Hello everyone-

My husband and I have hired a private driver (Genny from Tour Gems) for the day for a tour of the Cotswolds in late May 2005. I know that one day will not do the Cotswolds justice, but I wanted to get a taste of the area.

The plan is that we will be picked up in Woodstock in the morning, and we will end up in Bath at the end of the day. Genny has proposed two different itineraries/routes.

"My initial ideas are that I collect you from Woodstock at 9.30am. From there we would visit Burford, Stow on the Wold, Upper and Lower Slaughter, Bourton on the Water, Bibury, Cirencester, Tetbury, Castle Coombe and so into Bath, aiming to get there at between 5.30 and 6pm. An alternative would be Moreton in Marsh, Chipping Campden, Broadway, Stanton, Stanway, Winchcombe, Painswick and Castle Coombe, following the Western Edge of the Cotswold Hills. If it is a clear day, I would recommend this route as the views can be fabulous."

Genny suggests 8 or 9 towns per route (not sure if she plans to take us to all or these are just places to choose from along the planned route). I think that 4-5 towns would probably be more realistic.

I would say that scenery/atmosphere is high on the list of priorities as well as small shops (antiques or other one-of-a-kind places), and gardens. I really enjoy churches, but we will be visiting quite a few at other points in our trip (I don't want to get burned out on them).

Ok, any suggestions on which route to take?

Thanks,
kvadragon

Actually - 8 or 9 towns isn't what is seems. Most of these are small vilages, that a 15 minute walk, visiting the local church, a drink in the pub and that's about it onthis sort of driving tour. A few are larger towns and have more to see.

And places like Broadway have many high end antique shops - so if that floats your boat you'd want a fair amount of time there.

Either route would be absolutely lovely. If it was clear (but you wouldn't possibly know until the time of your trip) - then the views from Broadway Tower, and the pub at the top of Stanton are wonderful. But if the weather is nasty there wouldn't be any views. In May you'll likely have fairly decent weather.

And is this day trip on a weekend? if so you'd want to avoid Bourton on the Water and Bibury during the middle of the day.

If it were me (and it is not a weekend) I'd vote for the Burford/Bourton/Stow/Slaughters/Bibury route. You might ask her if she could substitute Chedworth Roman Villa for Cirencester. It would give you something completely different.

Oops - hit post too soon. Meant to add - I'd give the nod only slightly to that southern route - the northern run is fine too . . . . .

Thanks for your input janis. The tour will be on a Wednesday, so I'm hoping that these places won't be swamped.

If that's the case - go ahead and do the southern route. Bourton on the Water won't be mobbed if you are there in the a.m.

Genny of course knows why she chose the routes she did - but I'd suggest a slight modification. Woodstock > Burford > Bourton > the Slaughters > Stow > Bibury and so on.

The reason I suggest this sort out of order jog, is to get to Bourton-on-the-Water earlier. By lunch time the place can be totally overrun w/ daytrippers/coaches. Even on a May Wed, it gets pretty crowded. If you can get to Bourton and out again before the hordes take it over you will enjoy it a lot more.

Yes, yes, yes, listen to janis!

We stopped at Bourton-on-the-Water in September (on the first leg of our drive up to Scotland from London) and got there fairly early.

Got a nice parking spot and didn't think too much about it - the town looked small and rather "sleepy."

We visited the 1/9 scale replica of the village (behind the pub) and spent about 45 minutes wandering around back there.

When we came back out the streets were much busier and there would not have been many parking spots available.

We strolled through the village and visited the perfumerie and a few shops and then decided to have lunch.

Somehow, without our noticing it, the town had become quite crowded! It was OK (a Friday morning in September), but the town sure fills up fast.

It's a really nice little town, though, and worth the visit.

So, try to get your driver, Genny, to follow janis' route above.

Enjoy the trip!

Gayle

Genny seems very flexible, so I am sure that she will be amenable to any changes in the itinerary.

What's the difference in terms of scenery between the two routes? What makes the 2nd route better in that regard (in Genny's opinion)?

The scenery is wonderful on both routes. As Genny says "if it is a clear day" the views would be glorious on the second (northern) route, because there are more high spots for wide ranging views.

The first (southern) route goes through more beautiful villages. Bourton (before the crowds), the Slaughters, and Bibury are just lovely places to stroll and see the "Chocolate Box" version of the Cotswolds. The Swan Hotel, the river and Arlington Row in Bibury are just lovely w/ the spring flowers, as are the Slaughters. And Burford is a lovely, lively little town with an amazing "Wool" church. Many Cotswold villages have wool churches - Beautiful, richly ornamented medieval churches in tiny villages because wool made for very prosperous villages.

There are a lot of these churches - but Burford's is one of the best. So is Cirencester's.

As I said, either route would be fine - but if this were my only time in the area I would take the southern itinerary.

maybe you can have Genny look over the comments on this thread and then you and she can decide which route gives you more of what you are seeking.

Make your criteria plain to the tour guide and leave it up to her.

With the very greatest of respect to posters on this board, none of us have one-tenth the knowledge of the area the guide does. Not even those of us who live here. And none of us can interrogate you face to face, see what the weather's like that day, or judge the traffic.

The woman's a professional. Micro-manage her and you'd be a lot better off doing it yourself. If you're better able to judge what's realistic than she is (based on precisely what knowledge, BTW?), you really are wasting your money using her.

I'm assuming you will have already visited Blenheim and the town of Woodstock (which has some nice shops) before your 9:30am pick up?

If you're interested in gardens, would you be interested in going to Hidcote Manor in Chipping Camden? http://www.gardenvisit.com/g/hid.htm

You might check the "National Gardens Scheme" in mid February to see if any interesting gardens will be open on your day.
http://www.ngs.org.uk/

flanneruk - I agree w/ you. That's why I said "you and she can decide which route gives you more of what you are seeking."

(But just as a point of reference, I have led many tours of the Cotswolds - for from 1 to 13 people.)

Oh - just read my last post and it sounds sort of snotty which is not what I intended, at all. I only mentioned leading tours to explain why I had some very specific suggestions.

Reading the original post -- Genny suggested two distinct itineraries and kvdragon asked us for input on which was preferable. That is what I was trying to answer, and give some specific reasons why.

kvadragon- I don't have an answer to your question but I noticed your hometown on one of the other messages. I work in Lansdale - small world. I'll be in London next week staying at the Renaissance Chancery Court which someone else suggested for your trip. I'll gladly give you a call or send you an e-mail when I return with a review if you would like.

mileaday- Thanks for the offer of information on the Renaissance Chancery Court, but I have already made my hotel reservations. We will be staying at the Rubens at the Palace while in London. I'd still love to hear about your trip though (and I'm sure others would too...you should post a trip report.)

In regards to flanneruk's comments, I am not trying to "micromanage" the guide nor do I doubt her expertise. I am simply trying to determine which route may suit my interests best.

Thank you for all of the helpful information janis.

mclaurie- Yes, the day before the driving tour we will have visited Blenheim Palace. I will look into your suggestions about gardens as well. Thanks.

kvadragon

You mentioned scenery and atmosphere? If you do the northern route (Broadway etc - a more 'lived in' feel than the picture postcard 'Slaughters'), don't miss Snowshill. It's a gem.