Please tell me about your driving/touring in the UK. Where you went and what season.

We've done several short "trips" in the UK. I enjoyed the Cotswolds. We stayed at the Fosse Manor Hotel just south of Stow in the Wold and used it as our base. We went to Warwick one day, Stratford another and the down to Malmsbury as well as visiting the small Cotswolds villages. We also did a day trip to Cardiff.

Another time we went to Rye, Hastings, Battle and Sissinghurst Castle Gardens and spent some time in Royal Tunsbridge Wells and did a trip to Leeds Castle.

Another time we spent outside Glastonbury and did trips into the countryside and down to Taunton.

You have an advantage as you normally drive on the left and I live in the US and drive on the right.

We've never driven up into the north as we usually visit in November.

Enjoy your trip.

We went to Devon this past September and walked along the coastal path. Google Lynton and Lynmouth and see what beautiful cliffs and paths there are. I don't know why more people don't visit that area of England.

For several years in a row, we would spend a week in London and then a week to ten days driving somewhere in England. Devon and Cornwall really are spectacular scenery. Our favorite trip though was a circle we drove. We took the train from London to York where we stayed and we got a car. Then we had stays in the Lake District, Chester, Broadway in the Cotswalds, Stamford, and Lincoln, before returning to York and then taking the train to Scotland. We loved that trip and saw such a variety of places.

Thanks for your speedy replies. Gives me somewhere to start. Next step get a map and have a really good look.

Thanks again

We also did a circle from London. The first day, we drove to Bath and spent 3 days there recuperating from the flight and exploring this fascinating area. From there we spent time in the Cotswalds, along the Welsh border, explored Hadrian's wall, the Lake country, York, and then back to London. We didn't have 4 weeks, so were constrained by time.

We spent 12 days in the UK in May, starting in London. The driving portion of our trip was as follows:

London to Stratford-upon-Avon via Oxford and Blenheim Palace

Stratford to the Peak District after spending most of the day at Warwick Castle

Two nights in the Peak District visiting Bakewell, Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall

Two nights in North Wales - Conwy Castle, a bit of Snowdownia National Park, and Portmeirion

Back into England via Shrewsbury and Ludlow to Stroud in the southern Cotswolds

In the Cotswolds, we spent a day driving the northern Cotswolds and stopping when we felt like it. The next day we planned a walk, but it was too muddy and wet, so we visited Berkeley Castle and Lacock on our way to Bath.

From Bath, we went to Stourhead Gardens and Salisbury.

Our last day was spent at Winchester Cathedral and Chawton Cottage, Jane Austen's house, before heading back to Heathrow.

You can see pictures at http://tinyurl.com/25xs9t or search this forum for my trip report.

Lee Ann

Here's my itinerary for next year, for what it's worth. I won't specify number of nights in each place - that depends on the time available. But 4 weeks would certainly do it.

London
Cambridge via Cavendish & Lavenham
Lincoln (family research)
Scarborough
Durham via Jervaulx Abbey
Hexham/Corbridge
Grassington via Richmond & Bedale
Buxton via Bolton Abbey & Holmfirth
Shrewsbury via Ironbridge
Oxford via Malvern & Ledbury
Glastonbury via Avebury & Bath
Kingsbridge (family research) via Lynmouth & Dartmoor
Dorchester
Christchurch & New Forest
Rye via Chichester
Canterbury

Yes there are gaps, but on previous trips I've done Peterborough, York, Whitby, Borders area, Scotland, Yorkshire Dales, Wales, Cornwall.

...and Cotswolds, although obviously I'll be doing some more on the Shrewsbury-Oxford-Bath legs of the journey.

Hi aussiedreamer,
We only had two weeks, but we did a circumnavigation of England, Wales, and Scotland in June-July. I'm in the middle of my trip report here, which might give you some ideas:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35080152

My driving in the UK isn't what you'd probably like to do - at least the first part. I drove from London to Penrith to visit friends who had bought the Temple-Sowerby House hotel (they no longer own it.) I took the motorways which was the least scenic but quickest & easiest way to get there especially without a navigator in spitting rain.

