Your Sunday Escape to the Cotswolds
11 Oct & 1 Nov · 12 to 15 guests · £89
Book my spotThe Sunday You Didn't Have to Organise
A Cotswolds country walk, long lunch and a small group of people to enjoy it with.
There is a version of Sunday where you get out of the city early, spend the middle of the day somewhere green, and sit down to a roast that nobody is trying to rush you through. It takes a fair amount of arranging, and it needs other people who happen to be free on the same day.
So we have arranged it. The train is picked, the route is walked, the table is held, and there is a friendly 45+ group to share it with. All you have to do is get to Paddington.
people have signed up to PLY
matching people into small groups across the UK
kept small enough that everyone actually talks
Kingham, in the north Cotswolds
Honey-coloured stone, a village green with a chestnut tree on it, and open countryside starting at the end of the lane. It looks exactly like the postcard, and it sits on a direct line out of London.
Three and a half miles, at a talking pace
A gentle circular route from Kingham station along the River Evenlode. Meadows, hedgerows, big skies and views across towards Bledington, on level field paths rather than hills.
We take about two hours over it, with stops for photographs and for catching your breath in the middle of a good story. Nothing about it is a route march, and there is no prize for arriving first.
Trainers or boots and something waterproof are all you need. If the weather turns, we shorten the walk and start lunch early, which nobody has ever objected to.
A long Sunday lunch at The Kingham Plough
A smart but comfortable pub in the middle of the village, with stone walls, open fires and a kitchen with a serious reputation. We take one long table from around half past one, and the afternoon is ours.
Two courses, one table, no clock watching
You choose from the Sunday menu on the day. Tell us about allergies or anything you would rather avoid when you book, and we pass it to the kitchen well in advance.
Drinks are settled at the bar, so everyone pays for their own and nobody has to do sums at the end.
How the day runs
- 9:30am
Meet your PLY host and the group under the departure boards at London Paddington. You will already have said hello in the group chat, so this is more like meeting friends of friends than strangers.
- 9:50am
The direct Great Western service to Kingham. An hour and twenty minutes of coffee and conversation, and the social part of the day has started before the countryside has. Joining from Oxford? Board the same train at about 10:46 and your host will have a seat saved.
- 11:15am
Arrive, and straight out on the walk. Introductions happen while you are moving, which is the easiest way to meet anybody.
- 1:30pm
Into The Kingham Plough for two courses and as long as we like over them.
- 4:00pm
A wander through the village, then the 17:02 home.
- 6:26pm
Back at Paddington in good time, with a Sunday behind you that felt like a small holiday.
A small group of 12 to 15, every one of them 45 or over
This day is only open to people aged 45 and over, so nobody spends it as the odd one out by a generation. Everyone arrives in the same boat: a stranger at half nine, on first-name terms by the first stile.
Your PLY host looks after the introductions, keeps the pace easy and makes sure nobody is ever left on the edge of a conversation, on the path or at the table.
A week beforehand we open a group chat, so by the time you reach the platform you will know names and somebody will already have said something funny.
It is the same hosting we put into the PLY Weekend Away. This is the single-day version.
Easy from London & Oxford
Direct trains to Kingham, with the group travelling together. No car, no motorway, no parking; the whole day is built around the railway.
Direct from Paddington to Kingham on the 09:50, no changes
The London train calls at Oxford, so Oxford guests simply board the same service
Direct home, calling at Oxford, into Paddington at 18:26
From Oxford it is only about 25 to 30 minutes, direct. You buy your own rail ticket, usually £25 to £35 return from London when booked ahead and less from Oxford. We send you the exact service to be on, where to stand and who to look for, as soon as your place is confirmed, in plenty of time for the cheaper advance fares.
One Sunday. Fifteen places, and no more.
Per person, everything below included
Sunday, 9:30am to about 6:30pm
Also running Sunday 1 November.
Guests, every one of them 45 or over
11 October is the first of these days. Whichever Sunday suits you, booking works the same way.
What your £89 covers
- A small hosted group of 12 to 15, all 45 or over
- Your PLY host, from Paddington to Paddington
- The countryside walk, planned and checked beforehand
- Two courses of Sunday lunch at The Kingham Plough
- The group chat the week before
- Your full itinerary and the train details in writing
- A shared album of the day, sent on Monday
What you sort out yourself
- Your rail ticket, usually £25 to £35 return booked ahead
- Anything you drink, settled at the bar on the day
- Comfortable shoes and a coat, in case
Questions, answered honestly
Almost everyone comes on their own, and that is rather the point. Nobody arrives with a ready-made group to fall back into, so the conversation starts from scratch for all of us, and your host does the introducing.
Three and a half gentle miles over roughly two hours, on level field paths and lanes, with stops. If you can manage a long amble round a park you will be more than fine. This is a countryside walk, not a hike.
Usually £25 to £35 return if you book ahead, and we confirm the exact services well before tickets are released so you can get the advance fares. Walk-up returns on the day cost more, so we will nudge you to book early.
Two courses from The Kingham Plough's Sunday menu, chosen on the day, with everyone seated together. Tell us your requirements when you book and we pass them to the kitchen well ahead of time.
No. This day is open to anyone aged 45 or over. If you enjoy it, membership gets you into our smaller Experiences through the week too, but there is no obligation at all.
Yes. Book two places and tell us when you fill in your details, and we will keep you in the same group. Plenty of people come solo, so you will not stand out either way.
Plans change. Let us know and we will do everything we can to refill your place. If we can, we refund what you have paid less a £15 administration fee. If anything on our side changes, you are refunded in full straight away.
You get a confirmation, then a quick note asking for dietary requirements and a mobile number for the day. A fortnight before, your itinerary and train details. A week before, the group chat opens. On the day, all you do is turn up.
"This is the Sunday I keep wishing somebody would organise for me. A beautiful walk, a lovely lunch, and a group of people worth spending the afternoon with. I would like you on the first one."
Karen
Founder, PLY