The Cotswolds - Travel

Index

• Air Travel
• Railways
• Road Travel
• Footpaths
• Cycling

Non-UK callers: all UK codes are prefixed with zero. To convert to international, drop the leading zero and add the UK international dialling code of 44. For example, to dial 01453 899999, dial your local international prefix followed by -44-1453-899999.

Air Travel

The Cotswolds are well served by airports. Birmingham and Bristol are the nearest and have good motorway and main road connections to all the major towns of the Cotswolds - the Cotswold Hills themselves are no more than an hour's drive away. The following telephone numbers and information may be of use for more specific inquiries.

London Heathrow

London Heathrow has scheduled flights world-wide.

• 0181 759 4321 for general enquiries.
• 0181 759 2525 for British Airways enquiries.
• Rail connections to Bristol and Birmingham direct, also limited but direct connections to Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham and Bath.
• Motorway connections to Bristol via M4, Birmingham via M40, with good A-road connections to all major towns in the Cotswolds.

Birmingham International Airport

• 0121 767 5511 for general enquiries.
• Scheduled flights to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Plymouth, Guernsey, Scilly Isles, Jersey, Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Londonderry, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Paris, Boston, New York, and with connecting flights worldwide.
• Mainline rail connections countrywide.
• Motorway links to London via M40 and Bristol via M5, also good A-road routes into the Cotswolds to the south.

Bristol Airport

• 01275 474444
• Scheduled flights to Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Channel Isles, Scilly Isles, Newcastle, Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and New York.
• Mainline rail links to London, Birmingham, Cheltenham, York. Local rail connections to south Cotswolds.
• Motorway links to Birmingham via M5, London via M4, S.W. Peninsula via M5 and Wales via M4.

Cardiff Airport

• 01446 711111
• Scheduled flights to Manchester, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Channel Isles, Belfast, Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels.
• Rail connections to Bristol.
• Motorway connection via M4 to Bristol and London, and to Birmingham , Gloucester and Cheltenham via M4 and M5. Country A-roads to Tewkesbury and the Cotswolds beyond.

Railways

There is a good mainline railway system around the Cotswolds, and some local stations within the Cotswolds. For up to date information on these local railways it would be necessary to enquire from any of the following mainline stations.

Bristol Parkway

• 0117 929 4255

Gloucester Station

• 01452 529501

Birmingham Station

• 0121 643 2711

Services to and from London stations

• 0171 387 7070 Euston
• 0171 278 2477 Kings Cross
• 0171 262 6767 Paddington and Marylebone
• 0171 928 5100 Waterloo and Victoria
• Some direct rail links from London are to Stratford-upon-Avon, Cheltenham , Bath, Bristol and Kemble near Cirencester.

Road Travel

The M4, M5, M40 motorways bound the edge of the Cotswolds, making access from most parts of the U.K. as simple as U.K. travel ever is (that is, be-devilled by motorway road works and more heavy trucks than one would believe possible in a civilized country). Towns and villages in the Cotswolds are easily accessible by a network of A-roads, some of which originated in Roman times, such as Ermine Street and The Fosse Way, now re-named less exotically as the A 149, A147 and A433, A429. Smaller towns and many places of interest are accessible by B-roads. A useful leaflet, 'Public Transport County Map', is available from Gloucestershire Public Transport 01452 425543, or from most Tourist Information Centres.

A journey from Wotton Under Edge in the south of the Cotswolds to Chipping Campden in the north, by car, using A-roads such as the backbone Fosse Way, will take 75-90 minutes. See our Map.

Local coach excursions can be booked in the larger towns at travel agents. From June to September the following Tourist Information Centres provide day-long coach tours with qualified guides.

• 01242 522878 Cheltenham
• 01285 654180 Cirencester
• 01452 421188 Gloucester
• 01453 765768 Stroud
• 01684 295027 Tewkesbury

The following national coach services will be able to provide information covering wider areas.

National Express Coaches

• 0117 954 1022 or 01242 584111

Badgerline Coaches

• 0117 955 3231

Local bus services

• 01242 238331 Cheltenham
• 01285 653985 Cirencester
• 01452 527516 Gloucester
• 01453 763421 Stroud Valleys
• 01684 295027 Tewkesbury

Classic Car Hire

• 01452 864050

Classic Motoring provide self-drive hire of the classic Jaguar E-Type Convertible. Gift vouchers and classic car breaks including hotel accommodation are also available.

Footpaths in the Cotswolds

No ardent walker could visit the Cotswolds without walking on some part of the Cotswold Way. This is a well well-chosen and well-signposted footpath, maintained in part by volunteer wardens, taking in some of the most beautiful stretches of countryside and some of the prettiest villages and places of historical interest. The Cotswold Way links Chipping Campden in the north to Bath in the south and passes through Broadway, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, Painswick, Wotton Under Edge, and Old Sodbury, a distance of approximately a hundred miles. A really superb guide to the Way includes a complete set of colour aerial photographs and commentary from Aerofilms Guides available from good bookshops and Tourist Information Centres.

The Cotswolds are covered by footpaths, all of which are shown on Ordinance Survey maps of the area, and are far too numerous to list here. You could spend the rest of your life walking in the Cotswolds. A rambling holiday in the Cotswolds would prove worthwhile and multi-lingual leaflets and information is available from the Youth Hostels Association, 8, St. Stephens Hill, St. Albans, Herts.AL1 2DY Tel. 01727 855215. See also the section on Youth Hostels in Places to Stay.

Many of the towns and villages in the Cotswolds provide town-walk leaflets for a small price, showing interesting routes around often more interesting but less well-known parts of the town. I cannot recommend these little guides too highly. These are available from local Tourist Information Centres and local bookshops and newsagents.

Guided walks are also available in many areas. For more information contact The National Trust, Mythe End House, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 6EB.

Cycling in the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds are richly agricultural, and there is an absolute maze of small roads running through beautiful countryside which rarely sees a tourist. These routes are ideal for cyclists. Most villages have a pub or are near a village which has a pub, so meals and refreshments are never a problem. Many of the old coaching inns still provide accommodation.

Route planning is best carried out with large scale Ordnance Survey maps, available from most newsagents.. My personal strategy is to dive down any road that looks interesting and only look at the map when lost. Cycling is by far the best way to see the Cotswolds; there are many minor villages too small to visit by car, but too beautiful to miss, and a bicycle is just the right speed to take everything in. Besides, a pub lunch never tastes as good as it does when you've cycled all morning.

Cycle Hire:

• Cotswold Cycle Company, 48 Shurdington Road, Cheltenham, 01242 250642
• Fusions Cycles Ltd., Tattersalls Greenhouse Lane, Bulls Cross, Painswick, 01452 814455
• Mead & Tomkinson Ltd., East Street, Tewkesbury, 01684 292134
• Avon Valley Cyclery, rear of Bath Spa Station, Bath, 01225 461880, 01225 442442
• Bruce's Bikes, 12 Gloucester Road North, Bristol, 0117 9499941

For further information see also the British Cycling Federation 01536 83695

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Copyright © Digital Brilliance 1995