tahl

I’m looking for advice on a bit of Cotswolds rambling that we can fit into our upcoming visit to Stratford-upon-Avon to see a play at the RSC.

* On the morning of Thurs, Sept. 11th, we’ll taxi from our London hotel in Mayfair to Heathrow to pick up rental car. (There are four of us, so taxi seems sensible.)
* Stay that night in Stratford at the Legacy Falcon, which is centrally located. The play (at the RSC’s Courtyard Theatre) starts quite early – 7:15 -- so we'll need a very early dinner.
* Next day, Friday, we drive back to drop the car at Heathrow, taxi back to the same hotel to drop our stuff, and have dinner in time for a 7:30 play at a theatre in Leicester Square.

The question: We want to drive in pretty countryside and maybe do some walking. All of us love history and literature. Most of us have “done” Stratford and aren’t interested in the tourist sites there. We also don’t want to go to Warwick Castle on this particular trip. So...what’s a good itinerary, given that our priority – the whole reason for this particular trip to England – is having dinner & being in our seats in Stratford for the 7:15 curtain Thursday night and in London for the 7:30 curtain Friday night?

Would you go straight up to Stratford, and wander “away” from there? If we leave Heathrow at, say, 9:45am on Thursday, when would we be likely to get there if we drove straight up?

What about instead: Pick up car at Heathrow –> M25 North –> M40 W (or N, whatever) –> get off around Banbury onto A361 W, heading toward A44 to Moreton-on-Marsh, then maybe over to Chipping Camden and on up to Stratford? Could we reasonably do that and still get to Stratford by say 4pm so we have time to check in and get dinner before the play? Are there other villages or roads you’d recommend instead?

I thought maybe the next day we would head south from Stratford on small roads toward the Slaughters. Frommers suggests a nice walk between Upper and Lower Slaughter on the “Warden’s Way” footpath, for maybe 2 mile round trip. Any other suggestions for some driving plus walking? I think we want to get the car back to Heathrow by 3pm at the latest so we can get ready for that night’s play.

rickmav

You'll probably get a lot of different advice on this question. Personally, I wouldn't try and fit 'Cotswold rambling' into - at most - 12 hours. But, each to their own.

Have you investigated taking a train from London to Stratford - there's a Hertz rental car office right at the station? Or it may make more sense, time-wise, to go to Evesham or Moreton on Marsh. Someone like flanneruk can probably help you on this. This would give you the added opportunity to see some of the countryside as you make your way to Stratford.

I've always enjoyed the pretty drive on the B4035 from Banbury to Shipston on Stour, making sure to stop at the tiny village of Sibford Gower on the way through to have a pint at the Wykham Arms. You might find Broughton Castle open as well.

The B4086 from Warmington to Hampton Lucy is also a nice drive. You can stop at Edgehill if you are interested in Civil War stuff. Huge food helpings at the Castle Inn, and great ambiance and small village feel at the Boar's Head in Hampton Lucy. Can also visit Charlecote Park here.

And, of course, there are all the other villages more frequently visited that you can find discussed on this site, like Chipping Campden, Stow on the Wold, etc.

janisj

That is a heck of a LOT of faffing about w/ taxis, rental agency, a long drive, early dinner, long drive back to LHR, more rental agency, more taxi all to get back to central London in time for another play.

I drive hundreds of miles in the UK and I sure wouldn't do what you plan.

I'd take the train to Stratford and check into the hotel. Then, maybe take a local bus or taxi over to Warwick to see the Castle/town, and back to Stratford to go to the play.

The next day, I'd spend in Stratford exploring the Shakespeare properties and then take the train back to London in the afternoon.

mari5

Janis....I believe the poster said they had "done' Stratford and wouldn't be doing that...and also didn't want to go to Warwick.

Does sound like a lot of rambling and driving,,,,but that's the way my husband and I travel, and how we do love the Cotswolds.
I would think you'd have time ,tahl, to cover some of the beautiful countryside and villages..and others on Fodors would be better at the "timing" questions.

tahl

Thanks for all the advice. *How* long a drive is it from Heathrow to Stratford on a Thursday morning, would you think? It looks about 100 miles (?). What would people expect that to be, time-wise?

