Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford

[SouthEastBuses]

I plan on doing a trip exploring towns and villages in the Cotswolds soon.

On the way there I'll be travelling by train from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh.

On the way back, my plan is to do as follows:

Train from Moreton-in-Marsh to Charlbury, then buses going around various villages and towns in the Cotswolds. Then in the evening, I will return to Oxford by getting the train from Kingham.

So, with my return ticket from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh, can I, going back to Oxford, get off at Charlbury but rejoin at Kingham (a couple stations before Charlbury)?

 

[Fawkes Cat]

I plan on doing a trip exploring towns and villages in the Cotswolds soon.

On the way there I'll be travelling by train from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh.

On the way back, my plan is to do as follows:

Train from Moreton-in-Marsh to Charlbury, then buses going around various villages and towns in the Cotswolds. Then in the evening, I will return to Oxford by getting the train from Kingham.

So, with my return ticket from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh, can I, going back to Oxford, get off at Charlbury but rejoin at Kingham (a couple stations before Charlbury)?

No. You've already used the return ticket's validity from Kingham to Charlbury so the ticket's not valid to do that bit of the journey again.

How about getting off at Kingham, playing with the buses and then rejoining the train at Charlbury?

 

[Watershed]

I plan on doing a trip exploring towns and villages in the Cotswolds soon.

On the way there I'll be travelling by train from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh.

On the way back, my plan is to do as follows:

Train from Moreton-in-Marsh to Charlbury, then buses going around various villages and towns in the Cotswolds. Then in the evening, I will return to Oxford by getting the train from Kingham.

So, with my return ticket from Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh, can I, going back to Oxford, get off at Charlbury but rejoin at Kingham (a couple stations before Charlbury)?

No, if you wanted to do this you would either need to buy an additional single from Kingham to Charlbury or get a rover or ranger. Whilst you can break your journey on walk-up tickets unless there's a specific restriction that bars this (such restrictions are fairly rare, and don't exist here), that doesn't allow you to use a ticket twice over a particular stretch.

You may find that the Cotswold Discoverer is suitable for your needs. It allows unlimited travel between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, Swindon and Gloucester, and Ashchurch and Yate from 08:50 on weekdays, as well as bus travel on Stagecoach West services in the area.

In fact, it's cheaper than even just single or return between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, so even if you don't intend to do anything else it's worthwhile getting.

 

[SouthEastBuses]

No, if you wanted to do this you would either need to buy an additional single from Kingham to Charlbury or get a rover or ranger. Whilst you can break your journey on walk-up tickets unless there's a specific restriction that bars this (such restrictions are fairly rare, and don't exist here), that doesn't allow you to use a ticket twice over a particular stretch.

You may find that the Cotswold Discoverer is suitable for your needs. It allows unlimited travel between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, Swindon and Gloucester, and Ashchurch and Yate from 08:50 on weekdays, as well as bus travel on Stagecoach West services in the area.

In fact, it's cheaper than even just single or return between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, so even if you don't intend to do anything else it's worthwhile getting.

That's perfect!

Can I use the Cotswold Discoverer on Pulhams Coaches and Villager Community Bus services (V routes) as well as Stagecoach West?

Also, as I have a 16-25 Railcard, am I entitled to a discount?

 

[Merseysider]

Yes, the link shows that the discounted price is £6.90.

 

[andythebrave]

It's only valid on Stagecoach west I'm afraid. Still probably your best bet though, paying for buses as you go.

 

[4COR]

I do not think the Pulhams services are included in the validity for this ticket - I believe it's only Stagecoach West services (though there is limited online info!). See: https://explorethecotswolds.com/cotswolds-discoverer-pass/

 

[danielcanning]

No, if you wanted to do this you would either need to buy an additional single from Kingham to Charlbury or get a rover or ranger. Whilst you can break your journey on walk-up tickets unless there's a specific restriction that bars this (such restrictions are fairly rare, and don't exist here), that doesn't allow you to use a ticket twice over a particular stretch.

You may find that the Cotswold Discoverer is suitable for your needs. It allows unlimited travel between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, Swindon and Gloucester, and Ashchurch and Yate from 08:50 on weekdays, as well as bus travel on Stagecoach West services in the area.

In fact, it's cheaper than even just single or return between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, so even if you don't intend to do anything else it's worthwhile getting.