However, while there my friends took me around the beautiful Lake District. Then a Scottish ex-boss of mine took me for a blurry 2 day tour around Scotland from Edinburgh to Skye, up & down & all around.

On my way back to London I drove through York & spent a couple of days in Harrogate which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Having been to the UK many, many times (Scotland is my favourite country in the world!) I would highly recommend the Yorkshire Dales (i.e. Dentdale, Swaledale, Wharfedale, Wensleydale), Moors and Northumberland. We have also enjoyed the Cotswolds but have found the dales and moors to be much less touristed. We have gone all times of the year but especially love Spring and Fall (April-May or September-October).

Scotland and Wales are just utterly breathtaking and cannot be missed. If I were to go to the UK for four weeks I definitely would include them both. I don't know how feasible it would be but I would spend a few days in the Cotswolds and head up to Northern England for about ten days. Then I would head to Scotland and Wales for the remainder of the time. Tons and tons of stuff to see and do and experience.

Scotland and Wales castles are the best. We have been to over 150 castles in Europe. Scenery is gorgeous pretty much everywhere in the UK.

We have spent two monthlong trips in Britain in the last few years -- plus a shorter one earlier. All of these trips have been in May and June, which is a wonderful time to see the beautiful countryside. And the days are longer. (It's easier to get unlost in daylight.)

Trip #1: a week in an apartment in London, trained to Gatwick, picked up a rental car and spent time in Rye, Bosham (cute village on the water), and Portsmouth. Lots to see around here. We especially liked Rye, Bodiam Castle, Fishbourne Roman Palace, and HMS Victory at Portsmouth's historic port. And I love the rolling countryside of the South Downs.

Trip #2: arrived at Heathrow, took bus directly to Bath. Stayed in Bath for about 5 days. First we just sightsaw in Bath and recovered from jetlag. Then we rented a car and did day trips to the Wye Valley and Tintern Abbey, Wells, and Stourhead Garden and Longleat House. I could live in Bath; great town. Next we moved base (via Glastonbury and Tintagel) to St. Ives in Cornwall and used it to drive around southern Cornwall, visiting mostly gardens. We then drove north stopping overnight in Salisbury and stayed in the Cotswolds several nights, visiting Warwick Castle, Stratford-on-Avon, and Blenheim as well as picturesque little Cotswolds towns. Next stop was a restful stay on the Thames at Pangbourne, where we took the train to Oxford for a day. Dropped the car at Reading and trained into London for another 5 days. Highlights of this trip were Bath, the blooming countryside, Tintern Abbey, Trebah Garden in Cornwall, and Salisbury. I did not enjoy our time in Stratford; too many people, too many tourist traps.

Trip #3: Flew into Glasgow, stayed several days in an apartment. Picked up a rental car and drove north via Stirling, spent the night just short of Inverness near Culloden. Drove northwest to Ullapool, then south along the coast. Spent a night in a B&B near Aultbea. Visited Inverewe Gardens, then drove south to Plockton with a side trip to see Eilean Donan Castle. After a night in cute little Plockton, we drove over the bridge onto the Isle of Skye. We spent two nights in Portree, then ferried to Mallaig and drove the Road to the Isles from Mallaig, stopping at Glenfinnan and later Glencoe. Our last full day in Scotland we stopped at Luss on Loch Lomond, Hill House (by Charles Rennie Mackintosh) in Helensburgh, and spent the night in Moffat, as strongly and rightfully suggested by the experts on this site.

The next part of our trip was northern England: Hadrian's Wall, the Lake District (based in Grasmere), Yorkshire, especially Durham, Fountains Abbey and Castle Howard, and York. For Yorkshire we stayed in a great B&B in the pleasant and interesting town of Richmond. Once again we finished our trip in London.

So the highlights were: the surprisingly green and blooming (purple rhododendrons, bluebells) countryside of northwest Scotland, a tour of tiny Edradour Distillery near Pitlochry, driving around the Trotternish peninsula on Skye, the Road to(from) the Isles, Richmond, Durham (I love the cathedral and the view of it, walking along the river.) Also York, which is full of interesting sights, and finally a wonderful, magical boatride along the Thames between Richmond and Hampton Court Palace.

