I am planning a trip to London, York, Cambridge, Oxford and Cotswolds in June. I am putting my tentative itinerary together and welcome any suggestions for improvement. Flying into London from New York. Figured we might as well train straight to York as we are going to be tired no matter what. I'm figuring 12 (13) nights on the ground. Can always make changes as flights are not booked yet.

Arrive in London with train ride to York. 3 nights in York. Train to Cambridge and spend one night. and probably part of next day. Rent car in Cambridge and drive to Cotswolds. Spend 2 nights in the area and then drive to Oxford and return car. Stay one (could do 2) night(s) in Oxford and then take the train to London the next afternoon. 5 nights, 4 full days in London. Both I and my friend have been to London so we are interested in visiting some things we have never seen, such as Windsor, Highgate cemetery, markets, Churchhill rooms, maybe a show in the West End. We like history, churchs and cemeteries, beautiful buildings and architecture, and museums. Will definitely need to go to the tower of London again and a docent tour in Westminster Abbey. Not really fond of department store shopping. I tried to find cars from York to Oxford but I think Cambridge is easier to find. Anyone have a better order to approach this? Thank you.

OK Cambridge is the outlier really. Is Cambridge a must?? If so, perhaps consider a day trip by train once you've returned to London?

Your arrival day will be a beee-atch. Arrive at LHR, then either - a train to Paddington + tube or taxi to Kings Cross - or Elizabeth Line to some station along the line (Paddington, Tottenham Court Rd, Farringdon, etc) + taxi or tube to Kings Cross - or tube all the way from LHR to Kings Cross . . . and then the train up to York. Not that its impossible but just a VERY long day.

Would you consider reversing things instead? Arrive at LHR, take the very easy Express Coach to Oxford. Stay 2 or 3 nights, collect a car, drive out into the Cotswolds for a couple of days. Then drive up to York and after keeping the car long enough to visit the Dales or whatever, return the car in and explore York then take the train down to London (in this case yes, you could fit in Cambridge en route)

Meant to add you can do a one-way rental between just about city and York. Cambridge would be no better than Oxford for that.

I agree regarding Cambridge, have been a couple of times & more than a couple to Oxford. I like Oxford better, it's a more interesting & convenient city for visitors (in my opinion) & convenient to other places I like to go. Unless there's something in particular in Cambridge that's calling you I'd spend that time loosening up your itinerary in the other locations.

For me the best thing about Cambridge is it's proximity to Ely. Now that might be reason enough.

I think I am becoming the unofficial "It can't be done" guy here. You seem to be trying to plan a packaged tour on your own, trying to do all the fiddley bits by yourself. You will use all your energy checking in, checking out, grabbing meals, train/bus/driving hither and thither with precious little time actually sightseeing. Drastically cut things from your plan or, maybe, find a packaged bus tour where all the logistics are done for you.

Given that you haven’t booked your flights yet look for an open-jaw flight into Manchester and back from London. From Manchester you can get a direct train from the airport to York. You can also get a special Airport Advance ticket with which you book a train an hour or so after your arrival and if your plane is late the ticket can be used on a later train. You would be in York at almost the same you would have arrived at King’s Cross flying into London.

Better still consider visiting Manchester, Liverpool or Chester whilst in the area. You could also add the Peak District national park, which bears the Cotswolds hands down for scenery and has the UK’s best stately home at Chatsworth.

I'm also often in the 'too much in too little time' camp. But I actually don't see the problem with basically Oxford, the Cotswolds, York and London in 12 or 13 nights. Mostly because the OP has been to London before so they can get away with just 4 or 5 nights there. A bit rushed -- maybe. But not crazy,

Re flying in to MAN - that could be helpful but depending on their departure airport in the States could reduce flight options and might have them connecting through LHR anyway. Either MAN > York > the Cotswolds > Oxford > London - or - LHR > Oxford > the Cotswolds > York > London in 12/13 nights would be doable.

JohnEW2912, Chatsworth looks lovely. Might add that in. I’m sure the national park is gorgeous but I can’t see everything!!!
JanisJ, I’m checking both ways that you suggested and will have to decide soon. I am absolutely appalled by the prices of hotels. I think I am stuck pre Covid times. So much has changed. Luckily, I am going with a friend , not my husband , so we split the hotels and car. She will be the main driver as she has done this before. Would you know if there is possibly a problem getting a car at 79 years old? I didn’t see any upper age for renting, only some companies have an extra charge. Also finding a lot of hotels are booked already. Smaller selection. I think I’m a little late on the planning but my friend had to renew her passort. I’m usually all in order by now.

