NeilValley

I would like some feed back about a proposed holiday. My wife and I and our 4 year old boy have an opportunity to take 5 weeks leave from 25/12/12 to 28/1/13.My wife has not been to Britain before and we thought it could be too bleak, cold and some places too hazardous or silly to go to at that time of year. We are thinking of arriving London for xmas for 4 to 5 days, than head off to the s/w to Cornwall vua Salisbury and stonehenge; stay a week perhaps in Cornwall and then head north to Cotswolds, Bath area, possibly see south Wales and then head up to Scotland and attampt to get as far as Inverness, staying 2 to 3 days in a few places. We thought then to travel down the east through York then Cambridge then depart from London. We liek to mix and match accomodation styles and we enjoy some histroy, architecture, natural places and landscapes, cafes and a bit of comfort. Are we completely nuts or is this sort of trip still enjoyable during Winter?

Any suggestions, critique and ideas would be most helpful as we want to book flights early.

Cheers
Neil and Rachel

KayF

Hi, a couple of things to think about - there is no public transport in London on Christmas Day and very little on Boxing Day (26 Dec) so factor that into your plans. If you fly in on that day you would have to pre-order a transfer or get a taxi from the airport.

A lot of things also close during the winter months and the days are much shorter. It starts getting dark about 3.30pm and will of course be very cold with rain and/or snow and ice. Not very pleasant to be outdoors, the ice on the footpaths can make it dangerous to walk and ice on the road would be worse.

Your trip plan sounds pretty good though I have no idea of mileage and how many days you'd need. Buy an ice scraper for the car windscreen when you get there. We had a hire car in early December there one year and it took us ages to get the ice off enough to drive off in the morning. Not what we are used to!

I realise this sounds very doom and gloom but it's not where I'd go in winter. What about south of France instead or southern Italy and Malta?

Kay

janisj

Your main problem is there is no way to know what the weather will be. If it is mild -- no problem. But periods of heavy snow/serious weather would make travel anything from difficult to dangerous.

At that time of year . . . Instead of a road trip, I'd consider 4 bases. Say London, somewhere in the SW, Edinburgh, and one other (the Cotswolds, or York, or ??) Spend a couple of weeks in London, and rent cottages/flats in each area. You could take the train between stays and rent cars locally. You'd want a car in the SW but not in Edinburgh for example.

The days will be short - but not necessarily dreary.That mostly depends on the weather. You can have a lovely long-stay in the UK. I just wouldn't plan it as a 'road trip'. And don't arrive on Christmas Day . . . things will be easier all around if you arrive the 26th (Boxing Day).

janisj

was posting the same time as KayF . . .

janisj

oh meant to add: Yes, in late Dec sunset is around 4PM in London, but by the end of Jan. it is nearly 5PM (plus nearly an hour more day light in the morning too)

indy_dad

We've been living in the UK for a year now so I have a grand total of 1 January to comment on. I was a little frustrated this past January with the number of closings in our area. Most National Trust homes will be closed and many English Heritage (castle) sites will be restricted to the weekends. Even some of the indoor activities that would be good options for poor weather were closed as well.

You will probably have better luck in cities (London, Edinburgh, York, Bath) with that respect (and to be fair I can't comment specifically on Cornwall and the Cotswolds in January).

To give you an idea of the weather possibilities (no guarantees of course), here are 3 of my blog entries from that time period (we live in Derby (East Midlands)).

sun:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01...-national.html

cloud/rain:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01...-old-hall.html

snow:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/snow.html

Not intending to scare you off but rather help set expectations.

indy_dad

And while I'm at it, here are some other trips if that helps (albeit at different times of year):

London:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/london.html

Edinburgh:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/edinburgh.html

Bath/Stonehenge:
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08...tonehenge.html

York: (a rather wimpy early blog entry in hindsight)
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05...r-weekend.html

NeilValley

Thanks everybody. We are thinking perhaps it is not so good an idea, Winter in the UK. The Summer photos look so much better than the imagined experience of the Winter pics.mmmm. Perhaps we will head closer to the equator. Thanks for the input but unless something really positive came up, we thought it was probably the case of spending a bit more an a kinder time of year. Cheers

Frances

I wouldn't do this. If you have a month of rain(which together with the dark and the wind) you will spend nearly all of your time in the car. When you arrive at your accomodation and the rain outside is horizontal you will sit looking out of the window and wonder if you have made a mistake. With a four year old you are creating tension because he will want to be getting out more than you. Really heavy rain will soak your clothes and not many places you stay will be equipped to help with this.
Of course the weather can be better than this but you won't know until it happens.

annhig

Honestly - forget it. Cornwall CAN be lovely at Christmas, but it can also be b...dy awful. our first Christmas in this house [we moved here about 15 years ago] I wouldn't let the kids out of the door for fear they would be blown into next door's field. A big city would be better but counter-intuitively, un-religious London closes down much more than supposedly catholic Rome or Paris.

with a small child I would go somewhere where there will be things he will like to do and weather you will all enjoy.

NeilValley

Thanks, really appreciate you comments.We will roll the dice and plan a warmer trip and save Britain for SPring early summner. Happy travels folks. Neil & Rachel.

annhig

Neil, good plan.

should you wish to visit Cornwall, the spring /early summer [or even early autumn] are the best times. warmer weather then plus lots to do come rain or shine.

let me know if you'd like some more detailed suggestions closer to the time.

good luck with your planning for this trip!