England Itinerary
 

My husband and I are going to England for 9 nights in early Oct. I would appreciate input on the following itinerary (specifically, are we spending too much time in one place, or rushing too much in another): <BR>2 nites-Bath <BR>2 nites-Cotswolds <BR>1 nite-N.Wales (probably Ruthin) <BR>1 nite-York (drop car off in York & take train to London) <BR>3 nites- London <BR> <BR>Thanks very much for your input!

Robin, our family just got back from a fantastic trip through England & Scotland. We spent 2 nights in Bath (great B&B) and then 2 nights in the Cotswolds (another great B&B) in Chipping Camden. We then went up into Scotland. Two nights in those paces were fine. Three nights in London is a bit short. We were there for six nights. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Nice little tour, but I would consider one change, by substituting either Betwys-y-Coed (1st.choice) or Llangollen for Ruthin. Both a bit touristy, but with just enough to see and do, and better lodgings and dining I think, than Ruthin, unless Ruthin has changed a lot recently.

Take plenty of money for York ! It's a very nice place but you'll pay, pay, pay. Especially if you stay at a Hotel near the Minster ( think Central Park NYC - you're paying for the view ). Minster is very nice 'though. <BR> <BR>There's a GREAT little bistro not far from the Minster - 'Cafe No. 8', 8 Gillygate - very nice food & very good service - not many tables though! Not expensive. Many specialist shops IE one that sells only soap, another only fudge ( very nice ! but expensive ). There's also a shop that sells only pasties ( Pastry with various fillings if you don't know ). Ours tasted entirely of pepper - nothing else ! <BR> <BR>See if you can spot 'Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate" !

Robin <BR>Is this your first trip to London and/or the UK? <BR>I agree that 3 nights in London is short--you'll barely have time to see some of the highlights. Everyone's interests are different, but as much as I love both Bath and York, I would cut Bath back to one night, or even do it as a daytrip from London, which would save wear-and-tear, driving, and packing/unpacking. The same could be considered for York. It's not that those cities are not worth more time, they certainly are, it's just that your total time is limited and London is infinitely interesting, at least to me. <BR>But if you've seen London before, that's different. <BR>Whatever, enjoy it.

Greetings from the north of England, <BR> <BR>Robin, Nice to see you're including the North of England in your trip - it's the best bit, and often gets missed out <BR> <BR>York is very beautiful (and accordingly very busy in the summmer, but early October is a good time to come) - I hope you won't be leaving too early in the day, because there's a lot to see, and you'll be arriving late after a journey from N Wales (NOT in England, by the way). Trains from York to London are frequent and fast (2 hours - see www.thetrainline.com), so you can stay most of the day in York. Don't omit to eat at Betty's tea shop, a little expensive, perhaps, but definitely the best tea, coffee, muffins (English), cakes, and light meals you'll get anywhere, and the atmosphere is very comfortable, peaceful, and friendly. I'm sorry you'll miss the best rural parts of England (Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Peak District) - are you SURE you can't spare another day for one of these ???? Send me an email if you'd like any more hints (or URLs) about England, especially the North. Enjoy. <BR> <BR>Chris, Sheffield <BR>

My own feeling is that this itinerary feels rushed. We just returned from a 3 1/2 week stay in England and one of the things we tried to avoid was one-night stays anywhere we really wanted to see anything. We spend so much time getting in and out of lodging that very little is left for anything else. <BR> <BR>I visited Bath for the first time in six trips on this visit and I probably won't go back. It was overrun with tour groups, particularly students. I know that won't be as much of a problem in October, but the attractions just weren't that appealing. <BR> <BR>My own love is rural Yorkshire, so I'd second the suggestion of Chris, the previous poster, that you try to spend some time in the country there. I have suggestions for lodgings if you are interested. <BR> <BR>London in 3 nights? Well, you can see part of it. I didn't even enter London until my fourth trip to England because I had places to visit in the country. It depends on how much you want to see and how long you want to spend in the city. If you only have a few things on your agenda, 3 nights should be fine. <BR> <BR>In 9 days I'd probably opt for only about 3 destinations, and from your list I'd pick the Cotswolds, Yorkshire, and London. <BR> <BR>It's your trip! Have a great time. <BR> <BR>linda

At first, I thought this was an unreasonable trip-- but if you want to sample a variety of places, it is very doable. I do think it's a bit rushed, but not so much that you don't get a flavor of each place. It really depends upon the type of trip you want: do you want to relax into 3 different places, and take trips from each (the suggestion of London, the Cotswolds and Yorkshire is a good one) or do you want to see a wider range of regions. I've done both types and there are advantages and disadvantages to both. <BR> <BR>I happen to like Bath a lot; and if you do go there, a day trip to Wells and Glastonbury is recommended. I loved the Wells Cathedral. <BR> <BR>If you were to choose 3 regions, however, I think that the one referred to earlier would be very good. <BR> <BR>Have fun, it will be wonderful whatever you do!

Like almost everyone else I'll say this trip sounds too rushed. I'd avoid one nighters if possible as well, too much time lost in getting in and out of hotels, you don't see much that way. <BR>We've been to England many times and usually stay put in one place and do day trips, i.e. we spent 6 days in Salisbury going out in different directions each day - you can cover a great deal that way and have a home base, also done the same in other areas such as Kent, etc. Actually you even could stay in London the whole time and do day trips to each of these places as well. It's only 2 hours by train to York from London. <BR>9 days sounds like a lot until you pack and unpack and rush around, relax and enjoy it a bit.

This is all great input! This weekend I'll have to rethink some of the one-nighters. Thanks a million!

Robin, it really depends on how fast you like to move around. We took 2 weeks to just see Wales, Shrewsbury and Chester last year! Absolutely agree that Betws-y-coed is the place to stay in North Wales (we stayed at the Prince's Arms, just outside the little town). It's in Snowdonia with some beautiful mountains and old castles. Most dramatic castle is Caernarfon.

For those of you who have had experience travelling independantly. Are there website address you might suggest for looking for good B&B's in these areas. My husband and I were looking at doing an Escorted tour but now thinking maybe doing our own thing might be better. We are into beautiful scenery, loads of history and beautiful builings. Would like to see the main attractions in London, but we are not interested in shopping etc. there. More into experiencing the countryside and quaint towns/villages throughout Britain as a whole. Would you suggest hiring a car in London or doing lots of trips via train and hiring a car only to do the country drives etc. in both England and Scotland..Any help or suggestions would be really appreciated. <BR> <BR>PS: We are from Sydney, Australia so driving over there won't pose any problems.... ie: right/wrong side of road... <BR>

Hi Kerry Ann, <BR> <BR>I'd avoid driving in London at ALL costs - even if you're used to driving on the correct side of the road, the ubiquitous London minicab drivers and homicidal despatch riders are not... Much less stressful and safer to stick to the tubes and buses. <BR> <BR>Once you've finished the London leg of your trip, take the train to your first stop out of town. It's perfectly straightforward to pick up a hire car in medium to large sized towns up and down the country (Oxford, Salisbury, Cambridge, York etc...). <BR> <BR>As far as B&B's are concerned, I've seen various helpful posts before giving specific web sites. I can personally vouch for the Automobile Association's site at www.theaa.co.uk