6 Days in UK- Itinerary Help!

Posted by bethflagg on 01/28/18 09:47 PM

My husband and I are flying in/out of Gatwick February 2-15. We will spend the first half of our trip in London, but will have 6 days to explore outside the city (fly home early the 7th day)!

We have been looking at the Peak District area as we love hiking/walking, and have also considered checking out Bath, York, or Cotswolds areas.

I'm not sure we want to try renting a car and driving (we are from the USA), so we will likely need an itinerary that is public transport friendly! (If you think renting a car would be worth the anxiety of driving in another country, please let me know, its not 100% decided yet!)

Any suggestions??

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

01/28/18 11:35 PM

28247 posts

I've never driven in Europe and can't provide any guidance on that subject.

Bath can be combined with the Cotswolds, as can Oxford. The easiest way to handle the Cotswolds without a car is to stay in Bath, Oxford or Moreton-in-Marsh. The van tours to the Cotswolds mostly depart from Bath or Moreton. Moreton is a short train ride from Oxford. If you want to do some walking in the Cotswolds, I think staying in Moreton would be good. It is the only Cotswolds village with rail service, and a lot of the buses to the other Cotswold villages radiate from Moreton.

However, I don't know how conducive the February weather will be to walking. I'd have back-up plans. Oxford, for example, has the colleges to explore, some picturesque streets to wander, and two really good (and really different) museums. Heck, you could easily spend all your time in London and not run out of stuff to do.

Posted by epltd

01/29/18 02:43 AM

3124 posts

Driving on the "wrong" side is not difficult to get used to, especially if you have a passenger to call out "too close!" if the driver starts hugging the outside of the road. The question is whether you really want to be out in the wilds walking in February. If you don't choose to drive, the Peak District is reachable by train from London, and you could combine that with York. The train line to York goes through Doncaster, where you can connect to points west and head for Edale, the southern end of the Pennine Way.

Posted by Dick

Olympia, WA, USA

01/29/18 04:32 AM

6713 posts

If you're not sure about driving, and knowing that you'll be on the "wrong" side of everything, I'd suggest using trains to get to some of your possible destinations. Keeping in mind that six days won't be enough for all the places you mentioned.

How about a train from London to Moreton--in-Marsh (with a stop in Oxford if that interests you), or London to Bath? From either Moreton or Bath you can take a Cotswolds van tour. Or a local bus or taxi to a nearby village for a couple of nights, with a day's walking in between. The RS guide to England describes some good walks between Cotswold villages. February wouldn't be the ideal time though!

Then another train to, say, Salisbury or Winchester or Portsmouth, any of which you can reach without going back through London. Then a train to Brighton and up to Gatwick for your flight home. The National Rail site can help you plan these trips. Try to spend at least two nights in each destination so you have a full day for sightseeing or walking and you're not having to move each day.