Three weeks in the UK (planning lodging for family of four)
Feb 10th, 2006, 04:39 PM
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Three weeks in the UK (planning lodging for family of four)
Hello! This is my first post here, though I've been browsing for a bit -- amazingly helpful people here.
Well, after years and years of building them up, we burnt up almost all my frequent flyer miles for our first trip to the UK -- three whole weeks in August!
My wife's in charge of the itinerary, but I've been helping with lodging choices and bookings. So far, I've been using various guidebooks, this forum, and TripAdvisor for lodging advice.
But most of the lodging choices are based on TripAdvisor reviews, which I don't entirely trust -- especially after the recent NY Times article. So I'd be happy with any feedback you can give on our plans so far. (One note: the itinerary may be idiosyncratic to our interests.)
Budget-wise, we'd like to get reasonable value for a family of four (kids 7 and 16). After an initial shock, I think I've adjusted to lodging prices. (Or maybe it's just numbness...) We don't have to go super cheap, but we can't afford to spend $800/night for two rooms at four- or five-star hotels for the entire trip either. So far, we've been trying to keep at $200 or below most nights, except in London and Edinburgh.
Nights 1-5: London, staying at a flat near the V&A in South Kensington/Knightbridge/Brompton/Chelsea. (I'm not entirely sure how the neighborhoods divide -- the flat is at Egerton Gardens.) Booked through London Connection.
Days 6-8: Bath (day trips to Stonehenge and Avebury), staying at Three Abbey Green B&B. I chose Three Abbey Green mainly because of TripAdvisor reviews and because we can get a family suite that can fit all of us.
However, I'm wondering a bit about Three Abbey Green because it's the #1 Bath B&B at TripAdvisor but I've never seen that B&B mentioned anywhere else (such as here). The proprietor certainly is aware of TripAdvisor -- there's a link straight from the web page! I've looked through the reviews, and at least some of them sound like real people (complaining about needing earplugs, but otherwise giving high marks). Does anyone here have any experience with Three Abbey Green?
Nights 9-11: Glastonbury, no lodging yet. My wife wants to stay in Glastonbury itself, close to the Tor. Any suggestions? I've checked Number Three Hotel, but their family room will only lodge three people -- so we'd need two rooms there at 195 pounds/night. That's a bit more than I'd like to spend, unfortunately. Any other suggestions? Just based on location, we're interested in the Parsnips and Apple Tree House B&B's but don't know much about them. There are a couple of TripAdvisor reviews, but I'm not sure whether they're real.
Night 12: Chipping Campden, staying in a family room (double plus bunks) at Eight Bells Inn. Once again, this was mainly based on TripAdvisor reviews -- especially one from a family that stayed in the family room. But I haven't seen any reviews of the rooms (as opposed to the pub) anywhere other than TripAdvisor. Does anyone here have any experience with Eight Bells Inn?
Night 13: York. Haven't picked lodging yet -- any suggestions? I was considering Dean Court, for convenience (and because it seems friendly to families).
Nights 14-16: Edinburgh. Staying at the Royal Garden Apartments, again based on TripAdvisor reviews. They're already booked out of one-bedroom apartments for our nights, so we had to go up to the two-bedroom! That's six months out! (Must be the festival.) Is Royal Garden a reasonable choice?
Nights 17-19: Travelling up through the Trossachs, Loch Lomond, and Loch Ness. Not sure where to stay or go.
Nights 20-21: Inverness. No lodging yet.
Night 22: London Heathrow, at the Sheraton Skyline. Last night before heading back!
By the way, I'm also shocked (in a good way) with the price of airplane tickets from Inverness to Heathrow on BMI. A "tiny" fare is 2 pounds, and economy is 7 pounds! How is that possible? (I do understand that nearer-term tickets cost more.)
Any thoughts? Thanks!
Well, after years and years of building them up, we burnt up almost all my frequent flyer miles for our first trip to the UK -- three whole weeks in August!
My wife's in charge of the itinerary, but I've been helping with lodging choices and bookings. So far, I've been using various guidebooks, this forum, and TripAdvisor for lodging advice.
But most of the lodging choices are based on TripAdvisor reviews, which I don't entirely trust -- especially after the recent NY Times article. So I'd be happy with any feedback you can give on our plans so far. (One note: the itinerary may be idiosyncratic to our interests.)
