P_M

I read on another thread that it's about a 6 hour drive from Gatwick to York. I had no idea it was that long, and I don't think I will feel like driving that far after an overnight flight from the US. Could someone please recommend a good place to stop inbetween that only involves about 2 to 3 hours driving from Gatwick? I don't know if Stratford is along the way, but we've already been there. We liked Stratford very much, but would prefer to see some place new. Thanks.

janis

No - Stratford is the wrong direction.

Your problem is the first 1/2 of the route from LGW to York is by far the busiest/worst traffic. Gatwick is south of London, so you'd have to traverse all the way around on the frantic M25 motorway before heading up to York.

This would be a VERY nasty drive right after an overnight flight and jet lagged. So stopping 1/2 way doesn't really solve your problem.

depending on where you've been before I would do one of the following:

1) Drive somewhere nice that is w/ about 1 hour's drive or less, like Windsor, for the first night.

2) Go into London by train for one night and then take the a train to York and rent a car there.

3) Take the Thameslink train to Kings Cross and then another train to York.

4) stay somewhere near Gatwick and use the time to visit Chartwell/Hever and/or Penshurst which are each an easy drive from LGW. Tnen the next day after a good night's sleep drive up to York.

tropo

PM, it appears that you want to drive to York, no doubt to be able to use a rental car & be independant both enroute and at York. I agree Janis, in regard to coming off a long distance flight, then driving north to the orbital motorway (M25, then around to the Junction, to lead off up north to York). Every time I visit Britain, I rent a car, however, I plan it that each day is not a long drive, and I allow for plenty of stops, to sightsee and meal/comfort stops. One place that comes to mind, driving north up the eastern side of England, is the lovely town of Stamford. A lot of tourists seem to miss out on the eastern side of England, eg. Norwich, Lincoln, The Broad/Fens area, Aldeburgh, Cromer, The Flint mines, etc

tropo

PM, it appears that you want to drive to York, no doubt to be able to use a rental car & be independant both enroute and at York. I agree Janis, in regard to coming off a long distance flight, then driving north to the orbital motorway (M25, then around to the Junction, to lead off up north to York). Every time I visit Britain, I rent a car, however, I plan it that each day is not a long drive, and I allow for plenty of stops, to sightsee and meal/comfort stops. One place that comes to mind, driving north up the eastern side of England, is the lovely town of Stamford. A lot of tourists seem to miss out on the eastern side of England, eg. Norwich, Lincoln, The Broad/Fens area, Aldeburgh, Cromer, The Flint mines, Lavenham, Dedham (Constable Country), etc,

tropo

Sorry for the double reply, its either me or this darn old computer of mine.

P_M

Thanks for the replies. We considered spending the first day in London, but we've been there so many times, we really want to see some other parts of the UK. We've done Windsor on day trips, but I'm sure we could see a lot more by spending the night. I will also consider Stamford and some of the other towns tropo mentions.

P_M

Hi again. I just saw tropo's thread about driving in Wales. This gave me an idea. Our plan has been to drive to York, then the Lake District, then Wales and back to LGW to fly home. Based on what you have told me, it sounds like traffic from LGW to York will be bad, so would it be more sensible to do this in reverse? If so, where do you recommed stopping on the way to Wales? Thanks.

jsmith

P_M, I suggest you get a map before planning anything to get some concept of where things are.

In addition to the suggestion from Janis to stay the first night close to Gatwick, it makes sense to make a clockwise trip. About 30 miles south of Gatwick is Brighton and from there you can drive west to Portsmouth (about 40 miles) and then to Winchester or Salisbury (40 miles). You continue your trip driving NW to Bath and Bristol where you cross the River Severn to Wales.

janis

jsmith is right - you need to really look at a map. No matter if you are going from LGW to the NW (Wales/Lake District) or to the N, NE (York, etc) you would still have to drive on the M25. Either clockwise or counterclockwise. Well, actually to get to the west you wouldn't HAVE to, but the route would require some serious navigating on myriad surface roads through several counties.

I'd really recommend you think about staying near LGW the first night (no matter which way you end up going). You can see some great things w/i 30 minutes of Gatwick and then head out on your tour around the country after a restful night.

No matter how used you are to driving in the UK it does take a couple of hours to get truly acclimated to everything and that is very hard to do after an overnight flight.

If you are set on going a long distance on the 1st day, then I would take a train and not pick up a car and drive until the 2nd day.