ellymae13

Hello everyone! I'm very new to the Fodor's forums, but I would love any help!

My husband and I (both of us are 27 with no kids) are going to London (staying with a friend near St Paul's Cathedral) from October 8-15. It's a first time in the UK for both of us! Right now, we are trying to decide about taking a day trip. We would LOVE to see the English countryside--maybe see some sheep! I would love to see the quiet beauty of rural England--I am obsessed with BBC, Agatha Christie, sheep, farms, etc.
So the question is how? We both enjoy meandering road trips (and live in urban Chicago with lots of traffic), plus my husband enjoys manual driving. So originally, I was thinking about renting a car and driving around the Cotswolds. Then, in order to avoid the stress of renting a car (almost always frustrating in any city) and driving in a different country, I was, instead, considering taking a train from London to Bath (a much blogged about day-trip!)...

What are your thoughts and/or experiences? Should we rent a car and drive through the Cotswolds? Or take the train to Bath? Or is there another day-trip via train that would give us the countryside experience?

ellymae13

To clarify, the choice is stay in London the whole time, or take one day trip! Thanks again for your help!

janisj

If you want to meander through the Countryside for a day you could either 1) head out to Heathrow on the tube and pick up a rental car there and drive up through the Thames Valley, into the Cotswolds and back -- something like LHR > Henley on Thames > Burford > Stow on the Wold > around Oxford and back on the M40 to LHR -- this would be an easy 3 to 4 hours 'car time' plus stops so quite a doable day trip.

or 2) Train to Oxford, collect a car there and do a loop through the Cotswolds and drop the car back at Oxford / train back to London.

Lucky you having a place to stay near St Paul's -- a terrific location.

twoflower

I agree with previous posters - take a train to somewhere like Oxford and hire a car from there. As a fan of BBC rural dramas like Agatha Christie's "Miss Marple" etc, you may be familiar with "Midsomer Murders" filmed around Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Check out the show's website for film location information and plot a drive around lovely English villages like Thame, Marsh Baldon, Turville, Benson, Great & Little Missenden, Amersham and others. It's all just a little nearer than the Cotswolds.

flanneruk

I'm not clear where the joy lies in driving our far from relaxing roads if you don't have to.

I'd get a train to somewhere within an hour of central London (preferably within an hour of City Thameslink station) listed at http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_1/index.shtml or http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_2/index.shtml

Follow the 7-10 mile walking route across open countryside and get a train back. You'll have the pleasure of seeing the countryside the way it was designed to be seen: EVERYTHING in the English countryside got there because humans planned it that way. We don't hold with this silly American "true to nature" sentimentality.

But you'll also be exposed to our second greatest national cultural asset: our open-access footpath system. And, in most of those walks, our greatest: at least one of our 9,000 medieval churches, only three of which survive in London.

Do understand that the area within an hour by train has the highest population density of anywhere in the developed world. It also has just about the lowest amount of serious road per head of the population. By American standards, NOWHERE in that area has untrafficked roads. Those empty roads you see in Miss Marple TV shows are entirely the result of film crews' ingenuity, early rising, selection of distant locations and the temporary cooperation of long-suffering local commuters.

sparkchaser

<i>I'm not clear where the joy lies in driving our far from relaxing roads if you don't have to.</i>

Agreed. Especially if you've never done it before.

Hooameye

"Agreed. Especially if you've never done it before."

And on the other side of the road, if you do decide to drive, please read the relevant sections of the Highway Code:

http://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/uploa...k-en-12-04.pdf

sparkchaser

I think something else to be mindful of is if you have little to no experience driving in the UK, for the love of all that good in this world, do not use the UK roads to try out some new bit of kit someone here recommends.

PatrickLondon

I second flanner's suggestion about walking to and from a station, if it's countryside and little villages, rather than other towns and cities, that you want to see. Go an hour or so by train from London, and with a well-chosen route (plenty of guidebooks and websites with recommendations) you could, for quite a time, be relatively deep in the countryside.

For example, I like the walk from Manningtree station in Essex, through "Constable country" to Dedham via Flatford Mill and back. Or there's Knole, if you want to visit a stately home as well.

