Your Sunday Escape to the Cotswolds
Next: Sun 11 Oct · Sun 1 Nov · 12 to 15 guests · £89
Book my placeThe Sunday You Didn't Have to Organise
A Cotswolds country walk, a long lunch and a small group of people aged 36 and over to enjoy it with.
There's a version of Sunday where you are out of the house early, spend the middle of the day somewhere green, and sit down to a roast nobody is trying to rush you through. The only problem is how much arranging it usually takes, plus finding other people who are free on the same day.
So we've done it all for you. The route is walked, the table is booked and your small group is brought together. All you have to do is get yourself to Kingham station.
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 railway line from London, Oxford and Worcester, with most of the Cotswolds within an easy drive.
A gentle country walk, at a talking pace
A gentle route from Kingham station, through Kingham village and out across the fields towards Bledington. Meadows, hedgerows, big skies and the River Evenlode for company, on level field paths rather than hills.
We take our time 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 a beautiful, highly acclaimed country pub
A smart but comfortable pub on a village green, with stone walls, open fires and a kitchen with a serious reputation. We take one long table from around a quarter to two, 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
- Meet up
Meet your PLY host and the group at Kingham station. You'll already have said hello in the group chat, so there'll be a few familiar names from the start.
- The walk
Head out together for a relaxed countryside walk, with time to chat and take in the views along the way.
- Lunch
Settle into a local country pub for two courses and a chance to carry on the conversation over lunch.
- Heading home
After lunch, we make our way back towards Kingham station and say our goodbyes before heading home.
Your booking will include the meeting time and travel details.
A small group of 12 to 15, every one of them 36 or over
This day is only open to people aged 36 and over, so nobody spends it as the odd one out by a generation. Everyone arrives in the same boat: a stranger at the station, 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 Kingham 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.
What happens afterwards
The day is the start of it, not the end.
The group chat stays open
Everyone keeps talking after Sunday lunch.
A reunion dinner
Within a month, same people, one long table.
First pick of the next one
And everyone from your Sunday is in Your People on PLY.
Three easy ways to get to Kingham
Kingham station is on a direct line from both directions, and it has its own car park. Whichever way you come, everyone is together by quarter past eleven.
Direct train, about 1 hr 20 from Paddington, under an hour from Reading and half an hour from Oxford. Coming from London? Meet at Paddington at 9:30am for the 9:50am service, which calls at Oxford at 10:46am. Your host meets you on the platform at Kingham.
Direct train coming the other way, about 40 minutes from Worcester, under an hour from Great Malvern and 20 minutes from Evesham. Your host meets you on the platform at Kingham.
Park at Kingham station and join us there. About 40 minutes from Cheltenham, Banbury or Stratford-upon-Avon, and under an hour from Oxford, Gloucester, Cirencester, Swindon, Bicester or Leamington.
You buy your own rail ticket, usually £25 to £35 return from London when booked ahead and less from anywhere nearer. As soon as your place is confirmed we send the exact train to be on, where to stand and who to look for, or the postcode for the car park, in plenty of time for the cheaper advance fares.
Two Sundays a month, fifteen places. The perfect day out.
Per person, everything below included
Guests, every one of them 36 or over
What your £89 covers
- A small hosted group of 12 to 15, all 36 or over
- Your PLY host, from first hello to last goodbye
- The countryside walk, planned and checked beforehand
- Two courses of Sunday lunch at a highly acclaimed country pub
- The group chat the week before
- Your full itinerary and travel details in writing
- A shared album of the day, sent on Monday
What you sort out yourself
- Your train ticket, or fuel and parking if you drive
- 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.
It is a gentle country walk at a talking pace, on level field paths and lanes, with stops along the way. 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 from London if you book ahead, and less from anywhere nearer. 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 pub'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 36 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 travel 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."
Karen
Founder, PLY