Budget-wise, we'd like to get reasonable value for a family of four (kids 7 and 16). After an initial shock, I think I've adjusted to lodging prices. (Or maybe it's just numbness...) We don't have to go super cheap, but we can't afford to spend $800/night for two rooms at four- or five-star hotels for the entire trip either. So far, we've been trying to keep at $200 or below most nights, except in London and Edinburgh.
Nights 1-5: London, staying at a flat near the V&A in South Kensington/Knightbridge/Brompton/Chelsea. (I'm not entirely sure how the neighborhoods divide -- the flat is at Egerton Gardens.) Booked through London Connection.
Days 6-8: Bath (day trips to Stonehenge and Avebury), staying at Three Abbey Green B&B. I chose Three Abbey Green mainly because of TripAdvisor reviews and because we can get a family suite that can fit all of us.
However, I'm wondering a bit about Three Abbey Green because it's the #1 Bath B&B at TripAdvisor but I've never seen that B&B mentioned anywhere else (such as here). The proprietor certainly is aware of TripAdvisor -- there's a link straight from the web page! I've looked through the reviews, and at least some of them sound like real people (complaining about needing earplugs, but otherwise giving high marks). Does anyone here have any experience with Three Abbey Green?
Nights 9-11: Glastonbury, no lodging yet. My wife wants to stay in Glastonbury itself, close to the Tor. Any suggestions? I've checked Number Three Hotel, but their family room will only lodge three people -- so we'd need two rooms there at 195 pounds/night. That's a bit more than I'd like to spend, unfortunately. Any other suggestions? Just based on location, we're interested in the Parsnips and Apple Tree House B&B's but don't know much about them. There are a couple of TripAdvisor reviews, but I'm not sure whether they're real.
Night 12: Chipping Campden, staying in a family room (double plus bunks) at Eight Bells Inn. Once again, this was mainly based on TripAdvisor reviews -- especially one from a family that stayed in the family room. But I haven't seen any reviews of the rooms (as opposed to the pub) anywhere other than TripAdvisor. Does anyone here have any experience with Eight Bells Inn?
Night 13: York. Haven't picked lodging yet -- any suggestions? I was considering Dean Court, for convenience (and because it seems friendly to families).
Nights 14-16: Edinburgh. Staying at the Royal Garden Apartments, again based on TripAdvisor reviews. They're already booked out of one-bedroom apartments for our nights, so we had to go up to the two-bedroom! That's six months out! (Must be the festival.) Is Royal Garden a reasonable choice?
Nights 17-19: Travelling up through the Trossachs, Loch Lomond, and Loch Ness. Not sure where to stay or go.
Nights 20-21: Inverness. No lodging yet.
Night 22: London Heathrow, at the Sheraton Skyline. Last night before heading back!
By the way, I'm also shocked (in a good way) with the price of airplane tickets from Inverness to Heathrow on BMI. A "tiny" fare is 2 pounds, and economy is 7 pounds! How is that possible? (I do understand that nearer-term tickets cost more.)
Any thoughts? Thanks!
Feb 10th, 2006, 05:08 PM
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Just a quick thought - you're staying fairly close for a few nights. Why move from Bath to Glastonbury to Chipping Camden. If you've found a reasonable B&B in the locality, I'd advise to stay there and tour or you'll be living too much out of a suitcase. The time to drive from Bath to Glastonbury isn't that great so why uproot yourself to a new B&B?
I take it you're hiring a car (please, please tell me you are, with that itinerary)? To go from London to the West Country and then all the way to Inverness is one heck of a journey, even in three weeks. You spend the first two weeks in London and Bath (and surrounding areas) and then go off and do the whole of the rest in a week or so! It's far too much. You'd spend all of day 13 travelling to York and have to leave fairly early the next day to Edinburgh. You'd not see anything much of the city of York itself. Also, travelling to Inverness from Edinburgh in a few days would mean being on the road an awful lot.
All in all, you need to trim quite a bit off. You should consider London and the West country OR London and Scotland. It's going to be a slog to do it all.
Sorry, but it's just my humble opinion. Maybe others think it's fine?
I take it you're hiring a car (please, please tell me you are, with that itinerary)? To go from London to the West Country and then all the way to Inverness is one heck of a journey, even in three weeks. You spend the first two weeks in London and Bath (and surrounding areas) and then go off and do the whole of the rest in a week or so! It's far too much. You'd spend all of day 13 travelling to York and have to leave fairly early the next day to Edinburgh. You'd not see anything much of the city of York itself. Also, travelling to Inverness from Edinburgh in a few days would mean being on the road an awful lot.
