travel04

Hello,

I'm traveling England from Saturday - Saturday.
I want help in planning my trip outside of London.
I play to stay in London the Saturday i arrive.
Then rent a car, pick it up on Sunday and do the following:
1. Oxford to Birmingham - to see the Cadbury factory
2. tour the cadbury factory and then on to Stratford Upon Avon
3. I'd like to see the Cottswold villages - but having trouble figuring out which ones. I'd like to do some cycling here through a few villages to get a feel for the pretty villages
4 take the car and continue on to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Bath for the night
6. Back to London

is Cambridge preferred to Oxford?

thank you!

MartynClarke

Hi there,
My thoughts: the Cadbury factory is ok but for us it was not a 'must do' trip. I agree that Stratford is important and in the Cotswolds, Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold are classic villages to visit. Go to Bath then Stonehenge and perhaps a night on the Jurassic Coast on the south (Dorset/Devon) and an early morning walk on the beach. From there plan the second half of your trip.
I hope this gives you some thoughts.

Rubicund

Unless you have a particular interest in Cadbury, it seems to be a long trip up to Birmingham for a short visit.

Your starting point is a bit confusing. You say that you will stay in London overnight on arrival and then rent a car. Where from, bearing in mind this is Sunday? You'll need to make sure that the rental office is open.

You then jump to Oxford to Birmingham, staying overnight? Then you seem to overnight in S-upon A and on to the Cotswolds. Windsor Castle is not near Bath or Stonehenge.

Cambridge is across the country to the North East of London and your itinerary seems to be to the North West and West of London, so stick with Oxford.

Sunday Collect hire car and drive to Oxford and stay overnight
Monday Drive to Cadbury and return to S u A for overnight
Tuesday S u A and overnight
Wednesday Stonehenge then Bath and overnight
Thursday Windsor Castle then back into London

Be careful of the Congestion charge in London if you are driving through the zones.

elisgriffiths

That sounds like a great trip to me! Being a chocoholic myself, I LOVED Cadbury's world (particularly the free chocolate you get on the way round!) Just about any village you visit in the costwolds is beautiful, just to name a few I have visited Stow on the Wold, Bourton on the Water, Winchcombe, Malmesbury, Moreton in Marsh, Burford (but there are lots more smaller but equally charming villages also!)

Also, I would allow a day to see Bath as there is a lot to see there! (probably my favourite English city, its so pretty)
Have a fantastic trip!
Elis

janisj

Why stay in London if your aren't spending any time there? Makes no sense to go into town simply to rent a car and leave the next morning.

Are you flying into LHR? If so, since you don't want to see anything in London, stay the first night in Windsor (only 7 miles from Heathrow). You can either collect the car when you arrive and drive the very short distance to Windsor, or take the bus or a taxi to Windsor and collect the car the next day either in Windsor or back at LHR.

Drive to Stonehenge and on to Bath. Stay Bath Monday night

Drive up to B'ham and take the factory tour and then down to Stratford for Tues. and Wed. nights. Spend all day Wed in Stratford/Warwick

Thurs - Fri nights stay in the Cotswolds (Burford or Chipping Campden would be good). Use this as a base for seeing Oxford and the Cotswolds plus Blenheim Palace if you are interested.

Drive back to LHR, drop the car and either fly out or go into the city (your plan after Saturday wasn't clear)

cynkane

Hello. First time on here. First Europe trip with teen daughter. Just us. Kind of scary and looking for all help and advice I can get

Sassafrass

Cynkane,

Unless you plan on doing the same 7 day England trip as Travel04, you should start your own new thread, stating your own needs, interests, time frame, budget, etc. to get the best advice for you, personally.

travel04

thank you all!

First Saturday upon arrival, i plan to meet up with my cousin and friends and experience London nightlife, and perhaps the Thames.
On Sunday we plan to rent the car and leave the city.

1. I will check about rental offices being open - thank you for the tip.
2. Ok..point noted about Oxford/Cambridge distance.
3. Cousin realllly wants to see Cadbury world so I dare not say no ;-)
4. Stratford Upon Avon for a few hours/maybe overnight.
5. My real interest is the Cottswold - stow on wold, burford etc..thank you for the suggestions.
6. I might just skip Stonehenge since we can't get up close and personal. Instead focus on Bath and Windsor....
7. I return to London either Wednesday night or Thursday night, and spend Friday and all day Saturday sightseeing London.

I fly out to SFO Sunday.

Thank you all for your suggestions - I will check out some of your suggestions!

janisj

>>First Saturday upon arrival, i plan to meet up with my cousin and friends and experience London nightlife,<<

Have you flown overnight before? It is very likely you won't be up to 'experiencing nightlife'.

JuanMesQueUnClub

Cambridge is much better than oxford! Oxford is nice in parts but Cambridge is nice all over.