Judi

We are travelling by car to Bath, the Cotswolds, Stonehenge, Stratford, Oxford,for 6 days in early Septemeber perhaps basing ourselves in Bath for 2 days then in Woodstock (good idea?) for another 2-3-4? <BR>Any ideas? Should we have reservations before we go? Any nice hotel and restaurant recommendations? Thank-you so much!!!

gb

Yes, get a British Heritage Pass to see the historic sites.

steve

I wouldn't think you would need reservations, unless you have a specific place that you want to stay. <BR> <BR>I found Bath a very difficult city to drive in.

Mavis

I agree, car in Bath might be difficult but you can always park outside and take bus/train in. Is a lovely city to walk around. Woodstock is a good choice and is easy to drive around in and of course is handy for Blenheim (don't forget to see where Winston Churchill is buried at tiny church in Bladon - right next door to Woodstock). I'm sorry I don't have much in the way of hotel reservations, we always rent a self-catering cottage when we are in that area. But some ideas re: eating - (there will be a lot of pubs because we've found good food at decent prices and we can eavesdrop on the locals): The Falkland Arms in Great Tew - fabulous food, lovely thatched village, ancient pub, any of the pubs in Cropredy, just north of Banbury, Joel's in Chipping Campden (excellent food), The Bear in Moreton on Marsh (not that fancy but great soup), Snowshills Arms in Snowshill (my mom said these were the best homemade sausages she ever ate), Wykham Arms in Sibford Gower (lovely little village). Have fun.

Karen

We have found The Bell in Charlbury,OX, to be ideally situated, beautiful rooms, helpful staff and fantastic restaurant. It is small, probably 12-15 bedrooms...look for a website, they may have one.

Mark

Hi ... <BR> <BR>Would be very surprised if there was any need to book at that time of year ... unless you have a large party ... <BR> <BR>To book places you could go into the local Tourist Information Offices ... they also have book ahead services ... <BR>(it may cost more doing it this way, than going direct to a b&b) <BR> <BR>Mark

alex

Judi <BR> <BR>Sounds like you have a good itinery planned. September should be much quieter than the main holiday season - kids go back to school in the first week. I can't really comment on choices to stay, but have found a decent website which lists hotels: http://www.theaa.co.uk/hotels/ <BR> <BR>This is the AA (Automobile Association) site which does the ratings for most hotels in the UK. This is an independent guide and not one that just does ads. It is reliable as it does not require searching under the confusing crown system of rating accomodation and is universally recognised. <BR> <BR>You can search under, say "the Heart of England" and then particular accomodation - hotels, 1-5 stars etc. It came up with 2 hotels under 3 star hotels in Woodstock. The only disadvantage is that you do need to have a good map to identify places listed under the town names, unless you have somewhere specific in mind, ie it will not automatically link to somewhere near Woodstock if it is listed under a separate town. Septmeber should still be a good time to get inclusive Dinner Bed and Breakfast deals if you are staying 2 or more nights in one place. <BR> <BR>Place wise, do not miss Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle and Storhead Garden in Wiltshire (SE of Bath). Also check out the National Trust site at http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ for other places to visit. Hidcote Manor Gardens and Snowshill Manor in the northern Cotswolds are superb. <BR>Alex <BR> <BR>