All in all, you need to trim quite a bit off. You should consider London and the West country OR London and Scotland. It's going to be a slog to do it all.
Sorry, but it's just my humble opinion. Maybe others think it's fine?
Feb 10th, 2006, 08:31 PM
#3
Just a short comment - will come back later w/ more but in a rush just now.
I would NOT base a trip so much on Trip Advisor info. Most B&Bs are quite small -- 2 or 3 rooms to rent and the VAST majority will not have any mention on Trip advisor. To avoid any not mentioned on means you are eliminatimg maybe 75-80% of all the great accomodations in the places you want to visit. You can find lovely B&Bs everywhere for £22-£30 per person. I'd forget about Trip Advisor for any rural locations and most other places as well (except for hotels in major cities where there is a large pool of visitors).
And I agree w/ AR in that moving from Bath to Glastonbury doesn't make too much sense. If your wife wants to stay IN Glastonbury - I'd stay there and drive up to Bath for a day.
I would NOT base a trip so much on Trip Advisor info. Most B&Bs are quite small -- 2 or 3 rooms to rent and the VAST majority will not have any mention on Trip advisor. To avoid any not mentioned on means you are eliminatimg maybe 75-80% of all the great accomodations in the places you want to visit. You can find lovely B&Bs everywhere for £22-£30 per person. I'd forget about Trip Advisor for any rural locations and most other places as well (except for hotels in major cities where there is a large pool of visitors).
And I agree w/ AR in that moving from Bath to Glastonbury doesn't make too much sense. If your wife wants to stay IN Glastonbury - I'd stay there and drive up to Bath for a day.
Feb 10th, 2006, 09:27 PM
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Don't have experience with the B&B you mention in Bath, but if you have any interest in other options, we did stay at Paradise House in Bath, which was lovely and quite reasonable, at least when we were there in 2001. We stayed in a family room there. (Top floor, no elevator, so not great for schlepping a lot of luggage.) Beautiful garden overlooking the city with horseshoe pit and room to play/relax. It's a 5-10 minute walk down the hill into the center of town (up hill coming back, of course).
Agree with other posters that Glastonbury is a close drive and not worth moving to another hotel.
In the Cotswolds area, we stayed at the Evesham Hotel in Evesham. Fun, family-friendly place. Here's the link: http://www.eveshamhotel.com.
Agree with other posters that Glastonbury is a close drive and not worth moving to another hotel.
In the Cotswolds area, we stayed at the Evesham Hotel in Evesham. Fun, family-friendly place. Here's the link: http://www.eveshamhotel.com.
Feb 10th, 2006, 09:36 PM
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As you plan to stay in the area for a week, I'd base myself in the Cotswolds. Bath, Stonehenge (and Salisbury) and Glastonbury are easily done as day trips (not all in one day!!), as would Stratford upon Avon, Cheltenham and Warwick. I'd stay for less than the 7 days you plan - say 5 max - then miss York and fly from Bristol or Cardiff to Edinburgh (BMIBaby.co.uk or EasyJet.co.uk). Pick up another car and spend 10 or so days touring Scotland.
Feb 11th, 2006, 05:53 AM
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If you have a car and really want to stick to a tight budget and are not too fussed about 'character' then I'd advise you to look at www.travelodge.co.uk. If you are booking in advance you can find supersaver rooms for just £10 per room, or saver rooms for £26 per room. Their family rooms sleep 2 adults and 2 kids. No character, modern faceless things, but always clean,modern, got TV, tea&coffee, decent power shower, plenty of white fluffy towels etc, you know what you will get, well located on major roads. Very popular with us Brits who would rather spend money on the daytime activities rather than where we will be sleeping.
Feb 11th, 2006, 06:12 AM
#7
To follow on a bit from the previous post. W/ a family and and a full week in the same general area you would do <b>MUCH</b> better renting a cottage. You would spend less, have much more space, have a kitchen (not necessarily to do a lot of cooking but more for convenience/snacks/late night noshing), a washer/dryer, and more.
You can find lovely 2 and 3 bedroomed cottages all over for £400 to £700 per week. Basing in a convenient location somewhere in the southern Cotsowlds would put you in easy reach of everything you want to visit and tons more.
