Janis,
Thanks so much. I will be joining Art on Friday morning and we are still trying to figure out what to do. I am uncomfortable driving in the UK so I am trying to figure out a couple of day trips. I guess I really need some type of plan.

There are a TON of great places you can do as day trips or overnighters by train - unfortunately the Cotswolds are not the best by train.

Think about Canterbury, or Cambridge, or Bath, or Oxford -- all are VERY easy day trips from London. Or Salisbury - the cathedral is wonderful and then you can catch a local bus to Stonehenge. Back to Salisbury to catch the train and be back in London by dinner time. Or Windsor. Or lots of other places - even York is possible as a day trip - but of course an overnight would be better.

I recently returned from trip to London, Cotswolds, and Paris. You can read my trip report at
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34628959

We stayed at the Olive Branch and the Milestone House in Broadway and enjoyed both, and they both have private car parks. Parking in all the Cotswolds villages was a challenge and we never saw crowds. Parking must be impossible during peak tourist time.

Other than Broadway, I would recommend Bibury, especially if you are able to stay at the Bibury Court Hotel. It was a bit pricey for us but looked lovely. Another place I wanted to stay was the Malt House in Broad Camden. We stopped by and walked through their garden. It looked like another good option. www.malt-house.co.uk

And then there is Chipping Camden. Very lovely, although we are glad we stayed in Broadway. We stayed for four nights and wished we could have stayed longer.

My trip report noted above discusses what it is like to drive there.

I added photos to www.webshots.com. You can locate my photos by my user name: travelswithdiane

yeadonite: Just to clarify - all of the places luvtotravel mentions are wonderful - but none are on rail lines . . . .

Yeadonite:

It IS possible to see quite a lot of the Cotswolds by public transport, if you've a couple of days. I'll be sending you my rough notes on this later this weekend (I hope you mean next Friday), if Hotmail accepts attachments, though since the timetables change tomorrow (June 12) and our garden's a mess, when the updated notes will be ready by rather depends on how loudly other pressures bear down.

There are three tricks to bear in mind, and it will help you to use the map at www.cotswoldsaonb.com/map.htm :

1. There are really two railway lines across the area: the London-Hereford line, which stops in particular at Moreton in Marsh in the north of the map (having previously stopped at Oxford, which is just off the map, to the right, at the top, and goes on to Evesham, just off the map to the left at the top), and the London-Cheltenham line, which stops at Kemble, in the middle. Detailed, updated timetables for these are at http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/t...s.php?item=403 You can use ordinary sites, like www.nationalrail.co.uk, for specific checks, but the FGW sites shows all trains at a glance.
2. There's a perfectly good system of buses, centred especially on Moreton and Kemble, and the timetables for most are at www.cotswoldsaonb.com/bus_timetables. These buses are geared to the daily needs of residents, so they're most frequent on schooldays, and almost non-existent on Sundays.
3. But the Cotswoldaonb site assumes you know which buses go where (which is what my notes try to help you round). The three major routes linking stations and tourist honeypots are (just select them by number on the Cotswoldaonb site:
- The 53 Oxford-Burford-Northleach-Cheltenham. Supplemented for some bits by the X3 and the 233
- Beaumont travel 55 (at www.beaumont-travel.com/routes_55.htm), Moreton-Stow-Bourton on the Water-Northleach-Cirencester-Kemble. There's also the A1, Kemble-Tetbury.
- The 21 and 22 which link Moreton to Chipping Campden, Broadway, Bourton on the Hill (no relation to Bourton on the Water) and Evesham. The 21, BTW, goes on to Stratford (off the map at the top)

You can very easily, at least on weekdays, see a few goodies in a day (eg by getting the 53 between Oxford and Northleach, getting off at Burford and back on again, but looking at the backlanes it takes inbetween). But linking these all up into a two-dayer gets you round a lot. And our hedges mean that you actually see more country from a bus - especially the double-deckers that they run on a few of these routes - than you would on foor or on a bike. Though, given the growing diversity of flora and fauna in our hedges and verges these days (the result of the mediocrity of the local land for arable farming, and some sensible EU subsidies to bring back previously destroyed habitats), you really ought to take a bit of time to see a lot of this at eye level.

Bourton-on-the Water is beautiful, but really would be just a "stop". Stow-on-the-Wold has great restaurants and is a good place to even spend the night.

BTW IMHO Bath is way overrated. The small towns nearby are much nicer.

flanneruk,
Thanks so much for your help, I am leaving on the 16th arriving on the 17th, I can get attachments at hotmail.
My Dad and I really look forward to your comments on my dads inaccurate reports.

flanneruk,
I accidentily deleted all my email in a cafe in London. Due to the heat in London and my Asthma problems I was seriously derailed and unable to do most things. Still it was better than being home. I am saving them for my next trip.

Just want to put a good word in for Bath, which is a World Heritage Site and a great place to visit. Maybe not to mwhill's taste but certainly mine. In fact, I wouldn't mind living there.

Yeadonite:

Forget London. Get to the seaside (Brighton for example) as soon as possible. It's probably not asthma: it's allergic reaction to pollen as the pollen count is exceptionally high right now.

This advice mighht be too late. But remember it next time if you're coming here during the pollen season.

Sadly we are home. We did go to Brighton! You are a mind reader. I loved it it reminded me of Cape May NJ. I took tons of allergy pills so my asthma inhaler got a rest!

OK - so WHERE the heck is the rest of FamousUncleArt's trip report??? I hate being a nag :)

Seriously, it sounds like you guys had a great trip other than the nasty asthma/allergies.

Janis,
Famousuncleart thinks no one loves him anymore! I will get him to post tonight.

The only reason we don't love him is that he's stopped telling us his stories.

Bring them back.

flanneruk,
thanks you made his morning or night since we are post confused. I will post his last writing tonight, since it is on my laptop.