Trevor Harris, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Moreton-in-Marsh
A market town on the Fosse Way with a station on the line from London, so the easiest place to start a car-free Cotswold trip, with Batsford Arboretum close by.
- Nearest station
- Moreton-in-Marsh, in the town, about 90 minutes from London Paddington
- Parking
- Old Market Way (GL56 0JY), £2.40 for 2 hours or £3.40 for up to 10 hours, card or phone only, with six 50kW rapid chargers; the station has 128 spaces
- Best time
- Tuesday for the market; spring and autumn for Batsford
- Toilets
- High Street, 50p, 6am to 8pm in summer and 6am to 6pm in winter, accessible, baby change; the station also has toilets, with a Changing Places toilet
- Dogs
- On a short fixed lead at Batsford Arboretum
About Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town of about 5,000 people (5,015 at the 2021 census) on the Fosse Way, where it crosses the A44. Its railway station, on the line from London Paddington, makes it the easiest way into the north Cotswolds without a car: buses leave from outside for Stow, Bourton, Chipping Campden and Cheltenham.
The High Street and the Curfew Tower
The abbot of Westminster laid Moreton out as a new town along the Fosse Way in the thirteenth century, and its market charter dates from the 1220s; the town council marked its 800th anniversary in 2026. The wide High Street is the old road itself. A market is still held on Tuesdays. On the High Street, the Black Bear Inn is a Donnington Brewery pub with a restaurant, and Huffkins serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea every day. For a special dinner, Henne, a 14-seat restaurant on the same street, serves one tasting menu from Wednesday to Saturday.
On the High Street stands the Curfew Tower, probably sixteenth century and said in its listing to be the oldest building in the town. It was a lock-up, and its bell, cast in 1633, rang the curfew every day until 1860; its clock is dated 1648. The Redesdale Hall was built in 1887 to designs by Sir Ernest George for Bertie Mitford of Batsford, later Lord Redesdale. It belongs to the Redesdale Hall Trust, and the town council says it needs urgent and extensive repairs.
Batsford Arboretum
About a mile and a half west, on the Batsford estate, is Batsford Arboretum. It opens Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5pm and on Sundays from 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm. In 2026 an adult ticket was £12 and a family ticket £29, and visitors with a disability go free. Dogs are welcome on a short fixed lead. The visitor centre, with a café, garden centre and shop, is free. It may close at short notice in bad weather, and Batsford advises booking ahead in autumn.
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Walks and the Moreton Show
The Cotswolds National Landscape's walk from the war memorial on the High Street to Batsford and back is 4 miles, about two hours, with no stiles but about a dozen gates, past Batsford's deer park. The Moreton Show, an agricultural show, is held on the Batsford estate in early September. The organisers billed the 2026 show, on Saturday 5 September, as its 77th year, and the next is on Saturday 4 September 2027.
When to come
On a Tuesday for the market, and in spring and autumn for Batsford's trees. As the station town, Moreton is also the place to start and end a trip by public transport. For a base by the station, see where to stay in Moreton-in-Marsh. Chastleton House, nearby, stands on the estate Robert Catesby sold before the Gunpowder Plot. Our three days without a car is based here, with walks from the station and the 801 and 855 buses to Stow, Bourton and Bibury. Towards Shipston, North Cotswold Brewery at Stretton-on-Fosse has a shop and bar open on weekdays from 10am to 5pm and on Saturdays from 11am to 2pm. Our guide to day trips from London sends you here by train from Paddington for Stow and Bourton, and a day trip by train and bus starts at the station with the 801 to Bourton. The Cotswolds in September has the Moreton Show with the rest of the month.
Last verified 28 October 2026 by our editors
Part of
The North Cotswolds
The high wolds between Chipping Campden and Bourton-on-the-Water: the Fosse Way towns, the Windrush villages, the Slaughters and the escarpment at Broadway.
Things to do in Moreton-in-Marsh
Historic houses and heritage · Moreton-in-Marsh
Chastleton House
A Jacobean house near Moreton-in-Marsh, built on the estate Robert Catesby sold in 1602, where rules for croquet were written.
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Sezincote House and Garden
Parks and gardens · Moreton-in-Marsh
A Mughal-style house of 1805 and its water garden near Moreton-in-Marsh, privately owned, with the garden open from March to November, midweek.
Verified Oct 2026
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Bourton House Garden
Parks and gardens · Moreton-in-Marsh
A garden at Bourton-on-the-Hill near Moreton-in-Marsh, open Tuesday to Friday from April to October, with under-16s free.
Verified Oct 2026
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North Cotswold Brewery
Breweries and distilleries · Moreton-in-Marsh
A family-run brewery on Ditchford Farm at Stretton-on-Fosse, between Moreton-in-Marsh and Shipston-on-Stour, brewing since 1999, with a shop and bar open on weekdays and Saturday mornings.
Verified Oct 2026
Where to stay in Moreton-in-Marsh
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The Swan Inn, Moreton
Inn · Moreton-in-Marsh
An inn with eight rooms in a Grade II listed nineteenth-century building on Moreton-in-Marsh's High Street, with pub food five days a week.
