Canterbury, Sandwich and Rye area or Chepstow, Wales and the Costwolds
 

We are planning a 7 day trip to London and the UK in October. We are stumped as to what to do after London. We have narrowed the choice to visiting the Canterbury, Sandwich and Rye area or going to Chepstow, Wales and visiting the Costwolds.
Any suggestions?
Thanks so much in advance.

Is your entire trip only 7 days -- or is that just for the side trip?

If you have 7 days in <i>total</i> . . . Have you been to London before? Are you flying in long haul? How many nights are you planning In London? Are you planning on driving or using public transport?

Either option would make a wonderful side trip -- neither is 'better' than the other and both have LOTS to see/do. But you'd want several days to see much.

Thank you for your reply. We've never been to London before.
We will have a 13 hour flight, including a one hour layover in New York. We will be using public transportation in London and then driving for the remainder of our trip.

OK - so your entire trip is 7 days . . . does that include your travel days over and back?

Even if you mean seven days 'on the ground' (meaning a 9 day trip) you will have less time than you might imagine. Day one is normally pretty much lost to jetlag, checking in, and getting your bearings. So now you are down to 6 days. To even get a tiny taste of London takes time. How many major sites do you plan to see in London?

You'd want at least 2 days/nights for either one of your side trip ideas - and that would be rushing.

Assuming you don't want much time in London, then I'd make my decision on which airport you are using. Canterbury/Rye are much more convenient to Gatwick, and the Cotswolds/Wales are much more convenient to Heathrow.

I think of the 2 areas you mention the Cotswolds would be the more memorable if quintessential English countryside is what you want. 2-3 nights would give you enough time for a drive around the Cotswold villages and if you have time then across the Severn Bridge to the corner of Wales you mention, Chepstow and along the Wye to Tintern Abbey, is lovely.

October will be a good month, less crowded and no chance of a heat wave. Gardens in the area should still be in pretty good shape and if it's something that interests you there are some great ones there.

You might want to pick up and return your rental car at the airport you'll fly out of to simplify things. I don't think I'd base my decision based on which airport as, if you're driving, the distance to either is not that great.

London to Canterbury to Sandwich to Rye to LHR is nearly 250 miles/7 hours of driving. The same to Gatwick is only about 175 miles/4 hr driving. Makes a huge difference IMO on such a short visit.

LHR to Burford to Chepstow to LHR is about 225 miles/5hrs driving. Using Gatwick it would be a hundred miles/2.5 hrs longer.

Those are 'behind the wheel' times, so time in transit would be longer.

So, no it doesn't always make a difference which airport -- but when has very little time, practical is better IMO.

Thanks, everyone for all of your replies. You were a major help.

If I'm not mistaken the distance that matters most is the driving distance between Heathrow and Gatwick only, how much further is the drive if she goes to one destination rather than the other. The distance between the airports is only 24 miles, not a long way. I think they should go whichever place strikes their fancy regardless of which airport they're using.

I'll declare an interest as I live near Canterbury, I would suggest a day in Canterbury and then drive on to the Rye, Sandwich area and find a guest house or B&B for an overnight stay.

FWIW I once stayed at the 15th century Mermaid Inn at Rye the night before flying out from Heathrow - a nice contrast to spending the next night six miles up in a high-tech metal tube. With a late evening flight I had plenty of time to make my way to Heathrow by train (via Reading if I recall).