I'm planning a trip that will have us arriving in London sometime around Easter weekend. Trying to understand what the holiday impact would be; for example, would theatres be crowded in London? (or conversely, closed?) I expect Fri-Mon would be a bad time to head to Devon/Cornwall, but would the following week (or previous week) have carryover holiday crowds?

This trip we will probably spend 2-3 days in London, then pick one of Cornwall, Wales, or Scotland for 5-6 more days... advice on advantages/disadvantages of these locations for this time of year would be appreciated as well (we tend to like the small towns and scenic countryside).

Hi. Everyone goes South-west. Well..not everyone but it definitely gets chocka-clock on the roads at that time. I can suggest you try the South East instead. There are a lot of nice beaches in the Norwich area in the small towns along that coast. You could stay somewhere like Strattons for a really unique experience.

I think a lot of people will be leaving London for the weekend so I doubt you will have trouble seeing a show.

www.lostmyguidebook.com for shopping in London.

I should note that we will be heading to the south of France after this portion of the trip. Nice weather for sightseeing and walking is desirable, but not at the expense of heavy crowding and traffic. So is April more of peak season for South-west? We visited in late June several years ago and found it reasonable then; busy, but we could find lodging as we went without too much trouble.

I'll have to look into South-East options; it is not an area I know much of.

June isn't crowded in Devon/Cornwall - UK kids are still in school. But during Easter week it can be VERY crowded.

London won't be a problem. More people leaving than coming in - and all the theatres will be open.

East Anglia/Norwich is a possibility. Or Scotland would be good, and probably my first choice.

Small towns and scenic countryside? Consider Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines up to the Roman Wall. Honeypots in The Dales (like Malham) will be heaving at Easter and most of the week after, but most other places there much quieter.

Easter Week in North Wales can be quite busy.

So are both the week before Easter and the week after, especially busy times for countryside tourist locations? We generally rent a car and find lodging in B&Bs or small hotels as we travel, but that can be frustrating if places are almost all fully booked.

That's a very difficult question to answer. It depends on the area, whether Easter is late (busier) or early (quieter), the weather at the time and exact date of shool holidays.

As a rough guide I would say that the week before Easter gets a bit busier. Easter weekend (Friday - Monday and increasingly Tuesday) can be very busy in some places. The week after is likely to be significantly busier than the week before, but not as busy as the high season of late July and August in England and Wales.

Decide where you want to go, email the local tourist information office and ask them how hard accommodation will be to find.