The reason we're driving from Heathrow is that the rental price in Stratford was stratospheric (we arranged the car months ago). Perhaps we should check again. I guess I'd also been thinking that driving up would be no slower/more awkward than train plus renting car in Stratford?

The reason we want to drive at all is to show at least a bit of countryside to the one among us who's never been to England. As I said before, the Shakespeare properties in Stratford are not of interest to us, and neither is Warwick Castle(two of us have visited it recently, the others plan to see it on a Richard III - themed itinerary).

Rickmav, thanks for the specific ideas; I'll be getting out my atlas to trace them out.

rickmav

The tough part will be getting out of Heathrow on a weekday morning. I'm assuming you are experienced U.K. drivers. The AA route planner

http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/pla...jsp?database=B

shows that the trip is 1 hr. 50 min. But I always think those are ideal conditions. I'd add at least another 1/2 hour.

I heartily recommend the Garrick in Stratford for a meal. Does your hotel have parking? If not, that will be a challenge in Stratford.

For a first-timer to England you couldn't pick a prettier place to bring them to than Sudeley Castle, near Winchcombe. But it would only really make sense if you were doing a circle kind of visit from Stratford, including Stow on the Wold, Moreton in Marsh and Chipping Campden. See map here:

http://www.theaa.com/maps/map_results.jsp

I hope you enjoy yourself.

janisj

I realize you said you don't want to do Warwick - OK . .

But the Cotswolds aren't a place you can see in a couple of hours driving through. It is villages, walks, pubs, gardens etc.

Count on 45 minutes by cab to LHR (if you are lucky), 20-30 minutes minimum at the rental agency. So you are more than an hour into your journey before you even put the key in the ignition. You will maybe get to Stratford by lunch time. You want to be at the theatre by 7PM so you have about 4 free hours if you want time to clean up at the hotel and eat dinner before heading to the theatre.

The next day you will probably want to stop by your London hotel around 5PM before going out to dinner and get to your 7:30 curtain.

So, 90 mins drive to LHR, 20 mins back at the rental agency, and 45 mins taxi to the hotel -- gives you maybe 4 hours free to drive around.

Do you think driving that much over two days is worth seeing maybe 2 or 3 villages and having a quick bite for lunch? Only you can decide - but IMO, London > Stratford > Theatre > London > Theatre over 2 days is not a sightseeing break. It's a theatre break. So me personally - I'd skip all the driving around and concentrate on things that are more convenient to the two venues . . . .

flanneruk

From Heathrow to Stratford is a straightforward 90 minute drive -though driving from central London to Stratford is practically always slower than getting the train. The M4, M25, M40 A46 route is rarely congested (except for the M25 bit at rush hours): the only minidetours that make sense are the walk along the Chiltern escarpment at J5 of the M40, and Warwick the town, as opposed to the castle, when you come off the M40 at J15.

From J10 of the M40 (about an hour from LHR) to Stratford via Chipping Norton and Chipping Campden will also take about 90 mins without stops. Even allowing time for a few tiny detours to South Newington (England's finest medieval church wall painting) or the Rollright Stones (a mini Stonehenge) and a quick potter round Chipping Campden, you should manage the trip to Stratford in 4 hours.

In reverse, trickier if you calculate back from the time you need to drop the car off at Heathrow.

The scenic route you're suggesting is essentially driving to Burford then A40, M40 M25, M4. In the early afternoon, allow 90 mins for the Burford-LHR bit. Usually allow an hour for Stratford-Burford.

Personally, I'd delay walks till you've got out of Burford. If you're then running to time, go to Swinbrook, park the car there then walk from it to Widford and back(45 mins from A40, the 1.5 mile walk and back to the A40).

How much time you spend out of the car's up to you. But driving through the Cotswolds adds about 2 hours each way to the time the direct train journey takes - and it's a petty boring train journey