We are finishing off our plans for our trip next month to California from the UK.
We are just a bit unsure what to do after Big Sur for the next leg of our journey which will be 4 more nights before we arrive in LA.
Our thoughts have been 2 nights at Ventura so we can visit the Channel Islands but I am very unsure about going there and worry that I may miss out on somewhere more interesting what do you guys think ?
We would then have 2 nights left where would you recommend us to go while still travelling South.
Would love to visit a wine area on our way to LA anyone know of a nice wine area to visit ?

Personally I think 4 days is a bit much to spend between Big Sur and LA. However, here is what I would recommend you visit. Certainly as many California missions as you can see. They were built a days horse back ride from each other. Some are really lovely...all different. If you are arriving in San Francisco, visit San Juan Batista, then Carmel and the Monterrey historical area. Down the coast from Big Sur, you may want to see the Hearst Castle, but since you're European, its probably just a big mess of various styles thrown together. But in San Luis Obispo, there is another Mission, and down to Santa Barbara too. Since the drive from Carmel to Hearst Castle is only about 2 or 3 hours, and San Luis O. is about 3 hours from LA...you'll have a lot of time to make side trips. There is wine country around Solvang just north of Santa Barbara.

It would help to see your entire itinerary in order to make recommendations. Most people doing this trip for the first time do find visiting Hearst Castle very worthwhile. If you do, you would most likely want to spend the night in San Simeon or Cambria. Cambria has some lovely places to stay.

Spending a night in the Pismo Beach area could also be a possibility. There are a lot of scenic attractions and interesting state parks in this area including Montana del Oro, Morro Bay, and Pismo Beach itself.

For wine, Santa Barbara county has a number of highly rated wineries. Did you see the movie Sideways? Here's a good website to start with:

http://www.sbcountywines.com/

I agree with the above. Definitely put Hearst Castle and grounds on the list. There are several different tours available which are described on their web site - www.hearst-castle.org

Also agree with Santa Barbara. Beautiful town with some nice wineries in the area.

In case you're not aware, don't plan on making good time on US 1. [You don't want to anyway since it's a beautiful drive.] Some sections are very curvy and people often underestimate time it takes to travel it.

If you see Hearst Castle, this is a good resort to stay at

http://www.cliffsresort.com/

Most of my friends from the UK have found Hearst "Castle" interesting, not because of the fixtures and architecture (which is a big mess of European styles and most can see the real thing any time) or even the gardens, but because of the location and its association with old style Hollywood excess. They have found the views breathtaking and the excess amusing and somewhat titillating.

I spent about a week on that last summer with no problem. I was going the other direction, though, as on that coastal highway, I wanted to be on the inside. I went from LA to SF, and spent several days in Santa Barbara, then about two days in Cambria and several days in Monterey. OF course, Monterey is really just above Big Sur. Cambria is a nice little town and I did visit Hearst Castle one day (not my thing that much, but it was okay for a couple hours), but there is a sea lion preserve near there, Cambria has lots of hotels right on the beach, and you can also visit Morro Bay from there. There is wine country near Santa Barbara, plenty of it.

I used to live in LA and belonged to a sailing club where we sailed around Oxnard and the channel islands, but I wouldn't make a special point of visiting them as a tourist and wouldn't want to be in Ventura two nights.