Frequently Asked Questions

Our Cotswolds Day Tour operates on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

*Thursday tours operate from the start of June to the end of September.

We will pick you up, at no extra cost, from the following locations:

• Stratford-upon-Avon rail station and accommodation providers
• Leamington Spa rail station
• Moreton-in-Marsh rail station
• Chipping Campden bus stop (outside the library)

If you would like to be picked up from somewhere that is not on this list, please contact us before making your booking. We will try to accommodate your requests, but it is not always possible, or may incur a surcharge.

Your pick-up time depends on the time of year, your pick-up location and the other guests joining us on the day. Once you have booked your tickets we will contact you with your pick up time. Our Stratford-upon-Avon pick ups generally take place between 9.00am and 9.15m and our train station departure times are usually as follows:

• Leamington Spa - 8.35am (Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays), 9.00am (Sundays)
• Stratford-upon-Avon - 9.00am (Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays – please note that on Sundays, no trains arrive at Stratford-upon-Avon station in time for our tour)
• Moreton-in-Marsh - 9.45am (Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays), 10.00am (Sundays)

But, as mentioned above, we will contact you with your specific pick up time when you book. If you are arriving from outside of the area to join the tour we do try and be flexible to meet train times but this is not always possible and pick-up times are always subject to change.

At the end of the tour, we will drop you off at the same place we picked you up. We can also drop you off anywhere along the tour route, at Moreton-in-Marsh station, or at any of our free pick-up locations (see FAQ above) if you prefer.

If you would like to be dropped off somewhere outside of our normal radius, please contact us before making your booking. We will try to accommodate your requests, but it is not always possible, or may incur a surcharge.

We always aim to return to Moreton-in-Marsh station by 5pm, Stratford-upon-Avon by 5.30pm, and Leamington Spa by 6pm.

The tour lasts approximately 7-8 hours.

Our day tour of the Cotswolds visits a selection of beautiful towns, villages and viewpoints that characterise the beauty of the area. Specifically the tour stops at Dover’s Hill, Chipping Campden, Broadway Tower, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water. We also visit a secret off-the-beaten-track Cotswolds village, but you’ll have to join us on a tour to find out about this one!

Yes you do! This is a big part of our tours. Our job is to point you in the direction of the best bits of the Cotswolds so you can go and experience them for yourselves, spending as little time in the minibus as possible! We spend about 20-25 minutes At Dover’s Hill, Broadway Tower, Bibury and the secret Cotswolds village where your driver/guide will stay with you and tell you a few things about these locations. At Bourton-on-the-Water you have approximately 30-40 minutes of free time to walk around, and at Chipping Campden and Stow-on-the-Wold, where you have at least an hour in each town, your driver/guide will give you a map with a list of recommended things that you might like to see and do.

No. The journeys between destinations are quite short so your driver/guide will provide history, facts, stories and folklore at the various stops throughout the day instead. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving safely, and gives you the opportunity to soak up the scenery and get to know your fellow Go Cotswolders between stops.

Currently, our minibus does not have any additional luggage storage and we are not permitted to block the aisles or exits with luggage (this includes prams, strollers, pushchairs, walkers and wheelchairs). As such all personal items you choose to bring with you will need to be stored on your lap when the vehicle is in motion. At the various stops throughout the day, you're welcome to leave any personal items on your seat on the minibus.

If you wish to travel with bigger bags we do try to be as accommodating as possible and we're always happy to use unoccupied seats to store luggage if they are available. However, this cannot be guaranteed so please ask us before you book your tickets or travel to join the tour! You may purchase an additional seat at the child ticket price of £30 to store up to two suitcases. If we are unable to carry your luggage with us on the tour we're always happy to help come up with a suitable solution for you to enable you to join the tour.

We recommend you check the weather forecast on the morning of your tour and dress appropriately. If it is raining, a raincoat or umbrella is advised although we do have some umbrellas on board the minibus in case of unexpected showers. Contrary to popular belief, we do get sunshine in England in the summer, so if it's sunny then make sure to bring sunscreen. Comfortable footwear is recommended as the tour involves some walking both on pavements and grass, but you won't need special hiking/walking boots.

In short, no. Unless the weather is exceptionally severe and it would be unsafe to travel (e.g. heavy snow), our Cotswolds Day Tours depart whatever the weather. We recommend you check the weather forecast on the morning of your tour and dress appropriately - remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!

No. So that we can keep the cost of the tour low, we do not provide lunch or refreshments. We make several stops throughout the day that have shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants where you can purchase drinks, snacks and meals. You are also welcome to bring your own food and drink which you can eat whilst your at one of the stops.

Yes, of course! Lunch and refreshments are not included in the price of the tour, so you may either purchase snacks or meals during one of our stops, or bring your own food and drink with you for a picnic. We only ask that you don't carry or consume hot food and drinks on board the minibus (it can be tricky to clean up spills, plus the smell can make some people feel unwell!), and to take all your litter with you or put it in a litter bin.

A pub lunch IS included in the price of our Purity Brewery & Cotswolds Pub Tour, but you're also welcome to bring or purchase other snacks. We highly recommend visiting the Purity Brewery shop!

Plenty! There are public toilets available in Chipping Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water. These are well signposted but please ask your driver/guide for directions if you need them. Journey times between the stops are relatively short but we do recommend using the facilities prior to the departure times. Please note that you need a 20p piece to use the public toilet in Stow-on-the-Wold. If you purchase food or drinks from a cafe or restaurant you can also use their toilet.

On our Purity Brewery & Cotswolds Pub Tour, toilets are available at Purity Brewery, and public and pub toilets are available at each of the stops on the tour.

