Complete guide to The Robin: The Cotswolds’ bookable bus

Until recently, travelling around the Cotswolds by public transport meant you could only visit the towns and larger villages which are covered by regular scheduled bus services. But now there’s another option. The Robin is a bookable minibus, where passengers can request pick ups from rural areas and smaller villages in Gloucestershire which don’t have regular bus services.

Whether you don’t drive or would rather not, it’s a great way to explore some of the Cotswolds’ hidden gems without needing a car. But how does it work? This guide to The Robin shows you how to use it, and gives some suggestions of interesting places you can visit using the service.

What is The Robin?

The Robin is a bookable bus. So rather than having a set route and timetable like a regular bus, instead its route is determined by where people want to go. You put in a request for where you want to travel to/from and when, and their software groups people together to share journeys.

The service started in 2022, and after a successful trial period it was extended to cover a wider area, and has received funding to run until 2026 at least. It covers areas in Gloucestershire which don’t have a scheduled bus service, or where there’s only a bus once or twice a week.

Anyone can use The Robin – both locals and visitors. The minibuses used can carry up to 16 people and are wheelchair accessible. Dogs are also permitted (though they say ‘at the driver’s discretion’ so do double check when you book). And at only £3 per single journey it’s great value.

Who is The Robin good for?

The Robin is great for non-drivers who want to visit more off-the-beaten-track places in the Cotswolds. As well as being able to visit smaller villages, you can also use it to get to Cotswold stately homes and gardens located in rural areas. And travelling by bus means you don’t have to find parking, which can be a challenge in popular places like Bibury during peak season.

We’ve suggested some places to visit using The Robin at the end of this post.

The Robin also connects to the train stations at Kemble, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stonehouse and Cam and Dursley, which saves you having to use a taxi if you’re staying somewhere remote.

The Robin is brilliant for walkers too – you could walk one way and book a bus ride back to the start, or vice versa. And The Robin also stops next to some fantastic country pubs, so you could use it to go out for lunch and have a beer or a glass of wine without someone having to drive.

Which areas does The Robin cover?

The Robin is run by Gloucestershire County Council and covers five different areas around the county – shown in different colours on the map below. Four of them include parts of the Cotswolds (there’s also the Forest of Dean outside the region). The two main Cotswolds areas are:

• North Cotswolds – in orange on the map (covers Chipping Campden, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Snowshill and Lower Slaughter).
• South Cotswolds – in purple (covers Cirencester, Lechlade, Kemble and Tetbury).

There are also a couple of others which include parts of the Cotswolds:

• Berkeley Vale – in pink (covers Stonehouse, Dursley, Nailsworth and Wotton-under-Edge).
• Tewkesbury – in grey (covers Stanton, Cleeve Hill and Winchcombe).

It’s not like a taxi, so you can’t book it from a particular address. Instead there’s a list of predefined bus stops to choose from. These links take you to a full list of stops for each region: North Cotswolds, South Cotswolds, Berkeley Vale, Tewkesbury. You can also see a map of stops when you book.

One thing to be aware of is that regions are self-contained. So you can’t book a trip from one region to another (e.g. from Bourton in the North Cotswolds to Bibury in the South Cotswolds).

There is a bit of overlap between the regions, so you could book two separate journeys and change buses on the border (allow plenty of time). But the service is designed for fairly short journeys, as the idea is you can connect onto a regular scheduled bus service if you want to go further.

Where can’t you go?

Although The Robin covers a lot of the Cotswolds, certain areas aren’t included. The Cotswolds spreads into six different counties, but The Robin only covers Gloucestershire. So you can’t use it to visit places like Broadway (Worcestershire), Castle Combe (Wiltshire) and Burford (Oxfordshire).

The focus is on places which don’t have regular scheduled bus services. So it doesn’t cover larger towns like Stroud and Cheltenham which already have multiple bus routes.

And if you wanted to go from Stow-on-the-Wold to Bourton-on-the-Water, the Pulhams 801 bus already runs on that route once an hour so you don’t need to use The Robin. (You can see a map of scheduled Cotswold bus routes and links to their timetables in our public transport guide.)

When does The Robin run?

The service runs from 7am–7pm Monday to Saturday (excluding on 25 and 26 December and 1 January). Unfortunately like most buses in the Cotswolds it doesn’t run on Sundays. And as it finishes quite early you can’t use it to go out in the evenings so would still need a taxi.

You can book from two weeks in advance and up to one hour before you want to travel. Though there are limited buses so you’re more likely to get the time you want if you book early.

How do you book a trip on The Robin?

You can book trips on The Robin in three different ways:

• Through their website.
• Through The Robin app (which is available for Apple and Android).
• By phone on 0345 263 8139 (available Monday to Friday, 8am–4pm).

If you’re booking online through the website or app, then you first need to register for an account (you can do this from anywhere in the world and don’t need a UK phone number).

Then once you’re logged in, you first need to select the region you want to travel in (North Cotswolds, South Cotswolds, Berkeley Vale or Tewkesbury). Then follow the steps below:

1. Choose the address or place you want to travel to and from (you don’t need to be too precise at this point as it will show you where the nearest stop is once you request a trip).
2. Choose the time you want to leave by or arrive by (use ‘arrive by’ if you need to be somewhere at a specific time to make sure you get there on time).
3. Select the number of passengers (you can request a wheelchair space here too).
4. Click on ‘search’.
5. You’ll be shown a list of ride options (if you’ve not chosen one of the designated bus stops, it’ll say ‘alternative stop(s)’ and show you the closest stop instead).
6. Click on the option you want to book and ‘Continue’.
7. You can then choose whether to pay on board or enter your card details and pay in advance.
8. Booked journeys are listed under ‘My bookings’ (where you can cancel your trip or add info).

