As the Cotswolds are home to numerous stunning English gardens, we have created this tour to include many of the most renowned. To these we have added the gardens we love and know others find inspirational. Collectively they show a wide range of styles and we are sure you will leave horticulturally touched.
We have designed the tour with very short cycling distances (and one short stroll) so that you will have plenty of time to enjoy the gardens and landscapes not to mention the wonderful Cotswold villages where you are staying in luxury hotels or cosy inns. With very few slopes and a thoroughly leisurely itinerary, there's plenty of time for dreaming...
Holiday details
Price
- Classic
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from £1,895 per person
- Luxury
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from £2,695 per person
Based on two people sharing a room. Group rates available for 6 or more people
What’s included?
Entry to Oxford Botanic Gardens and Blenheim Palace Gardens and 2 train tickets. See what’s included as standard
Duration
7 nights
Start & Finish
Starts Fridays from Oxford, finishes Kingham. Both are on the mainline railway from London
Hotels
- Classic
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A small hotel, 2 classic inns, a tea room and a modern hotel with swimming pool
- Luxury
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A historic 5 star Oxford hotel, two 4 star hotels and 2 luxury boutique hotels
Holiday type
Self-guided
This tour is priced without a guide and you are free to explore on your own. If you would like a guide for part or all of your trip, we are happy to provide a knowledgeable, local guide
Activity level
Gentle cycling (1) More info...
Electric bikes
Available
Mileage
4 days of cycling with 1 further day of optional cycling 7 - 19 miles (11 - 30 km) and 1 day of optional walking 4 miles (6 km) per day.
Terrain
Mostly flat with the odd slope
Traffic-free
20% very low traffic on the rest
Options
- Additional nights in Oxford or enroute
Itinerary day-by-day
Classic & Luxury
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1. Day one
Oxford
Arrive in Oxford on Friday and check into your hotel located in the heart of the city. Enjoy the treasures of this beautiful city today and stroll through our hand picked selection of the 3 most stunning college gardens of the University. Surrounded by magnificent buildings and sheltered within historic walls, these gardens are often intimate and set in fine courtyards and quadrangles with mixed and herbaceous borders, immaculate lawns and wonderful old trees. There is of course the occasional curiosity too.
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2. Day two
Oxford to Woodstock
Your host will meet you, brief you and fit you to your bikes after breakfast. Off you go heading for the University Botanic Garden. Founded in the 1620s as a physic garden, it is one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world with one of the most diverse collections of plants totaling 8,000 different plant species. As well as the walled garden, there are glasshouses and grounds leading down to the Cherwell River. Leave Oxford along the pretty Oxford Canal to reach Woodstock with your overnight stay for the next 2 nights in the centre of this unspoilt Cotswolds village.
13 miles (21 km)
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3. Day three
Woodstock to Rousham and back
Not far from Woodstock and along leafy lanes and bike tracks, you will discover the tranquil gardens of Rousham House. Dearly loved by all who pass through them and yet little visited, this is an arcadian architectural landscape that was redesigned by William Kent in the 18th Century. From the stone arched stable block where you enter the gardens, to the rills, rose garden, dovecote and magical river vistas, drama never ceases. This is a place of dreams!
Optional 12 miles (19 km)
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4. Day four
Woodstock to Moreton in Marsh
In complete contrast, today is your chance to enjoy grandiose Blenheim Palace and its 2000 acres of Capability Brown landscape. Built in the 18th Century, the palace was the birthplace of Winston Churchill and the 12th Duke of Marlborough lives here today. Visit inside the palace as well as enjoying the lakes, water terraces and great arches and vistas that provide the formality. But then round a corner and you can find the tiny bridges of the secret garden and the colourful rose garden. Later in the afternoon pedal through Cotswold lanes to reach the village of Charlbury and take a short train hop to the market town of Moreton in Marsh for your next 2 overnight stays.
13 miles (21 km)
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5. Day five
Morton in Marsh to Bourton House and back
Something a tad different! It's a day for a glorious stroll through fields to the fabulous garden at Bourton House which we can't resist including. This is an acclaimed garden at a 1700s estate noted for its eclectic topiaries & unique, colourful plantings. Enjoy a lunch time snack in the cafe before wandering back to Moreton with time to mingle with the locals in the High Street.
4 miles (6 km)
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6. Day six
Moreton in Marsh to Chipping Campden
Pedal off through typical Cotswold villages to find the Arts and Crafts gardens of Hidcote Manor. These are probably the most influential of all English 20th Century gardens and were created in the early 1900s by American Lawrence Johnston. Now owned by the National Trust, the garden has a series of simply inspirational 'rooms' each with their own character. Pause for lunch because across the road, literally, is the equally stunning, privately owned garden of Kiftsgate Court. This too is an Arts and Crafts garden brimming with creativity and charm. Dream on as you freewheel into Chipping Campden, often referred to as the gem of the Cotswolds.
15 miles (24 km)
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7. Day seven
Chipping Campden to Kingham or Bledington
Your penultimate day gives you a wonderful ride down the Cotswold scarp with a visit to Snowshill Manor and its garden. This is a delightful Arts and Crafts garden, owned by the National Trust with a wide range of ornaments painted in 'Wade blue', a soft powdery colour named after Charles Wade who lived in the Tudor house and created its garden. Wend your way through the village of Broadway and take a short train hop back to the village of Kingham or Bledington for the final night of your tour.
18 miles (29 km)
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8. Day eight
Depart Kingham
Depart Kingham at your leiaure