As parents of a small child ourselves, we do not consider that our tours are suitable for very young children, so we prefer not to carry children under the age of 3 - they get bored easily and may not appreciate the beautiful Cotswolds countryside as much as us grown-ups do! Practically speaking, we also do not have room on the minibus to carry prams and strollers. 

Children over the age of 3 years are welcome aboard but, as parents, you should consider whether your child will enjoy the day.

Please note that our Purity Brewery & Cotswolds Pub Tours are strictly for adults over the age of 18 only. Children under the age of 18 will not be permitted to travel or take part in this tour, and ID may required if you look under the age of 25.

Yes we do! Our small-group Cotswolds Day Tours visits the village once described by poet William Morris as 'the most beautiful in England'. The tour stops at Bibury for approximately 20-30 minutes where you'll have ample time to visit Arlington Row - arguably the most famous row of cottages in the Cotswolds - and stroll alongside the river Colne. Bibury is a very pretty village but we actually think the 'secret' off-the-beaten-track Cotswolds village which we visit earlier in the day is prettier - you can decide for yourself and tell us what you think after we've visited them both on the tour!

We have a live booking system, so when you book directly through the Go Cotswolds website, your booking is instantly confirmed. You can immediately see from our calendar which tours have availability and which are sold out, and our system will not let you book more tickets than are available.

We do also sell our tickets through a well known ticket reselling agent, and the cost of a ticket is the same to you regardless of which site you use to book. However, not only does booking directly with us cut out the middle-man, the ticket reseller operates a 'request to book' system. This means that once you have submitted your booking request, they notify us by email and we must then review our availability and approve or reject your request. If there are not enough seats left for the number of tickets you wish to book, you won't know until we reject your request. Also, there is often a delay between submission of your booking request and us being notified about your request. Therefore it is possible that tickets will sell out on our website in the meantime.

Book directly with us to avoid disappointment and immediately guarantee your booking. We accept all major credit and debit cards via our secure payment processing partners Stripe and PayPal.

Yes, because this tour is all about sampling some of the wonderful local alcoholic beverages our region has to offer, the Purity Brewery and Cotswolds Pub Tour is strictly for adults over the age of 18 only. Children under 18 will not be permitted to travel on this tour at any time.

If you are, or look, under the age of 25, we strongly recommend that you bring a piece of valid, government-issued photographic identification, which clearly shows your face and your date of birth. For UK residents, we recommend you bring either your passport or photocard driving license, and for international visitors we recommend you bring your passport. According to UK law, children under the age of 18 are not permitted to drink or buy alcohol, so many licensed premises and shops operate a 'Challenge 25' policy. This means that if a vendor thinks you are, or look, under the age of 25, they may ask you for ID and refuse to serve or sell you alcohol if you are unable to provide it.

Please note that vendors may also refuse to serve or sell alcohol to anyone over the age of 18 if they suspect you are purchasing it for someone under 18, or for someone who has been unable to provide valid ID.

Yes! The ticket price of this tour includes a delicious lunch and a drink (either a pint of beer or a soft drink) at one of our favourite local pubs. There are always at least two vegetarian options on the menu, and we can also cater for other special dietary needs if you let us know in advance. Of course, you're welcome to bring or buy other snacks throughout the day as well.

Every seat on the Go Cotswolds minibus is fitted with a seatbelt and every passenger is required by law to wear it at all times when the vehicle is in motion - we have plenty of signs inside the bus to remind you!

In terms of fastening and wearing seatbelts, UK law says that:

• Children under the age of 14 are the responsibility of their accompanying adult, parent or guardian.
• Children under the age of 3 should use an appropriate child restraint, or travel on a parent/guardian's lap where restraints are not available. (However, we do not recommend that our tour is suitable for under 3's)
• Children aged 3–11 and who are less than 1.35 metres (4 ft 5 in) should use an appropriate child restraint, or use the seatbelt provided where restraints are not available.
• Children aged 12 and 13, or younger children who are taller than 1.35 metres should use the seatbelt provided.
• Children and adults aged 14 and over are responsible for themselves and should wear the seatbelt provided.

Please note that Go Cotswolds does not provide child restraints or booster seats and is not required by law to do so. If you wish to bring your own booster seat or child restraints, then you may use them, but it's up to you to know how to use them properly.

Smoking is not allowed at any time while on board the minibus. According to UK law, adults over the age of 18 may smoke in outdoor public spaces (unless there are signs stating otherwise) and in designated outdoor smoking areas in pubs, bars and restaurants. Please be mindful of other people who may not appreciate your smoke. Always ensure your cigarette is completely extinguished before disposing of it in a litter or designated cigarette bin. Littering, including throwing cigarette butts on the floor, is an offence.

Lots of people mistakenly think that 'Cotswold', or 'The Cotswolds' is a single town or village in the English countryside. In fact, The Cotswolds is England’s largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a region covering over 850 square miles (2000 square km), which stretches in a southwesterly direction from just outside Stratford-upon-Avon to the city of Bath. It’s a range of rolling hills filled with over a hundred picture postcard villages made of honey-coloured Cotswolds stone that haven’t changed in hundreds of years. It’s the English countryside you see in the movies and can’t be beaten. Find out more about the Cotswolds by joining us on a tour!

Go Cotswolds tours are conducted in English only.

No, not for our Cotswolds Day Tours. We’re travellers ourselves and have always been frustrated by tour companies' “minimum required to operate” policies, so when we started Go Cotswolds we said that we’d always run a tour irrespective of whether we have 1 or 16 people on a tour. As we're a small family-run business, there are a few occasions when we might not operate a tour as scheduled, but we put our tour availability tour online at least a year in advance which will allow you to plan your travels.

Because of the collaboration we have with Purity Brewery, our Purity Brewery & Cotswolds Pub Tours do require a minimum of 6 passengers to operate. In the event that this minimum number is not reached, we will always let you know well in advance.