Trip Planning Questions for England
 

Hi. Yestravel and I are in the planning stages of a trip to England this coming May. We’re envisioning a little over three weeks in the south. We enjoy pretty much everything except shopping: big city museums. small towns, hiking, scenic drives, dining - and history in small doses. We believe in slow travel and prefer to spend a minimum of the three nights in each location.

Right now we’re tentatively planning on the following:
• A week in London.
• Travel to Bath by rail, three nights in Bath.
• Travel by rental car to Devon/Cornwall/Dartmoor National Park/Land’s End. We’d like to spend five nights in one location and do day trips. Otherwise split six nights between two locations.
• Travel to Oxford by either rental car or rail. Three nights.
• Travel by rental car to the Cotswolds. Four nights.
• Return to London for a night or two.
Does this seem like a reasonable itinerary for three or so weeks? Does anyone have any preferred towns/lodgings they would recommend in the Devon/Cornwall/Lands End area, the Cotswolds or within the general area of southern England? Are we missing anything?

Thanks in advance for your help!

gottravel

Why not do the Cotswolds before Oxford so you can use the car...then drop the car in Oxford, spend your nights there and train back to London?

I would also put my week in London at the end to eliminate the need to split the time in London.

I would head straight to Bath on public transport and then after your time there pick up the car and do your car portion of the trip, then Oxford, then a week in London.

Lands end; aint anything there but Lands... not worth going there, you might prefer the lizard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lizard

Car is pretty useless in Oxford

Another option is to group all your days in London at the beginning, end in Oxford, dropping the car as you arrive, and going to the airport from Oxford by bus. (Assuming you're flying out of Heathrow.)

There's a lot to see in Devon and Cornwall. You need to narrow down your places of interest. Sounds like Dartmoor is a priority.

We stayed in St. Ives at the Garrack Hotel. Nice hotel with a good view but it requires a bit of a climb back up from "downtown" St. Ives. We saw the Tate and the Barbara Hepworth museums and did daytrips from St. Ives. And, yes, Lands End wasn't worth it.

Do you like gardens? Cornwall has a number of beautiful gardens that should be at their best in May. Trebah was our favorite.

Hopefully annhig, a frequent contributor from Cornwall, will chime in soon with her suggestions.

Thanks! jamkins, putting all our London days together would be optimum. We didn't address this in this thread, but we will be spending 10 days or so in Scotland before going back to London. We've gotten into the habit of recovering from jetlag in big cities so we don't need to go anywhere after an overnight flight. But going directly to Bath might be a good idea.

Mirmar's idea to go to Heathrow by bus from Oxford is a good one if we dont do Scotland as mentioned above. About how long is the bus to Heathrow? Our flight back to the US leaves Heathrow at 12:15.

Enjoy gardens so thanks for the suggestion, Mimar.

bilboburgler - thanks for the suggestion of the lizard, will check it out.

Also any apt recommendations for London would be great.

I would probably do jamikins vaiation w/ London at the end (though Oxford at the end also works well).

In fact in Dec that is what I'm doing -- express coach from LHR to Oxford for the first couple of days and then into London for the remainder of my 8 days.

You pace is excellent. My main comment is:

>><i>• Travel by rental car to Devon/Cornwall/Dartmoor National Park/Land’s End. We’d like to spend five nights in one location and do day trips. Otherwise split six nights between two locations. </i><<

The area is VERY spread out and much of the driving is VERY slow. So I would go the two base/six nights route. One base somewhere towards western Cornwall and another base in south Devon would be my choice.

We were posting at the same time. Please clarify - Is the Scotland bit at the beginning of the trip? If so, since you will be in Scotland -- then I would take a train to London since it is direct and fast. Then follow your basic plan.

Thanks for your info, janisj -- right now we think we will do Scotland at the end. We're still trying to fit all the pieces. I grabbed a good airfare last week without the details figured out. We have 5 weeks for the trip so I know we can work out the logistics.

clarification - Scotland at the end of England with the exception of London which we would do at the very end before flying back to US. My hope is that all the suggestions will help us sort this out. So thanks again.

In Bath we liked the Kennard, www.kennard.co.uk. Good walkable location just over the Pulteney Bridge, lovely owners and comfortable room. We stayed here in May 2016.

My trip report (http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...y-173546-2.cfm) might be of interest for our time in London and Bath.

In 2012 we used One Fine Stay for an apartment rental in London and had a very good experience. The flat we rented no longer seems to be in their inventory. It was in Notting Hill an area we very much liked but recommend you are close to an Underground station. In May we stayed in Bloomsbury which might be our favorite neighborhood in London.

Thanks, Scootoir -- I'll check out your TR.

OK -- that helps.

