needsnow

Our 9-day trip to London will include a side-trip or two. I am thinking of the following itinerary.
It could be just one overnight, or perhaps spending 2 nights. I would love to hear you opinions.

Starting point: Staying in London in Nunhead (Peckham), private home.
So.. take tour to Saisbury, Stonehnge and Bath, and then ditch the tour in Bath. (This is a Rick Steves trick..I know, I know..)
Then we go on our merry way, alone, as a family in Bath, sightseeing, walking, and spending the night someplace lovely (would love recommendations).
Then our first morning in Bath, we maybe hire a private car/driver (or rent a car ourselves) to take us through the Cotswolds, Stratford-on-Avon, and Warwick, certainly. Maybe even add in a couple more sights? Maybe spend the night near Warwick before returning to London.

Is this giving the area enough time? Too much crammed in? Too lofty?

Is it probable that we would be able to pick a car up in Bath and return at another point closer to London?

If the car for hire is a nice idea, I would love a recommendation, as there are some on the web, but word-of-mouth is best.

Thanks in advance. Trip is getting closer and I am getting nervous my plans aren't concrete.

janisj

Quickly -- our fireworks are starting soon

I know you are staying for free so maybe feel you can splurge a bit on your overnight tour. BUT - to pay the very high cost of a guided tour to basically use it as public transport to get to Bath is a huge waste of money IMO. The average price of a tour to Salisbury/Stonehenge/Bath is £45-£50 per person w/ just a modest discount for children. You can rent a VERY comfortable car for a fraction of that.

Plus there is the added time, trouble, expense of getting into central London where the tours depart.

So - if you want to do this, just rent your car somewhere in south London.

You can drive first to Winchester, then on to Salisbury, see Stonehenge, then on to Bath and the rest of your plan. But 2 days is too short for Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds, Stratford, Warwick and back to London. That is about 4 days worth.

You could do Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath, and a bit of the Cotswolds. Or Stratford, Warwick and a bit of the Cotswolds. But not all of it . . . .

off to the fireworks . . . . .

needsnow

Thanks janis - you're right again. We'll think about renting the car in SE London. Do you know if we'll need an international driver's license?

So let's say we skip a tour of the Cotswolds, but drive out to Bath early morning (see Stonehenge and Salisbury on the way). Spend day and night in Bath, and then the next morning drive to Stratford, take in Stratford, and make our way to Warwick for castle and overnight. Drive back to London the next morning. Do you think that's too much?

How long will the drive be from Bath to Stratford, not in miles, which I see on the map, but in terms of time?

needsnow

oops. Meant to say we will rent the car in south London, near Peckham, where we will be staying.

janisj

I'm not sure where the nearest rental agency to Peckham is - but maybe the home's owner will have that info. No, you don't need a International Driver's Permit for the UK -- an IDP is merely a translation of your own driver's license. So just bring your DL.

Yes Peckham > Salisbury > Stonehenge and on to Bath on Day 1. W/ an early start, you could be in Bath by lunch time. (I'd rent the car the night before so you don't have to deal w/ the formalities and delay getting started)

Have the afternoon in Bath, and take off by about 10 AM - giving you time to walk around a bit more and also miss the morning traffic snarls.

Bath to Stratford is about 75 miles and by taking the A 429 most of the way, you will at least see some of the lovely Cotswold scenery enroute. That 75 miles w/ probably take you a bit less than 2 hours. I'd go to Warwick first thing since the castle will take most of an afternoon.

Late in the afternoon, drive over to Stratford-upon-Avon and visit which ever of the Shakespeare properties you can squeeze in. Stay the night in Stratford and hang around the next morning until maybe 11 AM to see a bit more.

Then you can drive back motorway all the way until Kew and then on to south London. You'll be back "home" before the afternoon commute mess starts.

Cathinjoetown

Good idea to always check a rental car agency's web site for T's and C's but I doubt any require an international driver's license.
Your revised itinerary is better although Stratford and Warwick Castle in one day will require some speed-touring, particularly as you have to factor in driving up from Bath--maybe do that the night before and stay over in or near Stratford? The good thing about spending the follwing night as well is that you can drive through the Cotswolds on you way back to London, picking up main roads as you approach Oxford. Actually, if you decide to drive up to Stratford rather than stay over in Bath, I would choose one place for two nights as Stratford and Warwick are close to each other.

Cholmondley_Warner

Starting point: Staying in London in Nunhead>>>>>>

Well you're certainly off the beaten track!

