We will be traveling from York to Cornwall and would like to know where to stop along the way. We have 6 days to get there. We have already visited Bath, Cotswolds, Stonehenge, Salisbury, Upper and Lower Slaughter (loved those places!!) and were wondering what other areas we should see along the way. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Peak district
http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/
Ironbridge
http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/
Exmoor
http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/
but is does depend on your interests and transportation you are using.

We will be using trains/Britrail. We like history, hiking, charming villages. Many thanks for the response.

For some lovely places on the south west coast see here: http://postcards-pfte.blogspot.com/

Well, if I had 6 days and a Britrail pass such that my train travel was free, this would be the first draft of my itinerary:
day 1 train to Chester and visit
day 2 train to Shrewsbury and visit
day 3 train on Heart of Wales line to Swansea
day 4 use buses to tour Gower peninsula, stay in Swansea
day 5 train to Cardiff and visit
day 6 train to Exeter and visit

Thank you for your suggestions!

Ron, if we were to stay 2 nights in a location, how would you edit this trip? I do like your itinerary.

Thanks!!

OK, I'll take the challenge.

Day 3 & 4 are fine, already meet your criteria.

For day 5 & 6, two options. First, 2 nights in Cardiff. On the extra day, train to Chepstow, visit castle, bus to Tintern, visit ruined abbey then either a)walk up to Devil's Pulpit for the million dollar view of the abbey, walk back to Tintern, bus and train back to Cardiff, or b)foresake the view and walk back to Tintern along the Wye Valley way and train back to Cardiff.

Second option, 2 nights in Exeter, visit the cathedral, do one or more of the free city-sponsored guided walks. Next day, bus out to Budleigh Salterton and walk back to Exmouth along the Southwest coastal path, about 5 miles. (Or you could bus to Sidmouth, which would make a 10 to 12 mile walk.) Visit Exmouth, then train back to Exeter. (I'm not sure what's in Exmouth, the time I walked from Sidmouth to there, we arrived in a raging storm with gale force winds.)

I'm having more trouble with days 1 and 2. If you stayed in Chester, I suppose you could visit Liverpool, an easy suburban rail journey from Chester. Even if you are not into Beatles, lots to occupy you there - good museums, excellent Walker Art Gallery, decide whether the catholics or anglicans won in their 20th century cathedral building competition. Problem with this option is the onward journey to Swansea. The Heart of Wales Line is a slow scenic route through, as the name suggests, the heart of Wales - 4 hour from Shrewsbury to Swansea. Adding the journey from Chester will make a long day.

If I were to spend 2 nights in Shrewsbury instead, I'd probably use the 2nd day to do a hike in the south Shropshire Hills. Train to Church Stretton (17 minutes) gets you to the start. Church Stretton might meet your charming village criterion, although it's a bit big for that. I've done 3 all day hikes from Church Stretton. Here's an example of a short walk that gets you up onto the Long Mynd, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tra...cle6724430.ece

Whaddya think?

Hi Ron,

Thank you so much for all your advice! In looking at our itinerary, I'm thinking we really only have 5 days and we need to consider the one-nighters in order to see more. I haven't checked the times on the train schedules yet.

Day 1 take first train out from York to Chester, see Chester
Day 2 Shrewsbury
Day 3 take Heart of Wales to Swansea
Day 4 Swansea
Day 5 Exeter or Cardiff
Day 6 train to St. Ives, Cornwall

Is Caernaforn Castle too far out of the way? Should we go there instead of Chester?

Which combination would you recommend if we needed to drop something? We live in Honolulu Hawaii and are surrounded by water, beaches and tropical surroundings. We just loved the charm of the Cotswolds, the Slaughters, Oxford, Bath and Stratford upon Avon. They're just so different from anything we're used to and we love that sort of thing. We also love British history.

I wanted to see the Lake District and Wales but was apprehensive about getting around by train. Should we go up to the Lake District or is it hard getting around without a car? You've made everything seem more accessible and thank you.

We're going to Cornwall because we love Doc Martin and just wanted to go there! We're joining a hiking group.

Mahalo (thank you in Hawaiian)

I have to correct you on one point. With one nighters you do not see more as you will be travelling to you next destination the following day.

Getting to Caernarforn (where I have not been) would, I guess, involve a 1 hour plus train ride west of Chester followed by a substantial bus journey. If it's the great Welsh castles built by Edward I that interest you, I think we would have to scrap the itinerary we have been playing with.

Have you looked at http://www.castlewales.com/ to see if Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, Caerphilly Castle just north of Cardiff on a rail line and/or Chepstow Castle that I mentioned in the last go round would fulfill your Welsh castle needs?

Likewise, the Lake District is fine if you want it, but you are going to have scrap quite a bit of the rest of the itinerary, as well as add more time on trains. The Lake District would be a minimum 2 nights, better 3. But again, it depends upon your interests. If it was narrowly literary (John Ruskin or Beatrix Potter or Wordsworth), you could probably do it in a day. If you also want to get out walking in the hills, no. There is good bus service throughout the Lake District, operated by Stagecoach. They run a double decker bus from Windermere (the railhead) to Keswick via Ambleside and Grasmere. From Ambleside you can get into the western part of the park, e.g. Coniston. From Keswick, buses go north west and back to the train mainline at Penrith.

With one less day, I think you are going to have to seriously decide whether the scenic train journey and Swansea/the Gower are worth your time. If its castles you want (although there is a small one on the Gower), you are probably wiser taking the fast train to Cardiff. One last promo, though, for the Gower. Like the Cotswolds, it is a designated AONB - area of outstanding natural beauty. In fact, it was the first one to be created. http://www.countrygoer.org/wales/gower.html

I did spend 2 week on Maui 20 years ago but I'm afraid I've forgotten how to say "you're welcome".

Thanks so much. OK Caernarforn is out of the itinerary. The Lake district is out too. We'll stick to Wales.

Riberirasacra, you're so right about one nighters. We generally like to find a place as a base so we can "ray" out in different directions.

I am now thinking that we should do the Britrail Pass and Drive combination. We could get a car in York and drive around the Yorkshire Dales before coming down to Wales. Where would you recommend we leave the car before we continue on a train? Chester?

Many thanks again.