WanderingTexan

7 nights in London - private home
1 night in York (train to York) Where to stay? What not to miss?
2 nights Cotswolds (train to Oxford from York, rent car and drive to Broadway in the Cotswolds) Stay at Olive Branch Guest House
2 nights Bath Stay at Paradise House
2 nights Bagshot (want to see windsor castle and be close to Gatwick. Leaving noon from Gatwick. Is Bagshot close enough?
I want to do B&Bs, but then stay at Pennyhill Park the last two nights. I can't decide if it would be easier to do York as a day trip without luggage, or spend the night. Should I do Cardiff instead of York or can I do a day trip there from one of these locations. Any suggestions welcome. I am leaving mid-Sept. so I need to get my rooms booked. Thanks.

janis

OK - there are two (at least) Bagshots in England -- assuming you mean the one in Surrey and not the one in Wiltshire, it is a decent location om the M3 near the M25 so you can get to gatwick easily.

The choice between York and Cardiff is not close. There is nothing wrong w/ Cardiff -- but York is unique and absolutely wonderful.

If it were me, I'd rent the car in York not in Oxford. Reason being, you do not need a car for York itself but to see anything else in the area you really do need a car. Fountains Abbey, Castle Howard or the Moors are all better reached by car. So on your 2nd day in York I'd pick up a car and head out to whatever you want to see and the next morning drive down to Broadway, maybe visiting Chatsworth or the Peak district enroute.

And don'r worry about getting rooms way ahead of time. Mid/late sept is definitely not high season and you won't have any trouble finding places to stay. I would book York just to ensure a great location, and probably the last night before flying out. But otherwise I'd just book a day or two ahead from the tourist Infromation centers so I would have flrxibility to change my itinerary if something struck my fancy.

For instance the TIC in York can call ahead and get you a place in Broadway or any other Cotswold village for the next night.

WanderingTexan

So what I should do is make Oxford a day trip from London, then when I am finished with London, train to York, spend the night there, rent a car and then head to the Cotswolds. Thank you so much janis! I am planning this at the last minute and don't know anything about the area and very little time to do my homework.

janis

I'd make a slight adjustment. I wouldn't do Oxford as a day trip from London since it is on the edge of the Cotswolds. I'd stay THREE days/nights in the Cotswolds and use one of them to visit Oxford/Woodstock/Blenheim. Wodstock and Oxford are only a few miles apart and Blenheim/Oxford is an easy "two-fer"

Besides, Windsor makes a much more sensible day trip from London, being only about 30 minutes by train.

Get that extra night for the Cotswolds by dropping one one night from Bagshot.

An amazing place you might want to visit (instead of Windsor) from Bagshot is RHS Wisley. This is the HUGE display and demonstration garden of the Royal Horticultural Society - even bigger and better than Kew.

So my itinerary would be something like:

7 days in London inc. a day trip to Windsor.

train to York - 2 nights. Rent car 2nd day

drive to Broadway - 3 nights. One day set aside for Blenheim/Oxford. Other two days for touring the Cotswolds.

drive to Bath - 2 nights

drive to Bagshot - 1 night. Visit RHS Wisley enroute.

fly home from LGW

Mary_Fran

I think Janis has come up with a great itinerary and her advice about using the TI's to book rooms on the fly seemed right on to me. That's what we did when we visited in September 2001, and it worked just fine. We did pre-book one place in advance, Crestow House in Stow-on-the-Wold, which was really special, but all our other accommodations except in London were booked at TI's or by calling guide book recommendations as we were leaving from one town and heading to another.

WanderingTexan

What is a TI? That itinerary does sound better and is working perfectly. I had decided to take your advice and spend two nights in York. Hampton court was on my to-see list. Do you think I could fit in the RHS gardens and Hampton Court Palace? I was going to try to stay at the Olive Branch in Broadway. Should I stay somewhere else one of the three nights, like Stow-on-the Wold? I do like the idea of booking as I go. Thanks again, WT

janis

WanderingTexan: TI -- actually TIC - are Tourist Information Centers and they are everywhere -- in London, York, Broadway, Bath, Stow-on-the-Wold, Oxford, Burford, etc etc.

I wouldn't try to do Hampton Court Palace and Wisley on the same day. If you are AT ALL interested in gardens Wisley takes a minimum 3 or 4 hours, and HCP the same. But HCP is an easy 1/2 day from London - it is in zone 6 and you could go there one day and still be back in London by mid/late afternoon.

As for whether to move to another village after Broadway -- I personally wouldn't. The Cotswolds are a pretty compact area (well worth the 3 days though) so you can use any village as a base to see the region. Staying put would mean one less packing and moving. it is nice to settle in a few days.

I usually stay in/near Burford for 4 to 7 days at a time, because I find it so central and a great village with good pubs/shops. But if you have found a B&B you are happy with - being in Bradway will be fine. It is big enough to have pubs and shops (and a REALLY posh hotel) but still really just a village.

WanderingTexan

Where do you stay near Burford? I contacted the Olive Branch in Broadway, but they have not emailed me back. Thanks.

WanderingTexan

topping for janis.

janis

Sorry about the delay - I've been off line a few days (actually I'm still off line but that is another story)

I used to live on the outskirts of the Cotswolds and like to spend extended periods there, so now when I go back it is usually for a week or more in self-catering cottages in/near Burford. But I have stayed in a few B&Bs and one that I like is in Fifield which is between Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold. Here is their website. http://home.freeuk.com/jpmgtd/

But staying up in Broadway would also be convenient for you. There are MANY good B&Bs all over the Cotswolds - you won't have any trouble finding one.

WanderingTexan

Thanks for your help Janis, I leave in a week!