8 days in England in March Where should we go?

If you do the itinerary outlined by rail then IMO the BritRail 8-consecutive day pass would practically be a no-brainer as it lets you hop on any train anytime - just show up and those type of flexible tickets cost a fortune often in Britain. But you probably can do it a bit cheaper by going to sites like www.nationalrail.co.uk and book far in advance some of the discounted tickets - but these may be unchangeable and non-refundable - losing all flexibility - like if it is raining in the fabulous IMO Lake District I'd take the next train out to someplace more weather-proof - with the pre-bookd discounts you're stuck for potentially a few days in the rain. But the info is all there at nationalrail.co.uk - look at all the fares and conditions and see what is best for your plans. anyway for loads of great info on British trains, passes, etc. I always spotlight these fantastic sites IMO - www.seat61.com - run by a Brit so espcially good on British tickets and discounted ones; www.budgeteuropetravel.come; www.ricksteves.com.

come to Cornwall!

we often have good weather in March, and the camelias, magnolias and rhododenrons are in full bloom. the prices are cheap[er] and we're all very glad to see you!

in 8 days you could see a lot and have a great time.

PS - just seen you like nature - we have fantastic walking along the coast as well.

Cotswolds are rather hard to get around in by public transportation so you'd want to rent a car there I believe - though there is adequate bus service and if into hiking you can hike between some famous wool villages like the classic walk between Lower and Upper Slaughter. For my money the Lake District is a great place for folks who love nature though in March it yes could be rather dreary weather-wise (as could Cornwall IMO though much more likely like annhig says to be warmer - I enjoyed a lot a stay on the Cornish Riviera (yup palm trees too!) in Torquay, a famous seaside resort town from which you can do lots of neat excursions by public transports - stop in Exeter on the way down - IMO one of England's most underrated towns by tourists. Great cathedral, nice town, smack on main rail line.

Thanks so much. What kind of weather should we expect?

Every kind of weather. it could be sunny and warmsh, sunny and cold, likely to rain for part, could be windy, could snow!

Most important thing is to bring layers, a good jacket that can withstand wind and rain, and an umbrella. Then you can adjust depending on what you get!

"Thanks so much. What kind of weather should we expect?"

Wet, windy and cold, sunny and warmish or anything in between, the UK has unpredictable weather. I think I'm right in saying that we had a touch of snow in some places in March last year.

Beat me to it jamikins.

love th daily BBC TV morning program weather reports:

'sunny spells' is about the best you can expect many days it seems.

'sunny spells' is about the best you can expect many days it seems>>

well, what would you expect in a temperate zone in spring?

you'll get more of them [the sunny spells that is] in Cornwall!

especially "down west".

after a dodgy start, today was glorious - warm enough [just about] to lunch outside if you picked your spot. Daffs, camelias and rhododrendrons just coming into bloom - they should be perfect in March.

and lucky me - I''ve got to go back there tomorrow.

annhig - I would love some sunny spells over here in Northern Michigan where not only has it been well below freezing for two months - never above but the sun seems to have disappeared totally - I WANT some SUN!

I'm looking at this itinerary but haven't ironed our my logistics.: Day 1&2-London
Day 3- train to Salisbury- visit cathedral and Stonehedge- night in Salisbury
Day 4- train to Bath and rent a car to visit Cotswolds Is one day enough time?
Day 5- 6 Train to Exeter or should i keep the car from Cotswolds and just explore Devon and Cornwall area
Day 7 Return to London
Day 8 Leave for states

We don't want to feel rushed but we want to get a good feeling for the English country

hi dchal,

I would not bother to return the car for your 3 days. honestly I'd love to see you in Cornwall, but if you are hoping to see the cotswolds, Devon and Cornwall in that time -forget it. I suggest picking one - if you want the Cotswolds, get the train to Bath [or Oxford, depending where in the cotswolds you want to see] for Devon, go to Exeter, and for cornwall, I'd go as far as Penzance - then you could have the excitement of getting the sleeper train back to London at the end of your trip.

I really don't think you can consider Cornwall in this trip (sorry ann!) - you just don't have time, either by car or train.

From the Cotswolds you could drive to Devon - maybe the South Hams - Totnes, Kingsbridge, Salcombe, for a quick overnight visit, OR you could drive to north Devon via Dartmoor (M5 to the Tiverton junction, across the top part of the moor and on to somewhere like Woolacombe, Mortehoe, Ilfracombe) then back along the north SOmerset coast seeing Lynton and Lynmouth along the way (and that place beginning with P--- is it Porlock? - can't remember without looking at a map which I don't have handy...)

Although you could see a fair bit of the Cotswolds in one day from Bath. More time (ie days) would be better.

I suggest you leave Bath on the A46 heading north. Cross the M4, continue on the A46 and after a few miles turn off towards Tetbury and Cirencester.

You pass through several villages, one of which is Doughton (pronounced Duffton) which has Highgrove on the left where Prince Charles lives, and on into Tetbury, a pretty enough small market town.

