steelmagnolia

Hello all. We are arriving in London at the end of August. We are spending four nights in London and then will rent a car to travel around England up to Edimburg.
We don't know where to start after London.
We were thinking starting in Bath and use it as a base for about three days. And then continue up.
If any one can give us some advise that would be great.
We planning on renting a car in Southampton because when we finish the three weeks we will be boarding a cruise to America.

Any suggestions and guidance will be greatly appreciate it. thanks
Evelyn

PalenQ

Southampton
Salisbury -nice regional town with stunning cathedral + Stonehenge

Avebury Circle to north of Stonehenge - similar but very different -you can last I now still walk right up to more diminuitive stones all over -

Cotswolds -

Bath

Lake District

Hadrian's Wall

Scottish Border Abbeys - Melrose, Jedburgh area

Edinburgh

St Andrews - Stirling two great places near Edinburgh

Scottish Highlands - Loc Lomond area

You can usually rent a car in one place and retrun it in another - no need to go to Southampton to rent - see if you can drop off in Scotland and take trains back -including overnight trains.

steelmagnolia

Thank you! I appreciate your input.
Hope suggestions and ideas keep coming.

BigRuss

What do you like? Don't say food. Everyone likes that. Some specificity (castles, whisky, churches, pastoral settings, random clumps of rocks arranged by druids, etc.).

What do you want to see in this trip? And don't say everything, for the love of G-d you can't even with a month.

What cultural activities are you trying to include (sports, arts, music, etc.).

Who is traveling with you? Are you a bunch of semi-ambulatory oldies, a family with young kids, a couple in decent health, etc.

I'm guessing Edimburg is just a typo for the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Am I right? How much of Scotland are you wanting to see?

steelmagnolia

Hi BigRuss: thank you. No, we are not a "bunch of semi-ambulatory oldies."
Cultural activities - arts, antiques, museums, old churches, and beautiful scenery.
It is two of us. A couple.
Mainly England.
For now: I would like to explore Costwolds, Lake District, Bath, West Yorkshire to see the Bronte Museum, Oxford (also CS Lewis home). Chatsworth, Kent, Peak District ...

Thank you for any suggestions and ideas you might offer.

hetismij2

In that case I would drop Scotland all together and pick up your hire car in London or maybe Derby, and go anticlockwise around to end up in Southampton. Add Kent if you have time but it doesn't fit with your circular tour.
So London to Peaks (via Cambridge maybe) to Brontes (and York?), over to the Lakes, down to Cotswolds/Oxford and end up in Southampton where you will need your cruise to get over that trip.

You could add in Northumbria before the Lakes if you have the energy, maybe visit Hadrians Wall.

Of course it wont be all of the UK, but then your original plan left out Wales and Northern Ireland so would be all of it anyway.

StCirq

ALL OF IT? In 3 weeks? I don't think so, especially as you've got 4 nights in London and then appear to be heading to Scotland (Edinburgh, is that what you meant?).

You have time to meander around a small part of England is all, in reality. I would forget Scotland on this trip, as you don't have the time. Even then, you'll have to be choosey to get the best out of a very few parts of England.

BigRuss

Your interest in Scotland seems low, so something more England-centric could easily make sense. Anything striking you specifically about Edinburgh (yeah, it's there and it's worthwhile, but it's notsoclose to middle-England)?

You seem to have literary interests, which means Scott and Burns at first blush for Scotland and of course her Potterness wrote large portions of her septology in Edinburgh.

PalenQ

North Wales is also great and could be sandwiched between Bath and Lake District - Conwy is a great small town base - an old walled town that reeks of dreamy. Great base for Mt Snowdon (cool steam train up to the top); Caernarveron (sp?) Castle; Beaumarais Castle -both castles very neat and to experience a bit of Wales - locals here often still speak Welsh as their daily tongue but of course all speak English too.

If going to Haworth not far away is a famous abbey ruins-Fountains Abbey in Studley Royal Park- really enjoyed it. Harrogate was a great base for me for both and York too -to me one of England's nicest cities.

Oxford could be a base for Cotswolds or v.v.

steelmagnolia

Thank you for your suggestions.
I have to add, that we are looking forward to discover old, charming small towns full of personality.

steelmagnolia

Thank you all for your comments. I just saw all of them.
I would loooove to see Scotland but know we won't have the time.
I am taking notes of all your comments. We really appreciate it.

Please keep writing. Thanks!

PalenQ

I have to add, that we are looking forward to discover old, charming small towns full of personality.>

ah the proverbial quest -if driving take side roads and you will go thru many but larger places like Oxford will fulfill this too.

eastenderusvi

In three weeks you can see a lot (and be exhausted) or just a few highlights. BTW, BigRuss is kidding about "random clumps of rocks arranged by druids". The druids liked trees. The rocks were arranged before the druids. ;-)

Here is my trip report from 2012 in which I tried to do what you are talking about: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ed-from-uk.cfm

PalenQ

The Cotswolds reeks of charming small towns and villages.

tuscanlifeedit

We found the North Yorkshire Moors, then across the Dales and on to the Lake District to be full of charm and interest. Fountains, as suggested above, was a highlight from that trip. Ripon Cathedral was knock-out pretty. We've made several trips to England and the trail we took on that one was my favorite.

(Well, maybe Cornwall, but that's a couple of different trips).

Castle Howard, near York, to me was a much better visit than Chatsworth. In fact, I sort of didn't like Chatsworth much. It is extremely commercialized. Castle Howard was more human and evocative of the past.

PalenQ

Near Oxford is Blenheim and Blenheim Palace -I guess Churchill's old digs? Anyway I really like it -could hit on way Oggsford to Cotswolds.

PalenQ

Oops - Blenheim Palace is in the village of Woodstock not Blenheim!

Rubicund

So far you seem to have a list of places that you'd like to see with no coherent plan to get around. How about this:

Nights 1-4 London
Nights 5-8 Bath--Now you've only got 2 weeks left
Nights 9-11 Cotswolds
Nights 12-15-Manchester-Day trips to Chester/Haworth
Nights 16-18 Lake District
Nights 19-20 York-Train back to Southampton for cruise

You can pick that apart and reschedule numbers of nights in each place, but at least you'll see more of England than some of the Southern parts of the country. The scenery in the northern bit is stunning, with towns and cities really worth visiting.

steelmagnolia

Hello all! thank you. Yes, that itinerary helps a lot.

Yes, I was thinking that after London our next stop will be Bath to use it as a base to explore the area.
Any suggestions as to a cozy, very English bed and breakfast?

Additionally, shuld we buy the Oyster Car? And how much should we put in it?

Also, what else should we buy?
Should we buy a National Trust Membership?
Anything else we should join?

Thanks

steelmagnolia

Also, any suggestions as to travel insurance and health insurance.
We live in America. My health plan will only cover visits to the emergency room and I have to pay and then, they will reimburse.

Anybody has done this. Buy a travel insurance policy that includes evacuations if necessary.

If you have any suggestions send them over. thanks!