Or without leaving Greater London, you could walk in Richmond Park, where there are sheep and deer, though it's very much managed, and then perhaps along the riverside towards Ham and Teddington.

bilboburgler

I third the walking idea. Even if just along a towpath on a canal or beside a river in the country, you can even do this in Oxford.

An example: train/coach to Oxford, local bus to "Opp Freelands Road" walk through to Isis lock ( a wonderful place on its own), pop into the Isis pub, walk back along the river into Oxford.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/...8!4d-1.2326859

Odin

I've never seen sheep in Richmond Park, Ham nor Teddington. There are cows in the field by the river opposite the Petersham hotel but that's about it. Where are these sheep?

sparkchaser

I fourth the walking idea.

annettetx

I can understand the appeal of driving -- my husband loves it when he has an opportunity to drive in the UK -- particularly if there is a roundabout involved...

But, we just returned from a trip that included a couple of days in London, and we spent one of those days walking along the Thames Path from Putney to Twickenham. Our particular route didn't have the scenery that you're looking for, but I felt much more immersed in the country than I think I would have felt if we had driven to Putney for breakfast, then driven to Kew Gardens, then driven to Twickenham for dinner. For example -- we happened upon an outdoor market that we wouldn't have seen if we had been driving, picked up the sweetest strawberries imaginable along with 2 small bottles of rose champagne and then had a picnic further down the path; we saw people stand-up paddle-boarding with the dogs on the boards as well; passed a group of Indian women who seemed to be performing some sort of blessing in the river; stopped in at a pub for a refreshing pint when we were hot and tired; and, as flanneruk mentioned, saw some beautiful village churches that we wouldn't have otherwise.

Other posters on this board can give you better advice than I about exactly which walks/areas will give you the scenery you are looking for, but as someone who loves to drive around in the country, I vote for finding a good walking path and spending a day ambling through a small section of countryside.

Reading54

I'd say think thrice before driving.

We are used to manual driving, but it was totally different to have to shift sticks with one's left hand!

Also, while sitting in the right side of the car, it was hard for the driver to judge the clearance of the left-hand-side of the car to the objects just outside the car.

sparkchaser

Yes. I have been driving here for almost a year and it can still be harrowing at times.

The speed limit is 60mph down that narrow windy road with no shoulder? Ain't gonna happen. 40 for me and I apologize to the queue of cars behind me.

janisj

Walking out from a station like several of the above suggestions would be a very good alternative -- just depends on if you specifically want the Cotswolds or more really just want to get into the countryside somewhere. For just the one day w/o staying overnight that could make more sense,


•••But I'm sorry, re driving in general -- I'm not some super human (a couple of the up-thread posters have met me and can attest to that ) and I have no problem at all shifting left handed -- much prefer a stick to an automatic driving in the UK. I just don't get the angst.•••

ellymae13

Thank you so much! I definitely think we can explore and see a lot with only the train and walking! I'm very excited about seeing all the aspects of London and possibly surrounding areas!

Jean

If the walking idea appeals, you might want to read one of Bill Bryson's books. He's walked, ridden trains, and cycled all over England.

https://www.amazon.com/Road-Little-D...EWS52NWNAYS01M

https://www.amazon.com/Notes-Small-I...7SF4FF5DG4AGY7

Mimar

I remember staying in East Harnham, across the river from Salisbury and its cathedral. There were sheep in a field across the river. And of course there's lots of sheep in the Cotswolds.

One of the great features of European towns is their closeness to the countryside. You an see agricultural fields from Princes Street in Edinburgh, countryside (with blooming trees in the spring) from Bath and so on.

As for driving, IIRC picking up a rental car in Oxford isn't convenient to the train station.

nytraveler

Well we have had no problems driving in the UK - although we did get an automatic since I don;t usually drive stick (not realistic in NYC) and didn't want to do so in a strange car on the wrong side of the road.

Have done 3 different road trips, switching off on the driving, and loved all of them. But we never drove more than 3.5 to 4 hours a day - so plenty of time for sightseeing and nice lunches. Explored the Cotswolds a coupe of days while we were staying in Oxford - and there were plenty of sheep and you can imagine Miss Marple in many of those cute little towns.