maile

I now have two days to fill .... driving between St Ives and London in July. Looking at Wales which is a totally unknown for me. Would like to find a lovely hotel for those two nights but have no idea where to start. Will be traveling with husband and two adult children. I don't like super lux but will need much above the average (as if that explains everything). Would very much appreciate suggestions

annhig

I now have two days to fill .... driving between St Ives and London in July. Looking at Wales which is a totally unknown for me.>>

Hi, Maile,

Sadly in 2 days you really don't have time to get to Wales and up to London.

What do you like to do? there are various options, depending on your tastes:

you could head for Dartmoor, say the Gidleigh Park, though I'm not sure if that's too rich for you :

http://www.gidleigh.com/

you could go further north and spend a couple of nights in Bristol, which your kids might particularly enjoy for the night-life after "sleepy St Ives" [that's what passes for a cornish joke] - I stayed at the Avon Gorge Hotel which has a terrific position in the Downs

you could go to Bath, and pretend to be Jane Austen

or you could go to Salisbury, then to Winchester and visit her grave.

in fact, you have too much choice. a pointer as to whether you prefer town, city or country would help.

PalenQ

If you want some coastal splendor head just up the coast from St Ives to Tintagel, legendary abode of King Arthur - the ruins sit stop a rocky outvcropping high above gthe smashing waves of the sea below. And not far up the coast from there is Clovelly, legendary Clovelly - ubiquitously called one of Britain's most beautiful villages - no cars allowed and the single main street literally spills down to the sea and is lined by ancient pastel-hued cottages.

Those two lovely famous places on day one then thru the bleak Dartmour - perhaps stopping in Provincetown or it is Princetown - anyway the whole area I believe belongs to Prince Charles or some royals - exit the moor by the famous Buckfast Abbey - an ancient cloister where the monks still brew up that potent Buckfast Abbey booze to sell.

Yes Salisbury and Avebury and Stonehenge would fit in nicely en route back to London.

Tintagel:

https://www.google.com/search?q=tint...=1600&bih=1075

Clovelly: https://www.google.com/search?q=clov...=1600&bih=1075

annhig

It's a bit of a detour to go all the way up to Clovelly and then back down to Dartmoor, Pal.

With only 2 days, I would do one or the other, not both.

janisj

two days isn't very long so I agree w/ annhig.

St Ives to London (w/o any sightseeing/stops at all) takes at least 7 hours (give or take depending on your exact final destination in London)

So w/ any detours and sightseeing it is a very long two day trip.

PalenQ

OK maybe Glastonbury and Wells are more on the way or too far north?

Salisbury and stones makes the most sense or Exeter/Plymouth route too unless the seaside road is washed out!

PalenQ

If you want to hit a fun spot try Torquay, capital of the Cornish Riviera - palm trees but just a nice area - very very popular with Brits and you can stay I believe in the original Fawlty Towers.

annhig

Salisbury and stones makes the most sense or Exeter/Plymouth route too unless the seaside road is washed out!>>

it was the train line at Dawlish that went west, Pal, not the road - it is mostly inland roads that are in trouble around Langport and other parts of Somerset. Nothing for the OP to worry about anyway.

Actually, if the OP followed your suggestion of going to North Devon [ie Clovelly] then Glastonbury and Wells are on the way back to London. If, OTOH they decide on Dartmoor, then Salisbury and Stonehenge are more convenient.

This is where a good map comes in.

PalenQ

maile - you have a real expert here to ask questions of - and it is NOT me but annhig - who lives in washed out Cornwall so can give you much more expert advice than most - plus she is one of the most polite helpful Fodorites of all time IME. Ask and she will patiently give great advice without attitude! Take her advice seriously.

My suggestions were based on a similar driving trip but I guess we had more time - another place you may want to hit on the way back to London is Iron Bridge Gorge - birthplace of the Industrial Revolution with the first use of iron to build a bridge - I believe - anyway the whole area is preserved as a national park or whatever they call it - really really interesting but another detour from a straight shot to London - but I mention only if that time of Industrial Heritage Park appeals to you as it did to me.

annhig

Pal - I hope that your kind words aren't said in the hope that I won't say that your latest suggestion is another cuckoo. If you're talking about the Ironbridge in Shropshire, that too is a LONG way off the OP's direct route to London and therefore too much of a diversion on a 2 day trip.

janisj

>>. . . the hope that I won't say that your latest suggestion is another cuckoo.<<

OK - I'll say it -- PQ's new suggestion is another <i>cuckoo</i>

PalenQ

oh well better get out a map! but I tend to think in American driving terms - where long drivers are ordinary - Europeans and Brits too think differently - what is a long drive to them may be a short drive to many Yanks.

janisj

PQ: You must know better than that -- you've been on Fodors long enough to have read hundreds of times (or 1000's if you didn't fixate so much on the train travel discussions) that one cannot compare driving in the wide open spaces of the US w/ the narrow, winding, often congested roads in the UK.

A 400 or 500 mile trip (each way) for a weekend is a piece of cake in Calif. or Mich. or most places. Not possible/practical in the UK

PalenQ

janis - I thought Britain had freeways to The West from London - well they did some years ago when I drove them - or is Britain the backwater you make it out with no freeways as we call them here but only winding back roads? Dual carriageways I believe they call them in Britain. check them out you can cover a lot of ground when you just want to go between point A and B.

PalenQ

St Ives, Cornwall, UK
5 hours 4 mins
London, UK

Well the driving time for a 240-mile trip St Ives to London according to the Internets is 5 hours and 40 mins - not two days as janis would make it out! Plenty of time for detours IMO.

RM67

I live about 20 miles north of London and the fastest I have ever done the trip to Falmouth (which is not as far as St Ives) is just over 6 hours. Sometimes, when traffic is bad, there are accidents, or its bank hols/school hols it can be up to 10 or 11 hours. On such a long journey involving some of the UKs busiest roads it's a bit foolhardy to rely on the shortest possible estimate.

Also, maybe I'm a just bit grumpy today, but on what planet is Wales or Ironbridge en-route from London to St Ives? The Bath suggestion is a good one - lovely city - and then maybe one of the moors national parks would work as a second stop to give a rural break as a nice contrast to the earlier city one.

Enjoy

jamikins

Agree with RM above. We drove it from London and it took us 8 hours. The bottle necks can be horrible. On the way back we broke up the trip with a night in Bath. Although it is a challenge to find a place that will accept 1 night stays on weekends in Bath.

janisj

PQ -- a bit of paint this morning?

You are posting things like a brand new newbie who has never been to the UK, never driven there, and never read any of the thousands of posts on here explaining about driving in the UK.

Not like you . . .

annhig

I think that the OP has disappeared; he's not been back since his first post.

perhaps he fell into Cheddar Gorge.

PalenQ

Or maybe OP got washed away by the flood waters that apparently cover all of England!