If you're still reading this, for the two longer trips, we bought the Great British Heritage Pass, which gives admittance to 600 of the best historic sites, castles, gardens, etc. This pass isn't especially useful in London or the wilds of the Highlands, but it's great elsewhere.

Well, never have written a trip report. Guess this is a start.

Hi
I live in North Yorkshire, and would definitely recommend you visiting us up here! Stunning scenery, great food, friendly people, etc etc. North Yorkshire was recently voted most beautiful county in England, beating the opposition by miles. But of course there are many other lovely areas as well, so enjoy your planning! If you have any Yorkshire questions don't hesitate to give me a yell.
Some practicalities about when you might want to visit. School holidays mean EVERYTHING is much busier - not just the places to visit but trains, roads etc. I was on a train to London last week and it was just heaving during the normally quieter middle of the day. The main school holidays (the summer ones) run from mid July until the beginning of September. Precise dates vary from county to county and even from school to school. There is also a Whitsun week holiday the last week of May, and an autumn half term which is towards the end of October. There are Easter and Christmas school holidays too. You will get numerous answers if you asked what time is the best to visit England but if I was asked I would say May (avoiding the Whitsun week), or June. Alternatively I would go for September. In May and June you get the really long days (light evenings great for walks, sitting outside a pub having a drink etc etc) whereas in September the nights are starting to draw in. Also although the countryside looks beautiful in all seasons I think in May/June it is so green and full of spring flowers. I recall my first trip without the kids - you'll miss them but you'll have a wonderful time all the same!

Sorry, meant to add another practicality - if you are planning to visit castles, stately homes etc many close (it's called 'putting them to bed') for the winter. They tend to close after the October half term holiday I mentioned above, and open again at Easter.

Good luck with your planning, aussiedreamer! I'm envious of the month of touring. I've been to the UK numerous times, and am reading the suggestions with interest for a possible future trip of my own. There's an interesting book called "England's Thousand Best Churches" that I would use if I were going to be touring around (I think there's another related volume called "England;s Thousand Best Houses").

Also, if you do go to Scotland, get yourself a copy of Peter Irvine's Scotland the Best. It really is a fabulous resource of the best of everything in Scotland.

Congratulations to Mimar on the completion of a successful trip report - that wasn't so bad was it? It sounds like three very interesting trips. I love many of the same things that you do - and isn't The Edradour a great little place?

You guys are great. What a wealth of information. Our two thoughts on when to go were, May & September. After reading the above it looks like May will win out, perhaps leaving late April to avoid that last week of May school holiday.

The last time we were in London it was January and we couldn't believe how short the days were, really did make a difference to site seeing. So the comment on the days are getting longer in May, sounds great.

You are all making it sound like 4 weeks is plenty, which is great.

I'm off to get a map and start highlighting some of your suggestions.

I have even email Madelyn of Paris Perfect 'fame' (as we stayed in one of her apartments in Paris WOH) to ask if she would accept a short term stay in a London apartment. She replied with suggestion of hotels and with a promise that if in the two week lead up to us leaving Australia they have a vacancy we can rent for just a few days not a whole week. Which would be awsome. The apartment we stayed in in London last time, really was quite poor. (fortunately the Paris Perfect apartment came after that!!!)
Thanks again.

hi, aussie,

a whole month - you are lucky.

do you want to drive the whole way, or would you contemplate a flight or two.

for example - starting in London, drive down to Cornwall. spend a week, [at least] then fly to Newcastle from Exeter. [or possibly to other places from there or Newquay]

from there you could go north to Scotland, or drive back south through lake district and/or yorkshire, ending up in the cotswolds before heading back to London.

there are many varitions on this theme. what do you like? - gardens, castles, walks?