As for flying up to Scotland - sure that is an option. But I think you could actually drive up. Your visit to York will be quite rushed though.
And -- there is really NO reason to stay in Inverness - especially since you'll have a car. Inverness is a busy town and the shopping and transport hub for the north of Scotland. But is is not a special place to spend your precious vacation time.
You also have another option since you don't mention going far west or to the isles. You could rent another cottage in Scotland. Same advantages as down south w/ the added benefit that it would be even cheaper. You could stay 1 or 2 nights in Edinburgh and then rent a cottage somewhere like Loch Earn, Loch Tay, Crianlarich, Dunkeld, Aberfeldy, or Callander and be able to do day trips to everywhere you mentioned. Up to Inverness would be a long drive but it would be a reasonable day trip.
I'm not necessarily recommending a cottage up in Scotland (though I am definitely recommending one down in England) but just giving you something else to consider.
You can find lovely 2 and 3 bedroomed cottages all over for £400 to £700 per week. Basing in a convenient location somewhere in the southern Cotsowlds would put you in easy reach of everything you want to visit and tons more.
As for flying up to Scotland - sure that is an option. But I think you could actually drive up. Your visit to York will be quite rushed though.
And -- there is really NO reason to stay in Inverness - especially since you'll have a car. Inverness is a busy town and the shopping and transport hub for the north of Scotland. But is is not a special place to spend your precious vacation time.
You also have another option since you don't mention going far west or to the isles. You could rent another cottage in Scotland. Same advantages as down south w/ the added benefit that it would be even cheaper. You could stay 1 or 2 nights in Edinburgh and then rent a cottage somewhere like Loch Earn, Loch Tay, Crianlarich, Dunkeld, Aberfeldy, or Callander and be able to do day trips to everywhere you mentioned. Up to Inverness would be a long drive but it would be a reasonable day trip.
I'm not necessarily recommending a cottage up in Scotland (though I am definitely recommending one down in England) but just giving you something else to consider.
Feb 11th, 2006, 09:52 AM
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For a cottage, try www.cottages4you.co.uk
I've used them several times and they offer good value and standard.
I've used them several times and they offer good value and standard.
Feb 11th, 2006, 11:33 AM
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Hello,
For B&B's try www.smoothhound.co.uk - The breakfast is included and does help the budget.
Happy planning.
Sandy
For B&B's try www.smoothhound.co.uk - The breakfast is included and does help the budget.
Happy planning.
Sandy
Feb 18th, 2006, 05:01 PM
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Thanks for all the information! Well, you've gotten us to re-think our itinerary. We're now thinking about taking the suggestion of flying from Cardiff to Edinburgh, bypassing the long car trip north to Edinburgh.
As background, I should say that we have taken long car trips before and have been OK with them. Our last European trip (in 1999) was three weeks tooling around Sweden, Denmark, and Norway in a car that we purchased on a European delivery program. (Picked it up, drove it around, then shipped it back home.)
But I must admit that I'm probably not as keen about long car trips as I used to be -- must be getting soft in my old age. Back then, we also stayed a good chunk of time in family rooms at youth hostels (which were quite good in Scandinavia). We thought about that a bit for this trip, but for some reason hostels aren't quite as attractive to us now.
So the suggestion of skipping the driving trip sounds reasonable, though we did want to see Yorkshire. Perhaps another trip...
Current thought is to follow up London with some time in the Cotswolds and West Country, then fly from Cardiff to Edinburgh. After a bit of time there, we'd head up the west side (Stirling, Trossachs, Loch Ness, Inverness). Then Inverness to London by air and back home from there.
We're still not quite sure about the itinerary in the Cotswolds and West Country. My wife really does want to stay in Glastonbury, so that would be our base if we were to stay in one spot and take day trips. But are the Cotswolds really a reasonable day trip from Glastonbury?
Alternatively, we could head to the Cotswolds from London and stay two nights, then stay for five nights in the Glastonbury/Bath area.
By the way, we've been using theaa.com and mappy.com to determine travel times. Do those sites give reasonable travel time estimates?
Again, thanks for all the suggestions -- they've been a great help.
As background, I should say that we have taken long car trips before and have been OK with them. Our last European trip (in 1999) was three weeks tooling around Sweden, Denmark, and Norway in a car that we purchased on a European delivery program. (Picked it up, drove it around, then shipped it back home.)
