Southwest England
 

My wife and I are going to be driving through Devon and Cornwall the first week of April. Any advice on car rental companies (from Heathrow), sites to see, places to stay, places to avoid, etc. would be most appreciated.

Hi Shelly,If you like gardens and historic houses I strongly advise you to check out some of the National Trust gardens and properties in both Devon and Cornwall. Most are open from the end of March for the new season and you can check out their web site at www.nationaltrust.org.uk Favourites of mine include Knightshayes Court and A La Ronde in Devon Lanhydrock,Cotele and Trelissik gardens in Cornwall. Other places I like include Budleigh Salterton in Devon, a lovely unspoilt coastal town it has loads of well signposted walks and hikes if you are into that sort of thing. Branscombe (Devon) which is reputed to be the longest village in England lots of thatched cottages and a nice home brew pub.Hope this helps if you need anymore email me, I will be in Devon myself last week in March having a weeks walking holiday in that glorious county. Jan <BR>

Plan on a night or two at Front Street Guest House in Bovey Tracey, Devon...owned by Gail and Ian Campbell, terrifically personable hosts and full of information in the area. Also in Bovey Tracey is our all time favorite restaurant, The Rumblin' Tum...just wonderful food. Bovey Tracey is a really good area for getting around in all directions and then, back in time for dinner. I have the address and phone number... E-mail me if you want any other info...been in that area three times. Do try to get to Broadlands, home owned by Lord Mountbatten. The worst part driving will be leaving Heathrow. Hopefully you can rent from an agency that will pick you up at the airport and drive you to their agency a few miles away, so it will be easier for you to get on with your trip.

<BR>My ravorite small towns are East Looe, Polperro and Fowey on the north coast and St. Ives and Clovelly on the north coast. We took a boat trip from East Looe to Polperro and the coast was bautiful viewed from the water..Good luck.

I will second that national trust properties are lovely.We really enjoyed visiting Cotehele and Lanhydrock.Walking the cliff paths is a real pleasure in Cornwall.I would miss Lands end but I wouldn't miss Tintagel.