Landed in Heathrow, drove to Windsor for one night.
Stayed at the Sir Christopher Wren hotel, and it was not a good experience.
We had a very small twin, but were too tired to make a fuss. Liked the sweet little town of Windsor though, but did not get to do Evensong at St George's, sigh.

Drove to Bath and had a lovely self catering for a week, just a few steps from the Circus.
The best part about the place, besides the great location, was that it had it's own designated parking place right outside the front door!!!! Loved it.

Bath, beautiful gorgeous Bath...one of my very favorite towns.
Beside being in a quiet part of town, our place had easy access to the A4 and roads out of town.

Our day trips included Avebury and Avebury Manor.
Lacock Abbey
Dyrham Park
Wells and it's gorgeous Cathedral.
Great Chalfield Manor
I loved them all, but Dyrham park was just so lovely. the setting in the little valley, the gardens, oh my.
Avebury Manor was a treat, it was restored with the help of the BBC and National trust.
It is the only great houses that people are allowed to interact with the contents of the rooms. It is unique and novel experience.

Bath had a great variety of restaurants, we were spoiled for choice,
It also has a nice theater.


I really hated to leave my lovely Bath, but Falmouth Cornwall was calling.....
We stayed at the Anacapri Guest house for 4 nights. It had a good location right near the Beach.
It had great views too, but the bathroom was WAY to cramped and the shower had a trickle flow.
Nevertheless, we had a good time there.
The highlight of our Falmouth stay was meeting our Lovely Fodorite Annhig.
She picked us up at our hotel and drove us to a charming little beachfront restaurant Indaba on the Beach.
We had a great time and lovely food, and thoroughly enjoyed our mini GTG.
Ann is a very warm friendly lady,,,she was such fun!!!
I really liked Falmouth for visiting Cornwall. I would highly recommend staying there.
It was a "real" working town, not just a strictly tourist town. Thanks Ann for the good location advice!
We visited:
Glendurgan Gardens
Trelissick gardens,
Pendennis Castle
St Mawes Castle by ferry
St Michaels Mount
St Ives
We then went to Salisbury via a brief stop at Sourhead, then stayed at the Red Lion Hotel in the heart of Salisbury for 2 nights.
It as a fabulously old charming hotel and I loved it.
We visited Stonehenge again and were literally blown away on the Salisbury plains;-).
We then took a tour of Salisbury's Cathedral tower. It was to me the highlight of my sights.
We climbed about 400 stairs and saw such medieval wonders. I was overwhelmed by it.
I am a great fan of Pillars of the Earth, and this just left me breathless, in more ways than one. ;-)
This was one of my best trips.
God I love England.

Great report! I am in the planning stages for 2013 and will save your report.....thanks.

Fun to read.

Thanks for sharing, J

I meant to add some remarks about some places that really intrigued me:

Lacock Abbey was a beautifully worthwhile visit,
which included Fox Talbot Musuem (one of the inventors of photography). The history of the Abbey was very interesting.
It is a "must do" IMO.
BTW, parts of Lacock were used in 2 Harry Potter movies,

When we went to Wells, we had planned to then go on to Glastonbury after Wells and Evensong.
BUT, there was a tribute to Harry Patch one of the oldest war veterans who had passed, and there was wonderful British pageantry that preceded Evensong, so we decided to stay the day in Wells.
It was a lovely treat for us...bands, soldiers the whole lot.


Another highlight was St Michael's Mount in Cornwall,
It was a gorgeous sunny day, and the Castle was magical.
We had a very nice lunch there.
I highly recommend it.

lovely trip report! Glad you enjoyed England!

good report thank you

Short and sweet! Thanks!

We met Ann in Cornwall too - Fowey - while we were house exchanging in Sidmouth, Devon last year and can vouch for the accuracy of your description. We had a lovely mini Fodor GTG with her too, her first.

We've also stayed in Falmouth and agree that it's a great base for seeing Cornwall.

Thanks all for the kind words.

BTW Pendennis Castle in Falmouth was a considered the 49th state during WWII, because it had so many GIs staying there.
The tour through the war buildings we took, was amazing.
The batteries had sound effects and really gave you a feeling for what it was like during an air raid.
A MUST see IMO.

BTW, also visited Mompesson House in Salisbury.
It had a lovely watercolor display. It was a worthwile visit.

Enjoyed your report, Judy. I love England, too.

I have missed your mystery-reading reports in the Lounge, but I can see that you have had other things to do.

You got to meet annhig! How fun. And the rest of the trip sounds great too

Thanks Caro, I have been reading like crazy because I picked up a nasty flu like bug and have been resting/reading. ;-)

Toucan it was a FUN trip!

Judyrem,

Excellent report. We also loved Salisbury, St. Michael’s Mont, and Lacock. Your description brought back many lovely memories.

What a treat for you to connect with Annhig in her beloved Cornwall.

Thanks for sharing…

Thanks lateday, Oh Salsibury is a wonderful town!!!
I am so glad we stayed there.

Judyrem,

Thanks for the trip report. We also enjoyed Lacock Abbey and the lovely little museum within centered around photography including the samples of cameras through the ages. Glad you enjoyed it.

I REALLY enjoyed the 1930's footage of the Abbey's founding festival by the townspeople....that was so interesting.
I watched it twice!!!!!

bookmarking

Thanks for sharing--I do read your book reports--and annhig's Cornwall reports. I love Cornwall. Have been twice and would love to go back.

Hopingtotravel, thanks for the very kind words.
Books and travel, are there anything better? ;-)