katsby

Dear Fodorites,

May I have suggestions on a possible road trip DH and I can take, starting from London? Here are the parameters:

1. Driving from London, we want to spend 3-4 days out of London, staying in B&Bs and sightseeing on our own.
2. My husband and I are interested in history, theater, walks. We're in our mid-40s, generally active (we've done hikes and walks before), and pretty much up for anything. We like driving around the countryside and stopping at small towns.

One road trip we were thinking of was going to Chartwell (DH is a Churchill fan), Canterbury, and Dover. Is this doable in 3-4 days, covering Chartwell, the Canterbury Cathedral, the Dover castle, seeing some smaller towns around, and a cliff walk? Any suggested itinerary for this?

Cotswolds was also a possibility, but I haven't really researched much on this.

Hope this wasn't too vague, but right now the slate is quite blank and we'd like to crowd-source ideas.

Thanks so much in advance. I've gotten so much valuable advice before from this forum!

katsby

MmePerdu

My suggestion would be, wherever you decide to go, arrange to pick up your rental car (hire car) in a good sized town to which you can travel by rail and go from there. It's simplified the process for me a number of times. Cheltenham, Bath or Oxford, for instance, if the Cotswolds become your target area.

With a car you can stay in the countryside, country house hotel or B&B depending on your preference, rather than in a town and have fewer parking issues as well as an experience you may only have with your own transportation. Also the luxury of unpacking and not moving for the duration. So nice.

janisj

The Kent/East Sussex loop would be terrific in 4-5 days. Chartwell, Hever, Penshurst, Dover, Canterbury, Sissinghurst, Bodiam, etc etc etc. Take the train to Gatwick and pick up your rental car there. Flat easy to drive from there towards Hever/Chartwell and on from there.

Do not try to drive all through south London - the train eats up that first 30 miles which are the worst. After that it is easy. The if you are returning to London - drop the car back at LGW and train into town. Or if you are immediately flying out (from LHR) just keep the car and drop it at Heathrow.

If you decide on the Cotswolds - then take a car service or public transport out to LHR and collect your car there. From Heathrow it is an easy drive to the west/Cotswolds.

Iberiophile

This is also a bit vague but here goes!

I'm sure you could do Chartwell/Canterbury/Dover within the timescale you're looking at. I'd only caution that, other than the castle, Dover isn't any great shakes, just one very big ferry port.

If you struck out in the opposite direction, you could do Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Churchill), Oxford and the Cotswolds.

I'm a fan of West Sussex but have to declare an interest as I live there! You could head for Lewes (actually in East Sussex) which is very attractive and an old market town, then get on the A272 which is known as one of the prettiest routes in the area and trundle (you probably will be trundling some of the way, it ain't a fast road)towards Petworth. Although relatively small, it's a lovely town with lots of antique shops. There's also Petworth House, a stately home (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/petworth-house/). Even if you don't want to visit the house, you can walk around the large deer park with ornamental lake. The park's free and open all year round I think.

From there, you could follow the A272 to Midhurst and then go south to Chichester - a Georgian market town with a cathedral and the well-known (in the UK anyway) Chichester Festival Theatre (http://www.cft.org.uk/). The theatre has a season from round about April to October and the programme's available in March.

From Chichester you can reach the coast, if you like.

About 20 minutes' drive from Chichester is Arundel which has a castle (http://www.arundelcastle.org/) in a stunning setting in the South Downs (plenty of scenic walks from the town and in the surrounding area).

Sorry, appreciate that I've gone off on a severely big tangent, selling the virtues of my home patch. Take it or leave it! (Meant in the nicest way.) And no, I'm not employed by the local tourist office.....

janisj

To clarify - when we mention 'Dover' 99% of the time posters mean the <u>castle</u>. As iberio says. The rest of Dover is pretty much a dump. But the Castle alone is worth most of a day -- then get out of Dodge

And just up the road are two other wonderful castles, Walmer and Deal -- each of the 3, in every aspect, are totally different experiences. I'd especially do Dover and Deal -- but Walmer and its garden are beautiful.

katsby

Fodorites do not disappoint! My thanks to all the replies so far. Thanks for confirming my doubts about driving in London MmePerdu. Taking the train out to another town and getting the car there makes more sense.

Janisj - You helped me out with my Scotland trip! Your suggestions were right on the mark. Now thanks for your input. Re Dover - is the cliff walk nothing great? Looked great in pictures, and I would like to try to include a trek/walk somewhere. That's one of the big appeal of the Cotswolds.

Iberiophile - I love your suggestions! DH would love Bienheim and Oxford! Let me show it to him. Also West Sussex sounds lovely.....they really should hire you for the local tourist office.

janisj

The cliffs are great - but the best view of them is from out on the water. The cliff walk is not really IN Dover - it is mostly just to the east.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...-of-Dover.html

Re the difference between Kent/East and West Sussex, and the Cotswolds . . . There are many more castles, gardens, etc in Kent/Sussex. The Cotswolds are lovely - more 'chocolate box' villages but fewer "WOW' sites.

I lived on the edge of the Cotswolds for nearly 5 years and they are very dear to me (even Blenheim - but don't let flanner see than ) but for 'bang for the buck' sites, Kent/East Sussex and a bit of West Sussex is near the top of the list.

The land/villages are prettier (IMO) in the Cotswolds, there are more major sites' (IMO) in Kent/Sussex.

texasbookworm

With a car, and time, I would highly recommend you try to walk along the cliffs. I've yet to get that "best view" from the Channel. Sigh. But I have had 2 chances to walk along the cliffs themselves and it was so totally worth it. The entrance to the national park area is quite a hike from town (we did that once on foot--never again) but with a car, you could get there easily.

If you have to choose, the castle first, but if you have a day, include a cliff walk.

And Bodiam Castle was where we got the best photos of 5 trips to England! So check it out.

On a totally different tack---Oxford is my favorite outside of London trip. So...

MmePerdu

I've walked 100+ miles in the Cotswolds, the Cotswold Way, and there are circular walks, as there are all over the country, that incorporate parts of the long distance path plus local paths to get you back to your starting point and your car or accommodation. As the saying goes, an embarrassment of riches for walkers. While the well known villages are swamped with visitors much of the time, if you walk you'll be alone in the countryside most of the time. It's a wonderful thing.

There are guides that describe such walks. Here's an example:
http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Around...circular+walks

I've found that tourist information offices often have pamphlets of local walks. When you decide on a base of operations you can also ask your accommodation if they have or can direct you to some.