The times are listed as ‘Earliest departure time’ and ‘Latest arrival time’, so they can vary slightly. On the day of your journey, you’ll get a text message or app reminder around 30 minutes before departure. Then 10 minutes before you’ll get another confirming the time (or any delays).

I’d recommend downloading the app if possible as you can use the inbuilt maps to navigate to bus stops (which don’t always have a sign). And it also shows where the bus is in real time.

How much does The Robin cost?

At the moment there’s a price cap on bus services in the UK, which means you never have to pay more than £3 for a single bus journey – including on The Robin. This is being funded by the UK Government and is planned to run until at least the end of December 2025.

Single trips on The Robin cost £3 for adults, and £2.50 for children aged 5–15 (there are no return fares). Children under five travel free, and you can also travel for free with a concessionary bus pass (UK residents who are disabled or aged 66 and over are eligible for these).

You can pay the driver on board the bus, using either cash or contactless card payment. Or if you booked though the website or the app then you can also pay in advance by card.

Ideas for places to visit using The Robin

There are lots of different destinations around the Cotswolds you can visit using the Robin, from manor houses and gardens to cosy pubs – here are a few suggestions to get you started.

North Cotswolds

Blockley: Beautiful Blockley is best known as the filming location for BBC TV series Father Brown. You can visit locations from the show, have lunch in the Blockley Café or walk to nearby Batsford Arboretum or on to Moreton-in-Marsh as part of our Moreton-in-Marsh to Blockley walk.

Chastleton: National Trust property Chastleton House is a Jacobean stately home owned by a cloth merchant that’s full of original features and feels like stepping back in time 400 years.

Daylesford: Headquarters of the famous Daylesford Farm empire, with a popular farm shop, spa and restaurants. It’s also a short walk to Kingham for The Wild Rabbit and Kingham Plough pubs.

Lower Slaughter: Admire Lower Slaughter’s historic buildings, including the Old Mill (currently closed for redevelopment), and have lunch at the Slaughters County Inn. Or take a mile-long walk along the River Eye to Upper Slaughter for afternoon tea at the Lords of the Manor hotel.

Longborough: This small village near Moreton-in-Marsh is home to the annual Longborough Festival Opera between May and August, as well as The Coach & Horses pub.

Snowshill: Picturesque Snowshill was used as a filming location for Bridget Jones’ Diary. Don’t miss Snowshill Manor, with its quirky collections inside and beautiful gardens outside.

Stanway: From June–August you can visit Stanway House and gardens, with the highest gravity fountain in the world. Stanway is also on the Cotswold Way route if you want to walk part of it.

Pubs: The Robin stops at lots of great Cotswold country pubs, including the Horse and Groom in Upper Oddington, The Kings Head Inn in Bledington, The Halfway at Kineton, The Farmers Arms and The Hollow Bottom in Guiting Power, and the Horse and Groom in Bourton-on-the-Hill.

South Cotswolds

Barnsley: Barnsley near Cirencester is the location of the new Pig in the Cotswolds hotel, a 17th-century manor with gardens designed by Rosemary Verey, a spa and The Village Pub.

Bibury: Bibury is one of the Cotswolds’ most visited villages, with the much-photographed cottages on Arlington Row. There are also walks along the Rack Isle Water Meadows, the Trout Farm, Swan Inn and Catherine Wheel pub. Bibury has a problem with parking so travelling by bus helps.

Chedworth: Chedworth is the start of one of our favourite Cotswold walks, an 11-mile loop via Withington and Chedworth Roman Villa (The Robin doesn’t stop at the Roman Villa unfortunately – if you want to visit then the nearest stop is in Yanworth, a 30-minute walk away).

Colesbourne: Colesbourne Park has been described as ‘England’s greatest snowdrop garden’ and opens to visitors at weekends in January/February to see its 350 snowdrop species.

Rodmarton: Rodmarton Manor just north of Tetbury is an Arts and Crafts mansion house with furniture, ceramics and textiles made by Cotswold designers, as well as lovely gardens.

Westonbirt Arboretum: Also near Tetbury, The National Arboretum at Westonbirt has 2500 species of trees and plants from across the world, and is especially popular in autumn. There’s a treetop walkway, walks and family-friendly trails, as well as a café and smokehouse.

Berkeley Vale

Selsey Common: Selsey Common is an area of protected limestone grassland near Stonehouse with views for miles. There’s also a pretty church with Arts and Crafts stained glass windows.

Woodchester Park: This National Trust wooded valley has lakes and walking paths. You can also visit spooky Woodchester Mansion, which was abandoned partway through construction.

Tewkesbury

Stanton: Stanton is one of our favourite Cotswold villages. You can have lunch in the Mount Inn, go horse-riding or walk a section of the Cotswold Way – it’s around 4.3 miles from Stanton to Broadway (which isn’t covered by The Robin but is on the route of several scheduled buses).

Cleeve Hill: Cleeve Hill is the highest point in the Cotswolds at 330 metres high, with views as far as the Black Mountains in Wales. You can soak up the views on a 6-mile circular walk.

Do you have questions about exploring the Cotswolds without a car? Join our new Facebook group for Cotswold public transport news, tips and advice.

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