Help - Itinerary advice for 10 trip to England over Christmas
 

We are trying to plan a ten day trip to England over Christmas. We are in our 50's - active - and would like to combine some outdoor activity as well as see some of the highlights the country has to offer. We have only been to England once and have seen bits of London as well as went to York Minster.
I am thinking about the Cotswolds (will it be ok in December or will everything be shut down) Bath , Stonehenge. Do we have time to go the south/southwest (Penzance orPlymouth or Dorchester)? We plan on driving...and would like to stay at upper end country houses/hotels (the one time we were there we stayed at Gravetye Manor and loved it). This is a birthday/xmas trip all wrapped into one...so would like to do some special stuff. I really dont know where to begin because all of the guidebooks suggest the best time to visit anyplace is April - Oct.

I think winter in the English countryside can be lovely if it is crisp. Gorgeous walks on frosty mornings. Some great food markets in the run up to xmas. If your pockets run deep enough many of the country house hotels do specific xmas breaks of around 3-4 nights with all meals and activities thrown in (eg carols, midnight mass, quizzes, games, etc etc).

For ten days I would choose maybe two bases that might suit day trips out. Maybe three at a push.

Google 'Country House Hotel Christmas Breaks' to get started.

And be sure to come prepared for RAIN, RAIN, RAIN.

Be aware that a number of places ( hotels, country houses etc. ) in England require a 3 day booking over Christmas usually from the 24th through the 26th which is Boxing Day. Note RM67's Google suggestion.

Very VERY short days and very iffy weather.

Could be fantabulous - or awful in the countryside.

If you stay in London be aware that there is no transit on Christmas and not much on Boxing day (the26th).

If you stay in London be aware that there is no transit on Christmas and not much on Boxing day (the26th).

If considering the Cotswolds you do need to know that many sites may be closed and there really aren't a lot of tourist sites in the Cotswolds. It's the area itself that is of interest. There are a number of interesting churches you could visit.

Boxing Day transit in London runs a Sunday/holiday service so while less than a normal business day not likely to hinder any of your getting around London. Although there may be engineering works on some transit lines.

Hmm...we may rethink this. We're planning on 12/16-25...so Boxing Day not an issue. It looks like a lot of the Country Houses are already booked over xmas so that would put us in London for xmas eve. We really wanted to be somewhere " Christmassy ... A recent death in the family prompted an out of country destination...and we were hoping for a direct flight from Chicago. It is looking like a plan b might be in order...

Any advice would be appreciated...

I do not know what is open in London over the holiday, and my experience is just in London. If you have not been to the Tower of London, do see the Royal crown room at the Tower of London, must go when it first opens to avoid lines. Get tickets for a play in London, maybe over Internet if that interests you. If you are able, stay or have lunch at the Savoy hotel, pretty nice place. British museum is also a great stop. Lots to see and do in London. Sue

Try using booking.com or even trip advisor and put in some larger towns such as Oxford or Cheltenham along with your dates. You may have better luck. Certainly most, if not all, Country Houses will be booked already as you've noted. I've not been in London on Christmas Eve but no reason to believe it wouldn't meet any Christmasy requirements.

I personally love London at Christmas! Lots of lights, decorations, concerts, theatre all focused on Christmas!

It's practically impossible, however far in advance you try to book, to stay at any decent hotel in the English countryside if you're planning to leave on Christmas morning.

There are far fewer decent rooms, especially in the Cotswolds, than there are people wanting a luxury Xmas break, and minimum stay policies will ALWAYS require you to stay (well: pay for) overnight through at least Xmas Eve and Xmas night, and often for three or four nights.

However, many people arrive only on Xmas Eve: so a couple of days' pre-Xmas stay in the deep countryside, overnighting on Xmas Eve somewhere else nearer your return airport, may well throw up availabilities that look impossible if you tell the booking machine you want to leave on Xmas morning.

This would make a great deal of sense for another reason. The kinds of things people associate with English country Xmases - like carol services, nice markets, special events - typically stop after midnight on Dec 24/5. For the few days afterwards, we all go into a mass collective hibernation: fine if a family is organising its annual get-together, but I'd have thought rather dispiriting for many casual visitors.

A week in London, followed by the last few days of the runup to Xmas in the country with a final night in or near Windsor or Oxford (where the minimum stay issue rarely crops up) would be how I'd handle your problem. Oxford's range of Xmas Eve midnight church services is outstanding.

Do remember, BTW, that the Xmas-card pictures of snow-covered meadows stem from the fact that Dickens' Christmas Carol was written during the last days of Britain's centuries-long Little Ice Age climatic warp, and the carol "In the Bleak Midwinter" was written by someone describing her childhood on the edge of the Cotswolds during that meteorological oddity.

English winters, especially over Xmas, are now substantially less cold than in most of the USA. We get less rain than New York or Boston.

if you want Christmassy a la Dickens go to Swizterland or Austria - if you want grey and mild with the chance of drizzle then England is for you

dark by 3pm, watch Eastenders or Corrie on the telly, wonder what the fuss is about, and wish you were back at work

Thanks for all of the aforementioned...I am going to research it a bit further.
We have flexibility on the dates...could leave on the 26th ..we could certainly accommodate a guaranteed minimum at a country hotel...I went on the Relais & Chateaux website and everything I looked at seemed to be booked 12/22 or 23 to 12/25or 26. That said...not in the mood to go somewhere and be depressed..

There arent any direct flights to Switzerland or Austria then...requirement of my husband. Just direct to London and Paris. We have been to Paris many times... London only once and a long time ago.

Thank you again for all the input...much appreciated.