Cotswolds & Cornwall or Wales?
 

Hello - My husband and I will be travelling to England the 1st week of April for 8 days. We are flying into Heathrow and I was thinking of taking the train to the Cotswolds for a few days, renting a car, and then seeing the Cornwall area or exploring a part of Wales. I don't want to spend too much time travelling from one base to the next. And yes, then I'd like to train back to London for a night or so before we leave. A couple of years ago we stayed in Herefordshire for a few days, then went to Yorkshire Dales. It's hard not to go back, but I want to see these other places too! Would love some help planning our itinerary. Also plan on staying in B&B's or small inns this time around. We did the self-catering in cottages the last time, which was great - but this time it is without teenagers...Thanks so much for any help.

Well - there is no rail service from LHR to the Cotswolds (and very little service w/i the Cotswolds).

You could take the train into Paddington and then to Oxford. Or you could take a coach to Reading and train to Oxford -- or just a coach to Oxford. And pick up you car there.

But what I'd do is just pick up a car at LHR and drive - it is not that far to the Cotswolds.

If you are afraid of jet lag and don't want to drive the first day - I'd go to Oxford on public transport and stay the first night there. Then pick up a car and head west.

As for Wales or Cornwall? Both are terrific - it is quicker to get to Wales. You would not have to return the car at the same place you picked it up since there are seldom drop off fees. So you could take the train back to London from Wales or from the SW.

You could also take the train from Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh, 90 minutes from London. We stayed there last year and it's a great little town. Rent a car in Moreton and travel to Wales - Tintern Abbey and Chepstow Castle are approximately two hours, or stay in the Cotswolds and visit Broadway (the tower is great on a clear day), Chipping Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, etc.

Yes - there is rail service to Moreton-in-Marsh. And there are local car hire companies all over. But if you want to pick up/drop the car at different places you'll need to use a major rental agency. Therefore in a larger town/city/airport.

My first time driving the coast road to cornwall was as a teenager with my sister and mother. It was extremely memorable - so much so that years later my husband and I did the same trip.

I dont know where you are from - I am from the states and do a lot of driving - so the distances in england didnt seem long to us at all. We rented a car in england and drove all the way down to Tintagel (king arthurs castle - and definte highlight of the trip!)

The scenery is so beautiful all throughout the drive and there are B&B's to stay at throughout the way. Have fun!

Thanks for the thoughts. I am thinking now that we would skip Cornwall this trip, and concentrate on the Cotswolds. If we wanted to branch out from there - Tintern Abbey, Bath...other recommendations in Somerset? If we booked a place in the Cotswolds for 4 nights - does anyone know Clapton Manor? - would it be possible the 1st week of April to then just wing it with accomodations? I'm not sure if we'lljust rent a car at the airport, but if we took the train into Oxford - is it convenient from the airport, and does anyone know how I can find out the rates, etc. Thanks so much.

You could take the train from London to Bath, where there is a Hertz car rental at the station, then drive into the Cotswolds from there! This would allow you to pick up the car and return at 2 different locations, if need be. I've done this many times!!!

Just to help you decide - there is no train service from LHR to anywhere except London.

To go anywhere else you'd either have to go to Paddington and then get on a different train (to Oxford, Bath, etc) or take a bus to Reading and catch a train there.

There's a bus (oxfordbus.co.uk)from LHR to Oxford every half hour. There's also a bus (nationalexpress.com) from LHR to Bath every hour or so.

Getting the Heathrow Express train into London and back out again is expensive, getting the Heathrow Connect to Hayes + Harlington, whence the stopping train to Oxford, takes forever and the bus/train connection at Reading is pretty clunky if you've got luggage. Or at any rate if you've got the amount Mrs C-S brings back with her.

We find the direct buses by far the easiest.