Help me plan an excursion from London
 

I'm going to London early Nov. on business and have been there several times. I thought I would take the opportunity to fly out a couple of days early to do something fun.
I have not spent much time in the countryside of London, so I am thinking of seeing the Cotswold Cottages.
My other option is to fly into another city for a couple of days: ie. Paris, Barcelona, Prague or Milan.

Can anyone weigh in?
Thanks!!

How about Eurostar train to London or Brussels/Bruges? 2.5 hours only city centre to city centre.

Are you saying the train from London to Brussels is only 2.5 hrs? I think there was a typo? If so, that is a good option.

No, Brussels is actually 2,5hours in the train, it is worth going for the weekend. However, I would suggest Bruges instead.
If you wish to stay in the UK, I would definetly recomend Edinburgh or maybe go to places like Bath in England.
The lake district is supposed to be great as well, but I still have not been there though.

I've been to Brugge. It was beautiful, but I don't think I need to go again.
Is there a reason you didn't recommend Cotswold (if I stay in England)?

Lots (hundreds actually) of choices.

By train: Paris 2.5 hours. Brussels 2.5 hrs. York 2 hours. Baths 2+ hours. Edinburgh 4 hours -- or overnight on a sleeper. Brighton and the south coast a little over 1 hour (though maybe not the best area for a Nov getaway). Or MANY other places all over the UK.

The Cotswolds are lovely - but do you want to rent a car? It is pretty difficult to tour the Cotswolds w/o driving. There is scanty rail service. Though you could take a train to Oxford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Cheltenham or elsewhere and then pick up a rental car there.

Oops - that should be &quot;<u>Bath</u> 2+ hours&quot;

I hadn't thought about that. I guess I could rent a car if it's not too crazy (expensive). Do you know how far Cotswold is from London?

If I go to Paris in your opinion is it easier to fly or take the train? Do you know the cost of the train? Or where it leaves you out in Paris?

Is it easy to catch the Paris train from one of the airports in London?

Thanks for you help:)

Also....what is there to do in Cotswold and Bath besides scenery? Are there cute pubs, shops, etc?

Just to clarify, the Cotswolds is an area with pretty countryside and a number of cute little towns. The houses are built of warm yellow stone. It's best seen by car.

Perhaps you ought to take a look at a guidebook or two. And, remember, they don't usually take the pictures in November. That time of year a city or town with lots of indoor attractions is a safer bet. Like, for example, Bath or Oxford. Or Paris.

The Cotswolds are full of pretty villages and (yes) pubs, but IMO you really need a car (and nice weather) to get the best out of a trip here). There are shopping opportunities, I suppose, depending on what you want.

Bath has some very interesting places to visit - the Roman baths, the Pump Room, museums, churches etc. It's rewarding at any time of year. Lots of shopping, too.

In November much of the UK will be damp and dark (short days setting in) although there might be a bit of autumn still hanging around here and there. It could certainly provide a nice time to find a cozy pub somewhere and settle in for some winter walks and good beer, visiting with the locals. There are far worse ways to spend a couple of travel days.

Without a car, the more attractive countryside areas (Cotswolds, East Anglia etc.) will be less than ideal for touring. Figure at least &pound;50 a day for a car; you can reach the Cotswolds from LHR (not central London) in a couple of hours.

Round trip on Eurostar to Brussels or Paris will be around US$140 for restricted tickets, more for flexible times. One thing to note is that the price is the same to any connected Belgian station (eg Brugge) as for Brussels. If you aren't interested in Brugge, Antwerp is a fascinating old city.

I would of course point out that Easyjet from one or the other London airports to Venice, Barcelona, or Nice will be around &pound;50-60 round trip, &pound;80-100 for Prague, Istanbul or Athens, or many more places.

I live in the Thames Valley and agree with the comments about the Cotsworlds and the weather. November can be very grey and damp (don't forget your umbrella).
If you want short day trips by train options include: Windsor, St Albans, Henley, Oxford, Cambridge. What about an afternoon at the horse races - there are a number of race courses close to London.

Eurostar to Paris or Bruges is quicker than going to Scotland.

What sort of thing do you like to do?

As well as walks around London, London Walks do some day trips - a couple you may be interested in are Bath which is a truly beautiful city and Oxford/Cotswolds which gives you a wonderful taste of both places.

