We're making a plan for a trip to the UK, maybe in 2024, and have a pretty good outline for it. But I'm stumped by the West Country. We would be coming from York and are planning on six nights to see: Bath, Oxford, the Cotswolds (two days) and maybe Glastonbury. How would y'all do this?

1) Stay in a central town like Swindon, or another, cuter town and visit by bus or rental car?
2) Stay in a larger town like Bath or Oxford and visit by bus or rental car?
3) Find a village in the Cotswolds and stay there, visiting elsewhere by car or bus?

We would be traveling on to London afterwards to spend a few days there before departing from LHR and could also day trip to Oxford from there during that time.

Also, it's been a long time since I drove on the left side of the road. How is bus service generally through the Cotswolds? Thank you all!

1) Stay in Swindon?? dear god, no

2) Stay in a city like Bath or Oxford? Better than Swindon -- but having a car in either one is really difficult.

3) Stay in a Cotswold village -- better for sure. Or maybe somewhere in Wiltshire. Places I'd look at . . . Burford, or Corsham, or Castle Combe. Or nearby. For visiting Oxford and/or Bath you can drive to one of the several Park & Ride lots and take the bus into the city.

Re buses in the Cotswolds -- not that useful. There is some bus service but not really geared for sightseeing - mostly for the morning and afternoon school runs. Not enough frequencies.

When in the year?

I'd catch the famously disorganised Cross Country train from York to Oxford and base much of the trip out of there
Swindon.... no
Glastonbury is nothing special but maybe you have religious needs to go there.
I'd go to the Cotwolds for at least three nights.

You'll find that rome2rio offers the best multi-form public transport tool for planning.
https://www.traveline.info/ then can focus in on more details, but don't forget that Taxis do very well and get you away from the whole, sorting out the car thing
I would recommend going in the May, June, July period before the rains come in August. Climate Change makes most of this advice silly but lets go for it. One of your two days I suggest a local tour of the towns via either a bus or a local taxi/private tour and the other take a bus to one town and walk home via pubs etc.

The uk has a fantastic web of footpaths https://footpathmap.co.uk/ open to all, and any B&B worth its name will have a sheet with local walks, taxi and bus links. If not you will find everything from llama walks to naked walking going on.