It would be a shame to stay in Nunhead and not see one of Londons lesser known glories - Nunhead cemetary. This is a gothic delight. Well worth a trip from your house.

http://www.nunhead.gothiclondon.co.uk/

And in the Evening the Ivy House pub provides some of the oddest (and best) cheap entertainment to be had anywhere.

needsnow

Thanks again Janisj - good idea about renting the car the night before to avoid that mess when we need to get going to our destinations. Your timeline and itinerary sounds good and sound and enjoyable. I take it then that we can expect lots of traffic during high commute times. Here, in Miami, high commute time starts around 15:00 - is it the same there? Want to avoid that as much as possible.

Cathinjoetown- you would advise then spending less time in Bath than in Stratford-Warwick area? As an overnight does allow for some sightseeing and walking around. If we don't stay in Bath we lose some of that walking around time, and Bath is lively at night. Do you know what we could expect in the evening in Stratford and /or Warwick?

Cholmondley - Yes, Nunhead is off the beaten track, but we are staying at a friends' lovely house whilst they are out of town and it is free of charge (better to spend the leftover money on sites and day-trips). I clicked on that link you provided for the Nunhead Cemetery and it looks wonderful. Reminds me of the Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires. The kids will love it esp., as it is great for those moody shots teenagers like to take of themselves - to post on their Facebook sites (ugh). About the pub you suggested..how are the eats? Or do we only go for the entertainment?

janisj

The main commutes (both morning and evening) tend to start much later in the UK than in most parts of the States. But London traffic is heavy just about all the time except on Sundays.

I personally enjoy Stratford - but many Fodorites (most, probably) consider it much too touristy. They come by it legitimately tho' since it has been a tourist destination for 200 years.

Whether you want to spend more time in Bath or in Stratford mostly will depend on how much "Shakespeariana" you want. Most would recommend more time in Bath and then as much in Stratford as you can squeeze in after Warwick. The Roman Baths alone take a couple of hours and the whole city is really lovely.

I wouldn't call either Bath or Stratford "lively" at night. There are good pubs in both cities, and of course there is the Shakespeare theatre in Stratford.

texasbookworm

Hi, again,

In 2005 I was England on an EF (high school) tour with my 16yearold daughter.

Bath was terrific! If I were going back on my own I would definitely need 5-6 hours (Baths, Crescent, and town). Our tour was late arriving at Warwick and only had 2 hours--needed at least 4. It is completely cool! And we enjoyed Stratford, too--Anne Hathaway's house more than Will's (and I'm a complete Shakespeare fan, and lit teacher, but his house was too crowded the day we were there).

So definitely allow plenty of time for Warwick. And Bath. And Stratford (ha--not very helpful?)

bratsandbeer

If you rent a car, some suggestions are Windsor Castle in Windsor and the village of Lacock which is well worth the visit. Both would be on the path to Bath.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacock
When in Bath be sure to have a Sally Lunn Bun.
http://www.sallylunns.co.uk/
Also on the way to Bath we had a nice lunch and a walk in Bradford-on-Avon.

We went to the evening banquet at Warwick Castle. We purchased the tickets online through the castle website. It was a nice evening.

Cathinjoetown

I really can't top JanisJ's last suggestions--it boils down to sites in Bath v Stratford and Warwick. There's not that much in Warwick besides the castle but it's a major treat and deserves time (and remember that driving through towns, parking, walking from the car park, queuing for tickets all eats up time). I like Bath very much but I still recommend a full day there then driving to the Stratford/Warwick area. In Stratford I found Anne Hathaways's cottage and the Shakespeare house in town interesting. The walk down to the church where he is buried is all right, but I think only for hard-core enthusiasts.

lanejohann

i was told not to hire a car but to use the buses and trains
apparently its hard to get parking close and it can be expensive
my friend couldnt even get near to the beach they wanted to see since the parking lot was so far away and you had to wait and pay
they simply drove on

bath is lovely
i was disappointed with stonehenge but you do have to see it to have an opinion

i loved canterbury

Cholmondley_Warner

About the pub you suggested..how are the eats? Or do we only go for the entertainment?>>>>

I don't think they sell food (if they do I haven't noticed).

It's a pub with a big area with a stage behind (it used to be a legendary venue on the rock circuit when it was called the Newland Arms). They have all sorts of wierd and wonderful things on there. I wouldn't go there instead of some of the other places that London has to offer, but as you're in the neighbourhood it's worth a look.

Re the cemetary: It is one of the "magnificent seven" london cemetaries. It's a victorian undertaking (geddit?) and the company that ran it went bust years ago. They just padlocked the gates and left it. Nature reclaimed it - so parts of it are basically a forest with gravestones in. It's super spooky - like being on the set of a Hammer horror film. Highly recommended.