But I must admit that I'm probably not as keen about long car trips as I used to be -- must be getting soft in my old age. Back then, we also stayed a good chunk of time in family rooms at youth hostels (which were quite good in Scandinavia). We thought about that a bit for this trip, but for some reason hostels aren't quite as attractive to us now.
So the suggestion of skipping the driving trip sounds reasonable, though we did want to see Yorkshire. Perhaps another trip...
Current thought is to follow up London with some time in the Cotswolds and West Country, then fly from Cardiff to Edinburgh. After a bit of time there, we'd head up the west side (Stirling, Trossachs, Loch Ness, Inverness). Then Inverness to London by air and back home from there.
We're still not quite sure about the itinerary in the Cotswolds and West Country. My wife really does want to stay in Glastonbury, so that would be our base if we were to stay in one spot and take day trips. But are the Cotswolds really a reasonable day trip from Glastonbury?
Alternatively, we could head to the Cotswolds from London and stay two nights, then stay for five nights in the Glastonbury/Bath area.
By the way, we've been using theaa.com and mappy.com to determine travel times. Do those sites give reasonable travel time estimates?
Again, thanks for all the suggestions -- they've been a great help.
Feb 18th, 2006, 05:35 PM
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Hi again.
If your wife really wants to stay in Glastonbury then I'd do it the other way round. Stay 2 nights there and 5 or so in the Cotswolds. It is a fairly easy commute from Glastonbury to the Cotswolds but you'd be travelling North from there every morning and going back south every evening - and that would be such a waste of time on the road.
How about spending the 2 nights there with one day looking around Glastonbury and Wells and the other day in the Cheddar Gorge?
I'd then go to the Cotswolds and Bath. How about also spending a night in Cardiff seeing that you'll be using the airport? There's a magnificent castle in the city centre and it is one of Europe's most thriving capital cities.
If your wife really wants to stay in Glastonbury then I'd do it the other way round. Stay 2 nights there and 5 or so in the Cotswolds. It is a fairly easy commute from Glastonbury to the Cotswolds but you'd be travelling North from there every morning and going back south every evening - and that would be such a waste of time on the road.
How about spending the 2 nights there with one day looking around Glastonbury and Wells and the other day in the Cheddar Gorge?
I'd then go to the Cotswolds and Bath. How about also spending a night in Cardiff seeing that you'll be using the airport? There's a magnificent castle in the city centre and it is one of Europe's most thriving capital cities.
Feb 18th, 2006, 05:42 PM
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Hi fgh, I don't profess to be an expert on this area but we covered similar ground to you back in Nov 04. We mainly stayed in B&Bs because we didn't have kids with us, but if you are looking for personal recommendations you may want to have a look at Old Pier House at Fort Augustus which is on the Southern tip of Loch Ness. We found it quite by accident when we arrived there on a cold Nov afternoon at 4pm (in the almost dark!)after seeing a sign advertising lakeside log cabins. There is a farmhouse with B&B accom which was closed then but the host very kindly showed us the self catering log cabins literally lakeside. My great wish on our trip was to see snow actually 'falling' (come from very dry very hot part of Australia) and when we woke in the morning the landscape that we had barely seen the evening before in failing light, had been transformed to a snow covered postcard view! The actual accommodation was very good for the price (sorry I can't remember how much but much more reasonable than any of the B&Bs we had stayed in)and very well appointed - two bedrooms, one queen and two singles, kitchen, living etc with a great decked area to sit outside I think. I found a website showing a little but it doesn't show the cabins, if you were interested maybe you could email them. Feel free to ask me any more questions if you think it could fit your bill! The little village looked lovely as well, had a great pub opposite part of the famous caledonian canal system where had dinner and a little general store well appointed to buy breakfast provisions etc. We were passing through so didn't have time to explore any more.
Feb 20th, 2006, 04:50 PM
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Well, we've talked it over and have changed our thinking a bit more, based on feedback here. Hopefully, this is getting closer.
Nights 1-5: London
Nights 6-7: Chipping Campden (Cotswolds)
Nights 8-10: Glastonbury (Stonehenge, Bath)
Night 11: Cardiff
Nights 12-14: Edinburgh (by air from Cardiff) -- visit Stirling as day trip or wait until we leave Edinburgh?
Nights 15-16: Oban? Mull? We'd like to visit Iona
Nights 17-18: Somewhere further north. Is Skye (Portree or elsewhere) feasible, or too far off?
