England Plan
 

Ok here's is our tentative plan so far (nothing is booked yet but will be by tomorrow.) Ready for all of you to point out the problem areas!

Jan 20-overnight flight to Manchester
Jan 21-get into Manchester at 7:45 AM, picked up by friends from Wales, farm tours with friends, stay at their house in Wales
Jan 22-farm tours with friends, stay with them
Jan 23-farm tours, stay with friends
Jan 24-farm tours AM, pick up rental car somewhere (they will help with that,) drive from Abergavenny to Bath in the afternoon-1.5-2 hour drive, stay at cottage near Bath
Jan 25-see Bath, maybe some of southern Cotswolds, stay at cottage near Bath
Jan 26-drive to Salisbury-1.5-2 hours, see Stonehenge, drive to Avebury-1 hour(ish,) stay at cottage near Bath
Jan 27-drive to Cornwall 4-5 hours, stay at cottage in Cornwall
Jan 28-Cornwall sites (haven't narrowed these down yet,) stay at cottage
Jan 29-farm tour (not sure which day but doesn't matter,) Cornwall sites, stay at cottage
Jan 30-Cornwall sites, stay at cottage
Jan 31-drive to Braunston 5-6 hours, stay at cottage in Braunston
Feb 1-Birmingham/Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon (not all of them, haven't picked which places yet,) stay at cottage in Braunston
Feb 2-Cotswolds or nearby areas, stay at cottage in Braunston
Feb 3-something in AM, drive to Towcester 1/2 hour for afternoon races, stay at cottage in Braunston
Feb 4-drive to London 2-3 hours, return car? or before flight next day?, Tower of London or other site(s,) show in London, stay in London
Feb 5-London sites AM, 4:30 flight out of London

Still need to fill in which cities will be going to and which sites we'll be seeing each day but that's my rough outline so that we can book our flights and places to stay.

These are the cottages we're looking at:

http://www.holiday-cottages-bath.co.uk/
http://www.littlecallestockfarm.co.u...&month=2011-02
http://www.braunstonmill.co.uk/

Not sure on a hotel in London yet, want to pick a theatre show (any suggestions?) and maybe find a hotel that's close since it will probably get over late.

I know it's a lot of driving some days but does it sound do-able? I made sure to keep out any of our own driving the first few days :) It covers everything I want to do and leaves plenty of "down time." I realize we won't be able to see everything (and have no desire to rush around tyring to!) I think it will give us a good feel for a few different areas. What do you all think??

The Theater District in London is an expensive area. For that matter, anywhere in London, you'll pay 2x-3x more than you would for a comparable room elsewhere on your trip throughout England. Just so you are not surprised.

Here are some right in the theater district:
http://www.firmdale.com/index.php?page_id=9
http://rookeryhotel.com/haz_index.html
http://www.deanstreettownhouse.com/

And some cheaper ones (a little further from the theater district):
http://www.sevendialshotellondon.com/
http://www.morganhotel.co.uk/
http://www.thefieldinghotel.co.uk/

just a couple of very quick notes right now:

>>pick up rental car somewhere (they will help with that<<

Actually -- you will very likely get better rates if you pre-book the car from the States. 'In-country' rates are usually 20%-35+% higher.

>>Jan 31-drive to Braunston 5-6 hours<< - count on a bit longer drive - and especially if the weather is very wet/blustery. I'd say more like 6.5-7 hours.

>>Feb 4-drive to London 2-3 hours, return car? or before flight next day?<<

You don't want to drive into central London on a Friday morning (besides the congestion charge, the traffic will be more than difficult) The best place to drop the car is at LHR since all the rental companies are there. Then take public transport into London for the day/night

I would not drive in London. Drop off car and train in.

Also have a look at B&Bs, they can be nicer and cheaper than hotels. The area I like is Bloomsbury. You can take the Tube to Heathrow.

People here have also used Priceline for hotel deals.

I figure London will be our splurge night. Although I'd still like to stay under $200 so maybe that's actually a "cheaper" hotel. :) Will look at some others and B&Bs as well. Dropping the car before or upon arriving in London sounds like the way to go! Will check to see where is closest for picking up the car and book before we go. Thanks! Keep the suggestions coming!

check Autoeurope.com

They are a broker that handles all the main agencies. Look at collecting in Cardiff - or possibly Newport (?)- and dropping at LHR

Another option would be to drop the car at Northampton or Coventry and taking the train to London.

Thinking of seeing The Mousetrap at St Martin's Theatre

Do see the Mousetrap. I saw it more than 40 years ago and loved it. (maybe the years have clouded my memory--hope not)

Try the Morgan Hotel in Bloomsbury. Full breakfast is included, and it is within walking distance of some theaters. Someone else will be able to tell you if it's near St. Martin's.

Will any hotels hold your bags for you AFTER you check out? Or what will we do with our bags until our flight?

Most hotels will hold bags after you check out -- but not all. Cheaper/smaller places may not offer the service or even have room to do it.

But IF you end up at one of the hotels that can't/won't - train stations in London have left luggage facilities. Victoria, Kings Cross, Paddington etc.

St. Martin's Theater is at the intersection of Shaftsbury Ave & Tottenham Court Rd. - about a 10 block walk from the Morgan Hotel.

Couple of things.

Your not going to be popular with us Welsh if you have a heading 'England Plan' when parts of your trip are in Wales.
We are very sensitive to people not acknowledging Wales is in fact not in England. :-)

Car hire: As Janis says, there are of course loads of car hire companies in Cardiff and Newport, but there are a few in Abergavenny too.
Google and you will find some.

However, if you decide to come down to Cardiff to get the car, it is a great place to visit, even for a short time.
Cardiff >>>>M4>>>>>>>>Bath is quite straight forward.
Your trip looks interesting. Good luck

Muck

Haha, point well taken, sorry Muck! Guess I consider that part of the trip as more of the business stuff and I'm not really getting involved in the planning of that part. :) But I am excited to see Wales. Not sure if many of the farms we'll be seeing are in Wales or England, probably both.

For the hotels, looks like most places have a noon check out. And our flight is at 4:30 so shouldn't be much time where we would need our bags stored. Hoping to get by with only carry-on since we will have washers/dryers at the cottages-excited about that part! Only having to pack for about 4 days will be nice!