WanderWoman

We are flying to Gatwick in May, renting a car and driving through England and Wales. I want to see a few Austen spots, and movie locations while on route. Does this look too hectic for two weeks?
Day 1 Gatwick to Cambridge - walk campus, then to Grantham to see Belton House, stay in Grantham first night
Day 2 to Bakewell to visit cousin then to Disley to see Lyme Hall (we've been to Chatsworth) overnight in Blackburn, near Manchester
Day 3-4 to Kirkby Lonsdale to see more cousins for two nights
Day 5-7 To N. Wales - Conwy - see castles, scenery, Bodnant Gardens
Day 8-10 To S. Wales via Hay-on-Wye
Stay near Cardiff 2 nights
Day 11-13 see Tinturn Abbey on the way to Salisbury. Visit Stonehenge and other sights for two days
Day 14 to Winchester - Austen sights and stay in Winchester for last night.
I think it's OK, but wonder if the driving will be too much in 14 days.
Thanks for any suggestions.
WW

janisj

are you flying in from the States or just in from the Continent? If Transatlantic, your first day is a problem. LGW to Cambridge is a long way over very congested motorways. Not recommended to drive much if at all after an overnight flight. Can be downright dangerous.

You are staying 7 different places -- that is a LOT of packing and unpacking in 14 days.

I have no problems w/ any of the places you want to go - but they are spread over a very wide area. If it were me, I'd drop the Cambridge/Grantham bits. Cambridge is terrific of course, but eastern England does not fit in w/ the rest of your itinerary/plans.

BTW - Cambridge University does not have a "campus". It is made up of about 30 different colleges.

hetismij

WHy go from Conway to Cardiff via Hay on Wye? Better to do Hay, if you must, after Cardiff, and travel down through Wales.
Also I agree with Janisj, (source of lots of sensible helpful advice!) that you are trying to do too much on day one if you are coming Transatlantic.
Why Blackburn? it is not a very attractive town. Better to stay in Bakewell.

SandyBrit

WanderWoman:

Gatwick to Cambridge 95 miles over congested roads. Cambridge to Grantham another 65 odd miles. I have done the drive from Gatwick to Cambridge numerous times but would not add on the Grantham bit if you are coming from the States.

I like to look at www.theaa.com to get an idea on miles and time which is just a rough guide because other factors often impact the journey.

Sandy

Cholmondley_Warner

There aren't a lot of Jane Bloody Austen sites in Winchester. In fact there are only two. Her grave (and one day I'll tell you what I used to do to that as a schoolboy) and the house she died in. The house is a private residence so you can only see the outside of it.

Most of the Austen industry is based at Chawton and you'll neeed a car to get there

Having said that, Winchester is a great place to visit.

Carolina

I think your first day sounds like too much. Cambridge University is made up of several different colleges, not a campus as such. The college backs are nice for a walk but it sounds like a stretch to add Grantham onto that first day.
If your flights aren't already booked, you could consider an open jaw ticket into either Gatwick or Manchester and out of the other. This would save a lot of driving.

janisj

(hetismij give lots of good advice too )

Carolina's suggestion of open jaw into Manchester and out of Gatwick is great. If you haven't yet bought your tix that is what I'd do.

If you already have your flights booked, I might consider reversing your itinerary going west first since Chawton is not that far from LGW. (I'd still consider dropping Cambridge - just an untidy fit)

janestuart

I recommend Castlebamk Hotel in Conwy. From a front room you have a marvelous view of the entire walled city and castle. (When we were there we got into the castle for $1.00. I think because we were Americans (who got out from under the English yoke) and it was the 4th of July. Their restaurant is also very good. Hosts are wonderful. There's an old train station very close to Tintern Abbey which is a great spot for a picnic lunch.

WanderWoman

Thanks so much for all these suggestions! We will re-do the first day and save Cambridge for another visit. If we go directly to Derby the first day, we could stay two nights, then two in Kirkby Lonsdale. I'll see about cutting at least one more stopover. I like the idea of flying into Manchester and out of Gatwick, but already have tickets (frequent flyer). Thanks for the hint about Blackburn - I didn't know anything about it.
Thanks again to all of you and Happy New Year!

WanderWoman

Just checked the route to Derby from Gatwick - per SandyBrit's suggestion. It's a 3-hour drive, so will have to reconsider that plan.
Anyway - thanks again.

Mucky

Hi WanderWoman,
I can help with the Cardiff part, there are loads of experts in other places.

So,you say you plan to stay 2 nights 'near' Cardiff. Where exactly is that?