Nights 19-20: Somewhere outside Inverness. Forres? (We're considering the Old Kirk Dyke -- http://www.oldkirk.co.uk/Splash.html)
Night 21: Heathrow (flight from Inverness)
We could also cut staying in Cardiff or cut Glastonbury from three down to two nights, if that makes the Scotland portion more manageable.
My feel for the driving times in Scotland is very hazy, so I don't know if the intinerary is doable.
Thanks!
Nights 1-5: London
Nights 6-7: Chipping Campden (Cotswolds)
Nights 8-10: Glastonbury (Stonehenge, Bath)
Night 11: Cardiff
Nights 12-14: Edinburgh (by air from Cardiff) -- visit Stirling as day trip or wait until we leave Edinburgh?
Nights 15-16: Oban? Mull? We'd like to visit Iona
Nights 17-18: Somewhere further north. Is Skye (Portree or elsewhere) feasible, or too far off?
Nights 19-20: Somewhere outside Inverness. Forres? (We're considering the Old Kirk Dyke -- http://www.oldkirk.co.uk/Splash.html)
Night 21: Heathrow (flight from Inverness)
We could also cut staying in Cardiff or cut Glastonbury from three down to two nights, if that makes the Scotland portion more manageable.
My feel for the driving times in Scotland is very hazy, so I don't know if the intinerary is doable.
Thanks!
Feb 20th, 2006, 05:11 PM
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Ozgirl -- thanks for the information about the Old Pier House. Based on the photos on the website, it looks lovely.
Our plans in Scotland are currently in flux, so I'm not sure yet whether we'll be in that area (southern part of Loch Ness) or bypass it for parts further west and north.
Our plans in Scotland are currently in flux, so I'm not sure yet whether we'll be in that area (southern part of Loch Ness) or bypass it for parts further west and north.
Feb 20th, 2006, 05:20 PM
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Just some comments.
Do not trust Trip Advisor unless you have a grain of salt in your mouth.
B & B's in England can be wonderful or awful. Go to the nearest government tourist advisory place, whatever -they-call-it, before you hit the next town and ask for good advice. They usually know the property and the proprietors and can advise you on what's best for your family.
The above advice is, of course, based on the fact that you are comfortable with doing it on-the-fly. Since you have two offspring with you...here is another suggestion. Hook up with the British equivalent of AAA....I don't remember what it is called, but a google, or some helpful person here, can probably help you. They are great.
I am sorry you are not going to Cambridge to let your kids punt on the Cam and enjoy the wonderful historic architecture, especially King's College Chapel
Do not trust Trip Advisor unless you have a grain of salt in your mouth.
B & B's in England can be wonderful or awful. Go to the nearest government tourist advisory place, whatever -they-call-it, before you hit the next town and ask for good advice. They usually know the property and the proprietors and can advise you on what's best for your family.
The above advice is, of course, based on the fact that you are comfortable with doing it on-the-fly. Since you have two offspring with you...here is another suggestion. Hook up with the British equivalent of AAA....I don't remember what it is called, but a google, or some helpful person here, can probably help you. They are great.
I am sorry you are not going to Cambridge to let your kids punt on the Cam and enjoy the wonderful historic architecture, especially King's College Chapel
Feb 21st, 2006, 05:35 PM
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I know this area quite well used to live not far from Glastonbury. Firstly with a family I would opt for one base and would rent a cottage over B &B, far more space, you then have the choice of eating out (expensive everyday with a family of 4 in the UK)or cooking some of your own meals also you would probably have a washing machine, a must in my view.
A nice town is Bradford on Avon situated on the River Avon, its only 15 min. drive to Bath, 40 mins. to Glastonbury and Stonehenge and only 1 hour from the Cotwolds, have a look at www.bradfordonavon.com/ lots of accommodation choices on this website.
Cardiff is a wonderful city as are other parts of Wales, I would save this for another trip and fly from Bristol to Edinburgh.
A nice town is Bradford on Avon situated on the River Avon, its only 15 min. drive to Bath, 40 mins. to Glastonbury and Stonehenge and only 1 hour from the Cotwolds, have a look at www.bradfordonavon.com/ lots of accommodation choices on this website.
Cardiff is a wonderful city as are other parts of Wales, I would save this for another trip and fly from Bristol to Edinburgh.
