Cheltenham or Moreton-in-Marsh?
 

My husband and I are attending a wedding in Tetbury this June, and plan to stay in Tetbury for three nights, moving on to another spot in the Cotswolds for another three nights. We only have a week in the UK (in and out of Gatwick). We are trying to decide between Cheltenham and Moreton-in-Marsh. We will not have a car and these two places seem to have relatively good public transportation options. We love walking and once we decide where we will stay, we can plan some walking routes. Any opinions would be appreciated.

In my experience, Moreton-in-Marsh, being the smaller of the 2, has much nearer access to good walking. I'll be staying near there soon for that reason. Some long-distance paths and, of course, local ones.

Walks to Broadway and Chipping Campden. There are several good properties to visit you could walk to, Sezincote, Mill Dene Garden and Chastleton House. Not far to 2 gardens next door to one another, Hidcote & Kiftsgate. I like the UK mapping site Streetmap.co.uk for maps that show walking paths, adjust the scale to find what you want.

By the way, you may know, the 100 mile Cotswold Way begins in nearby Chipping Campden, ends in Bath, the start of my walking career years ago. If 100 miles doesn't appeal, the first leg is to Broadway, past Broadway Tower for fantastic views then down to the village. Not far off the way is Snowshill, house & garden to visit and one of my favorites. Many of these places have tea rooms for lunch along the way and there are local buses to use if you don't want to walk back (watch the schedules, not all are frequent) or call a taxi as the distances aren't great.

MmePerdu,

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. This is exactly what we're looking for. I will check out the maps right now!

There are websites for all the sites I mentioned, some are National Trust properties and if you google the property names you'll find more information about open days & times. There are also lots of sites for the long distance paths that crisscross the area, Cotswold way, as mentioned, also the Monarch's Way which follows the path of Charles II retreating from Cromwell's army (I think that's right) and goes through both Chipping Campden & M-in-M. You'll see it on the Streetmap map of the area (green diamonds & dots). I should point out that the Streetmap site is based on the Ordnance Survey maps and you might want to buy #45, The Cotswolds. You can buy it there but I love maps and these are so much fun to use to plan, 1:25,000 scale, really great and even show buildings.

Sources I've used:
http://www.guidepost.uk.com/shop/aca...RE_45_526.html
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Cotswold.../dp/0319241106

We are so excited after looking at the sources provided - thanks again. We have ordered the OS 45. So exciting!

As I mentioned, we won't have a vehicle, but my husband thinks actually staying in Chipping Campden might be fun. He is reading about it and thinks it sounds very charming. What do you think?

I like Chipping Campden better than Moreton-in-Marsh. I'll be staying in an Airbnb room in Hidcote Boyce, very near Hidcote/Kiftsgate gardens and close to Chipping Campden. I've never stayed right in CC but if a hotel is what you plan, that would be the likely place, but sorry I have no recommendations. I've stayed in other interesting places but a long walk or a drive, for the most part.

If alternative accommodation interest you, have a look on Airbnb, a variety of options in the vicinity.

The problem with ChC is that its railway station was closed back in the dark days of Socialist misrule. The line still goes through the side of the town: under our enlightened Conservative government it's received substantial upgrading, and with train operations sensibly privatised, the frequency and comfort of railway services has soared. But no-one can make a sensible case for rebuilding the Ch C station, so you still need a bus (usually from MiM) to get to it.

While it's nicer than MiM - and has a slightly better range of eating places - it really is a faff to get anywhere else, and the walking routes immediately accessible on foot from the town centre do start to pall. MiM, on the other hand, is the subregion's transport hub, with the huge advantage of hourly trains into Oxford. So if the weather's not conducive to day-long cross-country strolling, you've got a wealth of distractions that work whether it's raining or not.

There's really nowhere else on the line you can say that for, though if it's mostly walking you're planning on, Charlbury would qualify if MiM's fully booked. I've heard good things about MiM's recently upgraded White Hart.

Both Ch C and MiM (like Charlbury) are almost polar opposites of Cheltenham: microtowns where walking's the normal way of getting about and you're never more than 100 yards from open, footpath-intensive countryside. Cheltenham's a standard English medium-sized town: a spot of lovely architecture, a few square miles of really stylish 18th century housing with associated BoHo retail services, close to lovely countryside. But, between the Regency stucco and the sheepfields, near-endless dismal suburbs, strip malls and bypasses.

