11 Days and too much to do
 

I am a bit overwhelmed with planning.

First, we are going to London on or around 9/1 until 9/12. Should we book our airfare now, or are there typical times when airfare goes on sale? Right now seems like full price at $750 each.

Second, I want to show my husband London and a bit of England. He has never been. I have been to London twice and Scotland once. I am thinking Tower of London, British Museum, Old Bailey, plays, and lots of pubs and culture and fun. I need to find the right neigbhorhood to stay in which is convenient to the tube for all the attractions and has some good local pubs to relax in with the locals after a long day. Any suggestions there?

Third: onward. Either Cambridge or Oxford, Bath, Ludlow or some other countryside villages and at least a day or two in the Yorkshire Dales, Pennines or some other area of hiking/biking natural beauty. I can not seem to get this down on paper. There are too many web sites, too many choices. Can anyone help???? My goal is to see a smattering of English villages mixed in with a bit of relaxing nature hiking or biking.
Thanks for any tips you may have on web sites or itinerary planning.

I do know what you mean - everything can be overwhelming!
The thing that helps me is to divide it all into bite sized chunks when planning - and have a folder (electronic or paper) for each part of the trip!
I live in the Yorkshire Dales and am sure I can help you with planning this part.
Are you after a Hotel/B and B/cottage?
Will you have a car?
Are you happy to stay somewhere very rural (ie a farm).
Are you experienced walkers?
Is there anything that particularly interests you? (For instance abbeys, castles, good food, Brewerys etc).
I hope I will be able to assist, or at least point you in the right direction.
By the way, the English schools restart after the summer break around the 4th Sept so the later you leave it the quieter places will be.
M

Grab that airfare. With all the speculation about oil, I doubt that they will be lower between now and your anticipated departure.

For transportation considerations, consider the Travel Inn at County Hall. The London Eye is right outside, Big Ben and Parliament are right across the river, Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square are within easy walking distance and there are two tube stops (Westminster and Waterloo) within a block or two. On the negative side, it is an English Motel 6 and the area, while safe and convenient, isn't a 'neighborhood'. There are a couple of pubs but they are for the convenience of the tourist.

Cambridge could be done as a daytrip from London on a commuter rail.

If you headed to Bath, then you could also include Salisbury, Stonehenge (or Avebury) and the Cotswolds.

If you chose the Yorkshire Dales, then you could also see York.

Chose a smaller city and a more rural area near by. It would be wonderful to see it all but it just doesn't work.

Suggestion: Go to your 'village' area first. Biking or hiking sounds like a great way to decompress after the long hike.

Second: You have only 10 ten days (assuming you leave evening of the 1st and return on the 12th). You need to consolidate some of your ideas. It will also make planning easier.

Some ideas to help cut it down:

Assume you'll be going back to London (we all but skipped it on our first trip to England, knowing that we'd be passing through on subsequent trips to the continent. This turned out to be the case and we've since had several 'mini' trips to London.) Even if you don't use London as a hub, the point is it is easy to get back to London for a short break, not so easy to do that with the other places.

I also suggest leaving such nights in London as you spend till the last, when you will have recovered sufficiently from jet lag to enjoy evening plays.

If you want to see the Yorkshire Dales, I'd make that the other theme of the trip and build it out from there. Personally I think Bath-Oxford-Cotswolds is a better focal point, but the point is you must bite the bullet and make a commitment. A lot depends on how you plan to travel (public transit or do you plan to rent a car, at least for the non-London part?)

Great advice. Thanks. I had such a general post, I was afraid no one would reply.
I was thinking we would travel to somewhere in the countryside and rent a car from there and motor around so as not to have to drive in London. I'm a little worried about driving on the "wrong" side of the road, especially with jet lag. We want to do at least a day or two of out and back hiking, staying at small inns or farmhouses (sounds lovely) that might be in a pretty Village. The Cotswolds would be great but the post about natural beauty said the Dales or Cumbria for nature and Cotswolds for man made beauty.
You are all correct that at some point, I need to make decisions and forego trying to do everything.
But its all so enticing. I love to travel!

A good way to do what you want is to spend your first night in Windsor. It is very close to LHR so you can either rent a car from one of the airport sites - or take public transport to Windsor and spend the first, jet-lagged day car-less. Windsor will certainly fill that first day so no need to try to cram in any more. Then the next day you can start your car touring - to the Cotswolds or maybe North Wales. Or up to Yorkshire. if you hire your car at LHR or in Windsor you will not be driving in London.

But if Yorkshire is your choice I would spend the first day/night in London and then take the train to York. After your day in London and a day in York - again car-less, pick up a car and tour through the Moors and Dales for a few days before either driving ot taking the train down to London.

