2 May 2026 · 5 min read
Leave Mayfair at 8am and you are walking through an Oxford college by half past nine, well ahead of the coach parties. From there the lanes north-west open up and the day slows down.
Burford for coffee, Bibury for Arlington Row, then a pub lunch booked for one o'clock in Bourton-on-the-Water. Stow-on-the-Wold for antiques in the afternoon, and Blenheim Palace on the way home if the light holds.
Ten hours door to door, priced at the day rate. The car stays with you throughout, so coats, shopping and camera bags never leave the vehicle.
The single biggest advantage over a coach tour is the ability to change the plan at eleven in the morning because a village looked more interesting than the next one on the list.