Thank you for the suggestions. London Walks sounds like a good idea. Otherwise it sounds like I would be best off flying to another city like Paris, Madrid, or Prague. If I'm going to spend that on the train to Paris, I might as well see if I can get a free stopover with my flight and do it that way.

Thanks for the suggestions!
Any great suggestions on where to eat in London while I'm there? Indian is a must, but are there any must tries for a foodie? How about any of Jamie Oliver's restaurants? I hate formal formal but love amazing food in a charming or different atmosphere.

Hello, there are a lot of things to do in and around London. You might want to look into booking a Cotswolds bus tour. You can probably find on virtual-london.com or something and find a bus tour from London to the Cotswolds, sometimes in double decker buses, and usually with guides. For example at virtual-london.com I found: Best of The Cotswolds and Blenheim Palace - from &pound;54.00
with Golden Globe Tours---Sound like a nice day tour out of London..I've been to Blenheim Palace and it's a nice glimpse into Henry the VIII's Middle Ages. Also, Stratford Upon Avon is in the Cotswolds too if you are a Shakespere fan. Have Fun!

Do you like antique shops? - if so, the cotswolds in november are for you. If not, paris or Bath, or any of the other places would be better. Have fun!

If you like Indian food, there are lots of choices but Shezan is my favorite:

http://tinyurl.com/eqglz

Blenheim Palace/Henry VIII/The Middle Ages? Three separate periods of time.

Ok, after doing some research, I'm finding that a side trip is too expensive given I will only be able to go for a night or two.
So...I was thinking, if I do a sidetrip, I might want to stay over in the location. Maybe stay in a farmhouse in Cotswold or somewhere easier to get to by train--any advice on this type of country experience in terms of where the best place would be to go?

I meant to say above that a side trip to another country was too expensive (not to the English countryside).

Also, I will be flying into Heathrow and would like to be able to take a train from there if possible.
Thanks for any advice!

From Heathrow , depending on where you wish to go, you might want to take a bus from the Airport to Reading, and then the train from there (To e.g. Bath, Salisbury, Winchester or Oxford).

I would also recommend Bath as a good destination. It has huge amounts of history (The Roman baths are one of my favourite historical sites in the UK), good architecture, interesting shops, and a wide choice of shops and restaurants. There may still be daily guided walks of up to 3 hours - these were free of charge, but exceptionally informative.

A lot of people are suggesting Bath....is it possible to go there and have the farmhouse experience I was hoping for?
Also, is there a way to get there direct by train or would it be train and bus (I have all my luggage...).
Thanks!

I was wondering about the Bath suggestions. You specifically mentioned countryside and farmhouses. Bath is an elegant small city. It is a great place to visit - but is not rural.

Now, there are small villages out in the countryside near Bath - but there is not much to see in them. They would be a base for visiting Bath - which again is a wonderful city, but a city none-the-less.

If getting into the countryside is your main criteria - I would take the train to Moreton-in-Marsh and staying there or a nearby Cotswold village. Unfortunately no trains go from Heathrow to anywhere but London. But there are bus and bus/train combos that can get you just about anywhere so once you decide where it is you are going, then we can tell you the easiest way to get there from LHR.

Thanks janis....Maybe I should think about going to one of the Cotswold towns, stay in a cute farmhouse, do a little shopping and drinking? I don't need museums or churches as I have had my fill. I'm looking for charming atmosphere, beautiful scenery, some cute 'English' shops, tea, pubs, etc.

I also want an easy connection since it will only be for one night, I will just have done a transatlantic flight, and will have my luggage.
Plus I would like to keep costs down.

What do you think?

You seem fixated on a farmhouse. Farms are usually at some distance from towns. You will have to take a taxi to get to the farmhouse and from there to a pub, town, etc. Also farms in November are kind of bleak places.

How about a cosy B&amp;B in a nice small Cotswold town? Say one within easy reach of Morton-on-the-Marsh. Plenty of countryside around the town, easy access to pub, tea rooms, and so on.

That definitely sounds great. Do you have a recommendation?

I haven't had a personal experience, but have heard good things about Treetops, which is near the train station in Moreton. I looked at www.smoothhound.co.uk. Also looked for Burford, which sounds good on the other thread.

Other sources of B&amp;B's: www.theaa.com and www.sawdays.co.uk.

Thanks so much! I'm going to do some reasearch and see what I come up with.

Is it possible to go via train from London to Hidcote Garden Manor in The Cotswolds? Is there some sort of shuttle? I can't find anything out from the website.