If you’re visiting the Cotswolds without a car, the region’s bus network can look look confusing at first. But a handful of services which connect some of the most famous towns and villages, as well as providing links to railway stations. I’ve chosen six of the most useful Cotswold bus routes, with maps to show the main places you can visit, train connections and handy bus interchanges. They concentrate on the north of the region, but my public transport guide has a map and list of all buses.
Tips for travelling by bus in the Cotswolds
Check the timetable: Most Cotswold buses don’t run all that frequently – once at hour at most. Timetables vary between weekdays and weekends, and some routes don’t run on Sundays and bank holidays. So always check timings, especially when it comes to the last bus of the day.
Download the app: Bus companies Pulhams and Stagecoach both have apps which you can use to check timetables, get live tracking info and buy tickets and passes. But parts of the Cotswolds have poor mobile reception, so it’s useful to print or screenshot timetables in advance.
Allow plenty of time for connections: If you’re switching between buses, allow extra time in case your first bus is delayed. Changing buses sometimes involves using a different stop too.
Save money with the price cap: Most single bus journeys cost a maximum of £3 under the national bus fare cap scheme (which will be reduced to £2 for 2027). But Heritage Bus 11 is a special service so it’s not included and has its own single, return and Day Tripper fares.
You can pay for bus tickets using contactless payment with your debit/credit card or Apple/Google Pay on your phone. Pulhams also has a ‘touch in touch out’ scheme where you tap your card on the reader when you get on and off the bus and it calculates your fare at the end of the day.
Check out day passes: If you’re doing a lot of bus travel in one day, there are various day passes available – but they only cover a single company’s services, not all Cotswold buses. A Pulhams Cotswold Zone Pass costs £8 for one day (£6.40 children) and a Stagecoach West Gold Day Ticket £9 (£7.40 children). Heritage Bus 11 also has a day pass for £14 (£10 children).
How to use the maps
Each map below shows the main places of interest along each of the six bus routes (scales vary between each map). They include popular towns and villages, railway stations and connections with other useful bus services. They don’t show every stop though, so check the timetables linked below for full details. These are the symbols you may see on the maps:
- National Rail symbol: shows places with mainline train stations (the bus doesn’t necessarily stop right at the station, where there’s a walk between them this is listed).
- Steam train symbol: shows stops on the GWSR steam railway from Cheltenham to Broadway.
- Coloured boxes: show connections with other useful bus routes.
- Dotted lines: only certain buses run on that section of the route.
Pulhams 801
Cheltenham > Andoversford > Bourton-on-the-Water > Slaughter Pike > Stow-on-the-Wold > Moreton-in-Marsh > Chipping Norton
If I had to choose one Cotswold bus route to recommend to visitors without a car, it would be the Pulhams 801. It connects some of the Northern Cotswolds’ best-known towns – Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Norton – with Moreton-in-Marsh train station, which is on a direct train line to London Paddington, as well as to trains and buses in Cheltenham.
The route starts in Cheltenham, where you can explore parks and gardens, visit the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum or Holst Victorian House, and eat and drink in Montpellier. Cheltenham is a great transport hub for exploring the Cotswolds, with connections to several other buses.
The 801 then calls at Bourton-on-the-Water for the Model Village, Cotswold Motoring Museum and River Windrush. If you want to visit pretty riverside Lower Slaughter, it’s a 45-minute walk from Bourton. Or you can catch the 801 bus to Slaughter Pike, which is a 10-minute walk into Lower Slaughter. Then it’s another mile from there to neighbouring Upper Slaughter.
The next stop is Stow-on-the-Wold, for St Edward’s Church and its Yew Tree Door, antique shops and art galleries. Then it’s on to Moreton-in-Marsh, where the bus stops outside the train station. You can also shop the Tuesday market or walk to nearby Batsford Arboretum and Bourton House Gardens. The final stop is Chipping Norton, with its theatre, cinema, lido and museum.
The Pulhams 801 runs around once an hour, every day of the week, and finishes later than most Cotswold buses. On weekdays, the last bus from Cheltenham is at 8.30pm and from Moreton at 9.40pm. So it’s a good option if you want to stay out for dinner or have a late train.
There are lots of brilliant walking routes in this area too, so you could walk one way then catch the 801 bus back – it’s 4.2 miles from Stow to Bourton or 6.7 miles from Moreton to Stow.
Pulhams 801 at a glance
- Best for: Easy connections from Moreton train station to Stow and Bourton, evenings out
- Operating days: Every day
- Approximate frequency: Hourly
- Approximate end-to-end time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Rail connections: Moreton-in-Marsh (stops at the train station) and Cheltenham (stops at Royal Well bus station, a 20-minute walk to the train station)
- Current timetable
Pulhams 855
Bourton-on-the-Water > Northleach > Bibury > Barnsley > Cirencester
The Pulhams 855 bus connects two of the Cotswolds’ most popular destinations – Bourton-on-the-Water and Bibury. Both villages suffer from a lack of parking and overcrowding, especially in the busy summer months, so using the bus is a great way to reduce your impact.
