Revised UK Itinerary
Jan 21st, 2007, 10:50 AM
#1
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Revised UK Itinerary
Hello and thanks so much to everyone who wrote. On the basis of all the great suggestions, I am revising my plan as follows:
Day 1 - flight from Seattle
Day 2, 3, 4, 5 - London
Day 6 - morning train to York, spend afternoon there
Day 7 - morning in York, get rental car, start driving in a Southwesterly direction!
Day 8 through 11 - spend these four days seeing as much as we can of N. Wales and the Cotswolds area. By the evening of Day 11, end up in Bath
Day 12 - Bath...probably coach back to Heathrow in the evening
Day 13 - fly home.
I am thinking of making reservations for the four nights in London, and the single nights in York, Bath, and at Heathrow. I am hoping it won't be difficult to find lodging in late October for the four unscheduled nights, and it will make it a little less rigidly structured for us. As you can see, I've added two days to the length of the trip as well.
What do you think?
Thanks again so much.
Day 1 - flight from Seattle
Day 2, 3, 4, 5 - London
Day 6 - morning train to York, spend afternoon there
Day 7 - morning in York, get rental car, start driving in a Southwesterly direction!
Day 8 through 11 - spend these four days seeing as much as we can of N. Wales and the Cotswolds area. By the evening of Day 11, end up in Bath
Day 12 - Bath...probably coach back to Heathrow in the evening
Day 13 - fly home.
I am thinking of making reservations for the four nights in London, and the single nights in York, Bath, and at Heathrow. I am hoping it won't be difficult to find lodging in late October for the four unscheduled nights, and it will make it a little less rigidly structured for us. As you can see, I've added two days to the length of the trip as well.
What do you think?
Thanks again so much.
Jan 21st, 2007, 11:34 AM
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I would say if you are going to York then it deserves more than one night and unless your flight is early in the morning I'd be tempted to stay in Bath rather than "enjoy" Heathrow's facilities
Jan 21st, 2007, 12:51 PM
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There are just two of us. The reason I am thinking of dropping the car in Bath and taking the coach to LHR is because I have no idea what the traffic is like around LHR. If it's not that difficult, I guess we would just keep the car another day and drive to the airport ourselves.
Jan 21st, 2007, 01:47 PM
#7
Azzure: You did pay attention to the suggestions on your other thread 
Just a couple of quick comments -
Depending on the day/time of day it can actually be easier to drive to LHR than to drive/park in Bath. It is motorway all the way to LHR, but of course there can be wrecks/congestion. What time is your flight out?
If you take an early train to York you'll be there before mid morning - it is only a 2 hour train ride. So you really will have most of that day plus the next morning.
In October you will have no problem getting rooms "on the fly". It is too late for crowds, but few B&Bs will have closed for the season. I would pre-book London, York and Bath (in Bath mostly because you will have a car and need to be someplace that has parking), but otherwise you can play it by ear.
You could even get by not pre-booking York since there is a tourist information center right in the middle of the city and they can find you a place. But I'd probably go ahead and book a place in York.
Just a couple of quick comments -
Depending on the day/time of day it can actually be easier to drive to LHR than to drive/park in Bath. It is motorway all the way to LHR, but of course there can be wrecks/congestion. What time is your flight out?
If you take an early train to York you'll be there before mid morning - it is only a 2 hour train ride. So you really will have most of that day plus the next morning.
In October you will have no problem getting rooms "on the fly". It is too late for crowds, but few B&Bs will have closed for the season. I would pre-book London, York and Bath (in Bath mostly because you will have a car and need to be someplace that has parking), but otherwise you can play it by ear.
You could even get by not pre-booking York since there is a tourist information center right in the middle of the city and they can find you a place. But I'd probably go ahead and book a place in York.
Jan 21st, 2007, 02:34 PM
#8
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Wow, thanks for all the help! I just now booked my flights, and my flight home doesn't leave until 4:45 PM, so I imagine we will probably just drive the rental car back to Heathrow. (It still sounds a little scary though).
Jan 21st, 2007, 02:45 PM
#9
Oh in that case it is a no brainer - drive for sure.
You would easily have time to take a detour to see Avebury. W/ a 4:45 flight you would want the car turned in and on their shuttle bus by 1:45. It is about 60 miles from Avebury to LHR.
You would easily have time to take a detour to see Avebury. W/ a 4:45 flight you would want the car turned in and on their shuttle bus by 1:45. It is about 60 miles from Avebury to LHR.
Jan 21st, 2007, 02:59 PM
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I'd book in advance as much as possible especially if you can cancel 24hrs ahead partly because I really like to know where I'll be sleeping each night and partly because rates are often better when booked on the internet or in advance.
Late October can be half term week in many areas with schools closed so bear that in mind as some places do book up.
Late October can be half term week in many areas with schools closed so bear that in mind as some places do book up.
Jan 21st, 2007, 05:04 PM
#11
"<i>rates are often better when booked on the internet or in advance</i>" really not usually the case in small B&Bs.
Since you don't really know where you are going those 4 days, just play it by ear. If you do want to book ahead - every town has a Tourist Information Office where they will call ahead to your next overnight stop and books a place for you. For instance when you get to Caernarfon, before going to the castle - head to the TIC and tell them you want the next night in Wareick - then go off to explore the castle. By the time you are done at the castle they will have booked a B&B for you in Warwick.
Since you don't really know where you are going those 4 days, just play it by ear. If you do want to book ahead - every town has a Tourist Information Office where they will call ahead to your next overnight stop and books a place for you. For instance when you get to Caernarfon, before going to the castle - head to the TIC and tell them you want the next night in Wareick - then go off to explore the castle. By the time you are done at the castle they will have booked a B&B for you in Warwick.
Jan 25th, 2007, 03:34 PM
#12
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janisj is right about B&B's.
Must admit I haven't stayed in one in the UK for about 15 years as they rarely have rooms large enough for families and the last time a Tourist Information Office booked me into a B&B it had nylon sheets... arrrgh!!
Must admit I haven't stayed in one in the UK for about 15 years as they rarely have rooms large enough for families and the last time a Tourist Information Office booked me into a B&B it had nylon sheets... arrrgh!!
