mbhatia

We will be in london for a week in august 2006. We would like to hire a car for 3 days to drive nearby areas from london. (basically we would like to stay 3 days in the countryside) Could you suggest some options which are reasonably nearby with places to see and stay also.

thanks

janisj

I see this is your first post. Welcome, you will get a LOT of help here.

but you at least have to help us a bit. What sorts of things do you want to see? What research have you already done? Any place sound good to you? Or do you have no idea at all what you want? How many of you?

Basically your options are unlimited - the Cotswolds, or Norfolk/Suffolk, or Kent/East Sussex, or the south Coast, etc etc. But w/o knowing a bit more it is nearly impossible to give useful advice.

I would search for any of the many threads already on here about short trips out of London. Start by clicking on United Kingdom in the country list.

Morgana

Hi
I know you indicated you want to be near to London, but an alternative would be to take the train from London to York (quick, efficient GNER service), rent a car from York and then explore Yorkshire.
You could perhaps spend a little time looking at the beautiful city of York, and then head out to the Yorkshire Dales or Moors. There are many farms that do a wonderful and inexpensive bed and breakfast if you wnated to stay somewhere really rural.
North Yorkshire was recently voted the most beautiful county in England.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5033508.stm
In case this is a non-starter for you I won't launch into all the attractions of this part of the country, but if you click on my name you'll find plenty I've already written. Or just ask questions and I'll do my best to assist.

artvark

I would recommend heading west or northwest. If you are into ancient stuff you could go see Stonehenge, Avebury, and a bunch of other places in Wiltshire. If you want to see a Roman ruin, and a Georgian era town, go to Bath. If you want country villages, go to the Costwolds and drive to the most ridiculous sounding place you could find. My theory is the more ridiculous a place sounds in the Cotswolds, the cooler the place. If castles are your thing, you can go to Windsor, and then head up to Warwick and Kenilworth. If palaces are your bag, you can visit Blenheim. If you like cathedrals, visit Salsbury and Winchester. It all depends on what you want to see. You'll see coutryside on any of these trips, with the Cotswolds being probably the most likely to jazz you.

mbhatia

we are interestd in seeing beautiful scenery and landscapes...
and experience rustic stay..
we have read a little bit on bath and the cotswold.

thanks

karlth

Me and my wife drove last year for 3 days through the Cotswold and the Bath area last October.

A few recommendations:

1. Romantic trip? Hire a convertible. We used "Guy Salmon" at Heathrow.

2. Stay in Oxford. It is a lovely city. Fill a picnic basket at the Covered Market and take it down to the river.

3. Do drive through the Cotswold but book a hotel in advance and remember that when it comes to driving less is usually more. You won't manage to see all of the Cotswolds so be selective. We had a lovely dinner at "Barnsley House", quite posh, and would recommend staying there as well.

4. Bath is beautiful but again do book a hotel in advance.

5. If you are interested in architecture then of course Salsibury and Winchester are a must, otherwise I might give them a miss, but again drive to minimize the driving.

Let me know if you want more pointers. Brighton and the south of England are also well worth a trip but not in the same journey

Regards
Karl

noe847

Thanks for posting these. That time in the car certainly does add up, doesn't it?

Lori

I'd also recommend taking the train to a place like York and renting a car there. Or .. you can take a train to Salisbury and use that as a base. These are two examples, the choices are endless.

What I would avoid, ifyou are not used to driving in London, is renting a car in London itself. Traffic is usually hellish and there are lots of one way streets to contend with. By the time you would get out to a place like Heathrow to rent the car you might as well have taken the train someplace and rented there.

We used Salisbury as a base on one trip and it was great. Lots of places to visit within a short disance and we enjoyed Salisbury as well as it was large enough to have shops, places to eat, a wonderful cathedral, etc. York is another great choice, we loved it.

You might consider Rye, it's along the coast and you could easily visit Battle (of Hastings) site, various castles in Kent, etc. We loved the time we spent over that way too. (actually we love everyplace we visit)