Just back from England, thank you for making it a great success.
Jun 7th, 2004, 05:32 AM
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Just back from England, thank you for making it a great success.
Just returned last night from 2 1/2 weeks in England staying in Bourton on the Water, Teignmouth in Devon, Bath and London. Thank you to everyone who answered my many questions these last months. The trip was perfect. We even came back with a suntan 8-) What follows are some comments about each of the areas we visited.
We found Bourton on the Water to be a perfect base for exploring the Cotswolds. We took the advice to not be around during the day when all the tour buses arrive. In the evening it was quiet, if you are looking for a variety of night spots you may find it too quiet, but it was as picturesque as the guide books described, complete with a Romany caravan parked along the highway. We stayed at and would recommend the Coombe House which was a short walk into the center of town.
Thanks for the advice to use Teignmouth as a base to explore Devon. It was right on. The Thomas Luny House was fabulous and one of the best meals of our trip was at Ridley's in Teignmouth. We also enjoyed our dinner at the Nobody Inn pub. An article about the pub was in the May 04 Travel and Leisure.
We used Bath as a base to explore the Wiltshire and Somerset areas. Our stay at the Highways House was a convenient 10 minute walk into Bath center and easy access to the main routes for exploring. Highlights for us were the Evensong service on Pentecost Sunday at Salisbury Cathedral and the private access to Stonehenge that same Sunday evening. It was a very magical day.
Our time in London couldn't have worked out any better. The DeVere Cavendish on Jermyn Street was great for exploring during the day and gave walking access to many of the theatres in the evening. We dropped our rental car at Heathrow and took the Piccadilly line a short walk to the hotel. Cost of the train ticket was 3.80 GBP for each and it did take about 50 minutes as we had been told. We had purchased theatre tickets before leaving for Oleanna and used the TKTS booth for Phantom and Bombay Dreams.
We bought the Great British Heritage 15 Day Pass before leaving and visited as many places as time allowed. It's a wise investment if you like to visit historical homes, gardens and museums as we did.
During my preplanning I had many questions about a rental car, what type, what engine, etc. and the advice received here at Fodors helped us select the correct vehicle for our needs. The 1.4 Vauxhall Corsa automatic was powerful enough to drive the 80-90 mph on the M4 and M5 that was needed and small enough to maneuver the smallest of country road (I'm not sure there is any car small enough for many of the roads we found ourselves driving).
I hope this is helpful, I am definitely suffering from jet lag but wanted to say thanks for all the assitance I received. If anyone has any questions about the areas we visited I will be happy to answer. Deborah
We found Bourton on the Water to be a perfect base for exploring the Cotswolds. We took the advice to not be around during the day when all the tour buses arrive. In the evening it was quiet, if you are looking for a variety of night spots you may find it too quiet, but it was as picturesque as the guide books described, complete with a Romany caravan parked along the highway. We stayed at and would recommend the Coombe House which was a short walk into the center of town.
Thanks for the advice to use Teignmouth as a base to explore Devon. It was right on. The Thomas Luny House was fabulous and one of the best meals of our trip was at Ridley's in Teignmouth. We also enjoyed our dinner at the Nobody Inn pub. An article about the pub was in the May 04 Travel and Leisure.
We used Bath as a base to explore the Wiltshire and Somerset areas. Our stay at the Highways House was a convenient 10 minute walk into Bath center and easy access to the main routes for exploring. Highlights for us were the Evensong service on Pentecost Sunday at Salisbury Cathedral and the private access to Stonehenge that same Sunday evening. It was a very magical day.
Our time in London couldn't have worked out any better. The DeVere Cavendish on Jermyn Street was great for exploring during the day and gave walking access to many of the theatres in the evening. We dropped our rental car at Heathrow and took the Piccadilly line a short walk to the hotel. Cost of the train ticket was 3.80 GBP for each and it did take about 50 minutes as we had been told. We had purchased theatre tickets before leaving for Oleanna and used the TKTS booth for Phantom and Bombay Dreams.
We bought the Great British Heritage 15 Day Pass before leaving and visited as many places as time allowed. It's a wise investment if you like to visit historical homes, gardens and museums as we did.
