bostonbrit

Please help as I am very geographically challenged by Cotswolds and Kent distances and in need of itinerary advice.

I will be traveling to England in mid-March 2012 and after spending 6 nights in London, I would like to rent a car to visit Chartwell, Warwick Castle, Burford/Minster Lovell (prepaid accommodation at Old Swan for 3 nights). I do have 1 night free to stay wherever and my final night will be at Great Fosters for easy access to an early LHR flight home.

I would appreciate suggestions on how to organize this itinerary including but not limited to where to pick up the car? What travel order makes the most sense to best economize time and travel? I would also appreciate recommendations on where to stay on the ‘free’ night.

Thank you in advance for your help. Happy Holidays!

annhig

hi bostonbrit,

well, i can certainly help with the Chartwell bit, as i used to live about 2 miles away from there. it's not the most easily accessible of places, and frankly it might be easiest to do it as a day trip from london. to do this, get a train from victoria to Oxted [the East grinstead line] and get a cab to Chartwell. Depending on your budget, you could also ask your driver to take you to toys hill and/or Westerham - the first a local beauty spot, the 2nd a lovely little town with lots of character.

if you prefer to drive yourself, then i think you will need to get the train to Sevenoaks and hire a car from there. you could do that either as a day trip, or use it as the starting point for your trip, heading from Sevenaoks to Chartwell, then picking up the M25 at Godstone and making for Oxford, where you could overnight on your way to Warwick. from there, back to Burford, and finally great fosters.

hope this helps!

annhig

looking again, I see that your trip is timed in March, in which case, after the trip to Chartwell, [if you are using it as your starting point for your car tour] you might stay overnight in either Westerham or Godstone.

then set off for Oxford the next day, leaving it to about 10 am to leave so that you don't end up stuck in the traffic on the world's largest car park.

bostonbrit

Thank you AnnHig -

I am envious; I love the area surrounding Chartwell; it must have been such a treat to live there! I am rethinking my itinerary based on your suggestion of making Chartwell a day trip from London. It might make more sense to spend an extra night in London and start the driving portion of my trip by heading to Warwick from LHR (?)and then on to Burford etc.

Again, thank you for helping me make sense out of my wish list destinations.

janisj

I tend to drive in the UK but agree w/ annhig on this. Would it be possible to add one more night in London and do Chartwell as a day trip?

But if not -- what I'd probably do is take the train to Gatwick, collect a car there, visit Chartwell, and <i>either</i> Penshurst Place or Hever Castle. Then you'll have about a 100 mile/2+ hour drive to Minster Lovell.

But please clarify, is your free night between London and Minster Lovell -- or between Minster Lovell and Great Fosters?

If it is between London and Minster Lovell - then I'd stay in the Surrey/Kent/East Sussex area to visit Chartwell, Hever, Penshurst and others. Warwick is a doable day trip from your Burford/ML base.

janisj

Oh -didn't see the last 2 posts (just annhig's first one) we were all posting at the same time

bostonbrit

Hi Janisj, great minds think alike – I am going to spend an extra night (my free night) in London to accommodate a day trip to Chartwell and start my car trip from LHR to Minster Lovell or Warwick. Would you suggest heading straight to M.L. or going to Warwick for ½ a day before heading to M.L.? Thank you!

janisj

"<i>Would you suggest heading straight to M.L. or going to Warwick for ½ a day before heading to M.L.? Thank you!</i>"

Sort of 6 of 1/half dozen of the other. If it was me -- I wouldn't decide until the day (or maybe the day prior)and see what the weather is like. If it is a nasty day, I personally wouldn't want to drive LHR > Warwick > Minster Lovell. That is easily a 3 hour drive w/o the stops.

Whereas LHR to Minster Lovell is an easy 60 mile drive entirely on Motorways/dual carriageways. About an hour.

ML to Warwick is about 40 miles and a bit over an hour and I'd personally probably opt for going there on one of the days I was staying at the Old Swan, combining it w/ stops in towns/village on the drive back.

annhig

good idea, Boston brit. I suggest that you check that Chartwell is open on the day you want to go - after Christmas the house will be shut until 10th March '12, and after that only opens Weds to sundays. Here are the 2012 opening times:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main...-chartwell.htm

bostonbrit

Thank you- you are both super helpful! I am going to change up the trip and stay overnight @ Great Fosters upon arrival - pick up car at LHR head to Minster Lovell (ML) and follow Janisj's advice about a day trip from ML to Warwick allowing for stops along the way. I am sure that my hotel has a variety of Cotswolds itineraries. I will drop the car at LHR and head into London for the remainder of my visit.


THANK YOU and Happy Holidays!

annhig

great idea, BB. Chartwell's gardens are likely to be a picture by the end of March.

janisj

That is a very good plan. Recovering from the jet lag at Great Fosters will be much nicer than fighting the crowds in London. It is a special place

janisj

again - posting at the same time

wrenwood

Enjoy Minster Lovell, goosebumps. This forum suggested it and it is a favorite memory.

Our trip in March 2 years ago was wonderful ~ yes some gray and misty days, but SO England!