We will be in Britain and have a rental car booked from April 26 to May 3rd. We are picking it up in London. Have no plans/reservations for those 8 days, and want to keep it relaxed, but have a good overview of at least the south of England. My fellow travellers, where would you go?? We love the ocean, boats, pubs and walking. Thank you in advance for your input!!

Have been all over Wales and England, and would definitely spend my time in the West Country and Cotswolds. Start with Salsbury and work your way west as far as you have time! Too many choices to name! If you get to Selworthy in Somerset have tea at the Periwinkle. Wonderful coast trail, particularly beautiful and easy from Lynton-Lynmouth. For limited time I would not miss the Cotswolds. Just stay away from Burton-on-the Water and you will find it very relaxing and beautiful to just wander. The Good Pub Guide is invaluable!

Since you love the ocean and boats, go to Brighton with it's beautiful Royal Pavilion, the Victorian Palace Pier, and "the Lanes" with lots of good pubs. Also, go to Portsmouth to see the HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose. A fun side trip from Portsmouth is to take the ferry over to the Isle of Wight to the quaint town of Shanklin, with it's thatched houses. A trip to Dover is fun, with it's castle and tours of the tunnels in the cliffs used during WWII.

Alex-one of our favorite trips to England was our trip by rental car up to York. It is a fascinating city and well worth visiting. It has everything- from lower prices than London for shopping to great pubs and lots of fun things to do. The old part of town is totally walled in with a actual path on top of the wall to walk around the city for a great view and periodic stopoffs.Lots of history-they even unearthed a great museum there from the Vikings while building a parking lot! One recommendation that I would do if you go is to take the GHOST WALK tour at night(complete with your lantern and a marvelous guide who takes you to some interesting places all on foot. From York you can go to Whitby which is on the ocean(picturesque) harbor town where the story Dracula was based on ,etc. or go over to Thirsk which is where the real James Herriot had his animal vet service(typical cute English town with a square and markets,etc.) His son still runs the vet office and we actually had a chance to meet Al Whyte before he died(the real James Herriot who gave us all those wonderful "All Creatures Great and Small" books!) The countryside is magnificent and the people are very warm and caring. There would be many things to explore if you chose that area and a real change from the London you see today. Any questions,email me. Debbie If you like the outside viewing of England and want to be near the sea air and walk-this would defintely be your"cup of tea"!!!!!! <BR>There were lots of great B and B's up there to chose from also! <BR>

Well, I'd have two suggestions. Faces with a similar decision last year we went to Wales. The scenery and the castles were outstanding. You can certainly find pubs, ocean and very nice walking around there. Another possibility would be to drive around Cornwall. That would be my choice for my next trip.