happy planning,

regards, ann

We just did a wander about in April although not for 4 weeks. We rented a car in London and started towards Oxford. First stop is Blenheim Palace, our favorite. Then Oxford. We stayed in the Cotswolds (many nice hotel choices) as our base for the next bit. Toured Stratford upon Avon and Warwick (our favorite castle in England). Wandered around the Cotswolds for few days. Then down to Bath and a swing around the south coast throught the major cathedral towns to Rye. With your generous time allowance after the Cotswolds I would definitely do Wales next. Snowdonia in the north and Brecon Beacons in the center. Cardiff in the south. All lovely. Then Bath, then wander through Cornwall and Devon. Take in the remainder of the south coast if you have time. You can keep your driving time short during each day as their is so much to see. Enjoy.

We didn't have a month, but surely could have used one. We flew into Heathrow and stayed there 2 days to get over jetlag before picking up a car. One of those days, we got the car and I spent an hour trying to get out of the airport circle area. It was good practice for getting used to the left-hand shift and the other side of the road. Then we ventured to Windsor, since it was relatively close.

The next morning we set out for Oxford. We were fine on the freeway, but those roundabouts are something else! I never did figure out when to wait and when to go. And the signage everywhere we went was terrible. I kept missing where I was supposed to get out of the roundabout, so we saw a lot of beautiful countryside that we hadn't planned on visiting. We loved Oxford because we did the Park & Ride and didn't have to worry about traffic.

After the day in Oxford, we hurried to Stratford-on-Avon to pick up our Heritage Pass - the scenic route again. Then we missed another turnoff and took a lovely drive to Solihull, south of Birmingham, to the Renaissance Hotel that was our base for the next couple of days. We spent an entire day at Warwick Castle, another at Blenheim and then back to Stratford-on-Avon. Friends had advised us to get the most complete insurance for the car because they are famous for breaking mirrors in England. Sure enough, in Stratford-on-Avon we came back to the car to find a broken mirror.

We then drove back to London and turned the car back in at the airport. I have never been so relieved in my life! When we go back again, we will plan on taking the train. We enjoyed the convenience of the car, but I really couldn't enjoy the countryside because I was so stressed out about the driving.

In London, the public transportation was fantastic. We had the London Pass with Travel and used it constantly. We never had to wait more than 10 min. for a bus or for a train in the tube system.

We were there this past September and everyone said it was the best weather they had the entire summer - every day was sunny and in the mid 70s Fahenheit. There were fewer people around because we were so late in the season. A lovely time of year!

We flew into London this June, spent one night and then drove to Wales and did a loop around the country - took 11 days and spent the night in a different place each night - it was fantastic, and I've started a trip report, but other things keep interrupting.

We've also flown into Glasgow and done a 12-day drive around Scotland - same time of year, same sort of non-itinerary.

Two of the best trips we've ever taken!

My driving experience in the UK was limited to the Scottish Highland, which would probably be a good way to end the driving portion of your trip. Start in the Cotswolds, go to Wales, then northern England on you way to Scotland.

For details of what we did, you can see my trip report, here: http://tinyurl.com/2fca5t

We just returned from a 12 day trip - four nights in London, train to York, then picked up a car and drove it through Wales, the Cotswolds and Bath back to Heathrow. I smiled at Barbs44's note about feeling relief when returning the car...we didn't have any problems with damage, but did feel that it took both of us (one reading the signs and the other watching the traffic) to navigate the endless traffic circles; which did interfere with our enjoyment of the countryside. Also, we had a panic attack upon learning after two days on the road that we had no collision or theft insurance due to an error in applying our credit card's policy, and that took some doing to fix. (I've written a separate entry about this.) I am currently looking into Britrail passes, etc, for our next trip!

Trip report to follow...soon, I hope.

aussiedreamer you may want to check out my blog for some guidance on what to see in North England and the East Midlands which I have spent about two years covering in depth for the castles and castle and manor hotels. If you love visiting castles I think it will be very helpful to you.
http://castlelady.spaces.live.com

Oct. of '06 I rented a car, and traveled from London, staying in Educator's homes in North Marston, and then way up in the Ribble Valley. I played golf and took roads to see where they went. I loved the area east of Blackpool. I would recommend that area if you want to explore. I will return again Fall of '08 and take up where I left off, traveling into Scotland!
Happy Trails!

