My husband and I have a tour reserved at Highclere Castle in early June. The tour concludes at 1:30 and we don't need to be in Chipping Campden until 7 or 8 p.m. I found an awesome joy ride that Rick Steves suggested in his Great Britain guide book called the Dorset Countryside Joyride. It goes from Salisbury to Bere Regis, Corfe Castle, Hardy's family cottage and Milton Abbas. I thought it sounded delightful but I have no idea of the distances involved, I am guessing from the limited research I could do on the internet it would be a detour of about 4 hours or more, then we would need to drive to Chipping Campden for the night.
My other thought would be to tour Oxford with either a bicycle tour or walking tour on our way to the Cotswolds. We will be spending two nights there before going to North Wales. I would appreciate any suggestions on what we could see on our way from Highclere to Chipping Campden, the length of the joy ride tour, different options for Oxford etc.
Thank you in advance,
Lisa
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34005 posts
You'll never complete the joyride in time if it goes where you say.
It is over 3 hours the fastest way from Bere Regis to Chipping Campden if you make no food or toilet or photo stops, or any detours or any traffic.
Take the computer figures and add on anywhere from 50% to doubling the times if you a tourist, first time in the area.
Remember that if you are doing a joyride like that the fun is getting out of the car at each of the destinations and having a look around. You wouldn't want to go all the way to Hardy's cottage and drive by at 30 mph and say, OK done that, or would you?
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Thank you so much for information. I thought it might be too long of a drive. We will have to save Dorsest for another trip. Do you have any suggestions on seeing either Salisbury or Oxford?
Posted by
2599 posts
I would not go heading off in the wrong direction in order to get to Chipping Campden in the afternoon. Your best bet, in my opinion, would be to head straight up the A34 to Oxford. If you don’t want to drive into the city, look for the signs for a Park & Ride. (This is where you leave the car in a out of down car park and take a shuttle bus to the center). As an alternative to Oxford, you could see Blenheim Palace - which is at Woodstock - just NW of Oxford. However, having just done Highclere, it might be a bit too much all within 1 day.
http://www.blenheimpalace.com
https://www.visitbritain.com/en/england/central-england/oxford
Posted by
2599 posts
I would not go heading off in the wrong direction in order to get to Chipping Campden in the afternoon. Your best bet, in my opinion, would be to head straight up the A34 to Oxford. If you don’t want to drive into the city, look for the signs for a Park & Ride. (This is where you leave the car in a out of down car park and take a shuttle bus to the center). As an alternative to Oxford, you could see Blenheim Palace - which is at Woodstock - just NW of Oxford. However, having just done Highclere, it might be a bit too much all within 1 day.
http://www.blenheimpalace.com
https://www.visitbritain.com/en/england/central-england/oxford
You might also be interested in this earlier post about getting from Chipping Campden to north Wales.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/wales/north-wales-itinerary
You cash check route timings here:>http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp
(Don’t forget that direct routes might miss out scenic areas & places of interest).