One option: You can take an express coach from LHR to Oxford, stay a couple of nights car-less. Then collect a rental car and west and south > Cotswolds > Bath > Dorset/Devon/Cornwall. Drop the car and fly up to GLA or EDI. I know there are direct flights from Exeter and Southampton to one or both, not sure about Newquay. But basically fly from the SW or Southampton up to Scotland and then take the train down to London for the last week.

You could also take the train all the way from Cornwall to Scotland -- but it is a long haul.

Thanks everyone. Based on inputs and research we've changed this as follows:

> Arrive at Heathrow, take express bus to Oxford; spend three nights (Thurs/Fri/Sat) Oxford.

> Pickup rental car, drive to theCotswolds; spend five days/nights driving/hiking the Cotswolds (Sun/Mon/Tues/Wed/Thurs) in the Cotswolds.

> Drive to Devon/Cornwall area; spend six nights (Fri-->Wed).

> Drive to Bath; return rental car;spend three nights (Thurs/Fri/Sat).

> Train to Edinburgh from Bath; nine nights Scotland (Sun-->Mon); details TBD.

> Train to London, spend balance of trip (seven nights) there.

Make sense? And is Bath worth a full two days/three nights? Hadn't mentioned the Scotland leg earlier because I'd envisioned doing it after completing the full England circuit.

hi yes/gotravel,

just found this so apologies for joining the party somewhat late in the day.

dealing with the last point first, you can fly from Newquay to Edinburgh and Glasgow so if you want to tour the SW then finish your pre-london trip in Scotland, that would be the way to go.

To see what you want to see, flying into London and going to Oxford, Cotswolds, Bath, Dartmoor and Cornwall in that order would then make the most sense.

depending on your interests, either 5-6 nights in Falmouth or St Ives [or conceivably 3 nights in each] would be the way to go. If you are really keen on seeing the Gardens, most of the major ones are in the eastern or central part of the county, making Falmouth a better base; it's still relatively easy to get to the Lizard and even St Ives from there, whereas if you stayed in St Ives for a week, you could find yourselves going over the same ground quite a lot. But if you are more interested in rugged countryside and the outdoors generally, St Ives might be better and there are still some gardens in West Cornwall that are well worth seeing in May when all the camellias and rhododendrons are in bloom.

happy to answer any more questions.

> Drive to Devon/Cornwall area; spend six nights (Fri-->Wed).
> Drive to Bath; return rental car;spend three nights (Thurs/Fri/Sat).
> Train to Edinburgh from Bath; nine nights Scotland (Sun-->Mon); details TBD.<<

I would do Bath between the Cotswolds and the SW. Bath is basically just south of the Cotswolds. Then fly from Newquay (since annhig confirms there are flights).

We had 2 full days in Bath which was a useful amount of time to see what we wanted. On our 3rd day there we did a Mad Max day tour of the Cotswolds. Not the ideal way to see the Cotswolds perhaps but it was lovely for us to enjoy a taste of it. We spent 4 nights total in Bath.

Thanks for the comments & suggestions. Need to check them out. Would also appreciate any recommendations for apts in London and areas to stay in. Had gotten a few apt recs and they are all booked for when we would be there which would be June timeframe.

Annhig -- Gardens are not a must see, nice if they are convenient. Are there limited carriers flying out of Newquay? I looked a bit (Expedia & Skyscanner) and didn't see much. Fares were ~$200USD, with no non stops to either Glasgow or EDI and at least 3 1/2 to longer for the flight. We realize that logistically Bath would make sense after Cotwolds but wanted to take a train and thus the arrangement. Are the trains not good? We rather enjoy taking trains.

rome2rio suggests three airports, Bristol Newquay and Exeter, not sure which of these is direct, but Exeter used to be.

Train can be great but ... you either go in and out of London, which can take heaps of time, or you use the cross country service, which is a bit sluggish as well as taking a fair bit of time/changes.

I'd dig into the three airports I just gave you and see what you like and compare with train. Trains are good but this particular route is a poor use of trains.

Thanks, bilboburgler -- I will check them out.

Here is our three week trip to England in words and photos (should give you plenty of ideas)...

London
Salisbury
Bath
Cotswolds

>B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/england-2013/</B>

((H))

Great, maitai--thanks for pointing it out. I haven't dug into TRs, but will.

Not sure if flyBe flights show on those sites. Sort of like Allegiant in the States serving smaller markets/airports.

