Help with UK itinerary
 

Hi all:
My husband and I will be going to England and Wales in early September. We visited for the first time 3 years ago and absolutely fell in love with York and N. Wales. We also visited the Cotswolds and although lovely, were a bit underwhelmed. That said, we want to base ourselves in York and N. Wales, and spend the last night near Windsor (we didn't see Windsor castle last time and its close to the airport). Also, we need one more home base. I've considered Kent as I'm a huge Henry VIII, Eliz. I fan, but it is a very far drive from everywhere else we want to stay. We'd like to not have to drive all the way to York upon arriving (from the US) as we have a baby with us...would like to spend our first few nights a bit closer to our arrival point. Any suggestions? Cambridge area? Oxford?
We are really interested in medeival history and architecture, and would like to stay in a town that has several Guest Houses and Pubs.

We've stopped in both Lincoln and Cambridge on our way to York. Both are good stops with plenty to see and do.

I assume you are flying into LHR since you say Windsor is near the airport.

If it were me with an infant and an overnight flight here is how I would do it.

Frist day/night in Windsor. See the castle and get over the jet lag w/o having to drive more than 10 miles.

Then up to North Wales for a few days - easy drive up from Windsor area.

Over to Yorkshire for a few days.

Then down to the Kent/East Sussex area via the A1/M11/M25. for the last of your time

What time is your flight out of LHR. Unless it is early in the morning you can get there via the M25 in about an hour. OR you could even drop your car at Gatwick and take the airport coach to LHR so you wouldn't have to mess w/ the car at the LHR end.

Thanks!
Janis-interesting idea...how long do you think it would take to get from York to Kent (lets say the Maidstone area for lack of better information right now)? Keep in mind I am an experienced "other side of the road" driver and am able, on the motorway, to keep up with the best of them speed-wise.
Not sure of our flights yet but they seem to leave at around 1pm so plenty of time to get to the airport.

Another question: What about Gloucester, Worchester, Bath area? I am also a big War of the Roses fan and there are many places around there I would like to see.
TIA!

York to Maidstone is about 225 miles give or take. I'd probably give it about 4+ hours driving time plus any stops/detours along the way. You could even do it faster but there is always the liklihood of congestion/tailbacks. So it is certainly doable as long as you are not hitting the M25/Dartford tunnel during worst of the afternoon commute.

Bath/Gloucestershire/Worcestershire are definitely another option instead of the Kent/Sussex area. But you mentioned you weren't blown away by the Cotswolds so the area SE of London would give you a very different experience. It doesn't have dramatic scenery (except for a few places on the coast) but it has some truly amazing castles, gardens, historic homes and the such. If you only had 3 or 4 days you would have a really hard time paring down your list of things to see to a manageable few.

Thanks Janis-great idea!
Would you have a recommendation for a town to stay in as far as Kent and the Windsor area go?

For your first night I'd stay right in Windsor. There are several hotels and B&Bs w/i walking distance for the river and the Castle. And Eton is directly across the river. So you can see a lot w/o having to get into the car. Being outside in the fresh air usually helps a lot getting over the jet lag and will make your drive up to Wales the next day a lot easier.

As for where to stay in Kent - Oh my - there are hundreds of choices. Check out this B&B www.bryants-house.co.uk

I stayed there just last June and it was absolutely lovely and I thought a real bargain. It sits on Bewl Water (a pretty lake) and is a very easy drive from Sissinghurst, Scotney, Bodiam, Byland Abbey, Kent/East Sussex Steam Railway, Rye, etc. And it's w/i a reasonable drive of Knole, Hever/Chartwell, Dover and on and on.

(I usually rent a cottage for a week when in this area so I don't have personal experience w/ a lot of B&Bs/hotels but last June I only had three nights free so I stayed here and it was a great choice)

But you also might want to stay farther north near Sevenoaks or Maidstone.