5 women in our 70s want to see Blenheim, Tetbury, Highgrove House, Corsham, Lacock and Burford. Please suggest a village that would be a good base for our exploration, and recommend lodging. How many days do you suggest we stay there?
Posted by
Land of La
9265 posts
Will you have a car or do you intend to rely on public transport is my first question?
Have any of the 5 driven in the U.K. before?
What time of year are you going?
Why have these areas been chosen?
Posted by
8331 posts
My wife and I did a 28 day drive tour of S. Wales and England, spending three nights in Bath and six in Chipping Campden. We used Chipping Campden as a base to visit Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Stratford Upon Avon and the Cotswolds. We stayed at the Volunteer Inn, which was nice and had good rates. Also, it had the best pub in town and a great Indian restaurant.
It is a bit on the north side of the Cotswolds, but could work for you.
Blenheim is at least a half day plus day. Not sure about the other places you mentioned. I presume that you want to see the Cotswolds as well. That can take 2 days to do it right.
As for renting a car, I suggest an automatic and one with a navigation system, unless you have a GPS with the UK maps.
I would imagine that you need a minimum of 3 days to see what you listed, 2 more to see the Cotswolds and perhaps one more just to be sure.
Posted by
OP
12 posts
We’re going in early June. We’ll be in London for a week, but we don’t think we should try to see these places from there.
We plan to hire a driver/guide. We went to Oxford and northern Cotswolds last year. We didn’t see Blenheim then because most of those travelers had already been there. Most of us have been to Bath, Stonehenge, etc. on previous trips. We’re interested in Highgrove for gardens, Blenheim for history, Cotswolds towns for charm. We would like to stay in a town with good lashings and restaurants that is near the
places we want to see.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
We loved staying at the Close in Tetbury--just a few miles from Highgrove. Book early for your group to tour Highgrove. I think our group had about 20 people. We loved Lacock village--Downton Abbey had a scene filmed there. For lunch don't miss Sign of the Angel. They have rooms as well but only 5 I think. We made a mistake staying in Burford-the inn was on the main road and it was noisy. The Lamb inn was on a side street so it would be a good choice.
Posted by
Land of La
9265 posts
Cirencester a market town might suit you as a base.
Others on the forum have recommended the Premiere Inn.
Posted by
36 posts
I stayed at Stow-on-the-Wold. It is a very charming village in my opinion, with lots of little shops and pubs scattered around. I stayed at the Victoria House, which offer small but comfortable rooms for a very reasonable price.
By staying in Stow-on-the-Wold, I was able to drive around the area and visit such places like Broadway and Chipping Campden, and take a hike through the Cotswold Way. I found this to be very pleasant stay and convenient. I only stayed 2 days.