Advice Needed: Splitting vacation between London and the Countryside/Small Town

The Cotswolds sounds like the type of scenery you are interested in, but you would need to hire a car to get around.

I would choose St. Albans, an hour by train from London.

Winchester may be bigger than you are looking for, but it is a very historic place, great cathedral, interesting town.

I would suggest Rye (possible day trip by train to Canterbury), Lewes for exploring the South Downs, York if you can return home direct from Manchester not London, Chichester or Winchester for plenty of history or stay in Lyndhurst and explore the New Forest.

The (over-rated) Cotswolds is easier with a car for a short trip. There are many areas that are as attractive /more attractive as the Cotswolds without being as busy.

How about Salisbury (great cathedral and town) with a bus trip one day to Shaftesbury on number 29 bus through some very pretty villages on the way? Lots of thatched cottages, cobbled streets, little shops and great views.

I like Jennifer’s idea but would stay in Canterbury with a day trip to Rye. I feel Canterbury has more to see if staying for 2-3 days. However, Rye is definitely small and worth visiting.

You said in your other post that you will be using Delta Skymiles. So you should stick to airports served by Delta and its partner Virgin Atlantic with non-stops from and to Atlanta. That means either London Heathrow or Manchester ( served only by Virgin Atlantic). You can book multi-city, into London and home from Manchester if you like. If you do both legs on Virgin Atlantic, it will be 50,000 miles per person in Economy for both legs. If the ATL to LHR leg is on Delta, it will be 62,000 miles.

Look carefully at the flight times before you choose a small town for the second half of your trip. Youndo not want to be so far from your departure airport that you have to travel back to the airport and overnight there. Remember you need to be at the airport 3 hours ahead for the overseas flight.

And if you are thinking of the Paddington area for your London stay, as you seemed to be leaning in your other thread, it would be much cheaper to arrive at Heathrow on a Sunday ( which means departing on a Saturday) if you want to get the cheap £5.50 tickets on the Heathrow Express.

Thank you so much for these suggestions! I’m going to google each of them. Thanks, Lola, for the detailed info on the cost for miles! Emma, I do like the idea of Salisbury because it would be wonderful to see Stonehenge. Although I should clarify, we don’t mind if there is nothing to do in the small town we choose. This weekend we’re actually staying in a cabin in the middle of nowhere in a neighboring state, just to get away and be near beauty and away from traffic and people. We enjoy just being quiet in a beautiful place.

I am very curious about the other towns mentioned in your replies and will be looking into those. Thank you! This forum is so helpful.

We have spent time in these places and would recommend any for visits:

Salisbury (also visit Stonehenge)
Winchester
Cambridge
Oxford
Windsor Castle
Bath (also Wells and Glastonberry)
The Cotswolds (stayed in Chipping Campden)
Stratford Upon Avon
Warwick (Warwick Castle)

While we are thinking of attractive smaller towns with good transport links, how about Dorchester and Sherborne in Dorset, and Chichester in West Sussex.

You could go to the Cotswolds easily, yes they are easier with a car, but for only two or three days it would work out. You could take the early train from a Paddington Station to Moreton-in-Marsh, there is a train at 8:03 arriving at 9:53. You could get a B&B there in Moreton-in-Marsh, there are buses from there to Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water and Chipping Campden plus a few other places. Also, you could take a cab. Then for your last night before flying home take the train from Moreton-in-Marsh to Windsor (a change in Slough, which is just changing platforms), spend the night in Windsor, next morning take cab (15 minute ride) to Heathrow.

I know Canterbury was suggested, it’s beautiful, but it’s not a small town and you said you wanted small.

Alfriston is very nice in East Sussex is very nice
With lovely near by places, The long Man of Wilmington for beautiful views and a tiny village called litlington.