Hello!!! I'm so happy to have found you all again. I posted my long intro just a minute ago and look forward to learning and sharing our mutual love of travel with all of you.
My husband and I are in the very early stages of planning a trip to England this fall, late September/October. I'm thinking we will be there for a bit over 2 weeks. We haven't booked our flights yet but will be doing so very soon. Possibly even today. This will be our first trip there. I could really use some help.
I'm going to try to break this up into logical pieces instead of throwing it all out there at once.
I guess my first couple questions are basics.
Since our flight isn't booked yet, we are still open on the number of nights we will be in England.
Question 1: My initial thought is 5 nights in London, but I'm wondering if we should stay at the beginning or end of the trip. We will be renting a car for the rest of the trip. I thought we'd pick up the car at the airport upon arrival and then travel on to our first destination, somewhere in the Cotswolds, for 4 nights hopefully. I'm concerned that we will be jet lagged and not want to drive on arrival from the Eastern US. Google maps says it's a bit over 2 hours to drive, but I know those numbers are seldom accurate. I'm sure some of you have experience at this and wonder what you think.
Question 2: I'm going to leave details for London open until we actually get our itinerary set but would appreciate advise on where to stay. We prefer apartments or b& b's to hotels. We love to walk but I know London is huge and we will need good access to transportation hubs.
Question 3: For the Cotswolds we want to stay in one location and walk from there, so we are hoping for a location that will make that easy. So far Chipping Campden is on the top of my list. I've skimmed through some of the trip reports and it sounds lovely. Apartment/cottage recommendations would be wonderful. We've rented extensively through airbnb in the past and have had good experiences. Renting direct from someone does cut out the middleman on both sides, but I'm not comfortable with that without positive reviews from others. How many nights do you all think are needed. I know, a lifetime is never enough. I'm thinking 4 nights.
So, that's 5 nights London, 4 nights Cotswolds, 9 nights. If we are doing 18 nights, less 2 nights for travel, that's 16 nights on the ground. That leaves us with 5 nights to fill. I'm wondering if I shouldn't add a day on and make two more 3 night stops-but where? We love history and ruins, churches and walking, and small "real" villages. I think I need to see Stonehenge. I've read it's disappointing, but hey, it's Stonehenge for crying out loud. I've also read of the Avebury Stone Circle and think that's on my short list. Bath is intriguing. Sigh. It's a wonderful problem to have, trying to fill up nights in England.
Question 4: We don't want to see England "through a windshield" so don't want distances driving to be too long. I think a nice loop type trip would be good, starting at Heathrow, driving to the Cotswolds, then moving on in some logical manner to make a return to London for the end of the trip. I'd appreciate any advice on locations to park ourselves for 3 nights where we can do short day trips or walks or stay put and enjoy if we have the inclination or weather drives us indoors.
I hope this isn't too much in one post. I can break it up into separate posts if you think it's better. I don't want to scare anyone away!
Thank you all so very much.
CindyP
My husband and I are in the very early stages of planning a trip to England this fall, late September/October. I'm thinking we will be there for a bit over 2 weeks. We haven't booked our flights yet but will be doing so very soon. Possibly even today. This will be our first trip there. I could really use some help.
I'm going to try to break this up into logical pieces instead of throwing it all out there at once.
I guess my first couple questions are basics.
Since our flight isn't booked yet, we are still open on the number of nights we will be in England.
Question 1: My initial thought is 5 nights in London, but I'm wondering if we should stay at the beginning or end of the trip. We will be renting a car for the rest of the trip. I thought we'd pick up the car at the airport upon arrival and then travel on to our first destination, somewhere in the Cotswolds, for 4 nights hopefully. I'm concerned that we will be jet lagged and not want to drive on arrival from the Eastern US. Google maps says it's a bit over 2 hours to drive, but I know those numbers are seldom accurate. I'm sure some of you have experience at this and wonder what you think.
Question 2: I'm going to leave details for London open until we actually get our itinerary set but would appreciate advise on where to stay. We prefer apartments or b& b's to hotels. We love to walk but I know London is huge and we will need good access to transportation hubs.
Question 3: For the Cotswolds we want to stay in one location and walk from there, so we are hoping for a location that will make that easy. So far Chipping Campden is on the top of my list. I've skimmed through some of the trip reports and it sounds lovely. Apartment/cottage recommendations would be wonderful. We've rented extensively through airbnb in the past and have had good experiences. Renting direct from someone does cut out the middleman on both sides, but I'm not comfortable with that without positive reviews from others. How many nights do you all think are needed. I know, a lifetime is never enough. I'm thinking 4 nights.
So, that's 5 nights London, 4 nights Cotswolds, 9 nights. If we are doing 18 nights, less 2 nights for travel, that's 16 nights on the ground. That leaves us with 5 nights to fill. I'm wondering if I shouldn't add a day on and make two more 3 night stops-but where? We love history and ruins, churches and walking, and small "real" villages. I think I need to see Stonehenge. I've read it's disappointing, but hey, it's Stonehenge for crying out loud. I've also read of the Avebury Stone Circle and think that's on my short list. Bath is intriguing. Sigh. It's a wonderful problem to have, trying to fill up nights in England.
Question 4: We don't want to see England "through a windshield" so don't want distances driving to be too long. I think a nice loop type trip would be good, starting at Heathrow, driving to the Cotswolds, then moving on in some logical manner to make a return to London for the end of the trip. I'd appreciate any advice on locations to park ourselves for 3 nights where we can do short day trips or walks or stay put and enjoy if we have the inclination or weather drives us indoors.
I hope this isn't too much in one post. I can break it up into separate posts if you think it's better. I don't want to scare anyone away!
Thank you all so very much.
CindyP