Verified Oct 2026
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The Manor House
Hotel · Moreton-in-Marsh
A Grade II listed hotel on Moreton-in-Marsh's High Street with 34 bedrooms, a walled garden and a two-Rosette restaurant, dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly · Car-free · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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Moreton-in-Marsh Club Campsite
Camping · Moreton-in-Marsh
The Caravan and Motorhome Club's site on Bourton Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, open all year, with 184 touring pitches, ten pods and a dog walk.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Where to eat and drink in Moreton-in-Marsh
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The Redesdale
Pubs · Moreton-in-Marsh
A Brakspear pub with rooms on the High Street in Moreton-in-Marsh, open from 8am, with local produce and ales, a terrace and Sunday roasts.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Black Bear Inn
Pubs · Moreton-in-Marsh
A Donnington Brewery town pub on Moreton-in-Marsh High Street, with a restaurant serving hearty pub food, Sunday roasts and Donnington ales.
Verified Oct 2026
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Huffkins, Moreton-in-Marsh
Cafes and tearooms · Moreton-in-Marsh
Huffkins' café and tea room on Moreton-in-Marsh High Street, opened in November 2022, with a courtyard and garden, breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea every day, and dogs welcome.
Dog-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Walks in and around Moreton-in-Marsh
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Blockley and Norcombe Wood
Walk · Starts in Blockley · 1 hr, 15 mins · Circular
A 3-mile (5km) circular walk from Park Road at the top of Blockley, about an hour and a quarter, moderate with one longer climb and muddy woods. It goes up beside Northwick Park into Norcombe Wood, then down the brook valley and back through the old silk-mill village.
Sights in and around Moreton-in-Marsh
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Curfew Tower, Moreton-in-Marsh
Sight · Historic building · Moreton-in-Marsh
The Curfew Tower is a small sixteenth-century stone bell tower on the corner of Moreton-in-Marsh's High Street and Oxford Street, perhaps the town's oldest public building, with a bell of 1633, a clock of 1648 and a past as the town lock-up.
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Redesdale Hall, Moreton-in-Marsh
Sight · Historic building · Moreton-in-Marsh
Redesdale Hall is Moreton-in-Marsh's market hall of 1887, standing in the middle of the High Street: designed by Sir Ernest George for Bertie Mitford of Batsford, later Lord Redesdale, with an arched ground floor, a clock turret and a tall chimney. Listed Grade II.
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St Peter and St Paul, Blockley
Sight · Church · Blockley
St Peter and St Paul is Blockley's church by the square, founded about 800 by its own account: a late twelfth-century chancel, medieval brasses, Childe and Rushout monuments and a tower of 1725 to 1727 attributed to the Woodwards. Grade II*, open daily and Father Brown's church.
Stories about Moreton-in-Marsh
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Autumn in the Cotswolds
Story · Guides · 10 minute read
Autumn in the Cotswolds, from Westonbirt's maples and Batsford to the beech woods of the escarpment, Blenheim's park and the Slad valley: when the colour comes, the best autumn walks, the October events, how to miss the half-term crowds, what to wear and where to stay for a fire.
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Country houses and castles of the Cotswolds
Story · Guides · 11 minute read
Blenheim, Sudeley, Berkeley, Snowshill, Chastleton, Stanway, Kelmscott, Rodmarton, Dyrham, Lacock and the ruins: the Cotswolds' great houses and castles, who built them, when they open, and which suit children, gardeners or a day by train.
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Day trips from London to the Cotswolds
Story · Guides · 10 minute read
How to do the Cotswolds as a day trip from London: by train from Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh for Stow and Bourton, to Kingham for the Evenlode villages, to Kemble for Cirencester and Bibury or to Bath for Lacock, with worked plans, the car and parking, and tours compared.
Getting to Moreton-in-Marsh
- By train
- Moreton-in-Marsh is on GWR's Cotswold Line from London Paddington, about an hour and a half away.
- By bus
- The 801 runs to Stow, Bourton and Cheltenham, and to Chipping Norton, roughly hourly every day, with a shorter day on Sundays. Stagecoach's 1 and 2 go to Blockley, Chipping Campden and Stratford.
- Parking
- Old Market Way charges £2.40 for 2 hours or £3.40 for 10, by card or phone, 8am to 6pm (Sundays from 10am), with six 50kW rapid chargers. The station car park has 128 spaces.
Access
The station has some step-free access, with platforms level with the entrance, and a Changing Places toilet. The walk to Batsford is stile-free, with about a dozen gates.
| Batsford Arboretum | 1.5 mi |
|---|---|
| Stow-on-the-Wold | 4.3 mi |
| Chipping Norton | 8.1 mi |
| Cheltenham | 22.4 mi |
Places near Moreton-in-Marsh
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Stow-on-the-WoldA hilltop market town on the Fosse Way, more than 230m up, with a broad Square, a church that held 1,600 prisoners after the last battle of the Civil War, and a horse fair.
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BlockleyA village of former silk mills along a brook in a steep valley near Moreton-in-Marsh, with a Norman chancel in its church, a spring under a raised pavement, two short walks from its lanes and Father Brown's Kembleford on screen.
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Chipping CampdenA wool town with a High Street of honey stone, a 1627 Market Hall, a great wool church and almshouses, and the start of the Cotswold Way on its doorstep.
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WorcesterThe cathedral city on the Severn on the Cotswold Line: Foregate Street and Shrub Hill stations, the trains through Evesham to Moreton-in-Marsh, King John's tomb and Elgar, the vale road to Broadway, and the Malverns every Cotswold viewpoint looks across to.