alibassi

Hello
This is our first trip to England so we are novices and would like suggestions for a road trip starting from Dover where our ship will dock after a trip to see the Fjords in Norway. We plan to rent a car and would like to spend about a week to ten days seeing the English countryside ( market towns, castles and small town a la English PBS programs) and stay in small B and B's with an occasional splurge in a more elegant hotel like a refurbished castle. I have been studying the maps but am at a loss as to which locations to pick so that we see things at a leisurely pace.
Thanks!
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janisj

You are starting from Castle central . . . Dover Castle is the grand daddy of castles and worth almost a full day by itself. And just up the coast are Deal and Walmer which take less time -- but are very worth seeing. All three could be done in one day.

Then you will be in the Kent/East Sussex area which has it ALL. Lots of castles, a few castle/stately home hotels, amazing gardens, lovely towns and villages, and sea coast.

So you won't have to go all that far. I'd base in a cottage or B&B in a town near the Kent/East Sussex border for several days. Visit Hever Castle, Sissinghurst, Scotney Castle Gardens, Bodiam Castle, Chartwell (Churchill's country home), Rye, Penshurst Place and tons more.

You can fit in a fancy castle hotel stay in the same general area.

bilboburgler

time of year?
who we? idea of any physical limitations, numbers
I might look at, East Anglia, Dorset/Wiltshire, Cornwall. Just one of these will use the time plus the bits you have to drive through on the way there.

The motorway's get you there quickly but not a pretty sight, plan on 60 mph, all other roads plan on 30 mph except London when you can work between 15 and 10 mph. Do not trust google maps timing advice

janisj

Oh - and there are accommodations at both Sissinghurst and Hever Castle so either of those would be a nice short break.

Sissinghurst would be more central to the area - Hever would be more posh.

alibassi

Thank you all
We (my husband and I )are travelling at the beginning of June- , so what about weather? There are also options to do the cruise in July at the end of the month but those ships dock in either Southampton or Newcastle and I thought that Dover would be a better base so that we did not have to then travel to another area to begin our castle and countryside tour????
What about the weather? Is early June better than the end of July? We don't mind mild weather but obviously want to avoid rain and chill.
We live in Mexico most of the year so used to hot and humid weather. My husband is somewhat limited as to how long he can be on his feet, but we can walk for an hour or so at a time with short rests. I am able to climb and walk for longer periods that is why I thought a car would suit us better than a group trip by van or bus. How to find a cottage near Kent or Sussex? Anyone able to recommend a very good B and B in the area ?
Again I appreciate the tips and will begin now to do my research.
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janisj

>>We (my husband and I )are travelling at the beginning of June- , so what about weather?>What about the weather? Is early June better than the end of July? >We don't mind mild weather but obviously want to avoid rain and chill.

ribeirasacra

Glad that Janisj told the weather just how it is instead of the normal response of giving you a weather history website.
I would also agree that there are a lot of castles to see, from many different eras in the UK's history.
For example, there here is a map listing those of England only. http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMa...tlesinEngland/
on top of this you have the lands of Wales and Scotland too.
then you want to see some of the lovely and historic villages too.
I would start off with Dover Castle which has a long history of defending England. So not all of it is so old but fascinating all the same. http://www.exploring-castles.com/dov...e_england.html
some more castles along the south coast Hastings Castle http://www.visit1066country.com/thin...6-story-p44433
Lewes Castle https://sussexpast.co.uk/properties-...r/lewes-castle and the lovely town too. http://www.visitsoutheastengland.com.../lewes-p196231
Further down the coast you have Porchester Castle http://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/thi...-castle-p44313

ribeirasacra

Nearby is the old cathedral city of Chichester.

ribeirasacra

Nearby is the old cathedral city of Chichester.http://www.exploring-castles.com/dov...e_england.html or maybe take time to visit the Historic dockyard in Portsmouth. http://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/

ribeirasacra

head up to Winchester ( the ancient capital of England).http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/
from here explore the old villages of Test Valley https://issuu.com/themarketingcollec...tor_guide_2016

ribeirasacra

Then over to the Meon Valley for more historic villages and superb countryside and Jane Austin country
http://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/ide...-and-hampshire

ribeirasacra

sorry could not post all of the information at once

bilboburgler

If I was doing what you want to do I would ask about school holidays, later into July and August the country fills up with holiday makers both local and foreign so I'd go for June.

Yes doing it yourself is easier but you have to deal with stick shift gears, driving on the left and roundabouts (youtube has lots of videos on this subject and how to deal with them). Really these are all easy barriers to overcome.

B&B or appartments really depends on how much you want to pay and how often you want to move. B&Bs are everywhere, using something like booking.com to choose the one you want. In most cases they tend to be larger houses and you stay in a room in the house (normally with its own bathroom) and breakfast.

Appartments, there are so many to stay in but most (not all) require 4 to 7 night bookings in the summer you may not want to tie yourselves down that long.

For example Sussex is actually two counties West Sussex and ... wait for it... East Sussex, just looking at booking.com they have 167 homes you can rent in June, nearly all will be nice. Booking also has a map function that allows you to get the place near where you want to be.

I'd get hold of a general guide to UK to give yourselves a fighting chance.

ESW

Stick to your plan to land in Dover. Kent and Sussex are crammed full of small towns and villages which you will love. Plus some thatched cottages too. Rye and Winchelsea haven't been mentioed yet and are delightful.

There are lots of castles already listed but no-one has mentioned Leeds Castle yet.
http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/statel...eds/index.html
This could be described as everyone's dream of a moated medieval castle. They also do B&B and have self catering accommodation.

Rochester Castle, Knowle House, Ightam Mote haven't been mentioned either along with Hinton Ampner, Polesden Lacey, the list goes on.

Don't miss Canterbury with its magnificent cathedral
http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/church...ury/index.html
and remains of the town wall....

There are wonderful gardens at Sheffield PArk and you can even go for a ride on a steam on the preserved Bluebell railwa. And if you want another ride, there is the Kent and East Sussex Railway.

Kent is now a centre of wine making and many of the vineyards now do tours.

annhig

don't know where my post from yesterday went, but it was to the effect that I thought you should stick to Kent and Sussex, possibly basing yourselves in 2 centres to cut down on travelling.

Loads to see and do in this area as others have said - easily enough to fill a couple of weeks so you should have no problems keeping busy for 1 week to 10 days.

janisj

>>but it was to the effect that I thought you should stick to Kent and Sussex, possibly basing yourselves in 2 centres to cut down on travelling.

alibassi

Thank you all for the informative posts. I will now order some books and begin to concentrate on Kent and Sussex as advised. It will be easier to base ourselves in one or two bed and breakfasts and travel from there rather than going from hotel to hotel. Being from country with vast spaces I often forget how close things are. No worries about driving, my husband is a master stick shift driver and has driven in Bermuda thus the "wrong" side of the road deal is no deal for us.
I am now convinced that early June is best, fewer crowds, longer daylight and Spring, even with rain, who cares. I have long dreamed of visiting the countryside that I devour while watching PBS and BBC. I am I guess a romantic and an Anglophile so this will be very fun for me and my husband a builder will really enjoy the castles. Does anyone have a favorite B and B in the area where they have already stayed?

alibassi

i meant to say "being from a country" (The USA)

ribeirasacra

"I have long dreamed of visiting the countryside that I devour while watching PBS and BBC."
Forget about this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE82FZpq0qM
it is more like this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WJsfKTQVfU

janisj

>>Does anyone have a favorite B and B in the area where they have already stayed?