Proceed to Cirencester, with a lovely church built in the perpendicular style, a pleasant market town in itself, and then you have a choice...

follow the signs to Burford. This means you drive through Bibury, which is worth a stop for a coffee at the trout farm and a wander up Arlington Row.

Once you get to Burford, after a look around, you'd head west on the A40 to Northleach, and then take a right to Stow-on-the-Wold - and Bourton-on-the-Water - and Moreton-in-Marsh.

Alternatively, you can just drive to Stow and Co directly from Cirencester, depends how much time you have really.

Bear in mind you will only get a glimpse, taste a tiny sample of what the Cotswolds has to offer in one day. Likewise Devon.

I live in the Cotswolds, and have done much of my life yet haven't seen all it has to offer (roll on retirement years!). I have spent holiday time in Devon, in many years of my life, yet only have visited a relatively few places. Despite the British Isles looking small on a map, there is a LOT packed in to it!

I think you may want to go back to the drawing board for this one.

You are trying to cram an awful lot of territory into very few days. From the very beginning --only 2 days in London will give you just over 1 free day there. Are you flying in long haul? If so you will be tired and jet lagged.Plus where do your relatives live? "London" is a vast place and some parts of suburban London take an hour to reach the center.

So do you want to see some of London's sites --or mainly visit w/ the rels? W/ just 8 days - 3 or 4 days in London, 2 for Salisbury/Stonehenge/Bath and 2 for the Cotswolds would be a VERY full itinerary.

Okay. Day 1 & 2 London
Day 3 Train to Salisbury and visit Stonehedge
Day 4 & 5 Train to Bath and visit Cotswolds
Day 6 & 7 Return to London
Does that seem better? I really found the Dartmoor National park interesting but I don't want to stretch myself. Would renting a car make it easier to fit things in?

dchal,

getting there I think. Sorry you won't be coming to Cornwall this time!

are you going to go back to London between days 3 & 4? That would be a waste of time as Bath is in the same direction- you could stay in salisbury or Amesbury and move onto Bath the next day.

Yes, I'm planning to stay in Salisbury one night, plan to stay two nights in Cotswolds. Are reservations necessary in mid March? Since we'll rent a car in Bath for our time in Cotswolds, will it be easy to locate cute B & Bs? So new itinerary- Day 1 & 2 London, Day 3 train to Salisbury and visit Stonehedge, DAy 4-train to Bath, rent car to tour Cotswold Day 5 Cotswolds Day 6- am train to London from Bath with most of day in London and then Day 7 London

I might change things up just a bit. At least consider getting the car as you leave London. An easy way to do this is to take public transport or a car service to LHR and pick the car there. Then you can drive to Avebury which is really more interesting but less 'iconic' than Stonehenge, and other sites on the way to Stonehenge (note the spelling) and Salisbury. Stay the night if you want -- or head straight on to Bath.

Then a couple of nights in Bath, 2 or 3 nights in the Cotswolds and then drive back to LHR to drop the car and head back into London.

OR -- another option: if your flight out is after maybe 10AM -- you could do all your London nights up front, then go to LHR and get the car. Avebury/Stonehenge/Salisbury > Bath > Cotswolds > then drive back to LHR to fly home. Heathrow airport is a fairly easy drive from parts of the Cotswolds and very early in the AM the traffic won't be bad yet.

Dartmoor N P to me was astounding - much more so than the Cotswolds, nice as those hills are - but Dartmoor - bleak Dartmoor is something else. Be sure to hit the abbey on the southeastern (?) edge of it when coming from Exeter - Buck something Abbey where the monks brew up a very potent alcoholic brew in addition to the interesting abbey to tour.

Princetown in the middle or so of the moors is about the only town - I believe it and the much of the moors are owned lock stock and whiskey barrels by Prince Charles but not sure. Part of his Duchy of whatever estate.

Dartmoor N P to me was astounding - much more so than the Cotswolds, nice as those hills are - but Dartmoor - bleak Dartmoor is something else. Be sure to hit the abbey on the southeastern (?) edge of it when coming from Exeter - Buck something Abbey where the monks brew up a very potent alcoholic brew in addition to the interesting abbey to tour.

Princetown in the middle or so of the moors is about the only town - I believe it and the much of the moors are owned lock stock and whiskey barrels by Prince Charles but not sure. Part of his Duchy of whatever estate.

I like the idea of 4 days in London, renting a car for the next 4 days from the airport and then returning it there for our flight. I was planning not to reserve any hotels or bed and breakfast so that we can be free to travel without any restraints. Is that possible? Then, I may be able to fit in Exeter and Dartmoor.

hi, dchal,

in March you should have no trouble at all getting accommodation in hotels, B&B or guesthouses. certainly it would be possible to do what you suggest - another idea might be to get the train to, say, Exeter, then pick up your car and work your way back.

Not far from Exeter is the Cornish Riveiera around Torquay - a lovely stretch of coast surrounds it and this town abounds in zillions and zillions of comfy typical English B&Bs and makes a good base from which to hop to some nice nearby places. Indeed Torquay is one of Britain's many seaside resorts that is still hopping and not tacky and declining as most others are. And the palm trees hint at what is oft described as England's best weather!