tidy

Crazy as it sounds we are planning to visit England the last couple of days in December until January 12. We would not have chosen this time of year but we have vouchers that were to expire. We have been to England a couple of times. We will spend a few days in London and possibly watch the New Years parade, see plays and visit a couple of museums that we have not seen before. We will visit both the Cotswold and Bath which we have done before but it has been years. I would appreciate help with my decision to visit either the Cornish Coast or go towards Brighton and visit Rye and other small villages. I would really appreciate site recommendations worthy of a visit and maybe even any lodging recommendations.
Thank you in advance.

bilboburgler

Cornwall is very much a outdoors sort of place (see the Eden Project) and I've been there in Jan when the weather is fantastic or terrible. But normally it will not be very very cold. So if you are prepared for the wet then you'll find it great. https://www.edenproject.com/

London is a multi-weather desitnation and of course there are plenty of plan Bs in London

I would spend a day in Oxford if you are looking for a day out

janisj

OK -- At that time of year and coming from overseas, I'd plan a pretty much totally city-centric trip. When I lived there we took lots of winter driving / countryside trips but that's because we could wake up Friday morning - see what the weather would be and decide where to go. If I was spending hundreds/thousands $$$ just getting to England I'd want to be in city centres where the weather hardly makes a difference with all the indoor activities/sites. I wouldn't want to be in Cornwall, gorgeous though it is, if it was raining sideways. (Same goes for the Cotswolds and the south coast IME/IMO)

If the weather is decent or even semi decent it would be great -- do you feel lucky??

Have you been to York? I'd think about Oxford, Bath, York, even Edinburgh since it is an easy journey from London, before I'd preplan a trip to Cornwall.

tidy

we have been to York, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh. Is it possible to have a few reservations in place and then make reservations as we go. Years ago when we went we were able to make arrangements the day of or even the day before? Of course we would have resos for London.

janisj

Sure -- just pick places with generous cancellations policies. Since you'd be touring after New Years, things will be a LOT easier than between Xmas/NY. That is a pretty dead time for tourism since the schools open up Jan 3. And business travel is stiil depressed so you should be able to easily find rooms in London or wherever if your countryside plans wash out.

tidy

that is helpful. any suggestions for a place or or area in London? I have no idea what prices are like now but we don't need fancy as we will be out and about a lot. I always say location, location, location!
Also, if we end up in London for New Years I think there is a parade.is that something that a tourist would enjoy or is it mostly enjoy by Europeans?

janisj

Do you have New Years Eve plans? AFAIK the huge fireworks and closed off/ticketed area of central London has been cancelled again. That should help because it is logistical nightmare for getting around.

If you like parades you'll enjoy the New Years parade. It usually draws about half a million people . . . and because the fireworks have been cancelled there might be even more this year (less people sleeping it off )

IME London hotel rates for NYE/NY are astronomical. So I'd jump on booking.com right away and see if you can find anything in your budget. I'd normally recommend South Kensington, Victoria, Russell Sq/Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia, etc. But for right after Christmas and New Years I'd maybe look at some of the nice business-oriented hotels in the City (like the general rectangle stretching from around Temple to Tower Hill, and from the River up to Holborn/Barbican/Liverpool Street. The area will be dead but you can probably get genuine 3+ and 4 star properties for a fraction the cost of places in tourist central. There are some very nice business-oriented serviced apartments in the area that would likely be heavily discounted.

Just search booking.com

tidy

thank you soo so much, this has been extremely helpful. Just jump back on if you think of anything else.

tidy

any thoughts on Brighton, Rye or anything else in the area?

crellston

In normal times I would agree with Janisj that hotel prices are astronomical over the NY period but if you have a look on booking.com for hotels in London over the new year period, you will still find some reasonable rates for decent hotels in good locations. Places like Holborn and Bloomsbury are but a short walk from the action in soho, Covent Garden etc. Janisj is spot on re the City of London being dead over New Years more so this year as it is a long weekend. I used to work in the City and it was always as dead as a dodo over that period, so for that reason, I would avoid.