I wouldn’t recommend using any of these rover tickets, no one knows anything about them and you can expect hassle on every bus and train you board…

 

[Watershed]

I wouldn’t recommend using any of these rover tickets, no one knows anything about them and you can expect hassle on every bus and train you board…

On buses, yes, hassle is probably foreseeable as rovers like these will be rare sights for the drivers (similar to PlusBus). But less so on trains - particularly as, unlike with buses, there's no requirement to show your ticket to someone when you board. So there's time to get out the validity map/page and have a discussion if need be.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Is this product (= Cotswold Discoverer) just about the only Day Ranger available on the GB network where one half of its validity by rail (Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh) is completely separate from the other half (Swindon to Ashchurch for Tewksbury or to Yate)?

Notwithstanding, priced at £10.50 (£6.90 after 16-25 railcard discount), it still undercuts the cost of an Oxford-> Moreton-in-Marsh Off Peak Day Return (= £12.00 or £7.90 after discount) even if only used for shuttling up and down that part of the Cotswold Line, and assuming that you're not wanting the 0844 train from Oxford as the Day Ranger isn't valid from there until slightly later.

 

[Merseysider]

no one knows anything about them and you can expect hassle on every bus and train you board…

Can certainly be the case for buses, less so with trains, partly due to the lack of a ‘gatekeeper’ driving the trains I wouldn’t expect any issues at Oxford station.

If concerned about a ticket being accepted on buses, a quick tweet / email along the lines of “please can you confirm you still accept XYZ” (which you can later show on your phone etc) should do the trick.

 

[W-on-Sea]

The Cotswold Discoverer used to be a great ticket (even if Stagecoach drivers tended to know little or nothing of it).....but its validity on buses has become so much more restricted (and some key routes withdrawn or made less frequent) that it's not a fraction as much use as it used to be

 

[mangyiscute]

It's a big shame it isn't valid on the S2 and that would provide the crucial link between the two areas, although with a railcard it would undercut stagecoach's fares, although I was surprised to see the website being up to date enough to not call this service the 853.

 

[Birmingham]

It's a big shame it isn't valid on the S2 and that would provide the crucial link between the two areas, although with a railcard it would undercut stagecoach's fares, although I was surprised to see the website being up to date enough to not call this service the 853.

I contacted Stagecoach by email a while ago to ask which of their services the ticket is valid on. In response they linked me to an unofficial website (that I’d myself previously come across on Google) that could have been written by anyone — so the random author of that page must be the true arbiter of the routes valid by that ticket

 

[Envoy]

A pity they don't have another pass that enables a circular rail trip:> Oxford > Evesham > Pershore > Worcester stations > Cheltenham > Gloucester > Stroud > Swindon > Didcot > Oxford.

 

[Starmill]

Is this product (= Cotswold Discoverer) just about the only Day Ranger available on the GB network where one half of its validity by rail (Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh) is completely separate from the other half (Swindon to Ashchurch for Tewksbury or to Yate)?

Notwithstanding, priced at £10.50 (£6.90 after 16-25 railcard discount), it still undercuts the cost of an Oxford-> Moreton-in-Marsh Off Peak Day Return (= £12.00 or £7.90 after discount) even if only used for shuttling up and down that part of the Cotswold Line, and assuming that you're not wanting the 0844 train from Oxford as the Day Ranger isn't valid from there until slightly later.

The Derbyshire Wayfarer has a completely disconnected by rail section of validity between Shirebrook and Whitwell. Somehow I don't imagine very many of those tickets are used there.

 

[Haywain]

The Derbyshire Wayfarer has a completely disconnected by rail section of validity between Shirebrook and Whitwell. Somehow I don't imagine very many of those tickets are used there.

It also has the completely disconnected section between New Mills and Buxton.

 

[4COR]

I contacted Stagecoach by email a while ago to ask which of their services the ticket is valid on. In response they linked me to an unofficial website (that I’d myself previously come across on Google) that could have been written by anyone — so the random author of that page must be the true arbiter of the routes valid by that ticket

It's also unhelpful that sites like https://ukbytrain.com/cotswolds-discoverer/ exist with information that appears wholly wrong (and no way of contacting them to get it changed?). GWR have indicated that Stagecoach services "in the area" except S2 are valid - unfortunately, the S6 from Oxford to Swindon is "in the area" of the ticket according to the NR map, but this is also probably not acceptable...

