I am planning a mother/daughter trip to England next fall. We will be taking a flight into Kent. Although we want to visit London a few days, we would like to base ourselves somewhere away from the city. We are thinking of a cottage or a B&B. What would be a good area with easy access to the train to London for us to look? Any suggestions for accommodations?

Kent/East Sussex have may lovely cottages for rent. Will you rent a car? (not for the London leg of course)

To get the best of Kent it really helps if you have a a car.

I would Look for a cottage somewhere in the triangle of Tenterden/Royal Tunbridge Wells/Maidstone. This central area would place you w/i easy reach of everywhere.

This is a <u>really</u> good agency w/ lots of cottages in Kent/E Sussex. www.gardenofenglandcottages.co.uk/

janisj's suggestion to stay around Royal Tunbridge Wells is a good one. But you must have an auto.

We have stayed a few times at BnBs in the Southeast and I suggest you look at The Old Parsonage in Frant. Mary and Tony Dakin will make you feel at welcome. The website is:

http://tinyurl.com/opn52

Another excellent choice, further east near Faversham, is Frith Farm House. Comes up easily with a google search.

Since your trip is nearly a year away you could start making a list of the places you want to visit, mark them on a map and use the referenced guide below to find one or more convenient places to stay.

We found both of these (and others) using The Best Bed &amp; Breakfast published by The Globe Pequot Press.

Before I moved down to East Sussex we used to stay here http://www.lamberdenhouse.co.uk/
Warm welcome and near to Rye (8 miles) Tunbridge Wells (12 miles)Sissinghurst and Great Dixter and others.

Bookmarking this thread, as it is only a year old, in contrast to two much older threads that I also want to mark for myself, but I think I will leave them where they lie:

From 1998...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...&amp;tid=56818

and even shorter, but with a gem-filled vintage Ben Haines posting that really just about brings a lump to my throat...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...&amp;tid=89341

I wonder who among us &quot;oldtimers&quot; can read this one without waxing nostalgic, quite a bit...

Best wishes,

Rex

p.s. for those who wonder why I am bookmarking this thread, for my upcoming plans for Sicily '08 - - we might transit from Stansted to Gatwick on the way home, with an overnight stay that would be best spent somewhere south and/or east of London.

I booked with a travel agency for a England B&amp;B and they sent me out a list of B&amp;bS across England. There were over two thousand to choose from

www.europeasap.com

rex - Horley (close to Gatwick) is overrun with B&amp;B's. The owners pick you up and drop you off at Gatwick, and there is a pub, the Six Bells, with very good food in walking distance. I've stayed at this one: www.springwoodguesthouse.co.uk, but there are plenty to chose from.

When did they start Transatlantic flights into Kent &quot;International&quot; Airport?

Aln..Do get over yourself..it makes Britain seem so unwelcoming.

I don't understand the comment, alanR...

...perhaps my postscript was not clear enough.

Coming and going to/from Sicily, we would use Stansted to/from London.

In particular, for the return to the US, we would arrive STN from Palermo, and spend one overnight in England before departing the next day from LGW.

I have really enjoyed having a &quot;side note&quot; contrast stay of a night or two on many previous trips - - almost makes it like having two trips in one.

We'll definitely look into the options in/around Horley and Great Tunbridge Wells, as well as Tonbridge (recommended by Ben Haines in the posting cited) as our one-night base.

Hi Rex,

depends what you want - Tunbridge Wells [Royal, not Great] is a proper town with regency buildings, restaurants, shops; Horley is a village blessed/cursed by its proximity to Gatwick, and Tonbridge [different place from T/wells entirely] is a dump.

you'll gather that I tend to favour royal tunbridge wells. and it's on a direct train line to London. [as are the others to be fair].

regards, ann

I assume alanRow's comment was in response to the OP's &quot;<i>We will be taking a flight into Kent</i>&quot; and had nothing at all to do w/ Rex. (he probably missed that this is an old thread and the OP is long gone)

Well, I would appreciate your guidance, but I doubt that we will be all that interested in the town proper in any of the three cases. Unless you think we might do better otherwise, I think we will be looking for a place to stow our stuff... anhd then move out for a day of exploring, especially castles - - Hever, Sissinghurst (but nmot OLeeds Castle from what I hear)... maybe even make it out to Canterbury if that seems appealing. We are potentially a group of adults, and most likely in two cars, so there might even be two agendas.

The base is to be a place to stay - - and if there are (better) restaurants in one town, and appropriately priced and appealing lodging in another, well then... they are all close together, no?

oy...the typos... that was supposed to read &quot;not Leeds Castle&quot;...

Rex, when we stayed at The Old Parsonage in Frant, about 3 miles south of Royal Tunbridge Wells, it was an easy drive to Gatwick for our flight home.

We visited Sissinghurst, Penshurst Place, Beachy Head, Brighton and Chartwell while there.

Good luck.