A terrific place for us to find a Pets R Us superstore or a John Lewis, and grab a decent lunch (the Champignon Sauvage is arguably British chefs' favourite restaurant). But you wouldn't want to live there.

Cheltenham, lovely old buildings ruined by chain store shops and surrounded by dismal 'burbs, worth a visit on a cold wet day. I wouldn't travel half way around the world to stay in its charms for 3 days.

<<under our enlightened Conservative government it's received substantial upgrading, and with train operations sensibly privatised,>>

gotta love flanner's sense of humour….

Excellent responses, thanks so much. Moreten-in-Marsh it is. Or Chipping Campden if DH gets his way. He likes the look of the Badger Inn. We received an unexpected wedding invitation which has prompted this quick trip from Canada. Too bad we can't get away for longer; the area seems just lovely.

I hope you enjoy Tetbury. I have been there twice with my British friends who like the low key atmosphere (hardly any tourists) as opposed to some of the frentic Cotswold villages. The sign on the Snooty Fox is in a couple of my photos.
Since you won't have a car, choose a village that has either good train or bus service and you'll be fine.

I should be clearer. Of the many places I've stayed in the area over the years, Moreton-in-Marsh is my least favorite. The only advantage is ease of arrival. I've let that be the deciding factor twice and won't again. There's more than one train station not far from Chipping Campden, M-in-M and Honeybourne, slightly closer. If you decide to stay in Chipping Campden, your accommodation may very well pick you up or arrange to have you picked up at Honeybourne, as mine have. M-in-M station is in town, Honeybourne is in the countryside about 5 miles north of Chipping Campden.

if you are in Tetbury for the wedding you might look into tickets to see Prince Charles' gardens at Highgrove. We visited them last year and I have to say they are incredible. I enjoyed the other gardens MmePerdu mentioned (Hidcote & Kiftsgate) as well as Chaselton House on another trip, but Highgrove is spectacular.

It sounds like you're not driving but you could probably get a taxi from Tetbury, though you need to book the tickets well in advance as it's a very popular garden and only open on certain dates.

Have a great trip....

Hi, jranger.

I've stayed both in Cheltenham (The George) and in M-i-M (the Bell Inn), to do walks, relying on public transportation.

FlannerUK is the expert, but I think you'll like M-i-M. I enjoyed my walk to Batsford Arboretum, to Bourton-on-the-water, to Sezincote very much. (Definitely take the house tour. You'll need to remove your hiking shoes, but there's something kinda cool about walking around in your socks in such a house.)

On another day, I planned to repeat my Chipping Campden to Broadway walk (one of my favorites), arriving/returning via bus, but the weather was dismal so I ended up doing the Secret Cottage Tour, which was fantastic.

I have pics of my time in M-i-M at my blog, plus a bit about the secret cottage tour in a separate post if interested.

http://www.susannelord.com/blog/2015...-the-cotswolds
http://www.susannelord.com/blog/2015...with-charlotte

Oh, and if you stay in M-i-M, I still dream of The Spice Room Indian restaurant. The best meal I had in England in my last trip.

Have a wonderful time!

If you're considering welltraveledbrit's suggestion of a tour of the Highgrove Gardens outside Tetbury, reservations for June are available beginning February 18th here:

http://www.highgrovegardens.com

They go fast.

Thanks to all for your advice. We've booked The Close Hotel in Tetbury and Badger's Hall in Chipping Campden. We are researching all the walks from those places, not to mention the pubs!

I'm thinking of hiring someone to drive us between Tetbury and CC, versus the train/bus thing, but we shall see.

It seems quite easy by bus to get to Stratford-upon-Avon from CC. DH was born and raised in Stratford, Ontario, the renowned Canadian theatre town, so we thought it would be interesting to see Stratford-upon-Avon. perhpas it's too "touristy" (says the tourist).

You will love Charming Chipping Campden - stayed 3 nights there last September. Check back tomorrow as I'll list our restaurants and walks with my thoughts, but I don't have time right now.

http://www.camra.org.uk/ may be of use