2 week trip to the UK
Mar 19th, 2013, 02:10 AM
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2 week trip to the UK
Hi,
I am planning a 2 week family trip (with wife and 10 year old son) to the UK. My tentative plan is somewhat like this:
Fly to Heathrow and transit direct to Edinburgh (2 days) --> Lake District (2 days) --> York (2 days) --> Cotswolds district (4 days, take Cotswolds as a base for me to explore Cardiff, Bath, Stonehenge and Oxford) --> London and surrounding area (5 days).
I need advice on whether it is a good idea to take Cotswolds as a base (in terms of ease of transport). Any other advice on my plan is much welcome.
Ambrose
I am planning a 2 week family trip (with wife and 10 year old son) to the UK. My tentative plan is somewhat like this:
Fly to Heathrow and transit direct to Edinburgh (2 days) --> Lake District (2 days) --> York (2 days) --> Cotswolds district (4 days, take Cotswolds as a base for me to explore Cardiff, Bath, Stonehenge and Oxford) --> London and surrounding area (5 days).
I need advice on whether it is a good idea to take Cotswolds as a base (in terms of ease of transport). Any other advice on my plan is much welcome.
Ambrose
Mar 19th, 2013, 03:24 AM
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"I need advice on whether it is a good idea to take Cotswolds as a base (in terms of ease of transport"
Are you talking trains or cars?
It's possible to do daytrips by train from Charlbury or Moreton in Marsh to all four locations. But it's actually easier to use Oxford as your base for the other three, and you're not going to get much sight of the Cotswolds themselves (apart from the entrancing walk to Charlbury's 1854 original IK Brunel station from its couple of hotels). Each trip to and from Cardiff, Bath or Stonehenge will pretty well eat up all the daylight hours.
But, apart from Oxford (or, with a car, Woodstock) there's nowhere any better placed to see all four.
I'd ask why Cardiff, though. There are places in Wales worth going out of your way to see (though all tougher to get to). Cardiff is a dull provincial town with a few things it can put into a tourist brochure without actually lying. But none of them are anywhere near in the same league as the rest of your itinerary, and you're trying to squeeze an awful lot in.
Are you talking trains or cars?
It's possible to do daytrips by train from Charlbury or Moreton in Marsh to all four locations. But it's actually easier to use Oxford as your base for the other three, and you're not going to get much sight of the Cotswolds themselves (apart from the entrancing walk to Charlbury's 1854 original IK Brunel station from its couple of hotels). Each trip to and from Cardiff, Bath or Stonehenge will pretty well eat up all the daylight hours.
But, apart from Oxford (or, with a car, Woodstock) there's nowhere any better placed to see all four.
I'd ask why Cardiff, though. There are places in Wales worth going out of your way to see (though all tougher to get to). Cardiff is a dull provincial town with a few things it can put into a tourist brochure without actually lying. But none of them are anywhere near in the same league as the rest of your itinerary, and you're trying to squeeze an awful lot in.
Mar 19th, 2013, 05:30 AM
#3
The easiest way to do this would be to buy what's called an "Open Jaw" ticket, so that you fly into Edinburgh then home from London.
I agree with flanner re Cardiff, unless you've got a pressing need to see it. Again, changing bases takes up a good half day each time, so you need to build this in to your itinerary.
I agree with flanner re Cardiff, unless you've got a pressing need to see it. Again, changing bases takes up a good half day each time, so you need to build this in to your itinerary.
Mar 19th, 2013, 05:43 AM
#4
Hi ambrose,
i have to say that I think that you are being a bit over-ambitious both in the number of places you want to stay in and what you want to see while you're there. Also, i think that there are things that you and particularly your son may want to see and do that you're just not going to have time for.
Taking the elements of your trip in turn:
Fly to Heathrow and transit direct to Edinburgh (2 days) -->
your days actually = nights - giving you little more than one day in Edinburgh. Really not long enough to take in more than the castle.
Lake District (2 days) -->
Again - by the time you've got there, just 1 day plus a bit which equates to half a day's walk plus ??? - not much time for Beatrix Potter or Wordsworth or...
York (2 days) -->
you've got the picture by now, haven't you?
Cotswolds district (4 days, take Cotswolds as a base for me to explore Cardiff, Bath, Stonehenge and Oxford) -->
better in terms of time, but the places you've mentioned are very spread out and if you stay somewhere equidistant from them it'll take you ages to get there and back. and i too would scrub Cardiff.
