Visitng college student at Univ of East Anglia
 

Any suggestions for a week-long "self-catering" cottage rental near the University of East Anglia - Norwich area? We will be visiting our college student daughter and her husband during their 2008-09 year. The timing of our visit will need to coincide with their semester breaks, which I am not sure of quite yet. This will be our first visit to the UK. Thanks for any insights, comments, suggestions.

Norfolk is a beautiful county.
Have a look at http://www.english-country-cottages.co.uk/
We have always found them satisfactory.
Go for South Norfolk for your cottage.

MissPrism,
thank you SO much for the excellent lead. the website is perfect for giving me an idea of locations and accommodations. I just completed a Skype call with my daughter, and she informed me that her semester break will be for a month beginning April 4, 2009 (I like to plan ahead.) She also let me know that the British pound has been fairly steady against the US dollar. So, it seems that finding a good place to stay will not be a big challenge.
Thanks again, janet

Just a second to English Country Cottages - they are a really good, well-established agency . . . . .

Here's another place for cottage rentals in England: www.ruralretreats.co.uk. I love looking at the pictures of all the cute, cozy cottages.

Cottage rentals often require a car. Are you planning on driving in the UK?

A good source of information about renting self-catering accommodations in England is www.slowtrav.com.

One more site you might want to look at is www.nationaltrustcottages.co.uk

Hi BN,

english country cottages tend to be on the expensive side - they have very high standards and take a very large cut from the owners.

you may find something more within your shrinking U$ budget of you contact the local tourist office - try www.visitnorfolk.co.uk.

regards, ann

That is true about ECC - they can be on the pricey side. But they are generally lower priced than Rural Retreats, the National Trust, or the Landmark Trust.

There are cheaper (and not necessarily lower quality) agencies plus lots of private owners who rent directly.

Thank you all for the leads...I have bookmarked them all, and will have a great time looking at each and every place for its location and accommodations ~ quite a wide range.
And we haven't figured out yet about whether we'll get a rental car. Last time we visited the kids, it was Berlin...and there was no use for a car. We took the railways, S-Bahn and U-Bahn everywhere. Rural country will be different...given that we are all used to driving on the right side of the road, I don't think the local community will want us renting a car and driving the neighborhoods!! cheers and appreciation to all of you, janet

I do hope you will rethink the idea of not renting a car, especially in East Anglia where you will find a great deal to see and do.

I was as nervous as you may be about driving on the other side of the road but what I would consider is paying the additional for an automatic transmission (one less thing to worry about..shifting with the "wrong" hand).

I've been to the Norwich area several times now, always rented/hired a car and have never regretted it.

I live in a small village in East Anglia, and cannot imagine relying on public transport. If you want to rent a country cottage, you will need a car. Otherwise think about staying somewhere in Norwich itself.

Hi BN,

i was going to say just what Heimdall has said - so I'll just second it.

don't compare the experience of driving in Norfolk with driving in Berlin - Norwich and Berlin are about as different as two cities could possibly be. you simply won't be able to get as much out of your time there as you should without a car. and driving will be pretty simple after the first hour or so.

if you do rent, look for something pretty small by US standards - easier to park, cheaper to run, and easier to maneouvre round the Norfolk lanes.

have a great trip,

regards, ann

country cottage and car go together. Not really any way to get around that.

If you do decide against driving, then consider renting a flat in Norwich itself where there is rail and bus service. But your exploration of the countryside will be limited.

I really do recommend cottage/car - but there are other options.

My daughter did her sr. year in college at UEA. Hard to believe that was in 1999! I went over to see her 3 times and stayed in a dorm room right at the school. Obviously you wouldn't want to do this as you're going while your's are on break.

One thing I had to do each time I was there was eat at the Waffle House in Norwich - the pecan toffee waffles and chocolate mousse waffles are to die for!!! If you get there, eat one for me :)

saving for me

Alrighty, I am heartened by the support to rent a car...yes, I understand that a metro and a country area are quite different. I'll probably leave the driving to my husband, and the college students, since I am so hopelessly left-handed and left-footed, that directional things are a challenge for me anyway!
and omigosh, to o1012, thanks for the unexpected but wonderful tip for the Waffle House in Norwich. Breakfast (my favorite meal) couldn't be any better than a good pecan toffee waffle...I'm drooling already.
Once again, special thanks to you all~ for your information, insight, suggestions, and for sharing your experiences. I am enjoying all the websites you have listed, and love to browse through them at every opportunity.
With great appreciation, janet

I am so glad I found this thread! We just found out that my oldest son will be doing a semester at UEA this fall. We just got back from visiting our daughter in China (she's teaching there for a year) so don't think we can afford a big budget visit to see the son, but it would be nice to go for about ten days. I found this on UEA's site and was wondering if anyone has any info about it: http://www1.uea.ac.uk/cm/home/servic.../accommodation It looks like it wouldn't be too expensive, and right in Norwich so no worries about that pesky driving-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-road problem.