Location: Cotswolds
Top Things to do in Cotswolds
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The 10 Best Historical & Heritage Tours in Cotswolds, England
The Cotswolds (/ˈkɒtswoʊldz/ KOTS-wohldz, /-wəldz/ -wəldz) is an area in south central England containing the Cotswold Hills, a range of rolling hills which rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment, known as the Cotswold Edge, above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone that creates a type of grassland habitat rare in the UK and that is quarried for the golden coloured Cotswold stone. It contains unique features derived from the use of this mineral; the predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, historical towns and stately homes and gardens. The population of the District is about 84,000.
Restaurants in Cotswolds
1. Cotswolds & Blenheim Palace - Small Groups
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
Size Matters - we are big on details, small on group sizes! The only company to offer daily trips, with such small intimate groups. • Maximum 8 people - allowing restricted access to protected areas • Visit Burford, Burton on the Water and Bidbury - that exact cotswold vibe your looking for! • Enter Blenheim Palace, the largest non Royal Palace in England All with the services of a fun and entertaining guide, to bring out the drama of these sites - strictly no boring tours!
Inclusions: Driver/guide, Professional guide, Air-conditioned vehicle
Exclusions: Gratuities, Lunch, Entrance To Blenheim Palace
Reviewed By C4677HXsandyc
Fred was fantastic! So much information about the amazing history of Oxford, and a lot of great stories to make you laugh, learn and really think. I would absolutely recommend this tour for anyone coming to Oxford.
2. Windsor and Blenheim Palace with Gardens Small-Group Tour
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 4 reviews
Visit the stately UNESCO World Heritage Site of Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and current private residence of the 12th Duke of Marlborough. Discover the historic town of Windsor, adorned by the beautiful Windsor Castle – home to British kings and queens for over 1000 years. Across the River Thames is the picturesque town of Eton, home of the renowned boarding school Eton College. Famous alumni to have attended this prestigious school include Princes’ William and Harry, Ian Fleming, George Orwell and politicians both past and present.
Inclusions: Expert guide, Luxurious 16 seater coach, Entry to Blenheim Palace (State Rooms) & Gardens (if selected option), Entry to Blenheim Gardens (if option selected), Personal Audio Headset
Exclusions: Entrance to Windsor Castle, Hotel pickup and drop-off, Lunch
Reviewed By soumim88
Francesco did a tremendous job for us. He obviously knew his subject very well and delivered it using humour and candour. The only thing that was missing in our opinion was speakers because at times we were at the back and could not hear him...otherwise excellent...and we wish him the best with his Architectural studies Regards Soumi and Lydia Mitra
3. Cotswolds Private Day Tour
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 4 reviews
We are the only registered company by Cotswold tourism board and visit Britain. Each and every of our tour guides/drivers are fully DBS checked and license holders. This is a family run business run by people who was born in Cotswolds and we are passionate about what we do.
Inclusions: licensed guide
Exclusions:
Reviewed By Aditya R
We had a most amazing time is Cotswolds this summer. What a place to visit! Our Tour guide was knowledgeable and simply outstanding. Highly rated please to book this company.
4. Private Cotswold Villages from London: Burford, Stow-on-the-Wold
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 7 reviews
Your expert guide will take you to a number of stunning English villages in the Cotswold region of the UK, near the city of Oxford, during this 10-hour journey. Enjoy free 4G WiFi to use all day inside the vehicle. You will be provided with free water to enjoy inside the vehicle as well. You will even get to stop at a secret place along the way to ensure you really do get that 'wow' factor. Your guide will know all the best places to stop and get that perfect photo and will even take them for you to make sure all of your group is in the photo together.
Inclusions: Hotel pickup and drop-off, Bottled water, Professional guide/driver, Private small-group tour, Transport by private vehicle with working air-conditioning and heating and passenger sliding doors, Vehicle will seat 6 to 8 clients depending on group size we use brands like Ford, Mercedes, Hunyadi, Fuel surcharge
Exclusions: Entrance fees. All entry tickets to all chargeable sites need to be purchased by the client direct from the site's own website in advance. You may also purchase them on the day direct from the site, but this may take longer due to queue times and may cost more, Lunch, Gratuities, We do not use coaches for tours we use 7 to 9 seater minivans
Reviewed By Dr_Ooo
First, let me begin by saying that this review is SUPER LONG OVERDUE! My deepest apologies Nikhil! Second, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER from across the pond (we share the same birthday)!!! I hope this message finds you and yours well during this strange time. Dec 2018 my family made plans to take my mother, who’s never been abroad, to London. My sis (whose birthday is 4.17) booked this tour for the 5 of us. We were Nikhil’s 2nd tour, but we would have never known had he not told us. Nikhil’s love for country, joy, and overall exuberance is infectious. He never lost momentum, energy, and we never wanted for information. Every question from London, to Windsor Castle, to Stonehenge, to Bath, Nikhil could answer it all!! We lucked out! Anyone blessed enough to have Nikhil as their guide/historian is fortunate and any company smart enough to employ him must know how much of an asset he is professional, and how beautiful an individual he is personally. As mommy told you Nikhil, your mum raised you right! Thank you for the joy of your presence and for making our trip to London memorable!! Hope you’re birthday’s been a blast!! I had ice cream cake for breakfast!!
