I absolutely hate these "Where should we go?" and "Please help me choose" posts and now here I am posting one!!!

The situation: Arriving London 21 Sep in the PM and staying overnight at Heathrow.

Will have rental car beginning AM of 22 Sep; must be in Norfolk the evening of 24 Sep and then spending 26-1 Oct in London.

Question is where to spend the 22nd and 23rd?

We have decided against Stratford and the Royal Shakespeare (no good seats left!).

Thought perhaps the Cotswolds or Lake District anywhere with pleasant scenery. What about Wiltshire or Dorset?

We enjoy touring "great" houses, museums, castles; some walking and exploring.

Appreciate any thoughts and thanks in advance.

Anyone?

I do love the Cotswolds .You could leave Heathrow,drive to Oxford,up to Worcester and drive east to Norfolk from there.Lovely scenery.

Carylspall:

Thanks very much for the response. After reading that and through various other posts we have decided to go to the Cotswolds and will base ourselves in Broadway.

You may enjoy visiting Snowshill Manor which is very near Broadway. Also of interest in Broadway is St Eadburgha's Church dating back to 963 or so--if the gate is locked there is a stile you can walk over to gain access.

Nini: thanks for the reply and the information. It sounds delightful. I am really appreciative of any and all these recoemmendations.

We have heard people raving about "The Cotswolds" for years but have never been. I wish we had more time but will try to make the most out of our couple of days.

The Cotswolds are wonderful - one of my favorite places in the UK. But just to muddy the waters a bit - I'd also consider Kent/East Sussex.

The Cotswolds are closer to LHR - but Kent is an easier drive up to Norfolk. While the Cotswolds are lovely - villages, gardens, walks - it is an area w/ relatively few "Great houses and Castles"

Whereas Kent/East Sussex has more castles and great houses than you could possibly get to. Hever, Knole, Dover, Penshurst place, Igtham Mote, Chartwell, Bodiam, Deal - plus all the amazing gardens like Sissinghurst, Scotney Castle, Great Dixter, etc.

For your interests - I think Kent is a better fit.

Janis: thanks. I was hoping you would chime in. I'm sure I could be persuaded and although I kinda flatly stated we're going to Broadway..well. you know what I mean.

Thanks for the various recommendations and I also appreciate your comments about the drives/distances which are an issue in this case.

Another choice would be somewhere in Suffolk/Cambridgeshire. There are lots of National Trusts in the area (Ickworth, Audley End, Wimpole Hall) as well as the wonderful villages like Long Melford, Lavenham, Kersey, etc.

Or head to the Suffolk coast for two nights on your way to Norfolk.

But your other choices are great, too. The Cotswolds and Kent/Sussex are my favourite parts of England, as well.

No bad choice, here!

To reinforce janisj's point.

We really don't do Great Houses in the Cotswolds (or rather we do, but few are open to the public. Chastleton makes up for a lot though), and gardens (of which many are open) aren't really at their best in mid-Sept. We are almost entirely a castle-free zone.

It is however a great area for walking, we have glorious medieval churches (though fewer than Norfolk, which has 10% of England's entire supply) and a peculiarly high proportion of them have pre-Reformation wall paintings

Although Oxford's excellent for museums, there are few elsewhere in the area, apart from Cirencester's great mosaic collection.

Most importantly, the drive from Broadway to Norfolk's a real pain, and astonishingly unattractive for most of the journey. Properly managed, that drive can take you past a fair few great houses, some of which (Blenheim and Waddesdon) I'd appreciate your taking home with you. Others (Chastleton again, Sulgrave and, if you go a slightly convoluted way, Audley End) are worthwhile. But if you try to fit more than one in, the journey will take the entire day.

I really would recommend Suffolk instead. The walking's at least as good as here and you'll waste far less time dealing with roundabouts.

Or that sodding unannounced camera at Oundle that gave me another three points last week.

Go with rickmav's suggestion - East Anglia will be more than delightful for a couple of nights, and the drive to Norfolk at the end will be much easier than trying to cross half the country. I think Lavenham/Kersey etc. is about as good as it gets, and late Sept. will be grand.

Another (biased!) vote for East Anglia.

Do you really want to hire a car from London? Easier to get a train to East Anglia on the 22nd - spending the rest of the day in any one of number of places including Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, Norwich or Woodbridge - then getting a car there?

Depends where in Norfolk you're going, but if you're driving, once you're off the A12 or M11, it can take longer than you'd expect to get around. For example, Ipswich-Norwich is about 40 miles, but can easily take over an hour on the road, compared to 40 mins by train. If you do as I suggest, you can have an early start on the 23rd and have a full day exploring the coast and various towns, plus most of the 24th for more of the same.

I can second (or is it third) the suggestion re Suffolk. Lots of lovely things to see and a LOT closer to where you want to end up.

If it were my trip, my choices in order would be:

1) Kent (but only by a small margin)
2) Suffolk

and then a big gap to

3) the Cotswolds

The logistics of driving Gloucestershire/Warwickshire to Norfolk are really a pain . . . .

Intrepid1

Here is another vote for East Anglia, within easy reach of London. www.visiteastofengland.com for ideas etc.

To those suggested I'll add Sutton Hoo, where an Anglo-Saxon burial ship was found filled with treasure (close to Woodbridge).

Museum of East Anglian Life at Stowmarket.

Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire

Are you all set for the Norfolk part of your holiday?

Sandy