Sightseeing Tours of Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds

A Guided Coach Tour of the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley

Arranged by Blue Badge Guide - Anne Bartlett  

During the morning our tour revealed some of the mysteries and beauty of the Forest of Dean, which lies between the River Severn and the River Wye and then in the afternoon we explored the picturesque and dramatic limestone gorge of the lower Wye Valley.

We took the scenic route into the Forest to enjoy the broadleaved woodlands and conifer plantations carpeted with dense green bracken and grazed by deer, wild boar and sheep. This wooded red sandstone plateau was once very heavily mined and quarried for its rich sources of coal, iron ore and building stone. Today we got interesting glimpses of The Forest of Dean’s past industrial activities. From the comfort of our luxury coach, we enjoyed the tranquil and natural beauty of the landscape and heard stories about Free Miners, Admiral Lord Nelson and even the fictional Harry Potter.

For lunch we stopped in the historic town of Monmouth, which lies alongside the River Monnow.  In the town centre are interesting statues to two of its most famous sons, King Henry V who was born in Monmouth Castle (now a ruin) and Charles Rolls who created the Rolls Royce Car Company with Henry Royce.  There's also a museum with a gallery containing memorabilia of the famous Admiral Lord Nelson which people enjoyed looking around.

After lunch we set off to travel alongside the dramatic and picturesque River Wye.  In the early 19th century this area attracted the first English tourists, including famous writers, poets and artists. We continued this tradition and admired the river valley.  We stopped to view the romantic ruins of Tintern Abbey, which had been much painted and written about by previous visitors.

We drove into Chepstow, known as the gateway town to Wales.  We saw the towering Norman castle, probably the first stone castle to be built in the country perched right on the cliff edge above the mouth of the tidal river Wye.  We stopped for some refreshment and took the time to look around this interesting border town before making our way home.

A Guided Coach Tour of the North Cotswolds      

Arranged by Blue Badge Guide - Anne Bartlett

Our full day tour started from Gloucester and we drove into the Regency town of Cheltenham, famous for its 19th century spas. We  explored the historic town centre with its impressive buildings, beautiful gardens and attractive ironwork. There were stories about its famous sons, composer Gustav Holst and explorer Edward Wilson before travelling north passing Cheltenham Race Course, home of the National Hunt Festival and the Gold Cup. We drove along the western edge of the Cotswold escarpment to enjoy stunning views across to the Malvern Hills. We travelled through the ancient Saxon town of Winchcombe, through some charmingly pretty honey coloured Cotswold stone villages as we made our way to Broadway for coffee. This famous village, was much enjoyed by our visitors, it had lots of stylish cafes and historic coaching inns to enjoy, as well as many individual quality shops to discover. After coffee we travelled further into the Cotswolds to enjoy the beautiful landscape and discover more medieval towns and villages.

We drove through some of the best know places like Chipping Campden and Moreton-in-Marsh.

Our lunch stop was Stow-on-the-Wold, famous for its market square and many antique shops. We enjoyed the town's hospitality, explored the narrow lanes and courtyards, browsed around the interesting shops and even sat on the village green to study the medieval buildings.

After lunch we continued on through some lesser known villages, a little off the beaten track, towards the town of Burford. Here we stopped for afternoon tea before taking a look at Bibury, nestling alongside the River Coln which William Morris described as ‘the most beautiful in England.’
Finally we dragged ourselves away, got on the coach and returned home.

A Guided Coach Tour of the South Cotswolds and the Severn Vale
Arranged by Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett

From Cheltenham our full day tour took us via Gloucester to the edge of Coopers Hill where the weirdest of sports takes place. Coopers Hill is the venue for the internationally famous Cheese Rolling Competition. We drove on to Painswick village, known as ‘The Queen of the Cotswolds’ which is famous for its church and 99 yew trees. We took  a coffee stop in Stroud, a friendly town famous for its quality art and craft work and its local produce, before travelling on to explore the variety of Cotswold stone villages that nestle spectacularly in river valleys.

After lunch we drove toward the town of Berkeley where a dramatic sandstone castle, still lived in by the Berkeley family, overlooks the east bank of the River Severn. It was here in the town that Dr Edward Jenner famously inoculated a young boy with cowpox to prevent him from getting the deadly and virulent disease smallpox. We explored some riverside villages and see how people have lived, worked and enjoyed the longest river in Britain which, in the past, has brought trade and prosperity to the area. We made our way to Gloucester which, because of the river, became an important inland port.

A Guided Coach Tour of the East Cotswolds
Arranged by Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett

The Cotswolds cover 790 square miles and is the largest area of outstanding natural beauty in Britain, so this week we travelled east from Gloucestershire into the county of Oxfordshire to discover more of this historic and beautiful area and admire more Cotswold towns and villages that have been frozen in time. Stone and wool have shaped this landscape. We saw fine merchants houses built by the wealthy medieval clothiers. There are many interesting scenic routes to take and today we drove past stone relics left by prehistoric man, as we made our way towards the glorious village of Woodstock for a stop.  We visited the museum, also spent time browsing around the shops and lunched in one of the selection of fine coaching inns and quaint little tea shops. Here we found out about Blenheim Palace built as a reward for the Duke of Marlborough for winning a great battle.

We made our way back through The Cotswold Water Park, said to have more lakes than the Norfolk Broads to Lechlade a riverside town on the banks of the River Thames. St Laurence church with its tall spire was where Percy Bysshe Shelley composed his poem ‘Stanzas in a Summer Evening Churchyard.’ We enjoyed an interesting stroll over Halfpenny Bridge and watched the boats on the upper reaches of the navigable river.

We enjoyed our riverside walk and feeling refreshed we made our way back to the coach for our journey home.

To book a Blue Badge Tour Guide contact Anne Bartlett:
 www.tourandexplore.com