Morninglory

We have one week to travel by car in southwest England. Will be landing at Heathrow on Sunday in August. Should we begin our trip in Bath or Glastonbury? We spent one day in Bath one year ago but have never been to Glastonbury. Also should we take the train from Heathrow to Bath or Glastonbury and pick up our car there? Also any suggestions for nice B and Bs in southwest England area.

wrenwood

Both times we visited Bath we picked up our car at Heathrow and drove directly to Bath.

The first time in Bath we stayed here, took the train into Bath from a local station. Looks like about an hour away from Glastonbury.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...t_England.html

We just got back from our 4th trip to England, and we did visit Bath again for the second time. I got a lot more out of the Museum this time and we also enjoyed the Abbey and the tour up into the Bell Tower. This time we stayed in Bath, an easy walk into town.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...t_England.html

Where will you be in SW England, that's a lot of territory

Morninglory

We want to visit Glastonbury, Wells and Barnstaple then back to London to fly out on our last day which is day 7.

wrenwood

Don't know about places near Wells. When in Devon we stayed in Ilfracombe, would not stay there again. If you are interested in a beautiful self catering property, check out Webbery near Bideford.

http://www.thewebberyestate.com/

Mimar

I wouldn't drive after a long, overnight flight. Especially on the other side of the road. And the train from Heathrow goes into London only. You can take a bus to Bath. Or bus to Reading and catch the train to Bath. We did a day trip from Bath to Glastonbury, and one day is about all I think it's worth. But Bath has quite a bit to see.

Other day trips we took from Bath were to Wells, Stourhead (a famous garden) and Longleat House, and into Wales to Tintern Abbey (very affecting) and Chepstow Castle. You could also do a daytrip to Salisbury and Stonehenge.

Oh, memories. I'm mourning the demise of the Great British Heritage Pass

latedaytraveler

Morninglory, personally I did not care for Glastonbury that much except for the Abbey – too new age for me. I thought that the shops were tacky.

I loved Bath but then you have been there before. In any case, enjoy…

janisj

"<i>Also should we take the train from Heathrow to Bath or Glastonbury and pick up our car there?</i>"

some 'issues':

The is no rail service to Glastonbury (or anywhere very close);

There is no train from LHR to Bath (the only trains to/from LHR go to Paddington in London);

There is no rental agency in Glastonbury (or anywhere close);

You don't really want to drive much/any on your arrival day . . .

So what I would do - I'd take the express coach from LHR to Bath, spend the night there, and pick up a rental car the next day.

wrenwood

If you've never driven in the UK on the other side of the road, I agree with Mimar, don't drive the first day if you have a long flight with a change in time zones. I've driven there enough that I find I can drive 1-2 hrs, but that is about it. Depends on how well I sleep on the flight. Lately we have been taking United's morning flight to Heathrow and arriving at Heathrow around 11:00 PM. We then stay overnight at an Airport Hotel, and are ready to go the next morning.

Also if you haven't driven over there before I encourage you to rent an automatic, and have a GPS.

We also loved Tintern Abbey and Chepstow. We went there instead of Glastonbury. Stourhead is lovely, been there twice.

NS_Crowgirl

Lots of useful advice already but I'll throw in a vote for Bath. On our last trip, we took a bus from Heathrow to Bath which was a pretty seamless journey.

Compared to Glastonbury, Bath has much more to offer in the way of dining and accommodation choices, as well as car rental agencies. I liked Glastonbury in a small dose (I'm glad I went, the Tor is amazing) but I wouldn't want to use it as the staging point for a trip around the area.

NS_Crowgirl

And forgot to put in a recommendation for two B&Bs we used. In Bath, we really enjoyed Badminton Villa (wonderful hosts, great food, comfy room) and, on our way back after our tour around the area, we liked School Cottages, which is about 15-20 minutes outside of Bath.