Whether you’re looking for a Great Daytrip from London or Oxford, staying here on holiday or just a local who wants to explore more of the area, our tour will exceed your expectations. The two-hour guided tour of North Cotswold villages, combined with a cream tea served inside Secret Cottage is unforgettable.

This is an extremely rare and totally unique experience. Not a cream tea served in a tearoom or hotel, but a cream tea that is actually served in the surroundings of a quintessential English Cotswold Cottage.

My cottage is called Secret Cottage, I live here with my family and I want to share with you what I experience every day.

I will take you in our 8 seater minibus to some of the lesser known hidden villages that are inaccessible by public transport. The unspoilt villages that I’ve carefully selected are made up of thatched cottages, clipped lawns and dusty lanes, perfectly illustrating what life was like back in the 16th century.

Having lived in the area for thirty years, my local knowledge is invaluable to visitors and you’ll experience it ‘as if you are a local’.

I’m lucky to have travelled extensively throughout the world and know what it’s like to get home, only to discover you’ve missed an amazing secret, all because you weren’t familiar with the area. What gave me the idea of starting the tour was that every tourist yearns to see inside these Cotswold cottages and to see how the English conduct their daily lives…….. I suddenly thought……… ‘I live in a pretty thatched cottage and I’d love to show people what I experience every day’. That’s why I created Secret Cottage, which is an incredible experience and totally unique.

I’ll make sure that you have a wonderful time in this unspoilt part of England. I’m here as your personal Cotswold Tourist Guide to take you on a unique and memorable tour through hidden villages we know and love.

My cottage is called ‘Secret Cottage’ and is quintessentially perfect for guests to experience a step back in time and see what it’s like to live inside a very historic and quaint Cotswold cottage that is full of character. You’ll have a tour of the cottage and see the extraordinary antique furniture and paintings. There are three inglenook fireplaces which are open log fires used to heat the cottage. You can sit in two of the inglenook fireplaces and warm yourself on cold days. The winding stairs, doors and floorboards are all made from original elm planks. Incredibly, my heavily beamed Grade 2 Listed cottage is nearly 500 years old!

During the tour, you’ll visit Secret Cottage which is my private thatched home, for a cream tea. We cook on an Aga which is a traditional English stove. When you walk in you will smell the scones being baked, which gives off a fantastic aroma. The scones are served with delicious English clotted cream and strawberry jam, together with a large selection of cakes, biscuits, sandwiches and many other temptations.

The cream tea is a surprise, it changes every day, you’ll be overwhelmed by the home-made baking which derives from family recipes handed down through the generations.

The tea is served on the finest Blue Colonel Spode bone china, which makes your cup of loose-leaf Earl Grey tea, or coffee so much more enjoyable. The unique experience of having tea in the cottage is without doubt something that you will never forget. Most soft drinks are available, including herbal teas and decaffeinated drinks. When booking please advise of any special dietary requirements or allergies of those in your party. We have a great deal of experience with all sorts of diets.

No visit to Secret Cottage is ever the same. Different people, different cakes and great conversation, whilst you are trying all the homemade delicious treats in the drawing room ‘as if you are a local’. You’ll not feel hungry when you leave because there is such a variety of tempting cakes, biscuits and sandwiches to choose from.

Depending on the time of year you visit, you can also enjoy our English cottage garden with its well-stocked borders, winding paths and topiary hedges. No traffic here, just the sound of cockerels and horses hooves.

All our guests are overwhelmed by the experience of being invited into a private home with many of them describing it as fairyland. Increasingly, many say Secret Cottage was the highlight of their trip to the UK. Many famous people have visited Secret Cottage including ……… senators, celebrities, actors, actresses, lords, ladies, television personalities, pop stars and a president who came with his family. Many return to take the trip again with friends and family. Our record is four times for one couple.

During the tour you’ll see a selection of amazing honey coloured limestone houses and cottages, view landscapes and drive through parkland, see topiary, historic manor houses and stunning ancient churches. You’ll see National Trust houses, farms, gardens, wells, streams, fords, ponds, barns, dovecotes, animals, wildlife and village greens. We can’t guarantee that you’ll see all of these because our tour route changes depending on the seasons. You’ll visit picturesque villages that most tourists never get to see – stopping off at some and driving through others.

