The Cotswold Tour: Private Countryside Experience

Discover the Cotswolds with a private tour guide. Enjoy scenic routes, local history, and charming stops. Perfect for a relaxed, memorable countryside experience.

Duration: 8 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Blockley - We drive from Moreton-in-Marsh via Bourton-on-the-Hill to Blockley, a beautiful village where many of the buildings date to when it was the centre of a silk spinning industry. It is also famous for being a the location of a popular BBC series; Father Brown.
  • Broad Campden - We drive through Broad Campden, a village know for it’s…
What's Included
  • Bottled water
What's Not Included
  • Dinner
  • Snacks
  • Entrance to any paid attractions on the tour.
Additional Information

Johnnie, your local driver and tour guide, has lived and worked in The Cotswolds for three decades. As we journey through the scenic countryside, Johnnie, with his enthusiasm for the Cotswolds and passion for local history, will offer an engaging and informative commentary. Visitors will leave with treasured memories of this timeless English landscape….

Location
Moreton-in-Marsh
Station Road
To be met immediately outside the train station.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(77 Ratings)
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F4374lmjuliej
Oct 29, 2025
The ultimate guide! - We had a fantastic day with Johnnie. He was a fantastic guide providing us with history, fun facts, and pop culture references! He made our tour feel tailor made to our foursome. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Poppy5055
Oct 28, 2025
Amazing tour of the Cotswolds - We had such an incredible day exploring the Cotswolds with Johnnie! He was knowledgeable, friendly, and so easy to spend the day with. From the very start, he listened to what we were most interested in and tailored the tour perfectly to match our pace and preferences. Johnnie’s deep knowledge of the region, paired with his personal anecdotes and stories, brought every village and landscape to life. He shared fascinating insights about the history, culture, and local life in such an engaging way that we felt like we were traveling with an old friend rather than a guide. He went above and beyond to make sure we had a memorable experience — even adding a few spontaneous stops that ended up being our favorite moments of the day. If you’re visiting the Cotswolds, we couldn’t recommend Johnnie more highly. A truly special and memorable experience from start to finish!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ruaduck
Oct 26, 2025
A gorgeous and peaceful drive through the Cotswolds - Johnnie was a fantastic guide. He provided historical and relevant stories and showed us many spots used in tv and movie magic. Transportation was comfortable and prompt. A lovely time.
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Nancygt6347ul
Oct 14, 2025
Lovely tour with John - We had an absolutely exceptional day touring the Cotswolds with John Loader — truly one of the best guides we’ve ever experienced. From the very start, John made the experience deeply personal and engaging. We had mentioned our interest in visiting some of the Father Brown filming locations, and he went above and beyond to make that happen. He shared fascinating local stories about the filming process, the actors, and even showed us personal photos from his time around the sets. It was such a thoughtful touch that brought everything to life and made us feel genuinely connected to the area. Beyond the film sites, John gave us a real insight into local life — from the realities of private estate ownership to the history behind the landscape itself. He explained everything from how hedges and hurdles are built to the origins of the unique place names throughout the region. His knowledge of local history runs deep, and it’s clear he has a genuine love for the Cotswolds, having lived there for decades. We really appreciated that he not only took us to every location on our (rather ambitious!) list, but also added a number of hidden gems that he thought we’d enjoy. Many of these were peaceful, scenic spots away from the crowds, allowing us to experience a more relaxed and authentic side of the Cotswolds. John was personable, funny, and incredibly easy to spend the day with. He shared wonderful anecdotes — both historical and personal — and also took the time to get to know us, which made the experience feel all the more special. Despite having only one day, John somehow managed to fit in everything we wanted to see (and more), without ever making the day feel rushed. He even spent extra time with us to make sure we didn’t miss anything, which we truly appreciated. If you’re considering a Cotswolds tour, look no further than John Loader. His knowledge, warmth, and storytelling made this an unforgettable highlight of our trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Q2228kqlaurag
Oct 3, 2025
Storybook magic through the Cotswolds! - Fantastic tour. Johnnie is quickly responsive to email inquiries and set up a custom 8 hour tour for us. I can't count how many Cotswold villages he took us to! He has a huge knowledge base and passionately shared history with us. He even has a couple surprises on the tour which made it that much more fun. So personable. We didn't want to leave!
