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Trip to England next month - Itinerary Help needed

Trip to England next month - Itinerary Help needed

Old Mar 28th, 2017, 11:41 AM
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Trip to England next month - Itinerary Help needed

We have a 30 day vacation in England and would like to see some new areas. I have roughed out an itinerary. By train from London Heathrow to Canterbury. 2 days in Canterbury where we will pick up a car and drive north on the coast route to Perry Green to see the Henry Moore house and studio. From there to Cambridge - 2 or 3 days, Ely, Stamford, Lincoln, Beverly [where to stop overnight?, more than an overnight needed?] and then 3 days in York. West through Yorkshire Dales, maybe to Chester. From Chester we want to head to Cornwall but I don't want to take just high traffic motorways. Should we go thru eastern Wales or down thru Shrewsbury heading toward Bristol? I have allowed 10 -11 days in Devon and Cornwall. Would like to go down the west coast and up the east coast as we plan to return the car in Exeter or Taunton and will then take the train into London. Cornwall questions - an apt or hotel? central town on west and east coast to be used a as a base? In reading, Clovelly, Tintagel castle, St Ives museums, Land's End, Penzance and Penwith peninsula, Fowey all appeal. Routes, suggestions of where to stay and for how long would sure be appreciated. Thanks
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Old Mar 28th, 2017, 12:08 PM
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>>By train from London Heathrow to Canterbury.
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Old Mar 28th, 2017, 12:29 PM
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Hi re - nice to see you here again.

As you are going to be hiring a car anyway, frankly your quickest/best way to get to Canterbury is by car - you should be able to find a hotel with a car park, i should think. My only caveat with that would be if you were arriving early morning off a red eye - then a better idea might be to get the train into London and spend a night there, or to go to Windsor for the day and night and start from there.

After that, I will leave it to others to advise on the next sections, until you start heading down to Devon [where we used to have a holiday home] and Cornwall [where I live now]. As we're talking about April, unless you are travelling over the Easter weekend [not a good idea] you would probably do better than we did in respect of the traffic between the Welsh Marches and the approaches to Bristol when we did that journey in August a couple of years ago. The route between Chester via Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Hereford, Monmouth and Bristol is most interesting and well worth a few days - you could explore Telford, Iron Bridge, Church Stretton, the Long Mynd, Hay on Wye, the Brecon Beacons, Abergavenny; once you were south of Bristol [it itself a great place for a short stay] and head for Wells, then west along the north coast to Lynton and Lynmouth, Exmoor, Appledore, Clovelly, Hartland.

After that, the road takes you through a land less visited - crossing over into Cornwall just before Morwenstow [a wonderful place to spend an hour or two] then down to Boscastle, Tintagel, Port Isaac and St Ives.

with just 10-11 days to see all this, you might stay in Simonsbath or Dunster and use that as a base to explore Exmoor and the north coast of Devon, or Appledore if you were keener on Clovelly and the wild cliffs of Hartland, though you can still make it to Exmoor from there.

then move down to say St Ives or Penzance to see the far west, and finally Fowey to look at the east of the country.

But that means that you miss Falmouth, which is one of my favourite places in Cornwall and a great base for seeing the Helford and the Roseland.

I suggest that you look at a few more guidebooks and see which of those really appeals to you - you won't be able to see it all.

Nor sure if that helps - do come back if/when you have more questions.
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Old Mar 28th, 2017, 01:25 PM
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Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. janisj, I like your idea of taking the Victoria tube to Hammersmith and changing for a train to Canterbury. Can you get the tube to Victoria at Heathrow? I also found that you could take the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, walk to Circle, take this to Kings Cross and then Southeastern Minster to Canterbury. Which would be easier?

annhig, We are flying on a red eye from Chicago and I really don't want to stop in London or Windsor or drive to Canterbury just after the flight. We will be in England after Easter, and I did check on school and bank holidays. May 1 shows to be a bank holiday. Is business and schools closed on the holiday and are there more people out on the road? Traveling in England the end of April and month of May do you feel I need hotel reservations every night? My husband likes that approach but it leaves you no flexibility. Do you think 10 - 11 days for Devon and Cornwall is not a enough time? we like to wander, walk but not hike, visit local sites and museums and my husband spends a lot of time taking pictures.

