The Cotswolds, a picturesque region in England, epitomizes idyllic village life. Visit a trove of thatched cottages, trout farms and tea shops, and centuries-old estates during this small-group guided tour. Highlights include Bibury’s Arlington Row—known as the prettiest street in England—and the real-life backdrop to hit series “Downtown Abbey.”

A small-group guided tour of the Cotswolds, England’s most idyllic region, from Oxford
Retrace the steps of luminaries like Arts and Crafts founder William Morris and Sir Winston Churchill
Travel comfortably by private vehicles and listen to live commentary onboard
Enjoy complimentary bottled water and free time to grab a pub lunch

What's Included

Blue Badge guide
Live commentary on board
Bottled water
Beverages
Pick up from hotels in North Oxford on request
Pick up from Oxford Railway Station on request

Food and drinks, unless specified

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Taylor Institution Library
St Giles', Oxford OX1 3NA, UK
Tour departs from coach bays next to Taylorian Institution Library in St Giles. Please arrive at the departure point 10 minutes before the tour is due to depart. Please look for a dark blue minibus with ‘Explore Oxford and the Cotswolds’ written on the sides.

Start time

09:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Bampton Library

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Kelmscott Manor (Pass By)

Arlington Row

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Winchcombe Museum

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Stow-on-the-Wold Market Square

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Blenheim Palace (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for child aged 7 and under
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund

Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Lars_A

We had a wonderful whole-day tour in beautiful Cotswolds. Our guide, Isabel, was great, giving us a full day of discovering much of Cotswolds and giving great information about everything we saw and every site visited. Highly recommended!

Reviews

5.0

36 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 36 reviews

Breath taking Cotswolds

TracySchelkis, Jun 2023

Magical tour of thus beautiful part of England. Isabel was amazing with her in-depth knowledge of everything. Small group, small van which meant we were able to go down wonderful narrow roads to amazing villages

Great day in the Cotswold!

James_T, May 2023

Absolutely wonderful 9 hours with an extremely intelligent and articulate guide. Traveled to parts of the Cotswold the average traveler would never see. Fun! Wholehearted recommend to anyone wanting to really see, understand, and enjoy this wonderful part of England!

A nice day in beautiful Cotswolds

Kaisa_A, May 2023

We loved the trip because of the beautiful Cotswolds, the nice weather, good and informative guiding and the small size of the group. Cotswolds is amazing beautiful area; nature and cute villages. The day went too fast so there is a reason to come back someday but for few days. Isobel told a lot about the area and spoke very clearly so also us non-native English could follow. Thanks for that. David drove good on narrow little roads. Thanks to both of you. If you are planning a trip to Cotswolds, do not hesitate to book this.

Fun friends

Iida_R, Apr 2023

Lots of nature, countryside, small villages and history. Excellent guide. Unfortunately we didn't make a stop at Blennheim Palace as scripted in description.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hi there Thank you for highlighting this. The tour description should have been changed. We used to be able to stop at Blenheim and look through the gates at the Town Gate. We are not allowed to do this any more. I am sorry you were disappointed.

Memorable day

Niamh_M, Apr 2023

I booked this for my Mum and Dad and writing a short note on their behalf. They really enjoyed the day- the appreciated the great driving and (how challenging to drive on single track roads), they appreciated the professionalism of the guides and how informed and knowledgeable they were and without being imposing opinion. They appreciated how much they saw in one day-immense amount and putting things in context such as the land use etc. The liked the group size and the size of the mini bus- its discreet and comfortable. If any way to develop - the cancellation policy on website says- can get money back if cancelled 1000 days before the trip, it would be a great to have some kind of plaque or sign for the meeting place in the morning or link it to another bus stop- its a quite a wide area (or have a photo of a specific point). My mum and dad found it a little long. However, these are minor points and they will be talking about this memorable day for a long time to come.

good to see Cotswold

Charlotte_R, Oct 2022

Lovely countryside and villages. 6 visitors who spoke another language chatted loudly with each other all the time that I couldn't hear or understand the guide's narration. Good driver.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Hi Charlotte. We are sorry that the other visitors on the tour spoiled your enjoyment of the day. Unfortunately, this is not something we can easily control as it does seem very rude to tell guests to be quiet! I do feel that it is a little unfair to mark us down because of the fact that some of the guests were chatting in a lively way.

Wonderful Cotswolds tour

Lars_A, Jul 2022

Magical Day - Perfection

Lisa_M, Jul 2022

This is by far the best tour I’ve ever taken and a must for anyone visiting the UK. Don’t miss it. Tour was perfect from beginning to end, very comfortable, sweetest hosts ever, and a day I’ll never forget. All tours are not like this. I took another the following day and after this experience, the other tour with a different company was a major disappointment. If you want a quality experience, book here. You’ll never regret it.

Quiet day in the country

Linda_M, Jul 2022

Our first time to the Cotswolds. Isobel and David were on time, friendly, and professional. This trip was perfect for us as my husband had spent the week in sun up to past sun down business meetings and was eager to relax. Being driven around the beautiful countryside fit the bill. Isobel shared her extensive knowledge of each town and manor. We enjoyed the stops where we explored streets & shops. One thing I would advise is to bring a handful of 20 pence pieces, as all public toilets in the Cotswolds require one for access.

Cotswold Summer Adventurer Tour

Yvonne_Z, Jun 2022

This was one of the best tour I’ve ever been on .The Cotswold villages are postcard worthy and our guide, Isobel, was so knowledgeable and super nice. Loved it!

Driving through all the...

Randi_B, Jun 2022

Driving through all the villages was really beautiful. I could have stopped in all of them. The tour guide was wonderful and very informative.

Fab day out!!

Michelle_M, Sep 2020

On time. Welcoming. Warm. Relaxed. Very thoughtful and informative about where we were visiting - shown on map. Identified details that made trip more meaningful. Very comfortable vehicle. Felt safe altogether!!! Should have given the guys a token!

Excellent for our purposes

jaybopat, Oct 2019

We were in London for a week and had never been to Paris. For us, this was a great trip. One couple vacationing without our children. Note that I couldn’t imagine doing this trip with small children due to things I will describe below. Pros: We were able to see the all of the major sites and do some shopping at our own leisure. The company met us on time and was very helpful with all questions. The instructions they provided were very detailed. Our seats on the Eurostar were great and together. Very satisfied with the travel company. You will get a Metro card for the day. You can ride the RER which is the train or the underground Metro. We did not try a bus. It is fairly easy and quick from the train station on the RER down to Notre Dame or transfer from there to the Eiffel Tower. Cons: Not many. The only negative is the RER and Metro are very crowded, but we went on a Monday. It really didn’t bother us that much, but with small kids it would not work. Also, prepare for a LOT of walking. If you are not up for a long day of walking, I would suggest a guided tour. You really don’t have time to go up in the Eiffel Tower or in the Louvre unless this is all you are doing (or unless you go to the Eiffel Tower first thing when you get there and have your tickets prebooked). Neither we wanted to really do so it worked for us. We just wanted to see the sites at our own pace which was great.

your Cotswolds day tour was great

Trail458874, Sep 2019

Tabby and David gave us a simply terrific tour of the Cotswolds - they know every lovely village and back road, and told great stories of the area throughout. A very fine day.

brilliant one day trip

yvonneboucher, Sep 2019

This was a wonderful day with Tabby and David. Very informative and visited beautiful places. Loved every aspect of the day. Would highly recommend it to anyone looking to be driven through the cotswolds. Went to places not normally seen by tourists.