First day after overnight flight
 

We will be landing at Heathrow at six am and will be heading for So.Wales. We don't want to do too much driving the first day and would like recommendations on a nice town to spend the first night. We will be spending our final night in Windsor so would like something a little further out...maybe Bath... or are we apt to hit heavy traffic getting into the city? Any advise would be appreciated.

I would strongly recommend you not drive much, if at all, on your first day. And you definitely don't want to be driving in Bath -- when most locals go to Bath for shopping and such they use the out of town park-and-ride lots and take buses into the city since the driving/parking is difficult.

Windsor is the best option - but if you don't want to stay there here are a couple of places to check out

http://www.britainsfinest.co.uk/beda...f/70001330FISA in Mildenhal just outside of Marlborough -- a really lovely B&B w/ the river and swans at the bottom of the garden.

or http://www.raycornerguesthouse.co.uk/ - a B&B on Maidenhead.

Hi K,

I limit my jet-lagged driving to under 3 hr.

((I))

IMO when jet lagged, and driving on left side of the road (even if you have done it a time or two) three hours is about 2.25 hours too much. No driving is better, but 30 - 45 minutes should be about it.

The problem is, one might be well rested and feel fine, or a total zombie - but would not know one way or the other until sitting behind the wheel of the car.

Plan for the worst sleep-wise and just enjoy a leisurely day if you luck out.

After our last jet-lagged driving experience - Glasgow airport to Edinburgh, my husband simply refuses (and rightly so) to drive in a zombie-like state. We have booked a B&B near the airport (in our case Manchester) and intend to do NOTHING that first day. I strongly urge you to consider the same. Some unfortunate small traffic pylons near Edinburgh wish we had done that on our last trip.

I would never drive while jet-lagged, especially if as an American driving in England! Perhaps you are well-rested after having a solid sleep on the airplane, but I never am.

I had an accident while in England in 2001, which was caused by a combination of my being tired (it was at the end of the day) and being unused to driving on the "wrong" side of the road. I became confused while trying to enter a dual carriageway, and there was this big ole dumptruck...

Oops! Delete that "if" in the first line.

janisj,
Thanks for the info on the B&Bs. You have convinced me not to try to drive into Bath. We may reconsider and stay in Windsor the first day....do you have any recommendations on B&Bs there. Thanks you.

What sort of budget?

But here is one just to get you started looking . . http://www.langtonhouse.co.uk/index.php

janisj,

I don't really have a budget but I am also not a big spender for just an overnight stay. The last time we traveled in England (8 years ago) we stayed in nice B&Bs in the $60. to $80. range.....but with the weak dollar that may be impossible?? I notice the price on the Langton House would be about $170....if I read it right. I hoping we find nice places for less than that. We took two trips last year...one to Croatia and one to Turkey and were able to find nice places in the $75. to 125. range...even in Istanbul and Dubrovnick.

OK - I do have to ask - what hotels/B&Bs in the States have close to the same rates they had 8 years ago?? Just normal inflation w/o even considering the exchange rates. You are not going to find many (any) decent B&Bs for £15 - £20 pp.

Count on about £25 to £35 and up pp for nice B&Bs in places like Windsor/Bath. But in small villages out in the countryside you can still sometimes find B&Bs in the £40-£50 double range.

No, I didn't expect to find any that would be the same price as 8 years ago.....I was just wondering if you could find them in the $75. to $125. range.....and I guess from what you say, I will be able to....Thanks for your help.

Is that budget per person or per room?

You can just about find decent B&Bs in the upper end of that range for a double room if you hunt around a bit. Anything towards the lower end will have a good reason for being so 'budget', for example, shared bathroom.

Thanks for your help....I think I know now what to expect.

A nice town we've used for a similar purpose is Henley-on-Thames.

It's less than an hour from Heathrow...