Hi aussiedreamer - We are planning a road trip around the British Isles for May 2008. We have decided to get a small very manouvreable mobilehome(campervan)with all mod cons and go where we like, when we like.
We have been to the UK many times using local transport but this time NO trains or planes to catch, no hotels to book in and out of repeatedly carrying all our luggage!

Maybe we'll hate it - maybe it will be the best thing we have ever done, only time will tell.

Our plans are ambitious and sort of like this at the moment:

Pick up our Mobilehome somewhere in England and make our way to the Isle of Wight for a quick visit to a 13th century home where we once spent happy holidays during our youth and relive those days of yore! (ha ha)

Then back onto the mainland down to Devon to see a little village with our surname - just for fun, before going into Wales to see , yes , another village with our name!

Then it's up to Liverpool and over to the Isle of Man by ferry to drive around the TT circuit before leaving by ferry to Ireland.

From Ireland by ferry to Scotland before returning to Manchester and friends there.

How long will this take? Blimey, I think at least three weeks!

By the way, Brisbane is a geat city!Spent a week in Maleny with family during a 6 week trip to Oz some years ago.

Just wanted to say thanks again for all your responses. Really need to get down to basics now. I'm going to print all your responses and sit down with a map. Big travel show on in Brisbane this weekend, so we are going to go and try and get some good airfares sorted out.

(on a side note, I got whisked away for 24 hours in New Zealand on the weekend. Business class AIRNZ to Auckland, and dinner and a show - We Will Rock You. Stayed at the Hilton on the harbour. Very nice. Flew home on Emirates, we weren't that impressed)
D

well we've done it. Booked our flights for the 2nd of May with Emirates. Which is funny after I just re-read my last post. But we are going business class long haul, not economy short haul. We've decided to fly out of Sydney (only a one hour flight from Brisbane-home) as we will get guarenteed flat beds. Apparently out of Brisbane it can be hit or miss.

I think we will only have one night somewhere in London and collect the car and 'go'. Any suggestion for where to stay? We are looking at going South first so any suggestion of a place to stay that will be easy and hassle free to pick up the hire car?

You might also want to look at the options of cheap flights to save some time on driving.
For an example BMIBay fly Cardiff to Glasgow the flight is 1 hour 15 mins. It is about a simliar time maybe 10 mins more from Cardiff to Edinburgh. That would make it an option to pick up a hire car when you arrive at the airport in London drive around a bit in the south ( or stay over night in London if you feel you need to rest before driving, it is a long flight) then drive south then on to Bath. I would then maybe do the Cost woldsh Cots wolds on route to South wales via Ross-Y-WiaE,see a bit of South wales and then drop it off at Cardiff airport fly up to Sctoland for a few days and pick up a hire car while there. Then decide what else you wan to see and maybe fly from Edinburgh back to London or drive back to London. I am sure people will advise you as to the best route from here. Then maybe tag on an over night London stop at the end before flying home.

You have received some WONDERFUL ideas.......and you'll have fun sitting down with a map and figuring it out. Since you are form Australia won't have the "driving adjustment" and should be able to cover a lot of territory. We've been to most ALL of the places mentioned and Oh!!! I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Toward the end of the postings the poster mentioned flying from Cardiff to Scotland....but you'd be missing some of the most beautiful scenery possible.......through N. Wales, Chester, slide around the "corner" through the Eng. lake district to Scotland.
Scotland is great, as is ALL of England, Wales etc. You will be on the move,,,,but it should be an exciting and fun trip to plan and do the reading and research...and of course a fun and exciting trip to TAKE.
You COULD intersperce (sp?) the driving with trains occasionally.


.

I missed this first time round.

Ausiedreamer, can I suggest you come to Scotland last. The end of May is a lovely time to be here.

What do you like? Give me a clue,a nd I'll try to suggest the road less travelled.