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Corgimama34
Sep 21, 2025
Exactly the Cotswold Tour We Wanted! - Booking a tour with Johnnie is the absolute best, easiest, and most enjoyable way to see and learn everything you want about the Cotswolds - and more! Johnnie was very responsive and flexible when I was scheduling our tour. We took an early morning train from London, and he was waiting for us outside the Moreton-in-Marsh station when we arrived. Into his comfortable car we went for our adventure through the idyllic Costwolds. Although "tour guide" is a second career for Johnnie, you would think he has done this all his life. He is so knowledgable about history, culture, tradition, nature, topography, current events, and all-things-British, plus he has lived in the Cotswolds for decades, so he can speak to any perspective about them and answer all questions. As he drove us through tiny villages and larger areas, he shared such fun and insightful stories and information (including modern day personalities and events), well beyond what we would have learned on our own or in a larger tour where we couldn't have asked so many of our own questions. He customized our tour at our request so that we spent more time seeing the unique, lesser-known spots and less time in the more crowded touristy villages. He brought us to a fabulous gourmet pub for lunch with a view of sheep grazing in a field across the street. No doubt we were in the Cotswolds! At the suggestion of another reviewer, we stopped at the gorgeous Donnington Brewery (a 700 yr old converted mill with an honor box to try their beer) and bought delicious ice cream from the roadside vending machine at an organic regenerative farm. After our return, Johnnie emailed us a list of all the villages and sights we visited (26!!) with a short commentary on what was memorable/important about each. Thank you Johnnie for the precious memories of our day touring the Costwolds. We couldn't have asked for anything better!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chrisatx23
Sep 21, 2025
John was an absolutely fantastic guide. Do yourself a favor and book this immediately! - One of the best experiences we had on our trip to England. John is a smart funny knowledgeable guy that gives you the cool interesting bits along with the crowd-pleasing photo ops. I cannot recommend him highly enough - 5 stars aren’t even enough!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
P9471vslisah
Sep 17, 2025
Excellent Tour of the Cotswolds - Johnnie made our trip to the Cotswolds absolutely fabulous! We had one day to tour the area and after reading reviews we decided to go with Johnnie and we are so happy we did. He is professional, knowledgeable, friendly and engaging and his car was clean and comfortable. Through conversation he got to know us and tailored the tour to our interests with some surprises along the way - it did not feel like a "cookie cutter" tour. He showed us areas we would not have seen on our own and he is well versed in the history of the area. I highly recommend Johnnie. I would give him a 10 if I could.
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569timg
Sep 15, 2025
Perfect day in the Cotswolds - Our tour was a wonderful experience. Our guide, Johnny, was extremely knowledgeable and tailored the trip based on our interests. He took us on a fairly comprehensive tour of the northern Cotswolds showing us the requested highlights. Major locations are fairly busy with tourists but Johnny showed us so many hidden gems, most where we the only people in site. I can thoroughly recommend this tour and guide to anyone. It was the perfect day.
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119lw
Sep 11, 2025
Amazing and Enchanting Tour of the Cotswolds with Johnnie! - I had wanted to see the Cotswolds for decades. I finally took action and booked a trip! I guess it was 6 or 7 months ago, I seriously researched where to stay in the Cotswolds and how to really SEE the Cotswolds. I stumbled upon these reviews of the famed Johnnie tours! I am so happy I did. I booked a day long private tour! Johnnie is from the Cotswolds and knows it inside and out. Every nook and cranny of the Cotswolds is enchanting and utterly charming!! I do not remember all the places we visited right at this moment, but we went to many places and Johnnie gave amazing and beautiful history of the many areas. Johnnie was kind enough to send me an email with a nice detailed itinerary of the main places we visited! Thank you! I learned so much about the villages, great houses, the sheep farm dividing stone fences that are thousands of years old as well as the famed hedges that also divide the farms and villages! I have already booked my stay for next year and hope to bring my brother - an avid Lord of the Rings fan! I am still organizing my pictures so I am not able to upload just yet, but hopefully I can very soon! And I also had a Lardy Cake for the first time!!! Johnnie, thank you for a fabulous experience and this tour was the highlight of my stay in the Cotsowolds!! Blessings!!
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From $590 (Per Vehicle)
up to 4 guests
1 - Traveler
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).