Well I had previously posted we were staying near Bath but we have re-thought the Idea. We want to be more centrally located so we can have more day trip options.<BR>Our latest thoughts are staying somewhere in the northern Cotswolds like Chipping Norton.<BR>We want to do Bath, East Anglia, some Northern towns and of course everything near the Cotswolds like Oxford, Stratford etc.Could we get to Scotland and back in a day. We will be driving of course.<BR>Any feedback would be appreciated.BTW we will have 8 nights in January.

You certainly won't make Scotland and back in a day if you want to see anything!<BR><BR>8 nights is quite a long time. I'd recommend that if you want to cover lots of ground you buy a good UK map and look at the motorway routes - I know they are not as pretty as the country lanes, but they are generally a lot faster. You can then base your stays around proximity to the best of the network. However, you should avoid rush hour (esp Monday morning and Friday afternoon). Once you get an idea post your suggested routes/timings and someone will tell you if they are practical.<BR><BR>Have you considered staying, say, 2 nights in each of 4 places, moving gradually North, and then leaving your car at an airport in the North (Scotland or Manchester) and then flying back. You don't say where you are coming from/going to or how many of you there are, but this may be an option with the cheap flights that now exist over here.<BR><BR>One other thing, in January I don't think I'd book ahead - it isn't busy then. I'd do lots of reasearch before I came, and ideally bring a laptop for web access. There's a great website called laterooms.com that throws up some amazing bargains at quiet times of the year, but they can only be booked a couple of weeks ahead.

Look at a map of England, and you will see the answers to your questions. The places you want to visit are located east of London, north of London, and west of London. Therefore London is the best central location. It is also the most expensive location. You pay a premium for being centrally located.<BR><BR>Forget about Scotland if you want a day-trip. If you look at a map you will see the reason.

I do NOT recommend staying in London - the traffic is appalling and it means that you spend ages getting to and from the places you want to go. Don't confuse most central with most accessible. <BR><BR>You might even want to consider staying in/near Birmingham - it used to be very run down but now has much more of a cafe culture...and far less in the way of traffic than London.

I think you need to do another major re-think. Your current plans don't make much sense. You are going in January when 1) the days are very short 2) the weather does not lend itself to long car trips 3) many of the country-side sites (Blenheim, many places in Scotland, etc) are closed for the winter. You want to see four corners of the UK, Plus you want to do Scotland as a day trip. And all in only 8 days!?<BR><BR>With 8 days limit your self to TWO places at the most - London and the Cotswolds, the Cotswolds and East Anglia. London and East Anglia, etc. or just go to Scotland.<BR>