The age is OK but as you mentioned sometimes there are additional insurance or surcharges - company-specific. I'd definitely rent through AutoEurope (or possible Kemwel) . Their customer service is outstanding and since they work with all the majors, once you plug in the details including pick-up/drop-off locations, age, etc. you'll be able to see in one place all the options/various offers/requirements for several providers.

Yes, hotel rates are definitely MUCH higher than pre-covid. In London maybe 30-35% higher! Even more for some upper end properties. And bookings are way up so rates will likely only go higher. I really want to visit in early May because of some limited run exhibitions but haven't been able to pull the trigger yet due to 'life happening' and my options are disappearing by the day.

Luckily June is sort of shoulder season while British schools are still in session so you should be able to find decent places. For the city stays maybe just search on Booking.com since you can sort for all sorts of criteria and they post only legitimate/actual guest reviews.

Oh -- I wanted to explain a bit more why I'd do this clockwise LHR > Oxford > the Cotswolds and so on. Because it would make for a much MUCH easier arrival day. Instead of schlepping all the way across London to Kings Cross and then 2-ish hour train to York -- you'd just have to hop on the LHR - Oxford coach and be in central Oxford less than 90 minutes later. You can book an 'any time' ticket so if your flight is delayed or lands early you're covered. It runs frequently all day long.

janisj, thank you. I already checked the connections from Heathrow to Oxford so I figured that was why you suggested it. I might opt for a rental from Heathrow. For a week, it’s not much more than 3-4 days. Looking at hotels. I need to make the plane reservations so I know have the actual days. Many of the hotels have 1 room left, LOL!

Renting at LHR is an option but that does have a couple of issues. First -- driving after an overnight flight -- even just the 50 miles to Oxford -- isn't a great idea. And second - having a car/driving IN Oxford isn't fun. It would probably be better to spend a night or two in Oxford car-less and collect a car as you are leaving the city to go west into the Cotswolds.

That sounds like a solid plan! York is the best place to start because it's so chill compared to London.

One quick tip: you might want to swap the order of Cambridge and Oxford. It's usually a lot easier to get a direct train from York to Oxford, then rent the car for the Cotswolds, and finish with Cambridge on your way back to London.

Since you love history and architecture, you should check out the St Bartholomew the Great church in London. It's super old and has a very cool, moody vibe. Have a great trip!

Cambridge is not on the way back to London from the Cotswolds.

Renting a car on arrival is also not a good idea, - driving while jet lagged is like driving while drunk. Add being in a different car on different roads with different rules, and the age of the driver, really not a good idea.

Janis - Virgin Atlantic fly direct to Manchester from New York, where the OP is flying from.

Oh --With all the other bits I missed that detail. in the OP. Yes - of course, from the New York metro area with two major international gateways there are tons of options.

MAN would definitely be an option with the easy train to York then collect a car when leaving York. Drop it in Oxford and train into London. Partly depends on what sort of fares (expect some sticker shock ) and which if any airline programs your belong to.

driving after flying.... please don't

At the risk of being a bit disruptive (albeit easily ignored) I thought I'd chime in to say that York, Oxford, the Cotswolds and London in June will be really mobbed with visitors. For sure, these are wonderful places, but the OP's priorities for history, churches, beautiful architecture, etc. are easily met in many, many places, some of which would be less crowded in June.

The OP expressed an interest in seeing Windsor. So okay, land in Heathrow and take a car service for the short drive to Windsor for one or two nights to adjust internal clocks, get used to looking right instead of left when crossing the street, etc. Do the Long Walk, visit Eton...lots to see while decompressing.

Then get a car, either from Windsor or back at Heathrow, and head to East Anglia instead of York or the Cotswolds. Find a base in some village or small market town in Cambridgeshire or Suffolk from which to do easy explorations of sites like stunning Ely Cathedral, glorious architecture in Cambridge, picturesque villages like Lavenham, Kersey, Long Melford, the Ickworth Estate..

When they're ready for London, drop the car at Stansted Airport and take the direct train to Liverpool Street.

I know, disruptive. I'm a big fan of East Anglia so I'm biased, but maybe it's worth considering. Or not.

As usual a brilliant suggestion Gardyloo! Big fan of East Anglia, and parts of the East Midlands too.