What should we see and do in 10 days? A round trip from London
Dec 15th, 2012, 10:40 AM
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What should we see and do in 10 days? A round trip from London
Plan so far
21st May
Leave London by Train to Salisbury around 9am. Go straight from the railway station to the bus that does Stonehenge and Old Sarum, check out the Catherdral and have a look around etc. What else is a must see? Then onto a evening train to Bath. Staying in Bath for 4 nights
On either the 2nd or 3rd day there we will pick up our rental car. How many days does it take to see the best things in Bath? I don't want a rental car just sitting in the car park if we are still just walking around Bath.
Day trips from Bath, suggestions please. So far Wells is on the list.
25th May
Drive to Bristol, spend the day there. See the Cathedral, and ?
That evening head to Cardiff for 2 nights. Will look at Cardiff Castle and Berkley Castle. Other suggestions please? Maybe we do Berkley when we are leaving anyway?
27th
Now this is where it gets interesting as we don't have any plans from here, all we have to do is drop the car off somewhere. Then train to London Euston Travelodge the evening of the 30th to catch the Eurostar to Paris the next morning.
So a bunch of thoughts have been going through my head, could spend the 29th night and 30th day in Oxford,
But when I was looking at the train routes, If I leave from Oxford I will end up at Paddington and then have to tube it for 36 mins to Euston but if we Leave from Coventry, it would take us straight to Euston station. I like the sound of not mucking around on our way back but it would be crazy to drive to Coventry to do this unless there is something worthwhile seeing on our way.
Thoughts please. We just want to see historical landmarks etc. Don't care about shopping malls etc. We just want to see and do things that we don't have in New Zealand.
Also do we really need a GPS? The price of renting one is 13 pounds a day, the car itself is only 15 pounds a day!
Cheers Jen
21st May
Leave London by Train to Salisbury around 9am. Go straight from the railway station to the bus that does Stonehenge and Old Sarum, check out the Catherdral and have a look around etc. What else is a must see? Then onto a evening train to Bath. Staying in Bath for 4 nights
On either the 2nd or 3rd day there we will pick up our rental car. How many days does it take to see the best things in Bath? I don't want a rental car just sitting in the car park if we are still just walking around Bath.
Day trips from Bath, suggestions please. So far Wells is on the list.
25th May
Drive to Bristol, spend the day there. See the Cathedral, and ?
That evening head to Cardiff for 2 nights. Will look at Cardiff Castle and Berkley Castle. Other suggestions please? Maybe we do Berkley when we are leaving anyway?
27th
Now this is where it gets interesting as we don't have any plans from here, all we have to do is drop the car off somewhere. Then train to London Euston Travelodge the evening of the 30th to catch the Eurostar to Paris the next morning.
So a bunch of thoughts have been going through my head, could spend the 29th night and 30th day in Oxford,
But when I was looking at the train routes, If I leave from Oxford I will end up at Paddington and then have to tube it for 36 mins to Euston but if we Leave from Coventry, it would take us straight to Euston station. I like the sound of not mucking around on our way back but it would be crazy to drive to Coventry to do this unless there is something worthwhile seeing on our way.
Thoughts please. We just want to see historical landmarks etc. Don't care about shopping malls etc. We just want to see and do things that we don't have in New Zealand.
Also do we really need a GPS? The price of renting one is 13 pounds a day, the car itself is only 15 pounds a day!
Cheers Jen
Dec 15th, 2012, 10:53 AM
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You could visit Stratford and/or Warwick en route to Coventry. In Coventry I always find the new and old cathedrals very moving (probably because my parents and grandparents survived that raid, but only just).
From Coventry the fast train is only an hour or so to Euston and your hotel is a short walk to St Pancras for the Eurostar.
From Coventry the fast train is only an hour or so to Euston and your hotel is a short walk to St Pancras for the Eurostar.
Dec 15th, 2012, 11:17 AM
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Thanks Havana. Is Oxford really worth seeing then? Would I possibly be better off going cardiff - Gloucester - Morton of Marsh - Stratford-upon-Avon - Warwick - Coventry and just skip Oxford all together?
Dec 15th, 2012, 01:52 PM
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Traffic in Bath is extremely congested and parking is tight. Friends who live in the region refuse to drive into the centre, instead parking on the periphery (in a paid lot) and taking the municipal shuttle bus. This is a factor for you to consider in planning your transportation.
Dec 15th, 2012, 02:26 PM
#6
"<i>How many days does it take to see the best things in Bath?</i>
A couple of days is enough - w/ Wells/Glastonbury add a third day.
"<i>Is Oxford really worth seeing then?</i>"
Definitely yes. More so than Cardiff - but Cardiff is nice too. Coventry Catrhedral is VERY interesting -- but IMO Oxford has much more to offer. I personally would not choose a destination based on which station you'd hit in London. Public transport in London is very easy - so pick based on which towns you want to see -- not on some station in London.
I think your original plan of maybe staying in Burford is excellent. I'd Stay there 3 or 4 nights. Use most of that time to tour the Cotswolds and visit Warwick and/or Stratford and use one day to see Oxford. You'd want to use a park and ride lot to get in to Oxford- don't drive in to the city.
I'd even consider dropping the car at Heathrow - very easy drive from Burford/Oxford area. Then you could take the tube right to Kings Cross/St Pancras.
A couple of days is enough - w/ Wells/Glastonbury add a third day.
