SAK

We are traveling to England for our anniversary/desperately needed vacation for 8 days/nights in mid October. Flying in to Gatwick, arrive on Sat. morning. Our original plan was to drive just through the countryside and forget London, but may be reconsidering. Just trying to figure out how long we need in which places, and what not to miss. Present plan is something like this:

Day 1-2 Rent car and drive through Stonehenge or Windsor to Bath, and perhaps Wells, stay two nights in B&B in or near Bath

Day 3-5 Drive to Cotswolds, stay near Broadway or Chipping Campden or any other central hub to travel around, visit Oxford and/or Stratford-upon-Avon

Day 6-8 Drop off car and stay in London (have no idea where to set up camp) and leave out of Gatwick on ninth day (noon)

However, my questions revolve around how much time should I give to each place, what's reasonable, what isn't? I've also heard some talk about York that it's one of the best sightseeing places, but I don't know why. Is it a place we shouldn't miss and why is it so great? Should we cut down our time elsewhere to fit it in? We like to have some diversity amongst the places we visit and I prefer to fit as many places as possible b/c I don't know when we'll be back, but at the same time, don't want to spend the whole time just driving.

Also, my husband has never been to London and I went as a young girl, so wouldn't mind mixing it up a little bit with some city time. Also, wouldn't mind a little shopping! Any input and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

janis

Some thoughts - Yes York is truly fabulous.. But so is Edinburgh, Canterbury, N Wales and a hundred other places. You are on a very limited schedule so you will have to just accept that you can't see everything - or even a great deal.

For this trip just forget about York - either that or forget about some of the places in the souts.

I would do it slightly differently. Most (but not all) people are VERY tired and jet-lagged the first day or two. That drive from LGW through Stonehenge to Baths/Wells will be difficult immediately after landing. So I would spend the first 2 nights (or maybe 3) in London. No car, no driving, no having to get anywhere or navigating - just public transport, walking around London and sightseeing.

Then I would head out to LHR and pick up a rental car. Drive to Windsor, Stonehenge and on to Bath for the next two nights.

Then up to the Cotswolds for a 3 day base as you planned.

Then drive back to Gatwick - you can pick up a car at LHR and drop it at LGW. If you flight out is early in the AM you could spend your last night right near Gatwick. If it is mid day or later you can drive all the way from the Cotswolds.

TuckH

I certainly think you're on the right track. I suggest that you stay loose and flexible. Be prepared to improvise, i.e. have ready-at-hand a number of options that you can put into play if, for example, the weather doesn't cooperate with your enjoyment of things. Thus you may choose to go to London sooner rather than later.

Wells is one of my favorites with its wonderful cathedral, so I would make it more than a 'perhaps'. Also near Bath is Castle Combe, a very picturesque village, Lacock too. Oxford is a delight. Of course the Cotswolds et al.

On the other hand, if the weather is pleasant (there's little worse than being cooped up in a car on vacation in the pouring rain), you just might want to not even venture into London, given the fact that this is a 'desperately needed' vacation. The stress involved, for just a couple of days - after relatively carefree ones - might not be worth it.

Therefore, my idea is to ad lib it; hang in if it's to your liking, move on if not.

Nigello

I agree that London should be 'done' while you are not too tired and 'holidayed out'. Get the train into the city, and then pick up your hire car from Heathrow airport when you want to go driving (but make sure you can take it back to Gatwick.) You can hire a car from the city centre, but you might fall foul of the daily £5 congestion charge (check if the car company already pays this if you do hire centrally) and you will definitely fall foul of rather busy roads and irate drivers. Getting to Heathrow is easy on the Tube, but get proper instructions from your car company to tell you where to go, as Heathrow is huge.

Anonymous

I agree that driving immediately after arrival is very challenging -- other side of the road and all that. So I also agree that days in London should bracket your days in the countryside.

Another possibility for your car rental is to take the train from London to Oxford and rent/return the car there.

One night in Bath might be enough, unless you're determined to do and see *everything*. If you're into shopping, don't miss the lovely and trendy Wolcot Street shops. We stayed at a B&B called the Sydney Gardens Hotel, very charming, huge breakfast, free parking, a few minutes' walk to the city center.

TuckH

SAK, I'd like to clarify:

From your post, I took it to mean that you're ambivalent about going to London for a couple of days. Therefore to start out there didn't seem to make sense.

The gist of my point is that it's all well-and-good to plan an ideal itinerary but, once there, who knows?

The weather can be a major influence on whether or not you enjoy yourselves.

Obviously you can't change the weather, but you can adjust your schedule to better cope with it if it's bad. Going to museums and the like in a city is something one can do in bad weather - 'driving through the countryside', as you put it, is not.

I have memories of getting drenched in St Ives in Cornwall, trying to drive through a dense fog on the moors in Exmoor, etc. We've gone into Edinburgh, York, Lincoln, Shrewsbury from nearby countrysides when it was unpleasant outside. Sometimes we've had to just sit tight and wait it out. We've cut short trips to Wales and to Scotland when it was not only raining but the next few days were for more-of-same. In each of these cases I salvaged the situation by driving away to brighter skies - from Wales to East Anglia and from Scotland to the Lake District. Fortunately, I came prepared for such a contingency with knowledge of where to go and what to do there.

Each evening and the following morning I watched the tv weather forecasts. In the UK, it's amazing how different the weather can be from one neighboring area to the next. With this knowledge I was able to tweak things in our favor.

I'm in agreement with Janis and the others about the first day's driving, but I wouldn't reverse the program (unless, of course, if it's pouring rain when you step off the plane!). Windsor, your first stop, is only an hour or so from Gatwick. On our trips we've had a first night booking at a B&B with the understanding that we'd arrive midday for jet-lag recovery and it has worked well.