Hi getmeoddahere, all the "experts" have strongly advised to grab an airfare that you can afford as soon as possible as the thinking is that airfairs will continue to rise these coming months.

I've booked the airfare and the London hotel. After a few stories in the Chicago Tribune and New York times about rising airfare and pricey hotels, I made some decisions. So we will be staying in London for 4 days and then on to the Yorkshire Dales. I think we will rent a car after we get to the Dales area. I am hoping to do some hiking and/or biking especially in the Swaledale area, see ancient sites, beautiful little Villages, and whatever. I have a lot of research still to do, but if anyone wants to point out highlights in the area, it would be appreciated.

Swaledale - beautiful! Hard to pick out highlights as it is all so lovely. This is one of my favourite walks -
/www.dalesandvaleswalks.co.uk/photowalks/yorkshire_dales/0066ar_gunnersidetoblackhill/00_gunnerside_circular.html
The countryside is beautiful despite bearing the scars of all the old lead mining.
A car is vital! Do you have somewhere in mind to stay? If you want to stay in a town then Richmond is nice. But there are also numerous Bed and Breakfast places in the villages, or maybe you would like to stay on a farm. Reeth is a gorgeous village - here's an example of somewhere to stay in this vilage.
http://www.yorkshirenet.co.uk/stayat...tage/index.htm
The Yorkshirenet website is a good source of accommodation.
M
M

Morgana:
Thanks for the links. The pictures are so pretty, I could cry.

If you were thinking of going to Ludlow then you could combine this with some hiking in the Malvern Hills using Hereford as a base - the Castle House Hotel(http://www.castlehse.co.uk/) is a lovely place to stay right in the city centre. You could also then visit Hay-on-Wye which is an picturesque little town on the Welsh Border full of antiques and 2nd hand books, the black and white villages of Pembridge, Eardisland and Weobley in North West Herefordshire or head down to Symonds Yat for some more hiking in the Wye valley. These are really beautiful places and relatively untouched by mass tourism so roads will be scenic and quiet (therefore easy to drive at your leisure!) and all the above are around 30 minutes from Hereford. You could always travel a little further either down to the Cotswalds (about 45-60 mins) or into Wales to hike around the Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons or the Elan Valley resevoirs near Rhayader. In Hereford, The Barrels pub is a traditional English pub serving real ales and food and has won several awards, Ludlow has a couple of well known Michelin Starred restaurants and there are many traditional country pubs on quiet country roads serving good food such as the Wellington Inn at Wellington or The Stagg at Titley near Kington. You could probably do this area in around 5 days and it would give you a good picture of rural England and the Welsh border.

Apologies for the last post - I should have read down further to see you had already decided on Yorkshire! I am biased however and think that Herefordshire and the Welsh Border is more picturesque, has better and more varied walks and is less touristy haha!!! Have a good trip

I am back and probably too late to make the best of planning. We have 5 days to see York, the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. Is there somewhere central that we should stay, or should we break it up with an overnight in York and 2 in the Dales and the Lake District. I would like to get a quick overview of York and then get out into nature. Plan to see Fountains Abbey, Howard Castle, but mostly do some hiking. I would love to see Grasmere and Swaledale and some of the more spectacular sights. How should we break it up? Or am I trying to see too much by covering the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales? Any particularly wonderful hotel recommendations? Towns to visit that are interesting but not overly touristy? We will be there from September 6th through Spet 10th.
Thanks

I can highly recommend "The Granary" in Stearsby (near York) for a few nights.

See my trip report from last summer for details: http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...rger&fid=2

It was a great place to stay, and we explored York (less than 30 minutes away), the Dales and the Moors from that spot.

If it were my trip, I'd find a separate place for visiting the Lakes, but Stearsby was perfect for York and environs (and would save one time of packing and moving for you).

Gayle

I go to London several times a year to catch up on theatre (I've a flat there.) Here is my totally opinionated list of "must see" theatre for those with only a short time to spend:
Hayfever (Judi Dench alone is worth the price of admission)
Billy Elliot (brilliant dancing)
Mama Mia
Rocky Horror Picture Show (hasn't opened yet but if David Bedella's performance matches his past one in Jerry Springer, the Opera, it will be fabulous.
Woman in Black -- classic thriller, has been playing forever
See How they Run (just opened to excellent reviews)
Almost anything at the National Theatre.

What else to do? London Walks are, to my way of thinking, the best introduction to London anyone could have. See http://www.london-walks.com.

ANYTIME you book or buy a ticket to ANYTHING ask if there are any "concessions" (discounts.) I rarely spend more than 15 pounds to go to the theatre and I go at least 7 times a week whilst in London.

Theatremonkey.com has the best directions on actually GETTING to theatres (as well as other useful stuff.)