What do you want to see here?

I can suggest the following:
Cardiff Castle, Castle Coch, Welsh folk museum at St Fagans. The city centre is nice, as is Cardiff bay.
So I am interested as to where you will stay as the city center would probably be better for you.

Muck

janisj

No - you <u>definitely</u> don't want to drive to Derby from LGW -- that would be even worse than driving to Cambridge. I'd guess it is about 175 miles and 3 hours would be awfully optimistic.

Some other options:

- Do your route in reverse and go to Chawton/Winchester on day 1

- you could fly from LGW to MAN and start your route in the north

- or you could take the train north.

There is usually no penalty picking up a rental car at one place and dropping it at another. So you could fly up to MAN, pick up a car there and drop it a LGW before flying home (or pick up the car at LGW and drop it a MAN before flying back to LGW to fly out)

sashh

Blackburn?

er not exactly pretty - OK if you like industrial architecture that is no longer in use.

There are lots of pretty places in Lancashire, the only thing Blackburn has going for it is that its not Burnley.

WanderWoman

Muck -
Thanks for the offer! I'd love to know what you recommend in Cardiff area. We have a reservation at Cowbridge - Plas Llanmihangel. It has good reviews and looks charming. We don't mind the drive in the countryside - the scenery is one of the reasons we like to drive through the UK. ViaMichelin.com says it's a 21 minute drive to Cardiff from Cowbridge - is that a reliable estimate?
Thanks again! WW

Mucky

Hi WanderWoman,
You don't need advice from me crikey, you have found a real gem.
I have heard of Plas Llanmihangel but not been there. Stay there it looks fabulous.

Its good you have a car because you will need one Plas Llanmihangel is quite remote.and there are great places to visit within easy reach.
Llantwit Major.
Cowbridge.
Merthyr Mawr (I think Lawrence of Arabia was filmed on the dunes there)
Dyffryn House and Gardens.

There are a couple of ancient burial chambers nearby too, St Lythans and Tinkinswood, but they are just a few rocks piled on each other, but it could be interesting for research first.

25 -30 mins is about right from there to Cardiff, the route into Cardiff can get busy in the rush hour.
Parking in Cardiff can be expensive the council are in the process of screwing up everything to do with motoring at the moment, but the best area to park is near the Museum in Cathays park,or at Sophia Gardens next to the castle there are parking meters there, a bit expensive but much cheaper than the city center car parks that are about 80p for 15mins last time I was ripped off, oops I mean parked there.

Another interesting place is Llandaff Cathedral http://www.llandaffcathedral.org.uk/history.htm
and Insole Court Llandaff is not far away either, however sadly it appears that this magnificent mansion has finally got into such poor state of repair that it has been closed. (That damn council!! )
But watch this space its a gorgeous house and gardens with lots of history.It may re open, anyway the gardens will be open.

http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/content.as...3001,3708,3719

North of Cardiff is Castle Coch.
http://www.castlewales.com/coch.html
Bit of a folly but quite nice to visit, you will recognise many similarities with Cardiff Castle.
http://www.cardiffcastle.com/castle.htm

Also North of Cardiff is Caerphilly Castle.
http://www.castlewales.com/caerphil.html

There plenty of coast line around too.
Well there are a few things for you to kick around.

Good luck

Muck

seasweetie

I wish I could get around to posting my Wales trip report before a year passes. We flew into Heathrow and spent one night in London, then drove to and around Wales for 9 days, stopping in a different place each night. It was simply perfect - we did a loop, spending nights (in order as I recall) at Raglan, Hay-on-Wye, Y Bala, Llanwrst, Aberdaron, Machyllenth, Reynoldston, and Llanhennock. All were wonderful - we avoided Cardiff, simply because I didn't want to be in a city, but will go on our next trip. We found places to stay that were outside of but near places with things we wanted to see - for example, Llanwrst was near Conwy, and only had reservations for the one night in Llanwrst - everything else, we arranged through the Tourist Office in the closest town. My daughter loved Hay-on-Wye so much that she speaks daily of moving there when she's older to work in a bookstore. And I loved Aberdaron, truly the back of beyond. I promise to post a report before this month is out, but I have lots of pictures here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Seasweetie

Happy to answer any questions!

WanderWoman

Muck -
Thanks so much for your notes - we will definitely check out the places you recommend near Cardiff. And what a great tip about parking places in the city! That info will really come in handy! Thanks again for your thoughtful suggestions.

Seasweetie -
We will be near Hay-on-Wye at one point, and if we have time, will check it out. Thanks again!