 

[Snapper37]

It's also unhelpful that sites like https://ukbytrain.com/cotswolds-discoverer/ exist with information that appears wholly wrong (and no way of contacting them to get it changed?). GWR have indicated that Stagecoach services "in the area" except S2 are valid - unfortunately, the S6 from Oxford to Swindon is "in the area" of the ticket according to the NR map, but this is also probably not acceptable...

Yes also a lot of bus companies on that site that will not now accept the ticket. National rail site sends you to a broken link. Very hard to find out what buses you can actually use it on.

 

[Birmingham]

It's also unhelpful that sites like https://ukbytrain.com/cotswolds-discoverer/ exist with information that appears wholly wrong (and no way of contacting them to get it changed?). GWR have indicated that Stagecoach services "in the area" except S2 are valid - unfortunately, the S6 from Oxford to Swindon is "in the area" of the ticket according to the NR map, but this is also probably not acceptable...

I think that was the very site that Stagecoach customer services sent me to!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Nov 2022 ==

A pity they don't have another pass that enables a circular rail trip:> Oxford > Evesham > Pershore > Worcester stations > Cheltenham > Gloucester > Stroud > Swindon > Didcot > Oxford.

There should be some reasonably priced CDRs that allow for that.

 

[4COR]

Yes also a lot of bus companies on that site that will not now accept the ticket. National rail site sends you to a broken link. Very hard to find out what buses you can actually use it on.

I did ask GWR, and they have said "any Stagecoach service that runs in Gloucestershire" (except the S2) - which is probably roughly correct (except perhaps the 233 - but that's not so useful except getting from Hanborough to Witney). It's a shame that the rover has been so greatly diminished by the upheaval in local bus services in the cotswolds in the past decade or so.

 

[jimm]

That's perfect!

Can I use the Cotswold Discoverer on Pulhams Coaches and Villager Community Bus services (V routes) as well as Stagecoach West?

Also, as I have a 16-25 Railcard, am I entitled to a discount?

The Discoverer has never been accepted on Villager buses and Pulhams withdrew from the scheme some years ago. I believe they felt they were not getting a fair slice of the revenue - instead they introduced their own Explorer rover ticket, which is valid on all their bus services, except for the number 99 in Gloucester https://www.pulhamscoaches.com/discover-cotswolds-pulhams-buses/

I do not think the Pulhams services are included in the validity for this ticket - I believe it's only Stagecoach West services (though there is limited online info!). See: https://explorethecotswolds.com/cotswolds-discoverer-pass/

The information on this page about which Stagecoach routes the Discoverer can be used on appears to be correct at the moment.

I wouldn’t recommend using any of these rover tickets, no one knows anything about them and you can expect hassle on every bus and train you board…

Can certainly be the case for buses, less so with trains, partly due to the lack of a ‘gatekeeper’ driving the trains I wouldn’t expect any issues at Oxford station.

If concerned about a ticket being accepted on buses, a quick tweet / email along the lines of “please can you confirm you still accept XYZ” (which you can later show on your phone etc) should do the trick.

GWR staff on the Cotswold Line are well aware of the ticket's existence and the barrier gates at Oxford are programmed to accept it, so I assume the same goes for stations with gates on the other rail segment.

I did ask GWR, and they have said "any Stagecoach service that runs in Gloucestershire" (except the S2) - which is probably roughly correct (except perhaps the 233 - but that's not so useful except getting from Hanborough to Witney). It's a shame that the rover has been so greatly diminished by the upheaval in local bus services in the cotswolds in the past decade or so.

Not a very helpful piece of advice from GWR then, as Stagecoach's Warwickshire operation has recently taken on the 1 and 2 Moreton-in-Marsh-Chipping Campden-Stratford upon Avon services and you cannot use it on the Stagecoach West local routes within Gloucester and Cheltenham.

While there have been changes to bus services locally since the Discoverer was launched in 2012, the main change that affected the usefulness of the ticket was Pulhams' decision to pull out, as their routes, notably the 801 between Moreton-in-Marsh and Cheltenham, stitched things together. And while it was valid on the 853 between Cheltenham and Oxford when Swanbrook operated that route, they only ran three return trips a day, so not that useful compared with an S2 every couple of hours.