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Where to spend 3 or 4 days outside London when visiting

We have 14 days to visit the UK. We will be arriving LHR 12/18/02 and will depart 12/30/02. We do not want to spend 14 days in London. Can you advise as to where else we should visit in the UK. Thanks, Don

There are loads of posts about the UK if you do a search here, but a few quick suggestions: Day trip to Windsor and Eaton-just about one hour from London. Charming village atmosphere and the castle. Overnight in Bath-about 3 hours from London. Historic Roman city-very lovely place, big on the tourist map. There is a beautiful village about 8 miles away from it called Bradford-Upon-Avon which is great on a quiet Sunday morning. It's a small but upmarket community with about 6 churches in the Saxon-Norman style right in the town center and a nice canal walk. If you rent a car you could spend time in or around Bath and hit Stonehenge and Salisbury (another nice town with a big Cathedral) on the way back to London. Wales-Trains go to Cardiff, but you can also rent a car and go further afield. The southern part of Wales is about 3-4 hours from London, but can also be done along with Bath, it's just further on. Stratford Upon Avon-Shakespeare's birthplace. It's in the Cotswalds which is nice country. You could base yourself in Warwickshire, home of Warwick Castle. Lots of thatched roofs here. If you look in any guide book you'll find loads of suggestions for outside London. Good luck.

There are loads of posts about the UK if you do a search here, but a few quick suggestions: Day trip to Windsor and Eaton-just about one hour from London. Charming village atmosphere and the castle. Overnight in Bath-about 3 hours from London. Historic Roman city-very lovely place, big on the tourist map. There is a beautiful village about 8 miles away from it called Bradford-Upon-Avon which is great on a quiet Sunday morning. It's a small but upmarket community with about 6 churches in the Saxon-Norman style right in the town center and a nice canal walk. If you rent a car you could spend time in or around Bath and hit Stonehenge and Salisbury (another nice town with a big Cathedral) on the way back to London. Wales-Trains go to Cardiff, but you can also rent a car and go further afield. The southern part of Wales is about 3-4 hours from London, but can also be done along with Bath, it's just further on. Stratford Upon Avon-Shakespeare's birthplace. It's in the Cotswalds which is nice country. You could base yourself in Warwickshire, home of Warwick Castle. Lots of thatched roofs here. About 1.5-2 hours out of London. If you look in any guide book you'll find loads of suggestions for outside London. Good luck.

I don't know whether or not you will be traveling by car or by train, but in either event 3 places I would recomment: Bath--worthy of a couple of days; York which is a 3 hour train ride away and is absolutely loaded with charm good shopping & tours; and anywhere in the Costswalds. Any of those would be good, but if you wanted to just go to one place and stay put, I would say York has the most to offer. Enjoy yourselves!

Recommndation without hesitation for a place to stay in Windsor (best if you ave a car) - - Fairlight Lodge 41 Frances Road Windsor, Berkshire SL4 3AQ Telephone: 011.44.1.753.861.207 Fax: 011.44.1.753.865.963 Best wishes, Rex

Others not given yet . Cambridge and/or Oxford is you like wandering out and seeing beautiful architecture and gardens (the colleges themselves). Oxford is very cheap by bus and lots of them. Cambridge by train from Kings Cross (faster service) or Liverpool St (awful Sunday service from there). Chichester and nearby Arundel Castle at Arundel - beautiful countryside nearby so drive if possible). Durham if you want northerly trip without going as far as Scotland. Stunning cathedral - location wise is far more dramatic than York and very pretty castle and old town with the beautiful river curling right around the town. Perfect town for visiting for 1 day or en route if driving further afield as it is pretty small. Lake District for great countryside.

We stayed 4 nights in Burford at the LAMB INN in 2000. Used this as a base to explore the Cotswolds and even made the trip to Bath and Stonehenge. Whatever you do I do not think you want to travel in and out of London every day. Find one spot in the country and use it to explore by car....automatic transmission. Burford worked well for us.

1. Cambridge 2. York 3. Cotswolds 4. Stratford 5. Bath 6. Windsor For a few days, rather than a day trip 1. Edinburgh + Scotish countryside (by train or easyjet cheap flight from Luton airport, just north of London)

We also spent time in Liverpool, the home of the Beatles. They have many museums, 2 Cathedrals, excellent theatre. This is also a good spot for travelling to North Wales.Southport is also close and well worth a Visit

I vote BATH - loved it there. Went by Train, stayed at Villa Magdala. Would definitely go back.

In addition to the other suggestions, you can take a day trip out to Hampton Court Palace.