Nunhead is on the overground which goes into London. THis will be horrible until about 9.30 and pretty grim coming back until about 7pm.

muttimommy

we just returned last week from england with our 23 year old son. he LOVED stonehenge. we had an afternoon in bath. the baths take at least two hours with the audio guide. the cathedral is next door. the circus and crescent are walking distance. the car parks ring the old area, are not far from the sites and pretty well marked when driving into town. we did drive thru the cotswalks on our way from manchester to bristol. lovely. the town of broadway is very touristy. my husband liked chipping camden and upper and lower slaughter. we stayed a night in oxford with friends and really wanted to get to blenheim palace, which is churchill's birthplace. that's supposed to be lovely. safe travels.

MomDDTravel

needsnow - not sure when you are going but I am staying here in October. I can report back if your trip is after... ?

http://www.high-beeches.com/

needsnow

Thanks everybody. Great suggestions, yet again. Can I take you all in my pocket when I travel, please!

So renting a car may not be a good idea in terms of parking? Do the benefits of renting a car outweigh the inconveniences of parking? I guess I will have to do research to see what the usual parking charges are at these places. I didn't even think of that - so thanks for the tip lanejohann.

MomDDTravel - we are leaving July 31, returning to the states Aug 11, but will certainly report back to you here the events of the trip, and whether our gambles (oyster card, car rental, GBH pass, etc..) worked out in the end.

muttimommy - were the sites crowded? Did you drive from London and do Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds and Oxford all in a couple of days? What was your timeframe? My son is insisting on Stonehenge - he's 14 - and I am just thrilled that he is opening his eyes to history - so we are going, hell or high water.

Okay Colmondley..explain: "Nunhead is on the overground which goes into London. THis will be horrible until about 9.30 and pretty grim coming back until about 7pm." Are we talking crowds? What will be grim and horrible? The ambiance? The risk of getting mugged?

The pub sounds fun, will they let in my kids (16 and 16)? and the cemetery is a done deal. We're going!

janisj, Cathinjoe, bratsandbeer and texas - you've all gotten me so excited for Bath and Stratford and Warwick. I certainly want to leave enough time for all. We'll be getting the GBH pass, so hopefully we can save time with queues and ticket lines, but I guess what we need to do now is figure out where we will stay (Bath or Stratford area) and for how many nights. Do any of you have recoemmendations of places to stay? Sometimes for us, the B&B tells us where to go, so to speak - as long as we make sure to spend enough time in each site.

May not have time for Windsor. Would that be a crime to miss it on this holiday? Seems silly not to go when we are out on our overnight sidetrip, since we will be going that way, but to add it on may be too much for the time we have.

janisj

You can easily visit Windsor as a 1/2 day trip from London by train. I wouldn't try to squeeze it in on your lightening driving trip. No need to plan ahead - If you have time for Windsor - just go there one morning and come back to London in the mid afternoon for some more sightseeing before heading back to Nunhead.

I'm not sure what you mean by renting a car may not be a good option because of parking? Maybe I missed the post - is someone trying to scare you off from driving? Oh, I see lanejohann's post now. She gave us no details - have no idea what beach she is talking about so it is hard to give advice. But since there are no beaches on your route, that won't be relevant anyway.

As for the other places you are going. Just be sure that whatever B&B you book in/near Bath has car parking. That may mean not staying right in central Bath but that won't be a problem. If you stay in a village some distance away - when you visit the city use one of the Park and Ride lots where you park for free and take a bus right into the center.

Warwick Castle has a very well sign posted, free car park so that isn't a problem

and finally - for your B&B near Stratford/Warwick - it will likely have car parking

Cholmondley_Warner

OK here's the translated versiopn:

Okay Colmondley..explain: "Nunhead is on the overground which goes into London.>>>>>>

Nunhead is not on the tube. The only way into London from there is on the suburban trains. These are the main commuter routes into London and as such get horribly crowded between about 7.30 and 9.30. You may well find life a great deal more pleasant if you avoid these times. Ditto the evening rush.


The pub sounds fun, will they let in my kids (16 and 16)?>>>>

I honestly don't know. There are pubs in Nunhead that let kids in. Here's a useful pub site:

http://www.fancyapint.com/area/00842.html

I once went into the Duke of Albany and was lucky to escape with my life. It's the pub that is in Shaun of the Dead and, believe me, in real life it's a great deal scarier.



and the cemetery is a done deal. We're going!>>>>

They have tours on some sundays. Might be worth checking out (I've been on the tour - it's interesting in a macabre way)

MomDDTravel

needsnow - do report back - I will be anxious to hear of your trip.