gregory

My wife and I are planning a 5 week holiday to England next summer. The first 3 weeks will be spent with friends in London, from which we will probably take day trips to Oxford and Cambridge. But we are undecided on where to go and what to see for the last 2 weeks. Tentatively, we might spend a couple of days in Bath, then rent a car and tour the Cotswolds for 2-3 days. We are more interested in historical sights and places with a typically English flavour than with natural sights. I realize that there are several options, but I would appreciate any feedback from fellow Fodorites.

nancy

A few years ago I spent a month in England with one of those weeks in London. I researched heavily and came up with an itinery that was doable for the 3 weeks we drove thru England. I would be happy to share my diary with you if you're interested. E-mail me at [email protected]. You can review and revise to fit your 2 weeks and I would be happy to share pros/cons. Nancy

HuisClos

York, Lincoln, and just for fun, Portmerion.

tropo

With only 2 weeks touring England, I would concentrate on two major areas, possibly in the midlands, then by doing that you will get a greater insight into part of England, rather than, doing what a lot of tourists do, drive around the countryside "trying" to pack in as much as possible. Slow down & smell the roses, as they say. My recommendation would be concentrate on the Cotswolds, of which Bath could be included as a day trip. Spend time around Upper & Lower Slaughter, Broadway, the village of Ford and its qaint village pub beside the river, also the pretty village of Castle Combe.
The other region you could incorporate into your 2 week trip, could the Peak District, loads of lovely villages, inns, walks (like Dove Dale), Eyam the plaque village, Tissington (dressing of the wells), then there is the caves in the northern part of the Peak District, at Castleton.

taggie

Areas I recommend are the Cotswolds, Devon/Cornwall (St. Ives) and the Peak District. You also might want to consider a brief foray into Wales.
We have typically covered quite a lot of ground in a 2-week driving tour. I think you can do this and still not be totally "on the go" for the whole time.
One time we headed southeast to Canterbury, then along the southern coast, up to Cornwall, then to the Cotswolds and finally ended in Windsor the last night. It was a fair amount of driving but certainly not too much spread over 2 weeks.
Other times we have headed north, then west through the Peak District, through the Lake District, then back down and into Wales, then through the Cotswolds for a few days and home.

G_Hopper

Here's a photo gallery of images with text of how my wife and I spent a couple of weeks in southern England early in 2004:
http://www.toaster.org/coppermine/

And we just got back from another two-week vacation spent in London (very fortunate in the travel department the past year). We did a few day trips: Brighton, Oxford, Salisbury/Stonehenge - and there's still much we missed in London and the surrounding areas.

You'll want to give Oxford a couple of days if you're going to do more than walk around and look at exteriors. While there seek out The Turf pub.

Good luck with your planning!

Ani

I cannot stress this enough:
YORK!

Maria_H

If you are interested in historical sites, it may be worth checking out the web sites of the National Trust and English Heritage organisations, who look after many of the old houses and castles in the UK. This might give you an idea of good areas to visit. The Cotswolds are certainly worth visting and you'll also find a good concentraion of historic houses, etc, in Kent and East Sussex.

As mentioned by others, the Peak District has both beautiful scenery and villages. If you go there, don't miss the huge impressive stately home of Chatsworth.

gregory

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who responded to my post. As has been previously noted by other posters, this website is indeed awesome. We will include the Peak District in our itinerary and possibly the Lake District. Although her reply was somewhat vague, Ani did hint at York being a desirable place to visit. We will try to include it, as well. Again, thanks to all!

nonnafelice

I definitely agree with the suggestion to go to York, especially if you are interested in history. You'll find it there, going all the way back to the Vikings. It is a fascinating city. Also, be sure to visit the Railway museum in York.

The Yorkshire countryside is also worth a day trip. We were there 15 years ago, but two places that are still vivid in my memory are Fountains Abbey and a park, whose name I've forgotten now, but which had amazing rock formations. It reminded me of a piece of the American Southwest in the midst of the Yorkshire Dales. Probably some other Fodorite can refresh my memory.

We also enjoyed a stop in Thirsk, the town where James Herriott lived (my husband is a big fan of his books).

Training from London to York is easy, and if you want to explore the countryside you can rent a car for a day in York.

sugarpike

I heartily second (or third or fourth - whatever the count is now) the suggestion of York. It's a small, friendly, walkable town with history just oozing out of its cobblestones. The little bakeries with their way too cheap food are a must to visit, but it's a good thing my daughter and I did so much walking, or the York bakeries would have been the end of me! Walking the perimeter of York on top of the Roman Wall was a great experience too.

Just a London note - since you're going to be there three weeks, you've probably already got this on your intinerary, but just in case... try to get tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. They're free and the experience of "helping" to lock up the Tower at 10 o'clock at night (we went in January so it was pitch dark) was not to be missed.

A day in Edinburgh would be fun - maybe your friends can drive you up during your three weeks with them.

Morgana

Hi
I live in North Yorkshire, and second it as a place to visit, especially York and some of the surrounding historic sites.
The 'rock park' is called Brimham Rocks. It's close to Fountains Abbey (about 5 miles away) and is managed by the National Trust, as is the Abbey.
M

Morgana

Just asked my husband - Brimham Rocks is nearer 10-12 miles away from the Abbey! To correct your previous poster, neither the Abbey, nor the Rocks are actually in the Yorkshire Dales, although they are close to the very edge. The Dales encompass a large area (Nidderdale, Wensleydale, Swaledale, Coverdale etc) and are lovely to visit, especially if you like walking, beautiful scenery etc. Bolton Abbey is especially lovely, as is Jervaulx Abbey. Some of them are remote - you couldn't visit and do them justice in one day.
M