Most New Years Day, Christmas Day/Boxing Day we take advantage of the lack of traffic to take the bike out and cycle the streets ( assuming its not raining!) . Over holiday period I would suggest London is a far better place to be than most other places (including Cornwall and I was born there!). I love the seaside in winter, even in the wind rain and snow, but so much will be closed that you will struggle finding places to eat and drink - rarely a problem in London (although you may have to resort to Indian or Chinese food on New Years Day but thats no hardship! Just booked a very nice place for lunch on the 2 Jan for a birthday celebration - most places were closed for New Years Day

Rye is very quaint and nice but a long way from anywhere. If you are planning a trip there make sure to head to The Mermaid either to stay or eat.

tidy

if we do Rye I thought we could go to Leeds Castle on the way and then when leaving stop in Brighton and visit the Royal Pavilion. any thoughts on those sites?

janisj

IMO there is absolutely no reason at all to visit Leeds Castle in winter. The main plus are the gardens/grounds which will be nothing in January. The castle is maybe #8 or even lower on the list of castles just in Kent -- it is mainly a wedding venue.

I'd maybe look at sites like Hever, Pennshurst Place, Chartwell, Dover Castle, Igtham Mote, or Knole -- I haven't checked the winter openings/hours at any of these but any of them would be superior to Leeds Castle.

tidy

janisj, I so appreciate your help. So, maybe I shouldn't even go south. I am planning 4 days in London (we have been a couple of times), I think 2 days in Bath (we were there in 2000), Highclere tour, and the Cotswold (we were there in 2000). So, I was thinking of another area, we have visited York, Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, Scotland, and much of Wales (but not southern Wales. So, with that said any thoughts on somewhere else to visit for a few days. We will have a car.

janisj

Oh -- heading south to Brighton et al would be fine (as long as the weather isn't dreadful) . . . I just meant there are so many other, superior sites to Leeds Castle that are still on a semi direct route from London to Rye.

tidy

Pennshurst ad Chartwell are closed, Hever and Igthan Mote are both open til January 3rd, I might be able to get there on the 3rd.Knole has not posted a January schedule yet. My map says this is a pretty area is there anything else we should stop and see.

thursdaysd

From Brighton you could head west to Portsmouth, taking in Arundel Castle, Chichester and Fishbourne Roman Palace on the way.

https://www.arundelcastle.org/
https://sussexpast.co.uk/attraction/...alace-gardens/
https://www.historicdockyard.co.uk/

From the Cotswolds you could base in Worcester, a city I liked very much and used as a base for Gloucester and Hereford:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...-by-worcester/

I grew up in England, and there is no way I would be planning a countryside visit in January! Stick to cities.

tidy

thank you, I will look at these later when I get home

annhig

<<Cornwall is very much a outdoors sort of place (see the Eden Project) and I've been there in Jan when the weather is fantastic or terrible. But normally it will not be very very cold. So if you are prepared for the wet then you'll find it great. https://www.edenproject.com/>>

Thanks Bilbo for the recommendation but whilst those who can get to the UK fairly easily [or even live here] can be asked to endure the sort of weather you might meet in Cornwall in January, I would not recommend that those from further afield take the risk of the whole time here being awful which in January is all too possible. So Tidy I have to agree with Thursdaysd that I would stick to cities, Give it 3-4 months and then Cornwall is a great place to visit.

tidy

You all have been so helpful. Unfortunately, we are using vouchers that are to expire. I checked out the sites that thursdayd mentioned and most are close except for the Portmouth Historic Dockyard and I think Lewes Castle. If we get decent weather we would be up for a walk, a cozy restaurant or pub. We are from Colorado so the cold does not scare us but certainly we don't have the humidity. i so wish we were coming in May for the gardens but it didn't work this time.

thursdaysd

It's not just that it may (more likely will) be cloudy, damp and chilly (not Colorado cold), but also that there will be less daylight. Sunrise just after 8:00 and sunset just after 4:00.