Great Western Coffee Shop

It is not valid between Oxford and Swindon.

It's worth noting that this ticket isn't actually for sale yet..

They are linked.

By bus!

Although the bus timetables that the links take you to are for June to December 2010

They are linked.

By bus!

A new bus and rail rover ticket designed to encourage people to explore the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty without a car has been launched.

The Cotswold Discoverer ticket is available in one-day and three-day versions and is valid on trains between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh on the Cotswold Line and between Swindon, Stroud, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Ashchurch, and on bus services across the Cotswolds, including the No 853 Oxford to Cheltenham route.

The ticket will be on sale until October on a trial basis.

It was developed by the Cotswolds Conservation Board in conjunction with train operator First Great Western, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire county councils and bus operators.

If the idea proves a success this summer, the conservation board hopes that the transport firms will take over its operation in future years.

The Discoverer is available seven days a week, throughout the day (but is not valid on trains on weekdays until 8.50am), and can be bought at any railway station and on board participating buses, which also include RH Transport^s X9 Witney-Charlbury-Chipping Norton route and the firm^s C1 Charlbury railbus and X8 Kingham railbus services.

Bus connections from Moreton-in-Marsh railway station, just over the Gloucestershire boundary, allow passengers from Oxfordshire to travel as far as Cheltenham, Cirencester and Stratford-upon-Avon using the ticket.

A one-day adult ticket costs ^10 and a three-day adult ticket ^25. Reductions are available with railcards and fares are half-price for children under 16.

For more details and bus and rail timetables, click on this link: Cotswolds Discoverer (http://www.escapetothecotswolds.org.uk/discoverer)

Cotswolds Discoverer pass launched

(http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/resources/images/2948705.jpg?type=articleLandscape)
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Teresa Ceesay (First Great Western Cotswold Line stations manager), Jo Burgon and Andy Pulham

A public transport rover ticket for the Cotswolds could be expanded to become a pass for the region, including admission to visitor attractions.

After a successful two-year-trial period, the Cotswolds Discoverer pass is to become a permanent product.

The ticket, which is available for one day or three days, includes rail travel from First Great Western stations between Oxford and Moreton, and between Swindon, Stroud, Gloucester, Cheltenham and Ashchurch for Tewkesbury, and from Gloucester to Yate.

It is valid on buses including the 801 between Moreton, Stow, Bourton and Cheltenham, the 21, 22 and 23 between Moreton and Stratford-upon-Avon and the X8 and X8A Kingham railbus routes.

Nicola Greaves, the information and interpretation officer of the Cotswolds Conservation Board, which has led the project, told a launch event last Friday: "We have been very encouraged by the results of the trial. We now want to grow the scheme, make more people aware of it and get more people to use it and we would also like to see it grow to become more of a Cotswolds pass as well, bringing in visitor attractions."

Conservation board member Jo Burgon, who is chairman of the steering group for the pass, said: "This isn't just about inviting people into the Cotswolds. It's not just a tourist pass, it's for local residents as well, and should help them to discover the Cotswolds themselves but also to venture out of the Cotswolds from time to time."

And Mr Burgon added that he hoped making a success of the Cotswold Discoverer could help to improve rural bus services. He said: "One of the great challenges is the weekends, because there are very few Sunday bus services, so I'm hoping that one of the outcomes of this will be sufficient demand that it will become more economically viable to increase the number of services, so that weekend visitors can benefit from this pass."

Andrew Pulham, a director of Pulham's Coaches in Bourton said: "It has been great to see that it's not just tourists using the ticket. We have seen great advantages for local people being able to reach attractions and also getting out further afield from the Cotswolds to places like Oxford. Since the scheme was launched, our sales alone are in excess of 400 tickets."

Cotswolds MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said: This is a great initiative, getting integrated transport, getting people out of their cars is a fantastic modal shift. It's envirommentally-friendly and exactly what we want in the Cotswolds."

A one-day Cotswolds Discoverer pass costs ^10 (^5 for children) and the three-day version ^25 (children ^12.50). Discounts are available for holders of national railcards, except the Family Railcard. The pass can be bought at railway stations and on participating buses.

For more information, visit escapetothecotswolds.org.uk/visitor-info/cotswolds-discoverer/ or call 01451 862000.