Things to do in Moreton-in-Marsh

What there is to do around Moreton-in-Marsh

Most of what there is to do from Moreton-in-Marsh lies just outside it, in gardens and country houses within 4 miles of the High Street. The nearest two share the Batsford estate, about a mile and a half west: Batsford Arboretum, 60 acres of hillside trees open every day, and the Cotswold Falconry Centre, with about 150 birds of prey and three flying displays a day. In the town, a market is still held on Tuesdays along the wide High Street.

Further out are the houses. Sezincote, built in 1805 in the Mughal style with an onion dome, has a water garden down a valley. Bourton House Garden at Bourton-on-the-Hill is a garden of terraces and borders, at its fullest in late summer. Chastleton House, a Jacobean house about 4 miles away, keeps the croquet lawns where rules for the game were written. North Cotswold Brewery, on a farm at Stretton-on-Fosse to the north, has a shop and bar.

Who it suits, and which days

Gardeners get the most from Moreton, if they plan around the days. Sezincote's garden opens Wednesday to Friday and on bank holiday Mondays from March to November, and its house and tearoom are closed for the 2026 season. Bourton House Garden opens Tuesday to Friday from April to mid-October, and Chastleton in the afternoons. Batsford opens daily and is best in spring and autumn, so a midweek day from spring to autumn can take in three gardens.

Families do best at the falconry centre, whose displays are at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3pm, and at Batsford, which has a play area. At the falconry centre, mornings before the first display and weekdays outside school holidays are the quietest. It closes for winter from mid-November to mid-February. Its last day in 2026 is Sunday 15 November.

Prices and booking

In 2026 Batsford cost £12 for an adult, the falconry centre £15, Chastleton £15, Bourton House Garden £10 and Sezincote's garden £9. Visitors with a disability go free at Batsford, and under-16s at Bourton House Garden. Garden visitors pay on arrival at Sezincote and Bourton House (card preferred at Bourton House), and at Batsford and the falconry centre booking online is optional, though Batsford recommends it at Easter and from October to November, when a one-way entry system can be in place.

Getting there, parking and dogs

Moreton's station is on the line from London Paddington. From the war memorial, the Cotswolds National Landscape's 4-mile (6.4km) walk to Batsford and back has no stiles, though it has about a dozen field gates. Stagecoach's 1 and 2 buses between Moreton and Stratford stop at the end of the Batsford drive on the A44 a few times a day, and the 801 towards Chipping Norton stops at Little Compton, a mile's walk from Chastleton. In the town, Old Market Way car park is cashless, and Batsford, the falconry centre, Bourton House and Chastleton have free car parks; Batsford has six electric car chargers in its upper car park.

Dogs are welcome at Batsford on a short fixed lead, but not at the falconry centre next door, at Sezincote or at Bourton House Garden. Chastleton allows them in the car park, parkland, forecourt and stable yard. For a bed by the station, see where to stay in Moreton-in-Marsh.

On the High Street, the Black Bear is the Donnington Brewery's town pub. For lunch, see places to eat in the North Cotswolds, and for a day here from London, our day trip by train and bus starts at the station.