Do I need advance reservations for up-country B&B's?
 

After a week in London, we're thinking about renting a car and driving around the country visiting treasures like Chartwell, Yorkshire Dales, Bath, etc. We'd like to do it without adhering to a set schedule. My question is, can we be reasonably sure of getting a room at the end of the day? We would prefer to stay at country inns and B&B's, and we're obviously willing to assume some risk here, I simply have no idea what the occupancy rate is in late May. Thank you for any helpful advice you might have.

I've found that when I want to remain flexible, using the Tourist Information offices is a godsend. You just stop at the one in the city where you want to stay (they are always signposted and close to city centre) and ask them to make a reservation for you. You tell them what you want and your price range, and, for a small fee (maybe 2GBP, they make the reservation and tell you how to get there. (Usually, I "order" reservations, then give them an hour or so to find a place. I use that time to do a little sightseeing of town centre. By the time I'm ready to quit, they have a reservation for me. Beats sitting in their office waiting for them to find a reservation for me.) You will pay them for the room, and they reimburse the hotel. I've never been disappointed in the accomodations. They were always clean and exactly what I asked for. And sometimes I was pleasantly surprised in the quality of accomodations. Late May shouldn't be too difficult to find a place to stay, especially in the Yorkshire Dales. One other thing: if you decide on, say, Saturday in York, that you want to spend Sunday night in for instance Whitby, you can go to the York TIC and they will reserve you a room in Whitby and give you directions on how to get there. This is the Book-A-Bed-Ahead service; it is not always available in smaller TICs and costs a bit more, but is worth it if you want to use the service.

Linda: thank you for the tips. My tendency is to have everything planned to a T, but the rest of my traveling companions wish to have the latitude to roll with the flow, so-to-speak. Your input eases my mind.

Jack, I agree that the local TICs are a great service and have used them often. But the strategy is not without risk: <BR> <BR>1. Is there not a holiday long weekend (Bank Holiday)in late May? <BR> <BR>2. We showed up in Bath early Saturday afternoon in October. There was 25 to 30 people in the queue looking for B&B bookings. We did get a place, but it took about an hour. <BR> <BR>3. Some TICs are closed Saturday afternoons and Sundays.

Jack, <BR> <BR>Like you, I tend to pre-plan most of my travel...at least in terms of where to stay. But, I've found that wandering the countryside and stopping at local Tourist Information Centres works pretty well. <BR> <BR>There IS a bank holiday on May 28 (coninciding with Memorial Day in the US) which could make that weekend a bit more crowded. At the very least, in popular areas on a holiday, you may want to check in early with a TIC in an area you want to stay in, book a room, and then continue exploring that area until check-in time. Or consider using the TIC's "book ahead" service. As the name implies, you can arrange for a B&B at your next stop. <BR> <BR>One other factor is just how flexible you are in terms of accomodations. A family group that needs several rooms may have a more difficult time finding a place to stay than an individual or a couple. <BR> <BR>Given the drop-off in tourism this year, you'll probably encounter less crowding than in a typical period in May (which is not the peak of the tourist season anyhow). <BR> <BR>Regards, <BR> <BR>David White <BR>http://www.KidsToLondon.com <BR>[email protected] <BR> <BR>

Jack, <BR> <BR>Like you, I tend to pre-plan most of my travel...at least in terms of where to stay. But, I've found that wandering the countryside and stopping at local Tourist Information Centres works pretty well. <BR> <BR>There IS a bank holiday on May 28 (coninciding with Memorial Day in the US) which could make that weekend a bit more crowded. At the very least, in popular areas on a holiday, you may want to check in early with a TIC in an area you want to stay in, book a room, and then continue exploring that area until check-in time. Or consider using the TIC's "book ahead" service. As the name implies, you can arrange for a B&B at your next stop. <BR> <BR>One other factor is just how flexible you are in terms of accomodations. A family group that needs several rooms may have a more difficult time finding a place to stay than an individual or a couple. <BR> <BR>Given the drop-off in tourism this year, you'll probably encounter less crowding than in a typical period in May (which is not the peak of the tourist season anyhow). <BR> <BR>Regards, <BR> <BR>David White <BR>http://www.KidsToLondon.com <BR>[email protected]

(I'm not normally so repetitive...problems posting this time)

I'm going to Britain next week. We're spending the holiday in London and are planning to go to the Cotswolds Monday, the 28th. I like to take my time going from place to place and sometimes don't make my planned destination. Will it be a problem getting a room in the Cotswolds Monday or Tuesday?