SAK

Thanks everyone for the input. So, York is out and London is in. It's just a matter of before or after, and everyone has made a lot of sense. I didn't figure a 2 - 2 1/2 hour drive would be difficult after landing and I thought perhaps driving through the countryside would be relaxing and not too stressful on our first day. Although, your input makes sense as well, to just get to a hotel/b&b in London and relax there at first. But I wasn't sure if London was considered relaxing.

Also, there's issue of the car rental. I want this to be as easy as possible. I remember going to Paris a few years ago and we rented a car to drive in the country. We drove back from the country and almost missed our flight home in trying to figure out where and how to drop off the car at CDG. I seriously felt like the Griswold's! Is Gatwick better in this regard, if you know?

TuckH, I like the suggestion of playing it by ear especially depending on the weather, but, if I plan on making reservations in the countryside before I go, how can I change them last minute? And then perhaps, I may lose where I wish to stay. Or, doesn't it matter with the amount of places there seem to be to stay?

Also, Thanks for the advise on Sydney Gardens, I just looked it up, looks quaint. How much per night? Any other suggestions? I was looking into Karen Brown's suggestions(previously thrilled with) - Haydon House, Meadowland, Apsley House, Beryl (in Wells), Villa Magdela, all look nice, just need some personal experiences as well.

Also, anyone know anything about Malt House in Broad Campden or have any other B&B suggestions in and around the Cotswolds? I appreciate all your help. Thanks.

TuckH

The good news for you is that you're going at a time when reservations will not be needed. For your accommodations you should have a cellphone and a list of possibilities, names and numbers with you. Make on-the-spot decisions; be prepared for alternate scenarios.

From home, before you go, you can line things up on a tentative basis, confirming or changing the specifics once you get there. ("I'd like to stay at your place, but I don't know which night so I'll call you from the airport on Saturday and we'll firm it up then".)

I don't want to repeat myself, but I'll say that, more than any one single factor, good vs bad weather can affect the success or failure of your trip. And there's easily a 50% chance either way, so take it into account.

obxgirl

I'm not as big a fan of "winging it" as TuckH. I'd be more inclined to play it loose if I had a month but you all only have a week. I wouldn't want to spend a precious moment of my vacation fretting over accommodations. I'm not clear on what the point would be to tentatively line things up with hotels. It's either a booking or it isn't.

Besides a rainy day isn't necessarily a washout.
Just dress accordingly. And if you do get a really wet one, I'd rather pass a few hours with a good book at my comfy B&B than analyzing my backup plans.

Have you done a text search here on Cotswolds? There's lots of good (and recent) info about B&Bs/small hotels in that area.

janis

I agree w/ Tuck in theory, but obxgirl is right. If I were on a whirlwind trip like SAK's I would not leave it to chance. You need to make the most of your time and just don't have enough time for too many fall back plans. I sometimes set my itinerary as I go along - but then again, I usually am in the UK for 4 or 5 or even 6 weeks at a time.

And while many people do - I NEVER arrive in London w/o firm reservations. I often use TIC to find me a place out in the country - but in London I want to know exactly where I'm staying ahead of time.

With an 8 day itinerery you may not have the luxury of waiting for a nice day to go to the Cotswolds - or Bath, or anywhere else.

Lori

I'd never plan on driving as I step off the plane. You are jetlagged whether you realize it or not and coping with traffic and the "wrong side of the road" makes for an accident waiting to happen.

I'd go into London first, that's the ideal solution. While 2.5 hours driving in the country may sound relaxing to you it probably would not be if you are not used to driving in the UK and if you are tired. It's more pratical to pick up a car at Heathrow a few days later and return it at Gatwick (but check and be sure this is OK). 8 days is not a lot of time for all you have planned and weather can be a big factor. I have also driven in the UK in bad weather and it's not a great deal of fun (it's not fun home either !!). I'd be more inclined to spend the first few days in London and then pick a place (like Salisbury) and stay put there the rest of the time. You can easily do day trips to Bath, etc. from there without packing up and unpacking every day. We stayed 6 days in Salisbury one visit and went off in a different direction each day, it was wonderful! York is way too far north for this trip, it's a lovely city but you won't have time.

Incidentally, rain does not have to spoil your trip, but it can alter your plans and make outdoor sightseeing a little uncomfortable. It can also be a blessing! The first time we saw Stonehenge it was in the pouring rain (this was before it was all fenced in too) and we were the only people there! What a strange experience it was walking around those big stones, all alone in the rain. Saw it again in later years on a sunny day with lots of people there .. not so great a visit!

TuckH

One more shot and I'll give it a rest.

Obviously if SAK is blessed with gorgeous (or even somewhat less than that) weather, then my whole argument becomes moot.

But...What if?

Please Folks, don't present the rationalization that dismal, depressing weather can be enjoyed - it cannot!

[Someone on another thread recently described being booked somewhere high up in the Alps and not once during a week's stay, get to see the mountains due to the clouds. What a bummer!]

We've travelled the length and breadth of the UK numerous times, in the high season, without reservations or even knowing where we'll stop for the night. (The exception is the first and last nights of our three-week trips.)

I'm simply saying, Don't get locked in to something you can't change, keep your options open. Be prepared with alternatives.

SAK, I wish you well on your 'desperately needed vacation' and I hope the weather is NOT a factor!

Roger

My two cents. Your trip is short and you will not have time to seek out places with better weather. Also, it normally doesn't rain all day. typically it may rain off and on. So, I would firm up places to stay, stick to a plan and just go for it.

obxgirl

TuckH,

>Please Folks, don't present the rationalization that dismal, depressing weather can be enjoyed - it cannot!<

This is a travel forum where people solicit opinions & advice from others. Sometimes those opinions differ. This is clearly one of those occasions.