Second thoughts
 

I have been planning a 14 day trip through Great Britian loosly based on information I have gleaned from several sources, including this site, and had settled on the following itinerary. First Day arrive at Heathrow and travel by coach to BAth where I have a 3 night reservation at Dorian House. WE were then either renting a car or taking the train to Conwy in Northern Wales and spending two nights there before taking the train to Edinburgh where we have a two night reservation at the Castle View Guest House. We will then proceed south by train to York for a two night stay at the Bronte Guest House and on to London for four nights at The Morgan. I have non refundable reservations at all of the B&B's with no reservations to date in Conwy.

I am starting to rethink the trip to North Wales. I would really hate to give it up, however, this seems to be a lot of traveling and although we don't mind seeing the country side, if it is anything like this country, (US) the nicest sights are not along the railroad tracks. I was considering extending our stay in BAth and spending 2 more days exploring from that base. Perhaps South Wales or Salisbury. I do have a reservation for a tour to Stonehenge and Avebury and a couple picturesque towns through Mad MAx Tours for one of our days originally scheduled. I would also like to attend an Evensong in Wells.

It might even be cost effective at that point to return to the airport and take a flight to Edinburgh.

Anyone want to sound in on this one? Any suggestions, as usual, would be greatly appreciated.

If you want to see N Wales - go for it. There is no bad scenery between Bath and Conwy - and some of it is awesome.

3 days is probably enough to see what you want in and around Bath.

You really can't go wrong which ever you decide - on this short a trip you definitley have to make compromises. But your jaunt into North Wales will probably be one of the highlights . . . . .

I need to get a better handle on your problem before attempting a solution.

First, why are your BandB reservations nonrefundable? The most severe cancellation policy I ever encountered was 2 weeks, and only (I know, "only"!) the first night would be deducted, not the entire stay.

In such a short time, I would rethink going to Edinburgh, and tighten your loop a bit. I'd put the time in between Bath and Conwy, say in Oxford/the Cotswolds and maybe Ironbridge. I'd even rethink York unless your heart is really set on it.

I was wondering about that "non-refundable" part too, but assumed they were on some sort of prepaid voucher thing. Even the very few times I have had to pre-pay, there was always a provision for a total or partial refund if I let them know far enough in advance.

Your right. They are not non refundable. There is, however, a penalty for cancelation with a few of them. The conditions vary and I don't remember the specifics off the top of my head.

I think you are right Janis. Northern Wales looks too good to pass up. It all looks too good. Hard choices will have to be made but I do"t think we can go too wrong.

First of all, having been to N. Wales and York, and the cotswolds...I would NOT skip N. Wales nor York. We were disappointed that we spent 2 precious days in the cotswolds when we could have added on to our time in either York or N. Wales. Just my 2 pence, but the 2 places remain my favorite to date of anywhere I've been. (oh ya-and Edinburgh is a close 2nd).

A nice place to stay in the Conwy area is the Erylmor Hotel in Bangor -- midway between Conwy and Caernarfon. It's an attractive small hotel right on the Menai Strait with great water views and an excellent restaurant. The castles in Conwy and Carenarfon are wonderful and we're still kicking ourselves for missing Beaumaris.
Have a great trip.

I haven't been to Wales, but I went on that Mad Max tour and it was fabulous. I generally don't like going on tours, but everything we saw far outweighed the tour aspect of it. The guide was well informed and the bus was as comfortable as you'd expect.

Perhaps sbenz meant that the B&B's required non-refundable deposits. I have found this to be true of many B&B's I've been checking out on the web. Even if you cancel within the allowed time frame, you still lose your deposit, which in some cases is 25 GPS or more per person.

I agree that Bath can be seen in two days or so (unless you are a shopaholic with a lot of money to spend).

However, Conwy and the surrounding area is definitely worth a day or two. On a tour of Great Britain by rail, we went out of our way to go there and it was definitely worth it. It is a picturesque walled town with a great castle and is filled with bed and breakfasts. Conwy and Edinburgh ended up being my favorite stops on our whirlwind tour. We would have enjoyed more time to explore the surrounding areas and plan to return next year.

As a word of warning: check the rail timetables carefully, since very few trains stop in Conwy and the walk to Llandudno would not be comfortable with luggage.