The route runs between Bourton-on-the-Water and Cirencester, with services around once an hour. But there are no buses on Sundays and bank holidays, and it stops earlier than the Pulhams 801, with the last bus leaving Bourton just before 5pm and Cirencester at 6pm.
The route starts in Bourton-on-the-Water and heads south to the historic wool town of Northleach, where you can visit the impressive Church of St Peter and St Paul and have lunch in the Old Prison. Then after calling at the quiet village of Aldsworth, the 855 travels on to Bibury for the famous Arlington Row cottages, Rack Isle Water Meadows and Trout Farm.
The next stop is Barnsley, where you’ll find The Pig in the Cotswolds hotel and the Village Pub. Then the route finishes in Cirencester, with Roman history at the Corinium Museum and Cirencester amphitheatre, walks in Cirencester Park and crafts at New Brewery Arts.
There are no train stations on the route of the 855, but you can change at Bourton for the Pulhams 801 to Moreton-in-Marsh or Cheltenham, or at Northleach for the Pulhams X52 to Cheltenham or Oxford. National Express coaches also connect Cirencester with London Victoria.
Pulhams 855 at a glance
- Best for: Visiting Bibury without a car
- Operating days: Monday–Saturday (no Sunday service)
- Approximate frequency: Hourly
- Approximate end-to-end time: 1 hour
- Rail connections: None
- Current timetable
Pulhams X52
Cheltenham > Northleach > Burford > Witney > Oxford
Want to visit the Oxfordshire Cotswolds? The Pulhams X52 is a useful bus route for connections between Cheltenham and Oxford, and the easiest way to get to Burford by public transport. It runs every day but there’s only a bus every two hours, and the last services are around 5pm.
The route starts in Cheltenham then calls in Northleach, where you can change onto the Pulhams 855 to visit Bibury or Cirencester. It then stops in Burford for the Tolsey Museum, Church of St John the Baptist, Burford Garden Centre, shops and restaurants. But note that the bus stops at the Oxford Road Layby not in the town centre, which is a 10-minute walk away.
There are some lovely walks into the Windrush Valley from Burford, including to the villages of Asthall and Swinbrook which have links to the Mitford Sisters. After Burford, the bus travels on to Witney. If you wanted to visit Jeremy Clarkson’s Farmer’s Dog pub in Asthall, you would need to change to the Stagecoach 234 bus from Burford to Witney as the X52 doesn’t stop there.
From Witney, the X52 calls in Eynsham before arriving into the university city of Oxford for colleges and cloisters, museums and punting on the river. It stops at Gloucester Green bus station, which is a short walk into the city centre or eight minutes’ walk to Oxford train station.
Pulhams X52 at a glance
- Best for: Burford and direct travel between Cheltenham, the eastern Cotswolds and Oxford
- Operating days: Every day
- Approximate frequency: Every two hours
- Approximate end-to-end time: 2 hours
- Rail connections: Cheltenham (stops at Royal Well bus station, a 20-minute walk to the train station) and Oxford (stops at Gloucester Green, an 8-minute walk to the train station)
- Current timetable
Stagecoach 1/2
Moreton-in-Marsh > Blockley > Broadway (Stagecoach 1 only) > Chipping Campden > Stratford-upon-Avon
The Stagecoach 1 and 2 buses (usually listed together as the 1/2) are some of the most useful buses in the Cotswolds for visiting Broadway, Blockley and Chipping Campden. But the timetable is a bit more complicated than the others, mainly as the two routes are slightly different.
All buses stop in Moreton-in-Marsh, Blockley, Chipping Campden and Stratford-upon-Avon. But only the no 1 and 1A buses run along the dotted section and stop in Broadway and Willersey.
The main route starts at Moreton-in-Marsh train station and stops at the end of the driveway to Batsford Arboretum, a 12-minute walk to the entrance. It’s also a short walk to the gardens at Bourton House and Sezincote. It then travels on to Blockley, filming location for TV series Father Brown, where you can visit the Church of St Peter and St Paul and Blockley Café.
From Blockley, no 1 buses travel west to Broadway, where you can visit the Broadway Museum and Gordon Russell Design Museum, shop for art and homewares, or walk to the hilltop Broadway Tower. After passing through Willersey, the two routes rejoin at Chipping Campden.
Here you can learn about the Arts and Crafts movement at the Court Barn Museum, visit the Market Hall and St James’ Church. Chipping Campden is also the start point of the Cotswold Way long-distance walking route, so you could follow a stretch of the path on a circular walk to Dover’s Hill (4.1 miles) or continue on as far as Broadway (6 miles) then get the bus back.
After Chipping Campden, the Stagecoach 1/2 calls in Mickleton before continuing to Stratford-upon-Avon, home to the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Birthplace and boat trips on the River Avon. The bus stops on Wood Street, a 10-minute walk to the train station.
