VISITORS to the Cotswolds can get a special insight into the area’s unique charms and explore some of its hidden gems with the launch of a new bespoke bus tour.

Tour guide Becky Simpson, who has lived in the Cotswolds for more than 20 years, is hosting the new “Secret Cottage” tours, which take groups around some of the lesser-known villages in the area.

Tourists are picked up from Moreton station and taken to a 16th century cottage in a village nearby – the location of which is a closely-guarded secret .

There, they will serve morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea between three tours within an eight-mile radius of the town.

The 51-year-old said she decided to open her home to tourists so they could see what life is like in a real-life Cotswold cottage, something people would normally see just from the outside.

“It’s such a picturesque village and it’s a ridiculously pretty and quaint cottage,”she said.

“We want them to have the experience of being in a cottage for the day and re-lax and just go out on tours throughout the day while being based here.”

The mother-of-two, who has previously worked in catering in London, said she wanted visitors to enjoy undiscovered places that she has got to know during her time living in the area.

She hopes to offer visitors a taste of the area they may otherwise have missed out on.

“There are going to be places they don’t know about,” she said.

“There are some villages off the beaten track, they will really see some special places.

“I’ve travelled throughout the world and know what it’s like to get home to discover you’ve missed an amazing secret because you weren’t familiar with the area.

"We’re going to try and pick out the real gems that perhaps they don’t go to.  It’s a tour with a difference."