bhuty

Travelling in first week of September - driving holiday around England
On this part of the trip I'm driving from Stratford upon Avon to Bath and staying overnight in Bath then driving to Stonehenge for the inner circle experience.

On the way to bath I like the idea of staying at the Swan hotel in Bibury before going to Bath - I've been to Bath before so I don't feel the NEED for more than one day/one night BUT I was just thinking that maybe it would be great to arrive at Bath in the evening and sleep 2 nights there - just because for a few days on the way to Bath and for a few days after Bath we are staying only one night everywhere we go. If the accommodation was good enough to justify pushing through some of the smaller villages a bit faster and NOT spending an extra night in the Cotswolds then I would do that....OR....
I could stay in a great place a few hours north of Bath. I heard great things about the Swan Hotel but to be honest my heart is with a BnB somewhere along the way (maybe Cirencester or Tetbury???)

So my question is: Either 2 nights in bath (with recommendations of where to stay please) OR one night within a couple of hours north of Bath and one night in Bath (again with recommendations please)?

Many thanks
I hope to forward on the help one day

bilboburgler

I find Bath (B) a dull place and after you have seen the baths (b) and stumbled around a few ancient housing estates 6 or so hours has done me.

The Cotswolds (the), on the other hand are a large area of villages, side roads, and public footpaths that never stop being entertaining.

I've lived near both these areas at different times of my life and to me the choice is easy, the Cotswolds are worth more time.

Where would I stay, Burford is my go to town but others exist and each have their merits. The real pleasure of these places is not the tourist shops in and amongst tourist cafes, but instead the footpaths. I'd chose a route. https://footpathmap.co.uk/ from your hotel or B&B, catch a bus to the other end of the walk, https://www.traveline.info/ make sure you include a pub half way along the footpath and walk home.

You'll remember that walk long after the cafe in Bath has dropped from your mind.

janisj

OK -- You've been to Bath before and don't feel the need for more that one day there (and you actually won't have one full day if only staying one night) . . . so is there a reason you are staying there at all?

Are going to the early morning or late hours Inner Access?

But Me personally -- if I didn't have a pressing need to see Bath again - I'd skip it and stay 2 nights in the Cotswolds rather than 1 night - 1 night - 1 night

bhuty

Bilbo - many thanks again for the extra information

Janis... Hi Janis.
There are two main reasons for staying in bath
1) it is on the way to stonehenge
2) We're going to be spending enough time in Bath that I think we'd prefer to get up an hour earlier the next morning than to drive again and check in after dinner time to somewhere else closer to the stone (we're doing the AM inner circle)

We'll be either 3 nights in cotswolds +1 night in bath or 2 nights in cotswolds + 2 nights in bath. I think the idea of Bath is more of a reminder visit which I think would be nice rather than skipping it completely.
Based on both of your comments I am being persuaded to do 3 nights in cotswolds

Thanks again

janisj

"1) it is on the way to stonehenge".

Lots of places are 'on the way to Stonehenge'. Have you considered basing someplace in the southern Cotswolds -- such as Fairford?? Fairford is maybe 12 miles farther from the stones than is Bath. Or Cirencester -- about the same distance

Or even closer - Malmebury or Castle Combe, or Chippenham or Lacock. All are lovely Cotswold villages/towns 25 to 35 miles from Stonehenge.

janisj

OR - not in the Cotswolds but with its own charms/stones -- Avebury is only 23 miles from Stonehenge.

bhuty

Castle Combe or Lacock are certainly of interest - nice thoughts to consider. thanks

janisj

Another reason to maybe consider a small town/village -- driving in to central Bath and parking can be a real PITA. But if you stay outside the city itself -- then you'd probably want to use one of the Park&Ride lots which isn't that convenient

bhuty

eg drive to lacock, check in and then shuttle to bath and back.... is that what you mean?

janisj

Not really -- I meant basing in one of those villages instead of visiting Bath. Since you had been to Bath before and it sort of sounded like you were returning there simply because it is a convenient base for Stonehenge. If Bath is a 'been there, done that' there are lots of other places you can stay.

My point about the park and ride lots was that IF you still wished to base in/near Bath dealing with a car in the city centre will be an issue.

KayF

If you are still looking for ideas, I stayed recently in Chipping Campden. Great accommodation, plenty of places to eat and loads to do in the vicinity. It was the Lygon Arms (not the one in Broadway, though I'm sure that's lovely too.) I can give you more info on things in the area if you are interested.

uktravelover

The drive from somewhere like Burford to Salisbury is only about 1.5 hours so you could easily stay in the Cotswolds or alternatively drive to Salisbury or nearby in the early evening and be close to Stonehenge ready for the morning.

janisj

Yes - Burford (probably my favorite place to stay in the Cotswolds) is maybe a 90-100 minute drive to Stonehenge in the very early AM, but there are Cotswold villages farther south that are a shorter drive from the stones.

bilboburgler

stone rings are pretty common in the UK stone-circles.org.uk - The Prehistoric Sites of Great Britain it seems people liked the work

bhuty

Yes i recently started looking at Lygon Arms and Staddlestones bnb (no luck getting good details on staddlestones) at Chipping Campden - its a little ways off my original track but if its worth the detour then I would consider it....my "track" is basically from Warwick Castle to Stonehenge via Tetley and maybe with a detour to Bibury and/or Castle Combe so Chipping Campden would then be another detour

bhuty

I was thinking that Salisbury would be something that we could do after the stones rather than go there before the stones

uktravelover

Have you considered finding somewhere central to where you want to visit and do day or half-day trips? It can save a lot of time as you will not need to pack, unpack, check in/out, etc.

bhuty

uktravelover
I see that this is Janis' recommendation to me and I'm and trying to turn my head to working this out. My brain likes driving holidays so the one night one night one night thing just works in my head ..... I think it could be a mental thing where going backwards in the evening seems wasteful - but the purpose of this long reply is to admit that maybe packing and unpacking and checking in and out could also be wasteful.
Thank you for the provocation.

My "round" trip takes me from windsor to warwick castle to stonehenge (if I can express it broadly this way). What would you consider to be central to this AND also a highly recommended place to be in its own right?

bhuty

In regards to the types of accommodation we like - well "we" like different things. I love the traditional bednbreakfast /farmstays that you find in the UK and my wife likes 5 star hotels. So I comfortable and stylish bed and breakfast might be a good middle groiund for us. Said another way, a bed n breakfast that is almost like a destination in and of itself and not just a bed to sleep in would be better than a 5 star hotel I would think

janisj

Someplace like Minster Mill in Minster Lovell or the Bay Tree in Burford would fit both of your tastes. Posh, but homey, excellent restaurant,

https://www.minstermill.co.uk
https://www.cotswold-inns-hotels.co....paign=web_link