5. Guided walking tour : Ghosts & Giggles Of Gloucester
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
Gloucester is two routes, which will be alternated every week. The routes are as follows: Route One *Folk Museum *Dick Whittington *Old Crown Inn *Fountain Inn *Bull Lane *Old Kings Theatre (Poundstretcher) *Fleece Hotel *McDonald’s *A.G. Meek *New Inn *Debenhams Route Two: *Bishop Hoopers Memorial *Cathedral *Comfy Pew *Fountain Inn *Fleece Hotel *Old King's Theatre (Poundstretcher) *Old Argos *Bell Lane (Eastgate) *St Michael’s Tower *Cross Keys Inn *Cafe Rene *Greyfriars The walks are, Newent on Friday night, Gloucester on Saturday night at 8pm. Private Tours are also welcome, please also book for these.
Inclusions: Laser grid pen. , Motion sensor light ball
Exclusions: Please bring your own bottles water, there may be places where you can fill up, especially in spring and summer as it can get very hot.
Reviewed By 319theg
A Brilliant interesting Tour. Full of History . Ghost Stories and Giggles along the way. A lovely Tour Guide and very Helpful.
6. Cotswold and Oxford private group day tour from Watford
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
This tour is designed for a small private group and can accommodate up to 16 passengers. You can be sure of a nice friendly atmosphere in a modern comfortable nifty minibus capable of taking the small roads and side streets, avoiding heavy traffic when necessary. Also this makes for a more interesting tour as you will be taken through beautiful small country roads where the bigger coaches cannot go. No time wasted loading and unloading gives you much more time to enjoy your tour of the Cotswold. Your experienced friendly driver/guide will point out places of interest throughout the journey and you will see famous villages buildings and monuments, the best of the Cotswold and Oxford. Your guide will make sure that you are comfortable at all times and enjoying a day to remember in the beautiful english Countryside.
Inclusions: Air-conditioned vehicle
Exclusions:
7. Downton Abbey and the Cotswolds
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
Take a trip back in time to the set of Downton Abbey on our full-day tour to Highclere Castle and the Cotswolds. Our tour departs from Oxford and takes you first to Highclere Castle, the splendid home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. You have a chance to visit the castle and see where the filming took place and also to visit the beautiful castle grounds. We then take you to the delightful village of Bampton which was the backdrop for the village of Downton. Enjoy lunch in the Swan pub at Swinbrook and then an enchanting drive stopping in some of the quaint villages of the North Cotswolds before returning to Oxford.
Inclusions: Blue Badge guide, Live commentary on board, Bottled water, Entrance ticket to Highclere Castle, Pick up from North Oxford Hotels on request , Pick up from Oxford Station on request
Exclusions: Lunch
Reviewed By jennifercF805IS
My husband and I recently went on the half day Cotswolds taster tour and had an incredible time! The tour began with the introduction of our two fab guides who were so knowledgable and friendly. They greeted us wearing face masks and shields which put us at ease right away. They greeted me by name as well, impressive! We met them on Broad street which has some cafes that open early so make sure to grab one to go. We are local to Oxford but don’t have a car and this was perfect for a day out of the city to see the country. We sat socially distant from the guides and they even had sanitiser and water on hand if we needed it. They opened the door for us and kept themselves socially distant which was important. They were very professional and got to know us so they could customise the tour a bit to show us more churches and schools which we were interested in. I really loved our first stop at Minster Lovell and my favourite spot was Bourton on the Water. We will be going back to those places for sure. They definitely have more to see including historic sights and shops in those two places. Honestly the day was perfect and we felt like VIPs. This was the best half day taster tour and we are already planning to go again once restrictions are lifted. We even gave our families and friends their contact to book tours because we were so impressed. Fantastic driving Dave and Ed was so knowledgable about the area. Great communication with us pre tour and post. Thanks so much and definitely worth booking!
