England Trip Questions and Itinerary

"possible to take the train from Heathrow to Salisbury"

No, the only train from LHR goes to London Paddington - from LHR you would need to take a bus to Woking then a train to Salisbury.

https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/10686/701-061014-roadside-only.pdf

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Yes you can hire a car in Salisbury

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=car+hire+salisbury&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=Omq2Vqr9FYXCPLanvogD

use AA route planner to work out times between your destinations

http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp

For Bath to Conwy, I would travel via the Wye Valley with a morning stop at Tintern Abbey. After lunch at Ludlow (the loveliest town in England) I would make an afternoon stop at Ironbridge.

For your week in London, I would allocate a day out to just one Royal Palace (Windsor or Hampton Court), and a day out to one of the university towns (Oxford or Cambridge).

Driving after a trans-Atlantic flight (jetlagged, sleep-deprived) is the equivalent of driving drunk. Added to that, you'll be driving on the "reverse" side of the road. It's a bad idea, even if you are used to driving the high-speed roads in the U.K. Spend a couple of nights in London or use public transportation for your first day or two.

Use viamichelin.com to estimate driving times. These are optimal times. YMMV

I would take the Railair link from Heathrow to Woking for train to Salisbury & check in to a hotel. You could take the shuttle bus from Salisbury to Stonehenge or, the following day, hire a car in Salisbury & drive to Stonehenge before continuing to Bath via maybe via Avenbury. Alternatively, shuttle bus back to Salisbury & train to Bath. (A car is a hindrance in Bath due to congestion/lack of parking).

Rick says visit Conwy so all Americans seems to go & stay in Conway/Conwy in Welsh. All well and good if using public transport but as you will have a hire car, you could choose anywhere in Snowdonia (NW Wales).

Plenty to see between Bath & Conway & to do it in one go & visit places is pushing it. You could use this route finder :>http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp#fromNode=0%7CBath%7C%7C-2.359904%7C51.375801%7CtoNode=0%7CConwy%7C%7C-3.829480%7C53.282872

As you can see, it is about 4 hours driving time. The route via the M5 & M6 is longer and boring but on better roads. I would not use the other recommended route either. I would cross the M48 Severn Bridge & take the A466 up the Wye Valley & visit TINTERN ABBEY(ruin). Continue towards Monmouth where you would have a choice of routes. You could go via Hereford and take A49 calling at LUDLOW on the way. Just N of Ludlow is STOKESAY CASTLE.

Alternatively, turn left onto A40 at Monmouth and go via Raglan to Abergavenny > Crickhowell > A479 (see TRETOWER COURT) - head toward Talgarth & then follow A470 all the way up through the middle of Wales to Conway. (This is the most scenic route).
Consider staying near Porthmadog if you wish to shorten this long trip. (Don't forget that Wales & Scotland have a separate forums).

Google places mentioned.

Thanks so much for all the help. I'll look into all the suggestions and am sure I will have to post again with more. Glad to hear I can rent a car in Salisbury. I think we'll do that instead of driving straight from the airport. I still need to figure out when to fit Avebury and West Kennet in though because that is something that I really want to see. I have a fascination with stone circles and on this trip am hoping to add Avebury and Castlerigg to the others I have seen on my trips (so far Brodgar is my favorite).

As far as Wales goes I guess we don't have to stay in Conwy, but I really want to see Bodnant Gardens and we both want to see Caernarvon. Love the idea of Tintern Abbey, Stokesay, and Ludlow although 4 hours driving time compared to what we do here every couple of months isn't so bad. So maybe somewhere between Caernarvon and Bodnant? I'll have to check with my sister about Conwy.

David - Thanks for the suggestion about doing one castle and one college town, but I think we are going to stick with both castles. I really want to go to Hampton ( I was back in college and can't wait to go again) and my sister really wants Windsor.

Thanks for all your help. I'll be back with more questions I'm sure.

I would suggest the theatre instead of the Eye. Theatre in London is fabulous!!!!!

Robin, thanks for the suggestion, we will be doing both. I've been to about 3-4 productions in London. All fabulous! We want to do the eye at night though too so I'm thinking flexi pass so we can pick the optimal weather night.

You can do Bodnant Gardens from most places in north Wales and it is well worth it. Betws-Y-Coed is a good central location but very touristy and has a main road going through the middle. Make sure that where you stay has got parking. (Conwy is all narrow streets).

You might also like Plas Newydd - which is just across the Menai Straits from Caernarfon. Cross on the Britannia Bridge & turn left! (If you go straight ahead, you soon enter Llanfair………… This being the longest place name in Wales - which you can see on the railway station).http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/plas-newydd-country-house-and-gardens

As an added bonus - you may like to go about 1Km NW from Plas Newydd to visit the Bryn Celli Neolithic Burial Chamber.
http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/bryn-celli-ddu-burial-chamber/?lang=en

When in north Wales, I would definitely visit Portmeirion.http://www.portmeirion-village.com (Near Porthmadog).
Don't forget, that another great medieval castle is in north Wales - at Harlech.