"<i>Is Oxford really worth seeing then?</i>"
Definitely yes. More so than Cardiff - but Cardiff is nice too. Coventry Catrhedral is VERY interesting -- but IMO Oxford has much more to offer. I personally would not choose a destination based on which station you'd hit in London. Public transport in London is very easy - so pick based on which towns you want to see -- not on some station in London.
I think your original plan of maybe staying in Burford is excellent. I'd Stay there 3 or 4 nights. Use most of that time to tour the Cotswolds and visit Warwick and/or Stratford and use one day to see Oxford. You'd want to use a park and ride lot to get in to Oxford- don't drive in to the city.
I'd even consider dropping the car at Heathrow - very easy drive from Burford/Oxford area. Then you could take the tube right to Kings Cross/St Pancras.
Dec 15th, 2012, 07:09 PM
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Just a few random thoughts:
May 21 - you have arranged for your luggage to be taken care of while you visit Stonehenge, Old Sarum, Salisbury cathedral?
May 25 - ««See the Cathedral, and ?»» Bristol cathedral, while modestly interesting, will be a disappointment compared to Salisbusry and Wells cathedrals. The ? is Brunel's SS Great Britain.
I kind of like your Coventry idea and fast train to Euston better than Janis does. If you do do Coventry, take a look at Kenilworth Castle. I'd choose it ahead of the Shakespeare theme park that is Stratford-upon-Avon.
May 21 - you have arranged for your luggage to be taken care of while you visit Stonehenge, Old Sarum, Salisbury cathedral?
May 25 - ««See the Cathedral, and ?»» Bristol cathedral, while modestly interesting, will be a disappointment compared to Salisbusry and Wells cathedrals. The ? is Brunel's SS Great Britain.
I kind of like your Coventry idea and fast train to Euston better than Janis does. If you do do Coventry, take a look at Kenilworth Castle. I'd choose it ahead of the Shakespeare theme park that is Stratford-upon-Avon.
Dec 15th, 2012, 08:52 PM
#8
Oh - yes - ron has caught something I missed. <B>Luggage</B> - there are no lockers or left luggage at Salisbury.
And having a toddler w/ you you have other issues. I would forget about the trains all together. A car will give you much more freedom and less hassle.
Book a car service like justairports.com to take you to a rental office at Heathrow. Then drive to Avebury, Stonehenge Salisbury and on to Bath. Stay 3 or 4 nights there (unfortunately the Bath Travelodge doesn't have a car park so you'd have to pay £8.50 a day parking).
Do your loop tour entirely by car and drop it back at LHR. Book the car service back into London. Otherwise you'll be schlepping stroller, luggage, 'stuff' on/off trains, to/from rental offices.
There is no advantage to taking trains since you'll be driving anyway.
And no, you really don't need a GPS - as long as one of you is a competent map reader/navigator. You'll want to stop at the first petrol station and buy an inexpensive road atlas.
And again -from your other thread . . . Burford would be an EXCELLENT place to stay. That Travelodge is in a good location.
And having a toddler w/ you you have other issues. I would forget about the trains all together. A car will give you much more freedom and less hassle.
Book a car service like justairports.com to take you to a rental office at Heathrow. Then drive to Avebury, Stonehenge Salisbury and on to Bath. Stay 3 or 4 nights there (unfortunately the Bath Travelodge doesn't have a car park so you'd have to pay £8.50 a day parking).
Do your loop tour entirely by car and drop it back at LHR. Book the car service back into London. Otherwise you'll be schlepping stroller, luggage, 'stuff' on/off trains, to/from rental offices.
There is no advantage to taking trains since you'll be driving anyway.
And no, you really don't need a GPS - as long as one of you is a competent map reader/navigator. You'll want to stop at the first petrol station and buy an inexpensive road atlas.
And again -from your other thread . . . Burford would be an EXCELLENT place to stay. That Travelodge is in a good location.
Dec 15th, 2012, 10:21 PM
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To answer the questions raised:
You can leave luggage at the Cat Tavern next to Salisbury station for £2 per item per day. As for the Travelodge in Bath its the Waterside one so 5pd for 24 hrs parking and if we didnt pick up the car for the first day or 2 it wouldn't cost much at all. Also the reason for travelling by train rather than driving from the start is that I found I can get 1 pound tickets to Salisbury if I book early on megatrain site and we will only be a few minutes walk from Waterloo station when we check out of our Southwark place.
Same types of ticket prices also if we leave for London from Oxford and Coventry.
You can leave luggage at the Cat Tavern next to Salisbury station for £2 per item per day. As for the Travelodge in Bath its the Waterside one so 5pd for 24 hrs parking and if we didnt pick up the car for the first day or 2 it wouldn't cost much at all. Also the reason for travelling by train rather than driving from the start is that I found I can get 1 pound tickets to Salisbury if I book early on megatrain site and we will only be a few minutes walk from Waterloo station when we check out of our Southwark place.
Same types of ticket prices also if we leave for London from Oxford and Coventry.
Dec 16th, 2012, 10:40 AM
#10
Sure you can get cheap train fares. But there are other considerations. A car would simplify things - and is cheaper than your original plan of renting a campervan. You are staying in travelodges throughout for very good rates, so already saving quite a bit.
Saving $$/££ is always good - I look for bargains too. But sometimes the bottom line isn't the most important thing.
Saving $$/££ is always good - I look for bargains too. But sometimes the bottom line isn't the most important thing.
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