4 week trip to UK - feedback on 4 home bases

Week 2 with a full week in Rye seems a bit much. We spent a night there and that was enough. Canterbury on the other hand is outstanding and may serve better as a hub for day trips. If you do decide on Rye, check out the Battle of Hastings site and Bodiam Castle, we visited both and then ended in Rye for the evening. We had a car though.

Bath and York will make good bases for exploring. There is a lot see within reach of each location. If you decide to rent a car I’d advise staying outside of the centre of these cities as both have heavy traffic around the centre which will add a lot of time to your journey. It will be easier to take day trips by car from a suburban location.

I should say that the actual historic centre of both cities is largely traffic free and very enjoyable for the walking - it’s just the roads around this that get congested.

I'd echo Allan’s comment about Rye. Not a huge amount to do there and to visit some of the nearby sights, I think it’d be much easier with a car.

I think the comments dismissing Rye are a bit harsh. OK, it hasn't got the same number of attractions as York or Bath but is a very attractive small market town with a lot of character. It is a place to drop out and enjoy and gives a completely diiferent view of England.

Battle has already been mentioned (train and bus from Rye) and you could easily spend a full day here, exploring teh town, ruined abbey etc.

Winchelsea is an equally attractive small town and just a short train or bus ride from Rye. There are details of a town trail [here][3].

There is also Hastings, with its ruined castle, cliff railway, museums etc. Again it easily reached by train and you could spend a day here.

Closer to home, there is Rye Harbour and Nature reserve - an easy walk from Rye and if you are feeling energetic you could extend it to the ruined Camber Castle.

You could catch Stagecoach Bus 100 which takes you across Romney Marsh to New Romney. From here you can go for a ride on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway...

There's definitely enough to fill a week!

Have you spent much time in London before?
With 2-3 planned day trips out of town and taking into account the limitations of what you can do on arrival and departure days, you aren’t giving yourself much time to see a lot in London.

You could build a bit of flexibility into the plan staying for less than a week in Rye and adding the days to London?

This sounds like a lovely plan to me, when you have 8 weeks planned. I would love a week in a village like Rye to wander (spent a week in Chichester with plenty to see and do).

However, if you haven’t been to London, I might echo what Emma said. Take a careful look at what you want to see or do there - a week goes really fast. You COULD shave a night off a couple of your other stops to add to London IF it’s your first trip.

I agree that you could possibly do with some more days in London. There's so much to see and do there. On my last trip in 2024, I was there for 10 nights and still didn't see everything. And that was my fourth time there.

I'm also not dismissing Rye, but I have an ulterior motive for going there. One of my favorite shops, Merchant & Mills, is located there and I'm dying to visit that store. I love to sew and they have wonderful fabrics and patterns and so on. That's my motivation there. Regardless, there is something to be said for staying in a less touristed spot that may not have that many attractions. And if you have a car, you can certainly get out to the surrounding areas. I've done that on a number of occasions and I've never regretted it.

But definitely don't miss Canterbury. I would also recommend visiting Leeds Castle while you're in that area.

Bletchley Park is well worth your time. Easy train ride from London. I expected to spend a couple of hours, spent 4.
https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/

It's a balancing act isn't it? Yes you could spend more time in London but there's a lot more to England than London....

Balancing act indeed. Thinking about it, I've spent about 6 weeks in England in the past 8 years; 3 weeks in London over two trips and 3 weeks over two trips in other parts of England. In those 6 weeks the furthest north of London I've been is the Cotswolds-which is barely north. I figure I need at least two more weeks in London to see everything I've missed so far and who knows how many more weeks to cover the rest of England.

Ha Ha, wasleys and Allan are indeed correct. There is so much more to England besides London. I do love the country and my dream is to go back for 2-3 months and spend the entire time in England with maybe a couple of trips to Scotland.

And I would love to hear more about your trip to France. I'm hoping to go there in the spring of next year to visit some friends who live part of the year in Pau. And I need to start gathering up ideas now... 😊

Thank you wasleys for the suggestions of things to do in Rye. We’re also spending a week there in early spring.

We really enjoy spending 5-7 days in smaller English towns. And we don’t run out of things to do, although we do like low key activities like walking, bird watching, local shops and markets, small museums and local pubs and cafes.

During your week in Bath you must visit Wells if cathedrals interest you. It's also a cute village. We stayed at a country house/bnb in Wells.
Also consider Westonbirt Arboretum and Avebury while in Bath.

Oh, all may be more difficult without a car; not sure about the public transportation between.

Ethel, you will LOVE Rye - it will tick all your boxes.

Have you found this town map of Rye marking all the places of interest?

You may also find this article helpful.

There is information about a walk around Rye and nearby Winchelsea here.

We love the UK and there are so many great places to see there.
The countryside is amazing and we did four weeks doing the countryside in 2017. We spent five days in South Wales, but most of our time was in England.
Bath is great, we stayed at the Brooks Guesthouse. It is a good location, with a fantastic breakfast (free). Also, the best fish and chips in England at the nearby. Scallop Shell restaurant.
York, is perhaps my favorite city in England. We stayed at The Minster Hotel, near the north gate. It has a parking if you decide to rent a car. Don't miss the National Railway Museum in York. Also, walk the ancient walls and visit the Minster (cathedral). They have a great tour there. Also, there are more great museums in the city.
We did a few days in London last Summer and found it very. crowded. Did St. Paul's Cathedral, a short Thames cruise and Westminster Abbey. You need to book Westminster Abbey in advance.

Last year we also did a fantastic Rabbies tour of Devon and Cornwall. This area of England is very scenic and historical. The cost was cheap. Don't try to do that area on your own, traffic is terrible. Our guide knew the back roads and saved us lots of time.

Consider visiting Hadrian's Wall and Durham, north of York.

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies, I welcome any other insights. We have extended London a bit, shortened Rye a bit. And we are reviewing all suggestions to see what else we can include! Thanks again.