8. Private Guided Tour of the Cotswolds 'Off The Beaten Track' in a Luxury Mercedes
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 13 reviews
With this bespoke tailored private tour our knowledgeable local tour guides will tour you around the beautiful Cotswold countryside in luxury.This ‘bespoke’ tour is designed for anyone and everyone. For photographers, we’ll take you to the very best spots to catch that perfect image, for historians we’ll take you on a journey through the history of our “Sceptr’d Isle. If Literature or crafts are your thing, we’ll take you to Kelmscott Manor, home of William Morris. Maybe you are a Film and T.V. fan and want to see where they filmed ‘Downton Abbey’ or take a risk and visit the locations of ‘Father Brown’. You can tour antique shops in Stow-on-the-Wold, sample specialist food and drink, focus on ‘out of the way’ villages and historic churches, or hear folk tales, ghost stories and legends from around the Cotswolds.
Inclusions: Private transportation, Air-conditioned vehicle, WiFi on board, Bottled water, Professional Driver Tour Guide, Transportation will be within a luxury Mercedes vehicle no older than 2 years old, Hotel pick up and drop off
Exclusions: Gratuities, Drinks, food and snacks are not included in the price of this tour
Reviewed By olivia_lucienne
Mr. Robin Dale came to my rescue! I was trying to get from Blockley Village to Moreton-in-Marsh station on an evening in December, and the bus I was waiting for never came. I called several taxi services, all of whom were unavailable, before someone gave me Mr. Dale's number. Though I believe it was after hours for him, he came out to get me and drive me the 15 minutes or so to the station. I was indeed getting a bit stressed and chilly out in an unfamiliar town at night, so to not have to wait another hour for a bus (which I was just hoping would come!) was such a blessing. I will always remember his graciousness with an abundance of gratitude -- he came to pick me up on his own time, simply because he did not like the idea of me waiting alone in the dark and cold, and was so pleasant throughout the drive. I cannot think of better, more above-and-beyond service. Do contact Cotswold Tours & Travel for your taxiing needs -- but preferably according to their schedule!
9. Tour of the Cotswolds from Stratford-upon-Avon
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 102 reviews
Award-winning guided small-group minibus tours of the Cotswolds from Stratford-upon-Avon. Experience the Cotswolds with a local guide in a small and friendly group size of up to 16 people. We'll explore picture-postcard Cotswold towns and villages including Chipping Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water, as well as the stunning Dover's Hill viewpoint and our "secret" off-the-beaten-track village, which many customers agree is a highlight of the tour! The ticket price includes a pick-up from all accommodation providers in Stratford-upon-Avon, or from Stratford-upon-Avon rail station.
Inclusions: Hotel pickup and drop-off (Stratford-upon-Avon only), Local driver/guide, Transport by minibus
Exclusions: Gratuities, Food and drinks, Lunch
Reviewed By Sorrento20
We saw so much more of the Cotswold's as our guide Tom took us on all the back roads to see sights we hadn't visited before. Highly recommended for a good day out.
10. Small Group Cotswolds Villages, Stratford and Oxford Day Tour from London
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 89 reviews
Explore Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Cotswolds, and discover the best of England in one day on this 12-hour small group tour, maximum 16 people, from London. Visit historic Stratford-upon-Avon with a guide and learn of the life of William Shakespeare — widely considered to be England’s most famous poet. Spin through the pretty countryside to characterful Cotswold villages, where life ticks by at a relaxing pace. Then, explore the medieval city of Oxford — home to one of the world’s oldest universities and join your tour guide for a walking tour to learn and see more. Tour includes guide and round-trip luxury mini-coach travel from central London.
Inclusions: Round-trip travel by air-conditioned luxury Mercedes minicoach from central London, Experienced knowledgeable and welcoming tour driver/guide, Walking tours in Stratford and Oxford, Bottled water
Exclusions: Optional entry to Shakespeare's birthplace , Food and drink, Gratuities, Hotel pickup and drop-off
Reviewed By meganhG720ZR
This trip was so awesome. The bus was extremely clean and super comfortable, and our tour guide Andy was AMAZING. I feel like there wasn't a stretch of road on the whole trip that he didn't have some tidbit of interesting information about. The available time at each place was good, and the secret place we got to see was AWESOME! No spoilers though, I made a vow :) You will not regret booking a tour, it was a highlight of our trip. We had to cancel a second trip due to Covid-19 but as soon as we can make it back across the pond, we will be signing up for another English Bus tour!
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