Hi, aussie,

don't forget Cornwall, will you? it's also lovely that time of year. the gardens are particularly good in spring/early summer, and there aren't that many tourists around.

you could fly from Newquay to glasgow to continue your trip, if you wanted to see sheila's part of the world as well.

regards, ann

Yes, wonderful advise as always. Sheila, it looks like we may well be doing Scotland last. We are a 45yr old couple. Dh loves to drive, so getting him to stop will be my first challange!! Love love love 'differant' scenery. ie, lush hills, isolated cliffs, quaint villages. All the things we don't have in drought ravaged Australia. We are fairly 'private' people (ie we don't turn up at a pub and start talking to every man and his dog) it will be interesting how we 'handle' B&B's.
Last time we were in Europe, Dh was 'blown away' by the 'age' of buildings!!! Does that make sense? We know, as we studied it at school, but coming from a country not much older than a couple of hundred years of settlement, it does blow your mind. So definately some castles etc.

Hope this paints a bit of a picture of us and helps in your advice. Oh and we love to eat!!!! Quality over quantity every time. Love to eat local produce and local dishes whereever we are. And lets not forget local beer/wine!!!!!

Thanks

Hi Aussiedreamer, from another Aussie dreamer. Our last long trip to Britain was three months. We planned it so that we stayed in cottages (of various kinds) in centres where we knew we wanted to spend some time. We found that a weeks rental in a centre like Bath with a car of course, gave us lots of interesting day trips with the option of a rest day if the weather wasn't good and only one lot of unpacking. Get one with a washing machine/dryer and you don't have to worry about packing lightly.
If heading for the Bath area I can recommend the cottages at Greyfield Farm in High Littleton (about nine miles from Bath).
Our family was also very enthusiastic about hiring a narrowboat on one of the many canals, which is a different way of seeing the country.
Enjoy your planning, sometimes the planning is one of the best parts of a trip, even if you don't do all you plan.
Keep dreaming
Rosemary

thanks Rosemary, WOH, I sure am getting some great advice. All of which is being printed and I just need to get out to get a detailed map so we can start 'plotting' our journey. (back to work this week after the xmas break. Hope your in a part of Aus' thats not having crazy weather?)

This is a great thread for us to as we will be going to the UK & Ireland this year again.

Before we had a child we once did a long trip in the UK. The distances are so easy compared to the States ( & Australia probably), so you can see more than you think.

We went in early Sept and the weather was mostly divine which surprised me as I had been to London many times and it was always raining. It was a shock to see so much sun!

We started with friends in London, then went to Bath & the Cottwolds which we just loved. It is not that far from London, so I was shocked that I had missed this enchantment.

The Lake District was also divine & after that we went up to Scotland. We basically did a big circle of Scotland and loved all of it.We did like Edinborough much better than Glasgow.

We loved the Island of sky and we loved Finhorn. The eastern coast was also very beautiful.

We headed down the eastern coast of England towards London, but were less pleased with that area.

You will have a wonderful time!

I have several trip reports to the British Isles (all driving trips) listed on my website here:

http://www.greendragonartist.com/BItripreports.htm

Hope it helps!

saving for me

we just drove through Wales(well, he drove, I navigated..). gorgeous!! Quite untouristed--it was great. went through the Usk valley(think How Green Was my Valley) and then through the Breton Beacons to the North(Bets-e-coed is gorgeous). hey, went into the Big Pit-a real coal mine nor part of the state museum system ie free. the far north, eg Snowdon and the slate producing area was spectacular scenery. the castles in the far far NW were great. We drove back to London through the pottery area Staffordshire which was extremely interesting(Make sure you take a tour of Moorcroft-actually there is a pottery area coupon book available from the chamber of commerce that worked out great!). Oh yeah, have you been to Stonehendge? AWESOME--esp now I would suspect with the new archeological digs going on there. Scotland is fantastic too! the nicest people other than the dutch I have ever met. the country is outstandingly beautiful if you are into wild green pastures and lakes. oh and sheep. enjoy your trip!