I appreciate all the information.
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Old Mar 29th, 2017, 09:06 AM
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Re - it looks as if JJ has sorted out your arrival problems - I sympathise with arriving on a red eye and not wanting to drive.

Between Easter and the end of April you should be fine to wing it rather than booking in advance [depending on the sorts of places you like to stay of course - if you have very particularly tastes or need long beds/lifts/garages/ etc you will be more limited], but the May Bank Holiday weekend is likely to be very busy and I would want to book accommodation from the Friday to the Tuesday at the very least. Businesses and banks will be closed on Bank Holiday Monday but everything aimed at the tourist will be open - trust me!

Whether 10-11 days is enough for Devon and Cornwall is really up to you - you could easily spend twice as long here and not see everything you might want to - but as you don't have that long, you'll inevitably have to make some choices. I think that the route and bases I've suggested would give you the opportunity of seeing something of the countryside, some museums, art galleries, and put you within easy reach of Exeter or Taunton for returning the car, though you could probably return it in Plymouth or even St Austell and then take the train along some of the best railway scenery anywhere in the world.

Depending on where you stay the best option may be a good hotel, a nice boutique guest house, an "olde worlde" pub, a chic B&B - i can probably come up with some ideas if you decide where you want to stay.
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Old Mar 31st, 2017, 12:08 PM
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annhiig, our itinerary is slowly coming together. I still am not sure the best way to get from Harrogate in Yorkshire to the Cornwall area. I have looked at your suggested route but wonder if going thru eastern Wales might offers less traffic and more rural scenery. We have visited the coast of Wales but not much of the interior.. I thought 2 days from Chester to Cornwall - what do you think. We have been to Bristol but not Wells and I think Wells might be a good stopping point before heading to Cornwall. I wait to hear your thoughts. Thanks
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Old Mar 31st, 2017, 12:35 PM
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Hi re,

I'm glad that things are beginning to make sense for you. However I'm not sure that Chester is really en route from Harrogate to Cornwall; the Peak District followed by the Cotswolds would really make more sense. You could stop off in Matlock for the morning, and then pick up the Fosse Way and head for Moreton in Marsh or Stow on the Wold to stop over, and then follow that with Wells the next day, travelling via Tetbury and the Westonbirt Arboretum. you would then have an easy hop to Cornwall on the third day.

The disadvantage of that [apart from the fact that you'd miss Chester] is that you'd have 2 "one night stands" , but the distances are relatively short so you'd have a reasonable time at your destination as well as lots of time to explore en route.

if you decided to go the other way via Chester, one alternative would be to drive to Aberystwyth via Snowdonia and then the next day head to Wells but I personally think that the Marches are more interesting, especially as you've already seen the Welsh coast. However if you haven't seen Snowdonia, [I haven't!] it would at least give you a taste.

Even with a longish trip like this it comes down inevitably to making a choice between two or three great things, and hoping that you hit on the one that you'll like the most, and then making the most of it when you realise that you didn't!
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Old Mar 31st, 2017, 12:42 PM
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>>I thought 2 days from Chester to Cornwall -
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Old Mar 31st, 2017, 12:57 PM
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two minds with but a single thought, JJ.
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Old Mar 31st, 2017, 02:07 PM
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annhiig and janisj we are not locked in driving to Cornwall from Yorkshire in 2 days. I want a pleasant driving trip around England. If 2 days is pushing it I will add more time. Another day? annhig, you suggested stopping in Moreton in Marsh or Stow on the Wold, if we add another day to do the drive would you keep those locations? Where would our second stop be?
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Old Mar 31st, 2017, 03:37 PM
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With 3 days I'd stay one night in the Peaks, one night in the Cotswolds (Burford, Stow-on-the-Wold, or similar) and one night in Dorset or Somerset.
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Old Apr 1st, 2017, 02:53 AM
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Yes - I like JJ's idea if you can spare 3 nights to get from Yorkshire to Cornwall - though in the Cotswolds I would bid for Cirencester [if you like roman remains] or Tetbury if you like the idea of a small country town [albeit a pretty upmarket one].
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Old Apr 1st, 2017, 04:56 AM
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The Fosse way is worth looking out for, relatively fast (if narrow), I'd head south out of Harrogate to Leeds, get on the M1, tootle down this stopping at the West Yorkshire Sculpture Park, then down to Leicestershire and pick up the remnants of the Foose way down to the Cotswolds.

