This excursion will be back soon. In the meantime we’d be happy to organise a private tour for you. Please contact us on 020 7624 3978 | [email protected] to make a booking.
The Cotswolds
Paddington Railway Station (meet by the main ticket office - it's near Platform 1 )
Guided by Simon
Adult: £125 · Students & Seniors: £120 · Children: £83
N.B., Click here for the full Summer ’26 programme of out-of-town trips (we have day trips to Cambridge and to Oxford & the Cotswolds as well as the all-day trip to The Cotswolds).
THE COTSWOLDS TOUR ESSENTIALS
This is not mass tourism. There are only so many places available. Equally to the point, the tour can only go ahead if the uptake reaches the (low) minimum required number of participants.
Not surprisingly, the tour often sells out so early booking is advisable. As soon as you book you will receive a confirmation that your place has been reserved. The link you use to pay for the tour will be sent to you a few days before the tour.
The total cost is £125 per adult; £120 for Super Adults (over 65s), Loyalty Card holders and full-time students; £115 for Super Adults and Full Time Students with the Loyalty Card; £83 for children.
The charge covers everything – guide’s fee, travel costs, entrance fees – except your lunch!
N.B., the deadline for late booking – should there be places available – is mid-day on the day before the tour. Payment must be made by 6 pm that day.
LET’S GO TO THE COTSWOLDS
Short read: The achingly beautiful Cotswolds…
Good listen: here’s an interview with Guide Simon in which he goes into considerable detail about where The Cotswolds trip goes, what happens on it, why it’s special, etc.
THE COTSWOLDS – THE PRACTICALS
The Cotswolds tour costs £125 for Adults; £120 for Super Adults (over 65s), Loyalty Card holders, and full-time students; £115 for people with the Senior and student Loyalty Card; £83 for kids
This covers the guide’s fee, the train fares, the coach fares and any entrance fees. The only thing you need to pay for is your lunch.
The logic of reserving your place while you can is incontrovertible. The Cotswolds trip usually sells out. We limit the group size.
N.B. This is a trip to the most beautiful countryside in the world. Gentle countryside that is. We walk through some of that countryside – along rural paths and footways and through meadows. Do be sure to come in footwear that’s equal to that gentle country walking. You won’t need hiking boots but you should wear comfortable walking shoes. “Let’s go for a walk” shoes. Don’t come in high heels or fashionable flimsies or flip-flops because in places there might be a spot or two of mud if there’s been a recent shower.
We go to the Cotswolds on selected Saturdays from April 25th to November 7th
The meeting time for the Saturday Cotswolds trip is 9 am
The meeting point is by the main ticket office – it’s near Platform 1 – of Paddington Railway Station.
NB The tour gets back to London at around 7.20 pm
Simon holds up a sign that says LONDON WALKS.
AND AS FOR THE GUIDING
RURAL ENGLAND, VILLAGE ENGLAND AT ITS BEST
Medium read: We take you places where you’ll want to stay. The Cotswolds of thatched roofs and honey-coloured stone and cottages wreathed in wisteria and honeysuckle. The Cotswolds of stone bridges and old mills and millponds. The Cotswolds of storybook villages and matchless flower gardens. The Cotswolds of… well, of rural England at its best.
Long read: High-end, extremely high-quality tours. That’s what we do. The catch – you’re going to like the catch – is we do them at a very reasonable price.* If you’re thinking of going to The Cotswolds and you’ve found your way to this page you’ve drawn to an inside straight and hit it.
To get this into perspective, run a couple of comparisons. Sure, there are other ways of getting to The Cotswolds. You can hire a driver guide. Cost you hundreds of pounds and you’ll have less time in The Cotswolds because battling through London traffic and pounding along the motorway takes a lot longer than going by train. You can hire a car and drive up there yourself. Same time constraints and it’ll cost you a whole lot more than going with us. Car rentals aren’t cheap. And that’s not to mention the toll on your nerves that goes with the territory of driving in unfamiliar places. If it were a steeplechase – Simon’s savvy and years of experience over against you behind the wheel of a rental car and being completely unfamiliar with the course – well, I know which horse I’d back.
And as for coach tours to the Cotswolds – well, you might save £5 to £10 but it’s a textbook example of a false economy. Going by rail is much faster and much more comfortable than going by coach. Battling through London traffic and grinding out the miles on the motorway – well, your £5 to £10 “saved” is going to cost you precious hours in The Cotswolds. It’s no saving at all. Divide the cost by the number of hours you get in The Cotswolds you’ll find that the per-hour cost of going on a coach tour is a whole lot more than the per-hour cost of going with us.
Nobody else does it the way we do it. They can’t. They’re locked into their expensive “infrastructure” – their coaches, their cars, etc. Low-information tourist hordes don’t do it the way we do it. They would if they were lucky enough to find us. But they don’t find us. We’re not on their radar. Their loss. But you’re not them. You’re not low-information tourists, you’re savvy, discerning independents. You have found us. You’ve won. You’re going to have the best possible trip to The Cotswolds. Good going.
*The key is our low fixed costs – i.e., running London Walks off our kitchen table. That translates into extremely high-quality tours at a very reasonable price.
IT’S FASTLY SUPERIOR – WE GO BY TRAIN
Bored by traffic? Board the train. At Paddington Railway Station (see above).
HOW’S IT WORK? WHAT’S THE ITINERARY?
When our train gets us to The Cotswolds we’re met by the local coach Simon has chartered for us. We do four villages and lots of countryside. So you’ll see a great deal of Cotswolds countryside and Cotswolds village life. We’re of course only in the coach while we’re seeing some Cotswolds countryside, going from one village to another. When we get to our villages we get out and walk. And that’s when the magic really kicks in.
