Itinerary help for England...
 

Hello dear Fodorites --

It's been awhile since I've posted b/c my lack of European travel has been depressing. Fortunately, I am now planning for 9 nights in England in early September.

At this point, I'd appreciate advice regarding the following rough itineraries. We would like to spend 3-4 nights in London since we are going over to visit with friends. We are very familiar with London and don't need to spend much more time than that. We live in Seattle, so we'd like to visit an area where rain might be least likely (although I know that might be a long shot). In general, we are a young married couple into scenic beauty, pubs, tea, gardens, and general Anglophilia. ;)

Knowing these things, can anyone provide opinions on the specific areas in the following locations, as well as help regarding the number of nights spent in each?

london - cotswolds - cornwall
london - cotswolds - york
london - cotswolds - straying out of Eng. to visit northern wales

Thanks in advance!!
Heather.

hi, heather,

i never like to put people off, but if you want to do London and the cotswolds as well, you won't get to see much of cornwall.

you could spend 3 nights in london, then get train to Penzance from Paddington, rent a car, and spend 5 very happy days here. leave a day for getting back to london.

September is a great time to come to Cornwall - all the school kids and their parents have gone home, the weather is usually kind, and the accommodation is generally cheaper. because of the distance, you won't have time to seee all this and the cotswolds too, IMO.

feel free to ask me any specific questions you may have,

regards, ann

I agree w/ annhig. W/ such a short time I wouldn't try to do more than one other region other than London.

4 nights in London, 4 nights in Devon/Cornwall and 1 night near the airport before your flight out .

or 4 nights in London and 5 nights in The Cotswolds/Bath area

or 4 nights in London and 5 nights in Yorkshire. If you do this one consider an open jaw into London and out of Manchester or vise versa.

Whichever you choose, by Sept you might be able to find short breaks where you can rent a cottage for your 4 or 5 nights.

Go to Cornwall - you'll love it and there's loads there to see. Cotswolds are also lovely but a bit 'samey' and homogenous whereas Cornwall is very varied and just seems like a miniature country! Soft white sand beaches...rugged cliffs with pounding waves...caves...bleak moorland...gentle meadows and woods...lots of ancient stones/monuments/historical sites to explore, pubs, good local food, and plenty to do indoors if the weather turns a bit rubbish. Hire a car and have fun experiencing the tiny roads and backways!

Thank you all for these thoughts so far. Cornwall sounds very appealing. =)

Otherwise, is it out of the question to spend just 2 nights in the Cotswolds? I don't get the feeling that it's too terribly large of an area. We definitely don't need 1 night near the airport since we're staying with friends...

Thanks in advance for any additional advice!

hi, heather,

yes you could just do 2 nights in the cotswolds, but you will only get a taste of what's there.

You could extend it slightly by seeing stonehenge on the way there, and Oxford [or Bath] on the way back.

lots of lovely little towns and gardens to see - Hidcote, Kiftsgate, Westonburt Arboretum [great in september when there should be some autumn colour, tho not as good as New england, so don't get your hopes up too much]

we'd love to see you here in Cornwall though.

regards, ann

I have toured Cornwall twice and LOVED it!
Great little towns, beautiful seaside views, country pubs, friendly people, gorgeous walking.....
and Tintagel Castle is the ultimate frosting-on-the-cake ending to the journey.

hi, steviegene,

thanks for the recommendation.

regards, ann

>>we'd like to visit an area where rain might be least likely<<

The driest part of England is East Anglia (Norfolk, Suffolk, etc.), but I wouldn't plan my holiday around rainfall statistics.

Cornwall is lovely, but it's a long haul from London. Cotswolds may be your best bet.

OK - I love LOVE the Cotswolds. But if you try to fit them in you would be cutting Devon/Cornwall awfully short. (I usually include Devon in any discussion of Cornwall since one has to travel through one to get to the other and Devon is more thanwort a visit by itself)

Instead of dashing to and fro to squeeze in an area that really demands staying a few days and exploring - I would concentrate on London, Devon and Cornwall and leave the Cotswolds for another time -- when you have the time . . . .

oops - I missed the bit about rain, or rather preferring the lack of it.

Norfolk rather than Cornwall then! [but it's awfully flat].

:S-

regards, ann