I second the motion to purchase the GBHP--it will be worth it. And in our 9 days of driving a loop from LHR-Oxford-Shrewsbury-Conwy-Hadrian's Wall area-York-Dover-LHR last summer, I found that doubling whatever time suggested by whichever mapping site I used (used Googlemaps as basis) was a safe scheduling tactic. Our driving times were USUALLY about 1.5 what came up on the mapping sites; I had planned our days as if it might take almost twice as long as sites said and that left us with no surprises or disappointments for not arriving someplace. (Most days we drove about 4-5 hours.)

Driving time from Conwy to Lincoln in 4 hours??? That's very optimistic as I have taken 3 hrs plus from Manchester to Conwy, using motorways.
The element of your trip through Devon & Cornwall sounds way too rushed.Stonehenge to Dartmouth in one drive (missing the delightful county of Dorset) and then only a morning in Dartmouth before heading off for St Ives will give you a rather skewed view (from car window) of South West England which deserves "slow travel" to appreciate its character.

You would be missing the wonderful river trip from Totnes down the Dart to Dartmouth (in my view one of the most picturesque river trips in the UK); a visit to Greenway (Agatha Christie's house) as recommended by AnnHig and then the gorgeous Garden House near Yelverton followed by a cream tea at the Primrose Tea shop in Lustleigh on the edge of Dartmoor.

Right, so you'll be basically here during the Easter school holidays as well as over the period of 4 bank holidays. I would definitely book accommodation in advance.

I'd take a bus from Heathrow to Bath upon arrival, spend the night, pick up the car the next day, then see Wells en route south.

We will buy a GBHP for sure ( did not know about them so thanks ).

Bellini if it takes 5 hours or whatever - so be it. My driving times are only very approximate. As to the river trip, if we do it then it obviously leaves less time elsewhere . Can't do everything !

Caroline - I have decided on most of our accommodation and will take your advice about booking ahead.

Nanbug - at the suggestion of a previos poster we will now be spending our first night in Windsor.

Co-incidentally, we're off to Totnes this pm to see in the new year with some relatives. i don't think there'll be any river trips at this time of year, though.

I'm expecting it to take about 2 hours from here [Redruth in cornwall, St. Ives is about another 45 minutes] but that's with NO Easter holiday traffic. I would add a good hour in season, plus whatever sightseeing/eating time you want to add.

A little information on castles and a garden near Conwy, not to be missed. Richard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castles_in_Wales www.bodnantgarden.co.uk

With deference to janisj, we routinely drive upon arrival in Europe after an overnight flight. However, we always limit our drives to no more than 2 hrs.

Obviously, if you take any drugs to sedate you during your flight, you might be too "foggy" to drive when you arrive. Otherwise, I think you should be the judge of how competent you are upon arrival.

"<i>With deference to janisj, we routinely drive upon arrival in Europe after an overnight flight. . . Otherwise, I think you should be the judge of how competent you are upon arrival.</i>"

Driving impaired is considered a very serious offense - whether drinks/drugs or jetlag/exhaustion. And the 'wrong side of the road' issue complicates things even more.

I agree, janis. But not everyone is impaired after flying 6 or 8 hours. I certainly don't advocate driving for long distances but I would not hesitate to drive for an hour or two upon arrival. For me, jetlag normally doesn't kick in til much later in the day.

If somebody has flown for 12 hours or longer, then they probably shouldn't even drive the 20 minutes it takes to get to Windsor.

Just my humble opinion, of course.

I have a lodging suggestion in Tenby -- the Bay House B&B, which justly deserves its rating as Tenby's first 5-star B&B. Their website is:
http://www.tenbybandb.co.uk/

I stayed here for three nights in September 2009, based on a recommendation from this message board. What a lovely, luxurious home, and wonderful hosts -- helpful but not intrusive, good cooks, everything you could ask for. I was initially unsure if I'd like the location, but it turned out to be perfect -- very near but not on the pretty seafront promenade, and less than a five-minute walk from the heart of town.

My wife and I are considering that time period also. We can save $640 on plane fare from the US. What is the weather like at that time,i.e. is it good enough to warrant the fare savings?

tommyh -

your guess is as good as mine. we have had fine warm days in april since I've been living in cornwall [I'm in my 15th year here] and absolutely freezing ones, and everything in between.

what it won't be is hot - 65C max if you are lucky. but that is great for rambling, walks on beaches, garden visiting, lunching out of doors...depends what you are used to and what you require on a holiday, I suppose.

Ah, but annhig >><i> we have had fine warm days in april since I've been living in cornwall . . . . and absolutely freezing ones, and everything in between. </i><< you could say the very same thing about June or July too :)

tommyh: Point being -- you can't plan a trip to the UK based on potential weather. You can get just about anything just about any time.

Just a comment on the Great British Heritage Pass. We purchase this several years ago during our 3 week trip that also included Devon, Cornwall & Wales. The thing I really liked about the pass was the map that accompanied it - we used it as we traveled and if we were driving by something we would try to stop. We ended up seeing many castles that are probably not on anyone's top 10 list but that ended up being very special to us. We usually had the place to ourselves (and this was in summer!) and would take picnic lunches from the nearby town to eat as we strolled around. We saw top sites too like Tintagel and Edward's castles in Wales - really enjoyed the whole trip. We were able to purchase the pass at the first site that we went to that was a Heritage site so didn't have to order it online or anything. Anyway - highly suggest for people who like to "wander"!

oops - think that should be 65F!!!!

65C would be hot, hot, hot!

Thank you for the advice. "Anybody's guess" is about what I expected.