my fmailyof four (2 teens 13 and 15) have 4 days in london (march) then we are trying to plan 4 days in the countryside. I am having trouble putting together an itinerary that includes oxford, bath, stonehenge, avebury, the cotswolds and a couple of nice castles, as we prefer not to change hotels every night. we will have a car. suggestions for how to schedule our time are appreciated, as well as where to spend our nights. accommodations that can put all 4 in one room are best re cost, but if we need to get 2 rooms c'est la vie.
castle/manor home lodging suggestions?
thanks fodorites!

Four days is a nice bit of time for what you want. By basing in the south/central Cotswolds you can do it all w/o having to change hotels. Or possible you could stay 1 night in/near Bath and 3 nights in the Cotswolds.

Burford or nearby would be a good Cotswold base. It is a lively village w/ several shops/restaurants and a good Tourist Information office.

A sample itinerary could be something like: Pick up rental carin London and drive to Avebury. Then zig doen to Stonehenge. W/ an early start you could be in Bath by lunch time. Then you would have a 1/2 day+ for seeing Bath. You could stay the night there - or press on that evening to Burford.

Then you have 3 full days for the Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle, and Oxford. This would be very doable.

For Oxford - DO NOT attempt to drive into the city. As you approach the city from the west/Burford you shouldstop at the Park and Ride lot on the ring road. Parking is free and the frequent buses are inexpensive and drop you in the center of town.

The day you go up to Warwick - plan on getting there at opening time(probably 10:00 in March- but double check the website). Then after spending a bit more than 1/2 the day there, meander down through several cotswold villages enroute back to Burford.

For a 3 dayer we stayed in a wonderful B&B in Stow-on-the-Wold. From there we drove to Tewksbury, Bath, Stonehenge, Avebury and visited several other small towns in the area. We would purposefully get off the main highway and take some little country road to find a great little village that tourists simply don't go to. Places that aren't on the map, but look like Hobbitville.

thanks! any suggestions for inns/ hotels in the cotswolds that can accommodate a family? looking at around $3oo for a room for 4 or $150/night/room if I need two rooms (or less if I can get something nice)

Rooms for four are difficult to find and with the current exchange rate, trying to find a room for $150 won't be easy. Your best bet will be B&B's.

I found some nice places on www.theaa.com. They were more than we wanted to pay, though. I ended up booking two nights in a family room at the Travelodge in Stonehouse (near Stroud in the southern Cotswolds) for 15 GBP per night. We're also spending one night in the YHA hostel in Bath for 38 GBP.

Lee Ann

I would fully recommend South Hill Farmhouse B&B in Stow-on-the-Wold. Mark and Sian are great hosts. The B&B is a short walk up the hill to Stow and an easy drive around the Cotswolds.

http://www.southhill.co.uk/

We spent a couple of nights there last spring and really enjoyed our stay. Oh and if you go, tell Dora the rabbit hello from Masatoshi.

Dave

ElendilPickle...

When are you staying at the Stonehouse Travelodge?

I ask because my children are at school just down the road and we live a few miles away on the other side of Stroud. If you have time and would consider meeting for a cup of tea or a quick drink I'd be delighted to meet you.

The Travelodge is fairly basic, but you will know that from the website. Some people I know have just lived there for 3 months while their house in Stonehouse was being renovated as it was close to school where their son had just started...

I agree with janisj for the most part. Getting around those places should be relatively easy. Be sure to go to Bibary. Its a very small village and very quaint. IF your kids like walking there's a great walk up Lady Hill (just ask a local and they will point you there). Also the trout farm is fun if you have time. Feeding hungry trout should amuse most teenagers.

The village davidcharles mentions is Bibury (not Bibary) and it is lovely.

But on weekends (even in the off season) it can get really crowded and parking can be a problem. So if you do stop in Bibury, go in the morning or late afternoon after most day trippers have gone home.

It isn't a "see/do thing" sort of village - just a small place along a small river w/ some original medieval houses (Arlington Row), a couple of pretty hotels/pubs and a garden on an small island (access supposedly limited to residents at the Swan Hotel but not strictly enforced)

I don't know if you've driven in the UK before, but you probably know that it isn't easy in the beginning.

My recommendation is that you train somewhere close to your first destination and rent the vehicle there if possible. We rented on a Sunday and picked up the car at Heathrow to head into the Cotswolds. We had wanted to train to Oxford and pick up there but cannot do on a Sunday. Many rental car facilities are closed on Sunday and possibly Saturday afternoons.

We found it difficult to get out of the airport roads and difficult again upon returning--especially difficult as I'd not driven in the UK before. My initiation to driving on the other side of the road was on their busy freeways.

It seemed like we followed signs at the airport for car return for at least 20 minutes before finding the Hertz office.

Julia_t,

We'll be there May 10-11, driving down from north Wales through Shrewsbury. It would be fun to meet!

I realize the Travelodge will be fairly basic, but we're staying in hostels everywhere else, so we're fine with basic.

Lee Ann

FYI, those planning to be in Bath this spring may catch the filming of a new TV mini-series of Jane Austen's Persuasion.
The cast list can be found here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844330/

LeeAnn...

Yes it would be fun to meet up, and also I used to live in Ludlow, not far from Shrewsbury, and know the southern part of Shropshire fairly well. It is THE most beautiful part of the English countryside (IMHO), and as I have said here before - a jewel in England's crown.

Best if we do further correspondence by email - I am aware we are hijacking 4bams thread here - sorry! - so contact me...

[email protected]

And for 4bams - for castle accommodation in south Gloucestershire (south Cotswolds) try

www.thornburycastle.co.uk

www.stonehousecourt.co.uk

Berkeley Castle (next village to Thornbury) is well worth a visit, and if you do find yourself around the Stroud area please feel free to email me too for a mini GTG! I have 14yo boys and girls who will still be 15 and 17 in March.

Don't make your poor kids suffer hoiking them around the country. I live in bath, you can stay here all 4 days, it's beautiful the cotswolds are at their best on the edge where they rise up from Bath. There is plenty here for chilren and you to do, theatres cinemas, restaurants, museums, roman baths, a fabulous hot spa bath,the most amazing architure outside of Edinburgh. There is a good train service between London and Bath, so you definitley don;'t need a car, you'll just be burdended with it, sitting in jams half the time, why suffer. Enjoy the city for 4 days, go for walks, take a bus to Avebury 9 noyto be missed. forget Stonehenge, a total anticlimax, and you can also take the train to Oxford, takes about 1 hr 30 mins, so perfect for a day trip.
Try the paradise house hotel in bath, check it out, must have a website. It's splediferously ancient and beutiful and a friendly place.
And take a direct coach back from Bath to Heathrow. Why risk getting caught in a logjam on the motorway on the way home?
Enjoy, but don't try to cram everything in, beacuse then you wont.

Welcome to fodors, tony! Good advice about Bath.

I totally agree with you about Avebury v Stonehenge, ... I remember picnics IN and ON the stones at Stonehenge after school (my father was stationed at Bulford back then)and I'd hate to see Avebury go that way and be fenced off unless you paid to go on an astral/special tour (or whatever they are called) at crack of dawn. I love it that I can just drive by anytime, stop, and walk among the stones and sheep sh*t! I have photos of my boys last summer standing atop those huge stones and it is a magical place, the same as I remember Stonehenge being when I was a kid. But it's not any more, is it, when you can't get near the stones?

Anyway, it's good to have someone posting advice here on fodors from this part of the UK!