I recently took a day trip to Oxford and the Cotwolds with Rabbie’s Tours to see how far I could explore in just a day from London. Read on to discover all that I saw and experienced.
Like any Australian coming to live in London, the thing I was most excited about all those years ago was the opportunity to travel.
The idea that I could go for a weekend – or even a day – to an entirely new country, with a different language, and cultures, and food…well, it was pretty mind-blowing. So for the first few years, that’s exactly what I did. Whenever I had the chance, I’d head over to the continent to discover a new destination, and I’d come home buzzing with plans for the next trip.
The UK, to me, wasn’t a destination. It was my base, a launching pad for adventures further afield.
But gradually, over the years, I’ve seen more and more of this country I now call home, and what I’ve seen has blown me away. From the Lake District to the beaches of Wales, from the hip city of Bristol to the quaint streets of York, there’s so much to see without having to ever get on a plane. It’s an incredible country, and the more I see of it, the more convinced I am that it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.
But there’s one part of England that I love more than anywhere else: the Cotswolds. I’ve been to the Cotswolds a few times over the past few years, always for a long weekend, and always in the springtime. I never thought of it as a day trip destination.
So when Rabbie’s Tours invited me on one of their day trips from London, and I spotted a tour that combined the Cotswolds with Oxford – a destination I’ve not really explored, but have always wanted to – I jumped at it.
Who are Rabbie’s Tours?
With so many tour companies to choose from, they can all seem to blend into one another. Not so with Rabbie’s. They only offer small group tours, which means no enormous coaches, following a leader with an umbrella, or being herded around like cattle. The maximum group size is 16, and the guides are all really knowledgeable, friendly and brilliant at telling stories.
And one of my favourite things about Rabbie’s is that they’re ethical – they give back to the community, they try to support local businesses, and for each ton of carbon they use, £10 is donated to environmental and community projects. It’s no wonder they’ve won all sorts of awards.
Day trip to the Cotswolds from London
My tour started at 9:15am from the Greenline Coach Station, diagonally opposite to Victoria Coach Station. It wasn’t difficult to find, but it’s also not particularly well signed, so I’d recommend closely following the directions provided by Rabbie’s. And arrive early, just to allow for any wrong turns!
We took our seats in the bus, which was incredibly comfortable, and which had USB chargers by every seat, which was a much appreciated touch. We headed off through Belgravia, Knightsbridge, and west through Hammersmith and Chiswick, with our guide, Peter, telling us interesting facts as we went.
Once we were out of London, Peter left us to our own devices. I liked that we had some time to just relax, without having a constant stream of chatter – when there was something to say, everything Peter said was fascinating. But sometimes on a tour there’s nothing but highway, and it’s nice to just sit with a podcast or music and chill.
A couple of hours later, we arrived in Burford, a gorgeous medieval town in the Cotswolds that features an incredible church and a quaint high street that looks like something out of a fairytale.
We had about an hour at our own leisure, so I took a stroll along the main road and discovered a gorgeous spot called Madhatter Bookshop, which sells books and hats in a cosy and warm setting. Heaven.
I then popped into St John the Baptist church, which features a strange memorial to King Henry VIII’s barber. And then it was time to meet the group again to visit one of the most beautiful towns in England: Bibury.
Bibury and Arlington Row
Is there a more breathtaking town in the country? I doubt it. William Morris agreed, calling it ‘the prettiest town in England’. And apparently Henry T Ford wanted to dismantle it and ship it back to the US. I can understand why.
Arlington Row, which is Bibury’s claim to fame, is a gorgeous 14th century row of honey-coloured cottages with tiled roofs that look like they’ve been taken straight from the pages of a picture book. They were originally wool stores – the wool trade made up half of England’s economy at the time – and they were later converted into homes.
We only had forty minutes or so in Bibury, which was enough time to admire the stunning setting. There are some lovely walks from here, so if you do have longer to spend you can have a lovely day in the countryside – but if you only have a short time, you’ll still get to soak up all the quaint prettiness that Bibury has to offer.
Our final stop in the Cotswolds was St Mary’s church in Bampton, where some wedding scenes from Downton Abbey were filmed. I’ve never watched Downton Abbey, so our quick stop there wasn’t too exciting for me, but it is a pretty church so it’s still lovely to see. Once we’d all hopped back into the bus, we were off…to Oxford.
Visiting Oxford from London
There’s loads to do in Oxford – certainly more than you could fit into a couple of hours – but doing a day trip to Oxford like this is a brilliant way to get a taste for the destination and work out what you want to do when you visit again (because you will want to visit again).
So with just a couple of hours to spend in Oxford, I knew what I wanted to see: books, and Harry Potter. Well, not Harry himself, of course, but some of the places he’d been. There are a number of filming locations around Oxford, but I decided to maximise my time by visiting Bodleian Library, both a gorgeous library and a Harry Potter filming spot.
The library isn’t free to visit, and you can only get inside with a tour guide – I bought a ticket for the 30 minute group tour, for £6.
No photos are allowed in the library itself, so sadly I can’t share with you exactly what I saw, but trust me…it was incredible.
The tour began in the Divinity School (where photos are allowed), a grand medieval hall that’s the oldest teaching hall, and earliest exam hall, in the whole University. You might also recognise it as the Infirmary from Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, as well as where Professor McGonagall taught Ron to dance for the Yule Ball.
From there, after placing our bags and cameras in secure lockers and going through security screening, we walked up the stairs to the amazing Duke Humfrey’s library, which also served as the Restricted section of Hogwarts library.
It’s grand and has an air of mystery about it – definitely worth a visit to see for yourself.
Once I’d left the Bodleian Library, I popped into Blackwell’s on Broad Street, an enormous book shop that boasts a world record for the largest single room selling books – at 10,000 square feet, and with five miles of shelving, it’s a treasure trove for book lovers and an attraction in its own right.
And then it was time to go again! It was all too short, but oh-so-sweet, and an incredible way of seeing some stunning parts of the country beyond London.
I loved having my own time in the destinations we visited, so that I could see exactly what I wanted without having to be dragged to attractions I didn’t care for. I loved the size of the tour, which gave it the feel of a much more personalised day out. And I loved having a guide who was funny, warm and knowledgeable, without being cheesy or overbearing. It was a brilliant day out, and it’s inspired me to go back and explore more of Oxford.
Because in the end, there’s more beauty on my doorstep than I ever could have imagined when I moved here!
Book your place on Rabbie’s Oxford & Traditional Cotswold Villages 1 day tour here.
Thanks to Rabbie’s for hosting me on this complimentary tour. All opinions are, as always, my own.
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