Central location for Bath, Oxford, Cotswolds, Stonehenge

With a car, I would move around and stay in a few different locations as there really is no one city ( or even two cities) that make a logical base. When I chauffeured my wife and my folks on a Stonehenge, Bath, Cotswolds, Oxford itinerary, we stayed one night in Bath and saw the Roman Baths and the town, then saw Berkeley Castle (very worthwhile) on the way to Stowe-on-the-Wold where we stayed one night. We did a driving tour of the major villages in the Cotswolds ( Chipping Camden,
Upper and Lower Slaughter, Castle Combe)
then stayed in Blockley- a quintessential English Village in the Cotswolds. Then we made our way to Oxford where we overnighted before returning the car and taking the bus back to London. Four nights, four different towns. My key bit of advice is be sure to return the car way before returning to London and take the bus back to London.

I know we drove past Stonehenge on the motorway in pouring rain, which prompted us to be content with our view of it from the car!
Have a great Trip!

England and the Cotswolds may not look very big on the map but driving times will be a lot longer than you might expect. There isn't really a central location unless you are prepared to spend 2+ hours just driving to and from your loacation each day, possibly along the same route.... Roads are narrow and traffic can be quite slow moving at times. Choose a base near Bath to do that area and then move east and base yourself either in the Cotswolds to explore them. Places like Charlbury, Burford, Chipping Norton all make good bases and are less busy than Broadway or Stow on the Wold.

You might consider staying somewhere that has good train connections to Bath Spa(apparently there are other places named Bath) and do Bath as a day trip. Trains are usually faster than cars and the driver might enjoy the break.

Where are you coming from? London? Heathrow? If so, for Stonehenge, I'd just make it a stop on the way to or from Bath. Its not a whole day thing.

Personally, I hate day tripping to see a whole town. Too much time in the car, and not enough time on the ground. You end up only having time for lunch.

I agree, I would travel to Bath via A303 and then see Stonehenge on the way/way back and if you want to stop in then do so. Its like marmite, some love it and want to get closer, some just want to drive on. I wouldnt visit Gloucester to be honest, I would rather visit Stow on the Wold and maybe Cheltenham rather than Gloucester.

Depends on your travel style ... do you like the home-base approach or living out of a suitcase every night in a new place ... personally, I like to keep moving (for the most part) to a new place each night ... I feel the home-base wastes a lot of time going back and forth to the base ... I've planned a weeklong circle trip (just wife and me, no kids or others to wrangle in the morning to get moving), picking up the car early in the morning at LHR, up to Oxford, driving around the Cotswolds for a few days, then Sudeley Castle, Gloucester, Avebury, Stonehenge, Salisbury, Highclere and Windsor, finally returning the car to LHR ... distances are not that far between stopping points and I've added extra time for the roads, traffic, etc... I feel it is not too rushed and we'll have time to see the sights ... and stop for a pint or two along the way.

stayed in Blockley- a quintessential English Village in the Cotswolds

@Kenko, Blockley is where they film Father Brown so we are planning a night there (love that PBS show, maybe we'll get lucky and they will be shooting that day) ... where did you stay, eat, etc...?

This is what I have done. 3 nights in Bath, 2 nights in the Cotswolds. Pick up and return the car at Heathrow.

Day 1 - Start in London
AM Pickup car at Heathrow (from London via Piccadilly Line)
Windsor Castle, Stone Henge, Avebury, nearby family history sites
Bath late evening walking tour
Sleep in Bath
(3 hours driving)

Day 2
Bath - Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, city walk, Circus, costume museum, canal walk
Sleep in Bath

Day 3
Sunday AM Church Service
Glastonbury and Wells (less than an hour each way)
Sleep in Bath
(2 hours driving)

Day 4
AM & PM The Cotswolds (2-3 hours driving with lots of stops).
EVE Stratford-upon-Avon incl play at Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Sleep in Mickleton (15 min drive from Stratford)

Day 5
The Cotswolds - (1 hour or so of driving with lots of stops) plus hike and a bike ride
Sleep in Mickleton

Day 6
AM Bleinheim Palace
PM Oxford
Return car at Heathrow (return to London via Piccadilly Line)
Sleep in London
(2 hours driving)

That does seem a very full and action packed itinerary to me BradFrumos.

Thanks for your expertise everyone. This is one of those "I told you so" moments I get to share w my wonderful hubby (who is almost always right - so I appreciate being so now and again). Have a great day!

For us, our itinerary is going to run like this, as we are "base camp" type people :)

Arrival in London and train to Bath. Pick up car in Bath and take out time heading north into the Cotswolds with plenty of time for numerous stops along the way, stopping for 4 nights in Chipping Campden. During the next 4 days we'll be venturing out east, north, west and south with stops at Blenheim Palace/Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon, Broadway Tower hike and the villages south of CC.

After 4 nights, we're planning on heading south on a different road to return to Bath with scheduled stops in Avebury and Lacock before spending 2 nights in Bath. We purposely did not over schedule ourselves as far as sights to see and miles driven, as we've done before and were too tired to really enjoy what we were doing. Then after Bath, it'll be time to hop on another train for our stay in Edinburgh!

Just another thought on base camp/one night stands :)

Regarding previous post - it is cheaper & quicker to go from Bath to nearby Bristol Airport & fly to Edinburgh (with Easyjet).

If you want to go by train beware that the through ticket price can be very expensive. If I was doing it by train I would go Bath to Bristol (Temple Meads) - change trains to Cross Country to Birmingham (New Street) - change trains to Avanti West Coast which will take me to Edinburgh. Split tickets works out cheaper:> https://www.traintickets.com/?/
OR https://new.trainsplit.com

(Direct trains do go from Bristol to Edinburgh but they use a longer route via York & Newcastle. The other alternative is to go east to London (Paddington) and then across to Kings Cross in order to head north to Edinburgh).

We stayed at the Beechfield House Hotel in Melksham. Centrally located for all the places you mention. Country Manor House feel. You definitely need a car. Restaurant and fancy afternoon tea were highlights. They have a pool if that is your thing.