If the weather is nice (??!) find the time to take a walk along the Regents Canal (or take the water bus from Camden Town after visiting the market there.)

I have hundreds of ideas and suggestions (do a websearch on "London Free Events" and prepare to be astonished.) Tickets at the National Theatre are available for 10 pounds per person if you show up and join the queue before the box office opens (I usually get there at 9 and bring a book. You can move a chair over into the queue from the adjacent cafe -- put it back 5 minutes or so before the box office opens at 10.)

London Walks does a guided trip to Bath on Wednesdays that's terrific.

I could go on ad nauseum, but won't. Have fun!!!

5 days to do York, Dales and the Lakes is JUST about ok. I could easily plan you 5 days in Yorkshire, but I understand you want to see the Lakes as well!
The slight problem is Castle Howard, which isn't in the Dales but the Howardian Hills and is a day out in itself. Depends how much you want to go there!
First thoughts -
Day 1 - York
Day 2 - Fountains Abbey in the morning, head over to the Dales. Dales pm.
Day 3 - Dales
Days 4 and 5 - Lakes
Two recommendations for Hotels in the Dales. Neither are in Swaledale but both are in stunning areas and the drive to Swaledale from them is a treat in itself.
1) Devonshire Arms Hotel, Bolton Abbey
www.thedevonshirearms.co.uk
Quite upmarket, stunning setting, numerous walks from the Hotel itself
2) Yorke Arms - my favourite place! This is a 'restaurant with rooms' set in a tiny. beautiful village called Ramsgill in Nidderdale. Don't be put off by the tariff - it is Michelin starred and totally fab! Again a gorgeous builing and an amazing setting surrounded by hills. You can walk out of the door and start hiking!
www.yorke-arms.co.uk
So maybe on Day 2 you could make an early start to Fountains (think it opens at 10), then head to Ramsgill after lunch, check in and then explore the area (I can give you some walk ideas that start from the Hotel). Then Day 3 head to Swaledale for your walking.
I don't know the Lakes very well, although I do love Grasmere (and the Grasmere Gingerbread!).
www.grasmeregingerbread.co.uk
A good walking site for the Lakes is
www.davidhalllakedistrictwalks.co.uk
I can recommend a lovely pub with great rooms in Crosthwaite -
www.the-punchbowl.co.uk
In Grasmere itself there is -
www.lancrigg.demon.co.uk and
www.grasmere-hotels.co.uk/wordsworth/default.asp
Get back to me if you think I can help further!
M

Yorkshire suggestion:

http://www.rookhurst.co.uk/

Wonderful area of Wensleydale*, right on the Pennine Way.

* perfect for hikers, for any Wallace and Gromit fans, or James Herriot fans, for that matter

Morgana:
Thank you so much for your helpful advice.

So folks, here is the itinerary so far. 4 nights in London at the Russell Hotel. Cram everything in, making a point to go to court at the Old Bailey. We are both lawyers and even though I have been to London several times and can never seem to fit this in. This time it is a must.
Day 5 take the GNER to York. See the Minster, the Treasurer's House and the Shambles. Poke around. Have a relaxing dinner. Overnight at Alhambra Court hotel. AM - back to the train station to rent a car. Off to the Dales. Four nights at Sportsmans Arms near Pateley Bridge. Then back to London the night before we fly out for easy access to Heathrow.
This is where I am so far. I eliminated the Lake District because I would rather have time to relax and enjoy the Dales without trying to cram too much in.

I still need to figure out my Dales itinerary: which hikes to do and how to fit in the attractions like Rievaulx Abbey, Castle Howard, Richmond Castle. We would love to rent a bike one day and cycle around as well. Anyone know if there is cycle hire in Pately Bridge?
Do I need to purchase those 1:25,000 OS maps (or whatever they are called). As an American from the flat midwest, I have a hard time reading the British maps with all the topography. They are very confusing to me.
Second problem - too many hiking choices! That is the theme of my thread - too many choices! I have been looking at the dalesandvales web site all night. Lovely pictures, but how to choose when I don't know the area? I may leave this up to the last minute and ask for advise from the hotel, unless I need to purchase the high tech maps in advance.

Although planning is a lot of work, it is really fun.
My last question is, would it be enjoyable to drive back to London on our last day or should we just take the train back from York? I would do the drive if we could make it scenic and enjoyable with stop offs along the way. Or would it just be a tiring drive?

Just to say there is no need to get your OS maps in advance, or possibly even at all. Every TIC (and there is one in Pateley Bridge) will have the OS maps, local walking leaflets and books, and someone in attendance that will be able to advise you on walks.

I wouldn't think that the drive to London would be preferable to the train, unless there was very specific "must see" for you on the way.