Are there limited carriers flying out of Newquay? I looked a bit (Expedia & Skyscanner) and didn't see much. Fares were ~$200USD, with no non stops to either Glasgow or EDI and at least 3 1/2 to longer for the flight>>

no, you need to look at Flybe - they are the main carrier into and out of Newquay. sorry if I didn't make that clear.

but there are direct [non-stop] trains too - all the way from Penzance to Edinburgh and even a sleeper if you are up for that. No need to go into London for long-distance trains though there may only be a couple or so a day and you'd need to book well in advance.

more details here: https://www.thetrainline.com

We once took a day trip, by bus, from Bath to Wells. It was a very pretty ride through the countryside, and Bath is a real charmer, with one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've ever seen. If you wanted to visit Bath between the Cotswolds and Cornwall, maybe you shouldn't turn in the rental car in Bath, and spend one day, or part of a day, on a drive to Wells.

I meant to say "Wells is a real charmer", not to detract from Bath ...

We very much enjoyed the short hike through the Lydford Gorge while visiting the southern tip... I also agree that Land's End is pretty underwhelming.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Lyd%2C_Devon

If you are flying trans-Atlantic, you might consider flying home from Bristol airport on a multi-destination ticket. The ambitious airport certainly is not as well-connected as the London giants, but offers some reasonable possibilities that could save land travel and time. Probably the itinerary will involve at least one stop.
https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/

We very much enjoyed the short hike through the Lydford Gorge while visiting the southern tip... I also agree that Land's End is pretty underwhelming.>>

Trophy wife - I agree that Lydford gorge is indeed gorgeous, but I'm not sure I'd describe it as being on "the southern Tip" as it's actually on Dartmoor about 100 miles from Land's End.

Two much nicer and closer alternatives to Land's End are the Lizard, which is mainland Britain's most southerly point, and Cape Cornwall on the North Coast where the Atlantic waters divide.

Sorry, annhig... 100 miles is next door from my perspective. I'll try to adjust.

no probs, trohpywife - after all there are plenty of Brits who think that the West of England starts at Swindon.

to use your analogy, next door to me is, well, next door!

>>Sorry, annhig... 100 miles is next door from my perspective. I'll try to adjust.<<

In many parts of the SW 100 miles is a 2.5 to 3 hour drive,. That is a pretty far neighbor ;)

Flybe does NOT fly N/S from Newquay to either Edinburgh OR to Glasgow, very unfortunately.

Really appreciate all the comments.

Thank you, Dukey for confirming what I thought I found. I really thought I was missing something.

Moving on to an apt in London. I have found 2 that might work, but am unsure of the location of really anywhere in London so would greatly appreciate your comments. Also any recommended apts would be muchly appreciated.
The 2 below are from Ivy Lettings

Fawcett Street - https://www.ivylettings.com/london-v...n-rentals/faw/

Sloane Square 1 - https://www.ivylettings.com/london-v...day-apartment/

They may not fly non-stop in the winter but is it possible there is a seasonal schedule?

They do fly non stop from Exeter to EDI (and even the one-stop flights are only about 3 hours total).

Schedule from Newquay only goes thru March. And yes I could get flights from Exeter with no stops.

Would really appreciate help with London locations. pls see post above. thanks!

>>Would really appreciate help with London locations. pls see post above<<

I love LOVE <B>LOVE</B> the Sloan Square area (for all the reasons the listing mentions and more).

The Fawcett Street flat looks better furnished - a bit posher interior, but it would be much less convenient.

Thank you, janisj! that is so helpful. I always find it daunting figuring out where to stay in a city I'm not familar with. Any other areas you fancy?

There is nothing at all wrong w/ Sloane Square so if it fits in your budget and you like the look -- I'd just go for it. It is a great area.

But other neighborhoods I like (not necessarily for living but for visiting and access to sites and transport) would be Covent Garden, Russell Square/Bloomsbury, a few parts of the South Bank, South Kensington, and a few others.


I really like Pimlico (not far from the Sloane Sq property) but it isn't as well connected for transport/dining etc. I'd live in Pimlico in a heart beat . . . or in Notting Hill, but that is too far west for efficient sight seeing.

Thanks again! I saw an apt in Pimlico, but I wondered about too far for "efficient sightseeing" as you said. I also figured the same for Notting Hill. We enjoy walking and like to be able to do that as much as posible without using public transportation.

To clarify - Pimlico isn't 'too far'. In fact it is closer in than Sloane Sq. But there is just one tube station serving just one tube line (the Victoria Line). So it isn't 'inconvenient' but more a <i>little</i> less convenient. I've stayed many times in Pimlico (on St Georges Sq, along Lupus Street, on Hugh Street, and others). If a flat is somewhere like Hugh St/Warwick Way then it would be near Victoria Station and then it would be VERY convenient.

But the advantage to Sloane SQ is being closer to a tube station, many restaurants, great shopping, Peter Jones, the Royal Court Theatre, etc.

Both Sloane Sq and Pimlico are near the river, Chelsea Hospital (a masterpiece), and decent or decent-ish transport.