Bath & Cotswolds - 4 nights
 

We will be in the UK in three weeks for a long-overdue and much needed vacation. We will start in London for 2 nights, travel to Canterbury, Dover, Hastings and Brighton (I recognize this is a lot to pack into one travel day), then make our way to the Cotswolds. We had planned to stay two nights in Bath then two nights in the Cotswolds (not sure where), but it occurred to me that perhaps we should choose one more central Cotswolds location and stay four nights. Thoughts?

Also, we are considering/choosing among the following hotels:

Dormy House
Lypiatt
Ivy House
Tudor Farmhouse
Manor House Hotel
Halcyon (Bath)
Queensbury (Bath)

Any recommendations or cautions regarding any of these?

Next, we will be staying with family in Hampshire, then wrapping up with another three nights in London.

This is a long-overdue and much anticipated trip, but one which, unfortunately, I haven't been able to spend my usual amount of time planning. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

"<i>Canterbury, Dover, Hastings and Brighton (I recognize this is a lot to pack into one travel day)</i>"

Not only a LOT -- just about impossible. Dover castle alone takes 4 to 5 hours and that is still a rush. London to Canterbury to Dover to Hastings to Brighton to somewhere in the Cotswolds is 300 miles or more and about 8 hours drive time w/o any stops. To see those places would take at least two full days/nights before heading off to the Cotswolds.

I'd re-think/rearrange the order of things. Where in Hampshire? Why not group your Hampshire/Sussex/Kent sites together instead of zig zagging back and forth across the whole country?

Have stayed at Queensbury in Bath a couple of times, it was absolutely lovely each time. Its location is great - close to the Circus and the Royal Crescent and also easily walkable to all Bath's attractions. They have a very nice restaurant in the basement too - Queensbury is an excellent choice in my opinion

Thanks for the quick replies! Janisj, the Canterbury, Dover, Hastings Brighton idea grew out of the fact that we leave London on Sunday and I decided I wanted to start the day by attending services in Canterbury, then looking at the map. Honestly, my husband said, "white cliffs of Dover, we should at least drive there." Then I got excited about Hastings (history major). We thought we could make it to Brighton that evening and overnight there, then drive to Cotswolds. I'll have to sit down with the map again. :)

Tjhome1, thanks for the recommendation on the Queensbury! Do you think it makes more sense to stay in Bath for four nights and use that as our home base for the area?

Two thoughts. On your "impossible" first day out of London, you realize that the Battle of Hastings took place in a field near Hastings and the village of Battle has grown up around the battlefield? That's where you need to go to tour the battlefield and visit the abbey remains.

I would do two days for Canterbury, Dover, Battle, etc (if white cliffs are of interest, Beachy Head near Eastbourne is worth a stop) and then spend 3 nights in the Cotswolds, using one day to visit Bath. I wouldn't stay in Bath to visit the Cotswolds since there is much benefit to be had staying in a quiet Cotswold village after the coach tours and day-trippers have departed.