village dating back over 1000 years. This provides one of our options for lunch where I might book a table. There might be time to visit the grave of Winston Churchill, laid to rest in the family plot at Bladon.

Itinerary:

• 08.00: Meet at your hotel/accommodation, drive to the Cotswolds.
• 10.30: Arrive in the Cotwolds + driving tour and walks.
• 15.00: Leave the Cotswolds.
• 18:00 Return to London hotel.

I’m your driver and private guide and I’ll be explaining as we explore. Walking is integral to this tour. There are lots of stops for photo opps. Time spent viewing a location varies from one or two minutes to a few minutes.

Having a driver/walking guide like me conducting your tour in a London taxi is super-efficient and will help to make the day enjoyable and memorable.

NB: My English Countryside tour is very nice too. It’s the ‘anti-Cotswolds’ tour: with less driving, lovely scenery, genuine history, old villages and no tourists.

Additional Info

• We drive, we walk, we eat, we drink (lunch not included in price).
• Door-2-Door service: pickup and drop-off anywhere in central London (extra charge may apply if different).
• Graham (that’s me) is your guide and driver providing commentary throughout the tour.
• Many stops for photo opps and quite a lot of walking.
• Bottled water.
• Wheelchair friendly (including ramps). Child seats/boosters not provided.
• Mercedes Vito London Taxi – comfortable, partitioned, air con (see photos).
• Cancellation: 100% refund (then -48 hours pre-tour 50%).

Health & Safety

• London taxis have a transparent perspex partition between driver guide and passengers.
• Intercom allows 2-way conversation and commentary.
• Walking parts of all tours are done as safely as possible.
• Hand sanitizer available.

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