Short read: The achingly beautiful Cotswolds…
THE COTSWOLDS – THE PRACTICALS
The Cotswolds tour costs £95 for Adults, £90 for full time students and seniors over 65 and £69 for kids
And a helpful new bell and whistle for this site… We only go to the Cotswolds a few times each summer but you no longer have to wait for peace of mind – why should you have to? – you can reserve your place now.
We go to the Cotswolds on the following Saturdays: July 8th and October 14th
The meeting time for the Saturday Cotswolds trips is 9am
The meeting point is by the main ticket office – it’s near Platforms 1 & 2 – of Paddington Railway Station.
Simon will be holding a sign that says LONDON WALKS.
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 the 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 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.
What’s the cost?
The Cotswolds tour costs £95 for Adults, £90 for full time students and seniors over 65 and £69 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.
Deborah Nelson –
I did this tour with my sister a few years ago, and the description of the day is absolutely accurate. I am hoping when I return to London this May that we can go again, as I am bringing a friend who has never been abroad. I have recommended both this trip and the one that combines with Oxford to several friends and not one has been disappointed.