Stagecoach 1 and 2 buses run every day, with services to Blockley and Chipping Campden every two hours. No 1 or 1A buses to Broadway are less frequent, with only three buses calling in Broadway in each direction every day, so double check the timetable if you want to stop there.
Stagecoach 1/2 at a glance
- Best for: Blockley, Batsford Arboretum, Broadway and Chipping Campden
- Operating days: Every day
- Approximate frequency: Every two hours (only three services a day to Broadway)
- Approximate end-to-end time: 1 hour 10 minutes to 1.5 hours
- Rail connections: Moreton-in-Marsh (stops at the train station) and Stratford-upon-Avon (stops at Wood Street, a 10-minute walk to the train station)
- Current timetable
Pulhams 606
Cheltenham > Winchcombe > Stanton > Broadway > Chipping Campden
The Pulhams 606 provides a useful bus link from Cheltenham to Broadway and Chipping Campden. There’s one downside though – it’s slow and indirect, so the journey to Chipping Campden takes over two hours! It’s a good way to reach smaller villages along the way though, as well as providing connections with stops on the Gloucestershire–Warwickshire Steam Railway.
GWSR’s vintage steam and diesel trains run along a 14-mile stretch of track between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway, calling at Gotherington, Greet (just outside Winchcombe) and Toddington. Trains don’t run every day though so check timetables if you want to take a ride.
The Pulhams 606 runs hourly between Cheltenham to Winchcombe, and every two hours from Winchcombe to Chipping Campden. But there’s no service on Sundays and bank holidays.
From Cheltenham, it travels north through Bishops Cleeve, stopping in Greet for the GWSR train station and Winchcombe Pottery before heading into Winchcombe. Here you can visit Sudeley Castle and Gardens or see the Winchcombe meteorite at the town’s museum.
Less-frequent buses continue on through Toddington, where there’s another stop on the GWSR route, towards Stanton. If you’re travelling north then the bus stops at Stanton West Turn on the main road, an 18-minute walk into the village. But on the southbound journey it stops right in the village. Stanton is the start point for a scenic 6-mile circular walk to Snowshill.
From Stanton, the bus continues through Buckland, the home of stately home hotel Buckland Manor. It stops near the GWSR station on the edge of Broadway before carrying on into the village. And finally it stops in Chipping Campden, providing an alternative to the Stagecoach 1 if you want to walk one way between Chipping Campden and Broadway and get a bus back.
Pulhams 606 at a glance
- Best for: Connections with the Gloucestershire–Warwickshire Steam Railway
- Operating days: Monday–Saturday (no Sunday service)
- Approximate frequency: Every two hours (hourly from Cheltenham to Winchcombe)
- Approximate end-to-end time: 2 hours
- Rail connections: Cheltenham (stops at Royal Well bus station, a 20-minute walk to the train station) and GWSR steam train stops in Greet, Toddington and Broadway
- Current timetable
Heritage Bus Service 11
Bourton-on-the-Water > Stow-on-the-Wold > Moreton-in-Marsh > Bourton-on-the-Hill > Chipping Campden
The final Cotswold bus is a bit different. Rather than being a regular bus service, Heritage Bus 11 is a seasonal, weekend-only route run by Troopers Lodge Motor Services. They use vintage buses from their collection to travel between Bourton-on-the-Water and Chipping Campden.
Buses run on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays between 2 May and 27 September 2026, and then on Saturdays only from 3 October to 19 December 2026. As it’s a private service it’s not covered by the national fare cap and concessionary passes don’t apply. Single fares start from £3 though and there is also a day pass available for £14 adults/£10 children and seniors.
Part of the route duplicates the Pulhams 801, but it’s a fun way to get around, with open-top buses on sunny days, and provides a useful direct route from Bourton to Chipping Campden.
Heritage Bus 11 starts in Bourton-on-the-Water and runs hourly to Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh, where it stops outside the train station. From Moreton, there are slightly fewer services on the next section to Bourton-on-the-Hill and Chipping Campden.
Heritage Bus 11 at a glance
- Best for: A seasonal service where the journey is part of the experience
- Operating days: Weekends and bank holidays from May to September, then Saturdays only from October to mid-December
- Approximate frequency: Hourly (not all buses run to Chipping Campden)
- Approximate end-to-end time: 2 hours
- Rail connections: Moreton-in-Marsh (stops at the train station)
- Current timetable
Bonus bus: The Robin
Fancy getting off the beaten track? The Robin is an on-demand bookable minibus service which connects destinations across Gloucestershire. Rather than having a scheduled timetable, you can request pick ups from smaller towns, villages and attractions, and rides only cost £3.
The service runs from Mondays to Saturdays, 7am–7pm, and you can request rides up to two weeks in advance using their app, website or on the phone. Find out how to use it in this guide.
There are a few caveats – The Robin only covers Gloucestershire so you can’t use it to visit places like Burford (Oxfordshire) and Broadway (Worcestershire). You can also only travel within a region not between them, so you couldn’t travel from the North Cotswolds to the South Cotswolds. And it doesn’t cover larger places like Cheltenham which already have regular bus services.
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