Best sights - 8 days with a car in England

I have been researching our four week drive tour of England and Wales next year. We plan to spend 6 nights in the Cotswolds.

The Lake District is nice, but you will burn almost a day each way going from the Cotswolds to the Lake District and return.

I suggest you stick to the South. We are planning to spend three nights in Bath then going to Wales for five nights, returning to the Cotswolds, staying in Chipping Campden for six nights, taking in Stratford on Avon, Warwick, Blenheim Palace, Oxford and of course the immediate area around Chipping Campden. Perhaps you could arrange for your Son and his Wife to take the train down to London and you pick them up there.

If you don't change your plans and still want to drive to Bradford, consider visiting York instead.

"Stonehedge to Portsmouth"

It's Stonehenge BTW.

Thanks for the info. We are spending 4 days in London prior to the big loop. Sounds like we'll delete the Lake District and make the loop smaller. Any other villages, sights on our way from Bradford to Portsmouth (two nights and 3 days) that you would recommend? Stratford on Avon?

I like Stratford-Upon-Avon. We were just there in May 2016 for three nights. Charming. See all the houses associated with Shakespeare, walk down to the church where he is buried. There are many great restaurants and pubs in S-U-A. You may want to see a play one night at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. You may want to spend one night here.

Nearby is the town of Warwick. A town with a lot of black-and-white frame medieval buildings. Don't miss the spectacular Warwick Castle.

Farther south, Salisbury is a beautiful town. We were there in May 2016, and enjoyed Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury Museum, and Stonehenge. At Salisbury Cathedral we saw their copy of the Magna Carta. Salisbury is a wonderful town to walk around in. Some cobblestone streets, lots of historic buildings, coffee shops, cafes and shops. They have a good Tourist Information office. I would say, spend a night or two here. I can give you a lodging suggestion if you need one.

Not far from Salisbury, on your way to Portsmouth, is the town of Winchester. You will want to see the Great Hall that is all that is left of the old castle built by William The Conqueror about 1067-8. An interesting town with lots of historic buildings and good cafes and pubs.

I realize there's more there than you have time for, but now you have some choices.

Thanks for the suggestions. We will modify our plans. We still want to go to Bradford to see where our children are living.

Agree about omitting Lake District given your limited time. You might also reconsider about Bath. Though Bath is a desirable destination, it's far from London and not really on the way to the Cotswolds. You could surely find other points of interest that are more on the way to Bradford. Nottingham? Cambridge?

Stonehenge is at least half a day. It is not just a matter of driving up and looking at the henge from your car. The car park is about 1/4 mile from the henge and out of view. There's a large indoor/outdoor visitor centre (which also has a nice café for lunch) and you either ride a shuttle bus or walk about 15 min from the visitor centre to the henge. That's if you skip seeing Woodhenge and Durrington Walls, about 1 mile east of the henge itself.

The place to stay overnight and see Stonehenge that offers the best combination of proximity and touristic interest is Salisbury; you can also see Old Sarum, just north of the town of Salisbury. Other places not too far are Newbury (I can recommend Hare & Hounds hotel & restaurant), which is right near the roundabout for the A34, a relatively quick route to Stonehenge. From Marlborough (a more charming, smaller market town) the route to Stonehenge down A346 & A338 is more direct, but it's very slow as these are narrow roads with many roundabouts. There are a few hotels and B&Bs in Cholderton and Amesbury, very near Stonehenge.

Be aware the cross-channel ferries sometimes have cancellations or schedule reshuffling -- we got caught by a French labor strike and had to change our departure port on less than 12 hrs' notice. Make sure the ferry company has your current mobile phone number and email address so they can call and/or text you in case of a last-minute change.