Ann's suggestions of C or T are perfect.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2017, 02:08 AM
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I usually use the Fosse Way for part of my journey from Cornwall to Coventry to see my mum - it breaks up the motorway/dual carriageway sections and being a Roman road, it's pretty straight. From a tourist's point of view it's ideal because there are stretches where you can make good time but also plenty of interesting places to stop if you want to.

You may find this site interesting, if you would like to look at more rural routes:

http://www.rural-roads.co.uk/fosse/fosse1.shtml

this Telegraph article also has some good ideas, albeit it heads in the opposite direction to the one you'll be taking:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...to-Gaydon.html

The tip about going to see the Slaughters [if only for the name!] is a good one - I'd forgotten about them. Bourton on the Water is also a beautiful place but to be avoided on a bank holiday. I've never been to Batsford Arboretum, but the one at Westonbirt, just south of Tetbury, is first class.
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Old Apr 2nd, 2017, 05:09 PM
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So many great suggestions. Thanks. With maps out, I am trying to understand just what are The Peaks - Peak District National Park? From Harrogate to Buxton or Bakewell? Other towns we should consider as our first stop when heading south? A town in Cotswolds for the second night, and then Wells. Will check on Fosse Way. Hopefully with your help, I can arrange several stops when heading south to Cornwall and not have to take a train.
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Old Apr 3rd, 2017, 07:21 AM
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Re - the Peak District is the area around Buxton and Matlock. Somewhere you might stop en route from Harrogate is Chatsworth - a really zonking "big house" in the grand style. I don't think that you would go wrong staying in Buxton, Bakewell or Matlock as they are all pretty close to each other - just look for somewhere that you fancy.
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Old Apr 4th, 2017, 02:09 PM
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annhig, janisj and bilboburgler, Thanks for all your recommendations and suggestions. After looking at all possibilities we have decided after visiting Yorkshire we will take a train to Bristol, pick up a car and have a few more days in Devon and Cornwall. Any thoughts on sites in Leeds area. I have on my list Hepworth Gallery, Yorkshire sculpture garden, Kirkstall Abbey and Leeds Industrial Museum.
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 03:46 AM
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The Henry Moore museum, next to the Leeds Art Gallery is pretty good if you like modern sculpture. You mention Moore in your thread.

I wrote up my Hepworth visit on Fodors in Feb this year so follow my name back.

Kirkstall Abbey is very much an urban ruin, but I guess it is near the LIM. Otherwise it would not be on my list. Certainly if you've been in the Dales and popped into Fountains and Bolton Abbeys then Kirskstall will be a bit meh.

Leeds also has Temple Newsham (to the East) and a butterfly collection to the north of Leeds (not been for years, but pretty good in the summer). Leeds is very much a shopping destination while the old market and the cornmarket are worth it for the buildings alone.

Drifting into Bradford there is the World Heritage Saltaire.
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 07:40 AM
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great idea, re. The Peak District and the Cotswolds will still be there when you come back next time.
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Old Apr 5th, 2017, 09:51 AM
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Knew I'd missed something, Leeds has the Armories, basically all the bits of armour they couldn't fit in the Tower of London. Exceptionally well laid out in a modern museum south of the Aire. The place has actors wandering around in full gear explaining how this and that works ot kids, while the tilting yard is impressive as they do regular stuff which is not at all as naff as you'd see in country fairs all over the UK this summer

https://royalarmouries.org/home
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