Anything else? Yes, attention to detail. The small things that make a big difference. When we’re in the villages the driver stays with the coach. You can leave your gear in the coach with complete confidence that it’ll be ok. I said we use the local coach to village hop – but two of the villages – Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter – are very close together. Some of you, some of us, will choose to walk from one to the other. Others won’t. That’s ok, they’ll take the coach. It works a treat.
In sum: it’s fun; it’s fascinating; it’s efficient; it’s relaxed; Simon’s the perfect host – he takes the worry out of it). It just works. It’ll be one of the best – one of the most memorable – days of your life. Memories make us rich.
THE COTSWOLDS TRIP IS A BRIDGE TO WONDERFUL MEMORIES
BEARS REPEATING, IT’S VERY AFFORDABLE
About a tenth of what it would cost you to go by driver-guide.
LONDON WALKS PRIVATE WALKS
If you can’t make one of the regularly scheduled, just-turn-up, The Cotswolds it can always be booked as a private tour. If you go private you can have the The Cotswolds walk – or any other London Walk – on a day and at a time that suits your convenience. We’ll tailor it to your requirements. Ring Fiona or Mary on 020 7624 3978 or email us at [email protected] and we’ll set it up and make it happen for you. A private London Walk – they’re good value for an individual or couple and sensational value for a group – makes an ideal group or educational or birthday party or office (team-building) or club outing.
GIVE THE GIFT OF LONDON WALKS
A private London Walk makes a fab gift – be it a birthday or anniversary or Christmas present or whatever. Merchandise schmerchandise (gift wrapped or not) – but giving someone an experience, now that’s special. Memories make us rich.
Joseph Guasconi –
An absolutely first-rate tour on every level. Well-organized by London Walks (taking a train then a mini-bus meeting us in the cotswolds) and conducted by an absolutely wonderful guide, Simon. Can’t say enough wonderful things about Simon: extremely informative, attentive to the tour guests’ needs; delivered information to us in an engaging and entertaining manner, and made the day thoroughly enjoyable. The tour really is a terrific combination of riding through the countryside, walking thru small towns and then trails (from Upper to Lower Sloughter). My wife and I both felt it was a memorable day, enhanced by Simon’s professionalism.
Michelle –
The best Guide and Tour of Cotswolds. Taking train and then a clean van is the way to go! Driver James and Guide Simon great job. Don’t take a big bus or add more pollution and traffic to Cotswolds with a private auto. Be responsible.
Mary –
I enjoyed a delightful day out with Simon and London Walks last Saturday, 27th September.
We managed to explore six different villages/small towns, each one unique and interesting in its own right. We were also taken on a few walks along country lanes, enabling us to view the breath-taking beauty of the Cotswolds countryside.
Simon, our guide, was friendly and entertaining but also knowledgeable and informative. He looked after our group all day, making sure we had adequate time to rest and ensured we had opportunities to get something to eat and drink.
I would thoroughly recommend this trip with London Walks and any day trips with Simon as your guide.
Liz Galán (aka Mexico) –
We just went to the Costwolds with Simon. One of the best experiences in this trip. He makes it so entertaining and fun. Word of advice to all of those reading this review… Wear the comfiest of shoes the day you book with London walks because the walking is no joke. We enjoyed Simon speaking in Spanish to engage. He is the coolest.
Robert Frost –
A great tour of the Cotswolds with our guide Simon! Another 5-Star review for the London Walks Company. All together we did 3 of their tours, each with a different guide, and all of them were amazing! London Walks is the Gold, nay, Platinum Standard!
Liam/Ellen –
September 13 -Cotswolds Walk
There’s so much to see, to learn and take in during this day trip but we had the right guy as our guide: Simon. We were educated on life in the Cotswolds from the time of the Celts to present day. This tour highlights the best of the region. We highly recommend this walk.
Deb –
We did the September 13 tour of the Cotswolds with Simon. He was organized. Engaging. Knowledgeable. Witty. The amount of history and interesting facts he knew about every place we went was amazing. Highly recommend this tour as a way to see the Cotswolds.
Oscar Hur –
We found the trip (with Simon July 5, 2025) and tour quite enjoyable. We very much enjoyed listening to all of the detail that Simon provided, as well as the humor that he sometimes sprinkled in on topics throughout the day. It was a very memorable tour and we would rate it a “10” with 10 being the best possible score.
In addition, we purchased two loyalty cards after the trip was over (from Simon) because we enjoyed it so much.
J Wellington –
Simon’s tour of the Cotswolds was wonderful. He took care of us from the very beginning at Paddington station, making sure everyone was accounted for, and always reiterating where we needed to be, when, and what our options were. We started at Moreton-in-Marsh, moving to Chipping Camden, Upper and Lower Slaughter, then finally a short stop in Stow-on-the-Wold. The towns were lovely and a real taste of classic, well-storied English countryside. Simon’s knowledge of the history and the area was exemplary, and enriched what we saw with important context. Without his commentary, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting. Additionally, he was an engaging speaker and quite fun to listen to. We kept moving at a fairly good pace, though we had about an hour in Chipping Camden to have a nice meal at the Eight Bells Inn, and do some quick shopping. As well as about half an hour in Lower Slaughter for a pint, or a nice walk around. It was a full day with much walking, so you certainly get what you sign up for. Would go again.
E Noble –
I took tours with Simon of both Cambridge and the Cotswolds during first week of July 2025. He was an excellent tour guide on both occasions. I learned so much on each tour. He was very entertaining and made the tours thoroughly enjoyable, as well as highly informative.