London and surrounding area (5 days).
Much better. you could do Stonehenge as a day trip or on the way back to London, possibly dropping car off at Reading and getting the train into London from there.
Really I think you need to go back to the drawing board and work out what you want to see in each of these areas, then choose 2 and jettison the rest.
i have to say that I think that you are being a bit over-ambitious both in the number of places you want to stay in and what you want to see while you're there. Also, i think that there are things that you and particularly your son may want to see and do that you're just not going to have time for.
Taking the elements of your trip in turn:
Fly to Heathrow and transit direct to Edinburgh (2 days) -->
your days actually = nights - giving you little more than one day in Edinburgh. Really not long enough to take in more than the castle.
Lake District (2 days) -->
Again - by the time you've got there, just 1 day plus a bit which equates to half a day's walk plus ??? - not much time for Beatrix Potter or Wordsworth or...
York (2 days) -->
you've got the picture by now, haven't you?
Cotswolds district (4 days, take Cotswolds as a base for me to explore Cardiff, Bath, Stonehenge and Oxford) -->
better in terms of time, but the places you've mentioned are very spread out and if you stay somewhere equidistant from them it'll take you ages to get there and back. and i too would scrub Cardiff.
London and surrounding area (5 days).
Much better. you could do Stonehenge as a day trip or on the way back to London, possibly dropping car off at Reading and getting the train into London from there.
Really I think you need to go back to the drawing board and work out what you want to see in each of these areas, then choose 2 and jettison the rest.
Mar 19th, 2013, 07:05 AM
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I agree with flanneruk. "Each trip to and from Cardiff, Bath or Stonehenge will pretty well eat up all the daylight hours"
If you want to explore the most picturesque & historic parts of England, you must spend more time in Cotswolds.
When we visited the UK in 2011, we spent 10 days exploring the Wiltshire region. We were booked in The Old House At Home, a wonderful old ivy-clad country pub located about 3.3km from picturesque Castle Combe (so beautiful!!). We had a rental car, I cannot see how you can explore the Wiltshire region any other way. Winding, VERY narrow roads take you through farms, tiny villages - no need for speed. The GPS in the car recognised every single road, there was no way we could get lost.
We explored, we went off the beaten track and we experienced the lifestyl of the locals. We bought the Great Britain Heritage Pass (GBHP) beforehand and it proved to be a good investment. We used the map and visited abbeys, stately homes, cathedrals, castles and ruins we wouldn't have ever seen if we didn't have the pass. Even awesome gardens!
But even with a car, it took us one whole day to visit Bath and Stonehenge, and another to visit Oxford and climb the hill to the Uffington White Horse.
There is so much to do, so much to see! I would suggest you take travel time into consideration - you will see that you have one full day in Edinburgh, one full day in York, three full days in Cotswolds and only four full days in London.
Maybe leave Edinburgh and York for another time...?
I would suggest a day tour from London to visit Bath and Stonehenge, and another one for Oxford.
This is just my humble opinion! Hope you have a wonderful trip!
If you want to explore the most picturesque & historic parts of England, you must spend more time in Cotswolds.
When we visited the UK in 2011, we spent 10 days exploring the Wiltshire region. We were booked in The Old House At Home, a wonderful old ivy-clad country pub located about 3.3km from picturesque Castle Combe (so beautiful!!). We had a rental car, I cannot see how you can explore the Wiltshire region any other way. Winding, VERY narrow roads take you through farms, tiny villages - no need for speed. The GPS in the car recognised every single road, there was no way we could get lost.
We explored, we went off the beaten track and we experienced the lifestyl of the locals. We bought the Great Britain Heritage Pass (GBHP) beforehand and it proved to be a good investment. We used the map and visited abbeys, stately homes, cathedrals, castles and ruins we wouldn't have ever seen if we didn't have the pass. Even awesome gardens!
But even with a car, it took us one whole day to visit Bath and Stonehenge, and another to visit Oxford and climb the hill to the Uffington White Horse.
There is so much to do, so much to see! I would suggest you take travel time into consideration - you will see that you have one full day in Edinburgh, one full day in York, three full days in Cotswolds and only four full days in London.
Maybe leave Edinburgh and York for another time...?
I would suggest a day tour from London to visit Bath and Stonehenge, and another one for Oxford.
This is just my humble opinion! Hope you have a wonderful trip!
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