But that’s not all…

You’ll discover things that aren’t in your guidebook. You won’t find them listed in the tourist information centre, books or maps……

With only eight passenger seats in the minibus, you are able to choose when you’d like to stop and take your pictures.

Take a Cotswolds Tour from London or Oxford – we greet you at Moreton-in-Marsh railway station.

The pickup point is the ticket office of Moreton-in-Marsh railway station at 10:30, 12:30, 14:30 and 16:30 – we do not pick up or drop off anywhere else. Many arrive by train from Oxford or London-Paddington to spend the day in Moreton in Marsh as a daytrip and take our tour at a pre booked time. Please click on the following link for [train information]. We do not have room in the minibus for luggage, you can store your luggage near the station [luggage storage].

The cost of your 2 hour tour is £50 per person which includes a traditional Cotswolds cream tea served inside Secret Cottage.

This is a mixed group tour. You can take the tour on your own, as a couple, or a group, with a maximum of 8 seats.

Visiting the Cotswolds is a great day trip from London. LONDON-Paddington railway station to Moreton-in-Marsh railway station. You can depart LONDON-Paddington at 07.50 or 08.51 to arrive in Moreton-in-Marsh 90 minutes later. There are trains throughout the day, if you return to London on the 16.53, you arrive back to enjoy the evening at 18.29.[Train times]

The railway station is just 4 minutes’ walk from the town centre of Moreton-in-Marsh. During you daytrip you can explore the market town of Moreton in Marsh. Whilst exploring, you can take our tour at 10.30, 12.30, 14.30 and 16.30. It is advisable to book online, but you can also turn up at the meeting point and take the tour if there are any available seats.

We are No1 on TripAdvisor for Cotswold tours. Please see the following nonstop 5 star reviews on [TripAdvisor] We have received over 2,000 staggering five star reviews.

My tour and visit to Secret Cottage is a truly memorable experience, which should be on everyone’s bucket list. All in all you’ll spend two hours being my special guest. I guarantee you a fantastic day out with plenty of surprises and you’ll remember this day forever!

My family and I look forward to meeting you.

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Visiting the Cotswolds is a great day trip from London. LONDON-Paddington railway station to Moreton-in-Marsh railway station. You can depart LONDON-Paddington at 07.50 or 08.51 to arrive in Moreton-in-Marsh railway station. 90 minutes later. There are trains throughout the day, if you return to London on the 16.53, you arrive back to enjoy the evening at 18.29 [Train times]

The railway station is just 4 minutes’ walk from the town centre of Moreton-in-Marsh. During you daytrip you can explore the market town of Moreton in Marsh. Whilst exploring, you can take our tour at 10.30, 12.30, 14.30 and 16.30. It is advisable to book online, but you can also turn up at the meeting point and take the tour if there are any available seats.

From the moment we entered the garden, we were greeted with a salver of mini scones and strawberries, Becky introduced herself and gave a little talk about the cottage and the thatched roof. Then, we went inside and experienced something that we’ll never forget. We got a tour of the cottage and were served a cream tea to beat all cream teas! Especially as my wife is gluten free, they bent over backwards to make sure she had a wide variety to choose from. Becky and her family are so lucky to live the dream in this very cosy cottage. We’re coming back again next year

Tony G London

My wife and I are from the United States and planned a trip to London to see all the typical sites and history, we were interested in a trip outside of London into a more rural area and started looking at western England for day trips. I found Secret Cottage online and checked it out. We corresponded with Becky regarding our schedule and asked for some guidance and she was great to deal with. Going inside her cottage was the best part of our trip to the UK, the tea was unforgettable and HIGHLY recommended.

Kevin N.Carolina

Wonderful experience. Becky must have been cooking for days. If she gets out of the tour industry, she certainly could become a world class chef. To look around inside her cottage was a wonderful experience and helped us really appreciate what living in a cottage must have been like hundreds of years ago. Make sure she tells you about the kitchen stove. Becky and Polly, thank you for the most delightful conversation and for welcoming our family into you beautiful home.

T.Matthews Edinburgh