During my preplanning I had many questions about a rental car, what type, what engine, etc. and the advice received here at Fodors helped us select the correct vehicle for our needs. The 1.4 Vauxhall Corsa automatic was powerful enough to drive the 80-90 mph on the M4 and M5 that was needed and small enough to maneuver the smallest of country road (I'm not sure there is any car small enough for many of the roads we found ourselves driving).
I hope this is helpful, I am definitely suffering from jet lag but wanted to say thanks for all the assitance I received. If anyone has any questions about the areas we visited I will be happy to answer. Deborah
Jun 7th, 2004, 07:05 AM
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Hi DeborahAnn
I'm glad to hear you had a wonderful successful trip. Just wanted to comment on Stonehenge. I too did Private Access and it was one of the highlights of my trip. It was truly incredible to walk among and touch those stones. You're right, it was magical. I couldn't help thinking how different it would have been if we'd stayed behind that rope barrier. I owe that experience to a tip I got here - if it wasn't for this board I never would have known!
I'm glad to hear you had a wonderful successful trip. Just wanted to comment on Stonehenge. I too did Private Access and it was one of the highlights of my trip. It was truly incredible to walk among and touch those stones. You're right, it was magical. I couldn't help thinking how different it would have been if we'd stayed behind that rope barrier. I owe that experience to a tip I got here - if it wasn't for this board I never would have known!
Jun 7th, 2004, 07:40 AM
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I would love to do a 5 day trip with my husband to London in the fall...I was there with 2 of my children in '91 and rented a car. This trip I would omit the car. Are there "day" trip/tours to Windsor, Warwick etc...? What is the Heritage Pass? Would you recommend your hotel?
Thanks
Thanks
Jun 7th, 2004, 11:07 AM
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halcyon,Absolutely loved the DeVere Cavendish but that may be in part because we got an excellent price through British Air. We paid 153. USD per night which did include a continental breakfast. The clientele is business suits during the week and tourists on the weekend. I did alot of research and read through many postings here about London hotels and location. If you want a location that is on the Piccadilly line for convenience to Heathrow and walking distance to Leicester Square for night time activity it would work for you. We were on the 5th floor of 14 floors. Didn't have to wait for elevators, we could have upgraded for an additional fee but our standard room was more that suitable. The decor is modern, the room was large enough for the two of us with a convenient size but not spacious bathroom. I loved the modern Villeroy & Boch sink with sleek modern fixtures and I'm a historic house B&B preferred kind of traveler. I think you may find discounts to this hotel on several websites. Yes the Great Heritage Pass is a great tool if you want to visit the historical sites which we knew we did. Depending on the type of traveling you want to do will depend on whether it makes since for you. I think we used it twice or more everyday so it was one of our best investments. You must purchase the pass before you leave as we did this year or two years ago we had a voucher which allowed us to buy it at the Britain Visitor Kiosk at Glasgow airport. Let me know if you need more information. Deborah
Chotzi, I did so much research but I am sure I also read about the private access to Stonehenge here. The only thing my husband asked in the planning was to be sure to include a visit to Stonehenge and the private access was the ultimate for him. There were only 15 people in our time slot so it was everything we had hoped it would be just as you experience. Deborah
Chotzi, I did so much research but I am sure I also read about the private access to Stonehenge here. The only thing my husband asked in the planning was to be sure to include a visit to Stonehenge and the private access was the ultimate for him. There were only 15 people in our time slot so it was everything we had hoped it would be just as you experience. Deborah
Jun 7th, 2004, 05:16 PM
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Thank you so much!
I am sure I will be emailing you for more info....From what you have said, I will just plan to book that hotel...No need to re invent the wheel!
Now what is private Access that was mentioned? Did you set up tours here or just go there and "get in line?"
I found with Rome I was glad I set up the Scala Reale tours here as we could not have done it there....
Thanks again...
I am sure I will be emailing you for more info....From what you have said, I will just plan to book that hotel...No need to re invent the wheel!
Now what is private Access that was mentioned? Did you set up tours here or just go there and "get in line?"
I found with Rome I was glad I set up the Scala Reale tours here as we could not have done it there....
Thanks again...
Jun 8th, 2004, 07:49 PM
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Deborah, we willl be going to London and the Cotswolds the end of June. Are you familiar with Blockley in Gloucestershire? We have rented a self-catering cottage there. I was planning on taking the train from London to Oxford and then renting a car to go to Blockley. Do this make sense?
