7 day trip in April with 2 teens...need guidance on places to visit OUTSIDE of London

Years ago our 12 year old son enjoyed visiting Stonehenge (on the way to Bath). We were on a one day bus tour. Should be an easy drive.

With a one week trip and 2-3 days in London, you won't have much time. Do the 2-3 days include the day you arrive? If, say you want 3 days in London including your arrival day, that means 3 nights in London. Depending on the time of your departure, you may need to stay in London or at the airport for the final night too. That leaves 3 nights. I would not go as far as York or Cornwall.

I would choose someplace closer to London, possibly Winchester or Salisbury. Both have super cathedrals to visit. You could do a day trip to Stonehenge and visit Old Sarum. Possibly visit Avebury too. There are many things to see.

You might want to start by doing the countryside. Get over jet lag where there isn't a lot of night life. End in London and see the theater when you can stay awake! Then you can take public transport to Heathrow the final day. Downside is the first day -- how to get to destination...driving while jet lagged is tough. Or take public transport to destination but then it's hard to rent a car on Sunday.

If you decide to go to Bath or York, you don't need or want a car, unless you visit the countryside. If your aim is to see the countryside, I would not base myself in York or Bath.

I think that either Oxford or Cambridge would make a good base for young people. Check the National Trust UK site for properties to visit in these locations. There is a 7 day Overseas Tourist Pass for Families that can save lots on admissions in the country and greater London. You can also research other itineraries by interests on this site. Bon Voyage.

Oxford might be a good base for your first few days, with a car to see the surrounding countryside. Oxford itself isn't car-friendly but if you stayed on the outskirts you could drive in the country and visit the city by local bus. Oxford is one of the more expensive cities, though, as of course is London.

Salisbury or Winchester would also be good ideas, smaller cities with sights of their own and good access to rural areas and small towns. I agree that York and Cornwall are too far for your time frame. Maybe a good first-day strategy would be to head for Windsor, easily reached from Heathrow, see the castle and other sights, spend the night, pick up the car the next morning after you've slept, then head for your base for the next few days.

I'm sure you know that you could easily give London the whole week and still leave much undone, but giving the teens a taste of the country is also a good idea. Hopefully you and they will be back for more in the future.

If your teens are interested in Stonehenge, Avebury, the Wiltshire chalk horses, and the Roman baths at Bath, Salisbury would make a good out-of-London base. On the Salisbury Plain you can also visit Old Sarum, and just north is the Savernake Forest. The North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) is lovely to drive through.

One place I would not choose as a base is Stratford-upon-Avon. If you want to go see it, you could make your base a smaller Cotswold town like Chipping Campden. Stratford in my experience (2015) is overpriced, overly modernized, and crowded. It's certainly worth a day's visit for any Shakespeare fan, and with a rental car you can drive at your own pace to Anne Hathaway's cottage and Mary Arden's farm, but I'd stay overnight elsewhere. If you do choose a base near Stratford, you might also visit Warwick Castle.

With only a week you don't want to go too far from London. It almost always takes longer to go from one place to another than anticipated -- time that is lost in transit is time that could be spent doing / seeing. Even if they are "great travelers" they are still teens. For everyone's enjoyment get their input about where they would like to go after London. Then fine tune (compromise) the trip and all should be happy campers.

I'd opt to train or drive to Durham to see the Cathedral.

Harry Porter fans will recognize this world Heritage site as the home of Hogwarts. Inspector George George fans will recognize it as well. Its a stunning place and Durham is just the type of town you'd all enjoy. Its a college community. Lovely walk next to the River. Something to consider if you based in York. The nearby North York Moors National Park is gorgeous and if you drove to the coast to Staithes you'd enjoy a true look at an English seaside village.

I also concur if possible, extend your trip to 10 days. A week is very little time to see London and explore areas away from it properly.

Durham is wayyyy tooo far. I'd suggest the closer options- Bath, Stonehenge, or perhaps Oxford. The cotswolds are nice and bucolic. Bath is gorgeous and you can easily drive there and Stonehenge. If you have a car you would be able to visit Stonehenge in the morning when they open (essential as it crowds up later in the day).

I'd suggest Bath, Stonehenge, Avebury, Salisbury.

We loved Bath and it was very convenient for us -- took the bus from Heathrow! We did a 4-day, 48-mile walk to/from Bath, staying in small towns for 3 nights. While you might not have the time for that, you would have time to walk quite aways along the canal to/from Bath. It's wonderful! You also might find a shorter option for a walk along the Right of Way system -- perhaps something like this:
http://www.cotswoldwalks.com/windrush-way
The walk, reading the directions, the places we stayed really made for a true adventure. Check it out!

We just returned a couple weeks ago from London and the Cotswolds area with our 11 and 15 yr olds. 4 days in London and 3 in the Cotswolds area. Wished we'd had at least one more day in London to feel less rushed. Our kids enjoyed Stonehenge and probably Avebury circle a bit more, since it was evening and quieter with more intimacy and felt more mystical at the time. We all liked the Roman Villa ruins near Chedworth and the church in Winchcombe with its funny stone caricatures of local citizens trying to be scary from the 1400s. Bourton-on-the-Water has the model village and Dragonfly Maze which were fun, short breaks from all the scenery-gawking. Enjoyed Warwick castle too and a small 'Cotswold walk' through hillsides and meadows full of sheep. Our drive from Broadway back to Heathrow was 2hrs. Good luck!