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5 nights between Liverpool and Southampton in Sept

Posted by on

Moving our son to Liverpool in September, after a few nights there we would like to do a driving tour. We have been to the Cotswolds and love it. But have not been to Bath, and big Jane Austin fan. Cornwall also is appealing but dont think we have enough time?

Also intrigued by the coastal area in Wales (the Coastal Way).

We enjoy spending time wandering small towns, visiting beautiful old churches, taking short hikes, visiting tea rooms/pubs, and antiquing. Dont want to spend lots of time doing castles & ruins, more interested in nature.

One of us will fly home (Manchester or London whichever is closer to where we end up) and another will start a cruise in Southampton.

So which would you recommend or something different?

2 nights Bath, 3 nights Cornwall area
or
Driving Coastal Way in Wales and where would you stop for how many nights?

Posted by
2680 posts

Forget about Cornwall as it would be a day of travelling each way without time to see anything. The more obvious choice would be to see something of Wales before heading to Bath - where you could turn in the car (or at Heathrow) as it is easy to go by train from Bath to both London and Southampton. (Some may prefer the National express Coach to Heathrow from Bath). Having said that, also note that Stonehenge and Salisbury (wonderful medieval cathedral) are slight deviations from the direct road from Bath to Southampton - so you may wish to stay together in the car to Southampton.

Whilst in Liverpool, I suggest you take a short local train ride to see the city of Chester.

Leaving Liverpool by car, head for the A55 north Wales expressway and make you first places to visit Llandudno and nearby Conwy. From here you can travel the length of Wales (through the middle) following the A470 which has lovely scenery most of the way. However, prior to hearing south, I suggest you stay a couple of nights in order to explore the wonderful scenery of NW Wales.

As an alternative to the A470 route south, you could follow the west coast of Wales - but I don’t think you will have time for that.
Another alternative is to head south via the border country between Wales & England. This recent thread covers some of that:>
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/quaint-villages-along-lake-district-to-wales-route

Note that RS forum has a separate section for Wales - so you may wish to read some of the threads.
Official Wales Government Tourism site >https://www.visitwales.com

Posted by
43 posts

We will definitely visit Chester, maybe even before leaving Liverpool and have our son with us. We are also going to be in Liverpool early Dec and plan on going to Chester then as well.

Thanks for the feedback about Cornwall...I figured as much. I'll check out your suggestions for Wales!

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