Help with August trip to the UK
 

Hello,

Our planned 3 week trip to the UK in August may now have to be whittled down to less than two weeks due to unforseen circumstances. We have two firm committments in the UK that can't be changed: the Harry Potter Studio tour on August 10th, and the Taylor Swift concert at Wembley on August 20th. Ideally, we want to explore London for a few days, and take day trips to Highclere, Lacock, and maybe the Cotswolds (train to Banbury and then a rental car from there). We may also just rent a car and keep it for the duration of our trip.

What I'm wondering is what our base should be. Since we are hemmed in on both sides of our trip by Harry Potter close to our arrival date, and the concert close to our departure date, ideally we'd like to stay in an Airbnb close to London for the entire length of the trip. The base village/town/neighborhood should be an easy distance by train (or car) to London, Harry Potter and Wembley, but also a good location for day trips to the west. We're hoping to stay in a charming, pretty area.

Any thoughts to share would be greatly appreciated, since we are having to scramble last minute to adjust our plans.Thanks for reading!

What are you arrival and departure dates? Also what are your other interests beside the two events already booked. You do need the check the website for Highclere as it is not open all the time for regular visitors.

The arrival date may be as late as the 8th or 9th, and the departure date will be the 22nd. We will want to see the usual London sights, but also the quintessential English villages and the beauty of the countryside. We won't want to spend our time in museums in the limited amount of time that we'll have. I hope that's enough information. Thanks for replying!

You'll want to be IN London at least for the 19th til the 22nd. You really shouldn't be driving on the arrival day but since Windsor is only 7 miles away that wouldn't be out of the question. I'd stay the first few days in or very near Windsor. You can either drive the 7 miles from LHR to Windsor or collect a car there the next day.

Do you already have Highclere reservations - If so what date?

There would be worse bases than Windsor -- about an hour to Highclere, and an hour if you are lucky with traffic to Warner Brothers, 90 minutes to Lacock, a litte over an hour to Burford in the Cotswolds.

Totally 100% forget anything about a train to Banbury and rental car from there -- a HUGE hassle. The rental agencies are all on the east side of town and getting across to the west involves like 10+ roundabouts and zig zags. It would be a royal pain.

JanisJ, Thank you so much! I'll look into the possibility of Windsor as a base. How about Chiswick as an alternative?

I take it there isn't a Cotswolds town that you can train to (which, from what I've seen is quicker than by car) and then rent a car from there? I'm looking for speedy and convenient, so I see your point about Banbury.

Thanks again!

Chiswick is actually IN London west London but London none the less. It would not be at all convenient for getting places like Warner Bros HP or the Cotswolds or Highclere etc. Your best bet is two bases - one west of London like Windsor or nearby, and one in central London for Wembley and other sightseeing. The central London bit will just be a few days so I'd look at hotels instead of a rental at this late date.

Or easier really - if you don't mind moving twice - would be three bases. You could stay the 9th and 10th (or 8, 9, 10) in Windsor, the 11th -17th (or 18th) in a Cotswold village, and the 18th-22nd in a London hotel. But finding a Cotswold rental or B&B this late may be difficult.

Actually driving to the Cotswolds is usually faster than taking the train. The only stations that are useful really are Moreton-in-Marsh and Kingham and then you'd need a car to get to anyplace else you wanted to visit. There are no rental agencies in Kingham and no 'real' agencies in M-i-M - there are couple of local garages that do rent out cars but that isn't a practical option for you. There are no rail lines criss-crossing the Cotswolds.

This is good advice! I'll see about dividing our time between the three areas. Thank you very much, Janis!