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England 2015

artnbarb

1000+ Posts
We've only just decided minutes ago that 2015 will be England. Where's the EEK! emoticon when you need one? Lots of possibilities. London for sure - always! Cotswolds - definitely! And after all these years - Warwick Castle, no matter what. But what about Kent? What about the Lake District? Wales? And because the pound costs more than the euro, that will probably keep us from going to Scotland because that's a trip all by itself......

OK, that's it, I've made the announcement and now it's official! Pauline, you know you're going to be hearing from me more than you ever imagined!
 
Great! How long will you have? We once did a trip where we spent one week each in vacation rentals in Salisbury (Wiltshire), the Cotswolds, Somerset, and Devon. Dorset and Cornwall are wonderful. We haven't been to Kent or Wales or the Lake District in 20+ years but they are beautiful too.

I can help with the Southwest and the Cotswolds. We will get to see you here.

What time of year? The best weather would be June, July, August. May and September can be good.
 
The short answer: as long as we can afford to! We're spending 5 weeks in Italy/Slovenia this summer, and once I have a handle on the bottom line that will help me - a little. The euro is at $1.36 right now, while the pound is about $1.65. That extra 29¢ will add up over time, and I'm guessing that our accommodations will be more expensive.

Art wants to rent a car but I have to say I'm not excited about the idea. We rented a car in Scotland and I found it to be terrifying! Perhaps GPS would help with directions, but muttering "keep left keep left KEEP LEFT!" the entire time doesn't appeal to me at all!

As for time of year - that's still up in the air. When we were considering Turkey, July and August were completely off the radar, but England's another matter! When we have gone to England in the summer there's always a heat wave! Planning for 'normal' weather anywhere is such a crapshoot! Right now I'm going to say July, August and September are possibilities. Deciding where to go will also be factor, and that's going to require a lot of research and a lot of tough decisions. It's been so many years that it will all be new to me all over again.

Pauline, seeing you and Steve will be one of the highlights! It's been a long time since we've seen each other in person.
 
I say "drive on the left" to myself every time I get behind the wheel. And I never remember which side of the car to get in on. Being able to drive alone was the big breakthrough for me because if Steve is in the passenger seat I know he would tell me if I was on the wrong side of the road.

That said, having a car will be the best way to get around outside of London. The drivers are courteous, roads are well signed and it isn't that bad. Vacation rentals are plentiful and well priced.

This will be fun!
 
Barb, we did London and the Cotswolds last year. We were car-less in London (good idea), and then took a one-hour train to Oxford where we picked up our car rental for the Cotswolds. We had been in Ireland 30 years ago, and the left-sided driving was a huge adjustment (and scary), so I was expecting the same this time. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad. It does take some getting used to, though. That and the driver sitting on the wrong side, too.

Yes, seeing Pauline and Steve (and meeting Jonathan and his wife, too) was a highlight.
 
I'm sure we'll survive the driving, and hopefully the relationship will survive as well! Oh! Jonathan and Phillipa (did I spell that correctly?) - we haven't seen them since they brought us some wonderful English Cheddar while we were living in Italy!
 
We were in the Cotswolds for almost six weeks last year... July and early August. The weather was mostly beautiful, though some days that were actually hot. The first four weeks we had just one day with a few sprinkles, though the following week had a few days of rain (of course, when we were doing our Cotswold Way walk).

I love flowers and gardens, and July is especially good for the gardens, flowers, and fields of flowering plants.

Barb, we'll be in Chipping Campden this year from July 6-26, then going up to Yorkshire for another long distance walk. If you're in the Cotswolds in July, we'd love to see you and Art again.
 
Barb, we'll be in Chipping Campden this year from July 6-26, then going up to Yorkshire for another long distance walk. If you're in the Cotswolds in July, we'd love to see you and Art again.
Barb and Art are planning for 2015. Kathy are you doing Cotswold tours summer 2015? If so, we can all get together. But don't you go convincing them to stay in Chipping Campden, I want them to stay closer to us so will be searching for some good vacation rentals in our South Cotswolds area (or maybe Winchcombe which is not too far away).
 
Sorry Linda, not this year, but can we start planning for 2015? Wouldn't that be fun?! Any chance we might walk together in 2015?

Pauline, the Cotswolds are just my idea of quintessential England, and I've wanted to spend time there for years! With you (and others) to help guide me I KNOW this vacation will be incredible!
 
Whoops... I got too excited about the possibility of meeting-up and didn't realize that your post was about 2015. :( At this point we're not going to be able to be back in the Cotswolds in 2015... we'll skip next year and will be back in 2016.

Having spent some time in the southern Cotswolds this past year, I think this would be a wonderful area for you to stay, Barb. Pauline will have great suggestions for you...
 
Speaking as someone who lives just 4 miles down the road from Pauline, I'd also strongly recommend the S Cotswolds :) It would be great to see you again, Barb & Art - was the last time really in S Venanzo?!
 

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