English villages

I would start studying the various train routes to see what will work best for you in the time allotted. Cornwall has several beach towns at the end of the line. Wales is easiest to get to from London on the train through Chester and Conwy. There is a way to get there from Cornwall, but someone else may experience with that. There is probably a train from Liverpool via Chester that goes North to the Lake District. Unless the Lake District is on your Bucket List (it seems more Touristy to me) and I would spend more time in Cornwall and Wales or the Midlands. Look at www.nationaltrust.org.uk for some places to visit and Overseas Visitor Pass.

In general, it doesn't work particularly well to base in a village and try to travel to other small places by public transportation. I have found that often limits your range. I stayed in St. Ives but only saw St. Ives. I stayed in Mevagissey (warning: touristy) but only traveled to the two nearby gardens--and one required a bus transfer.

acraven is right - villages are not usually transport hubs. So, in Cornwall for example, you would be better off staying in the City of Truro - which is a transport hub. www.traveline.info will tell you how to get to places by public transport. Wales has its own version = http://www.traveline-cymru.info

Of course, you don't want to stay in a central transport hub if it happens to be a horrible place.

I'd almost suggest that "Village" and "Public transport" are mutually exclusive. Certainly, in my local area, anything that could be reasonably defined as a village is lucky to get a couple of buses a day.

Hello from Wisconsin,
Many good points above. Penzance is kind of a town, more than a village but not really a city. Truro is is good too.

I was surprised that the person who stayed in St Ives didn't find it touristy. The 900 spot car park was enough to put me off. St. Just is a real town with grocers, butchers, and a coffee shop tucked away of the main square.

Have you considered renting a car? Once you are in Truro or Penzance the traffic is local. And once outside these two "hubs" it is countryside. Very easy driving. Yes, you drive on the opposite side of the road, but the steering wheel is opposite too. However the foot pedals are the same as here. Gas to the left, brakes (clutch) to the right.

wayne INWI

In the Lake District, Grasmere in Westmorland is an "actual" village and has, for a village, reasonably decent public transport and tours, plus walking options around. It is pretty central and famous for the Wordsworth connection (hence the tours). However, one reason for its relatively good links is that it's rather touristy. Expect plenty of Wordsworth tea-towels for sale

However the foot pedals are the same as here. Gas to the left, brakes (clutch) to the right.

The left hand pedal is the clutch, then the brake in the middle, then the accelerator under the right hand foot. Right hand foot sounds weird.

Unless you have the new Note. It only has one pedal. Push with toes to go, push with heel to stop.

Thank you everyone. We have driven in both England and Ireland, so car rental is probably the option we would choose in order to keep the small town/village experience we are seeking. My husband has even driven a stick shift with right hand drive (far more difficult I think than keeping the pedals straight!) With having a car in mind, does anyone have any villages to recommend staying in as a base for 3-4 days in each of these three areas?

If you're now going to have a car then I'd change my previous suggestion to Buttermere, although strictly speaking I suspect the settlement is a hamlet and not even a village. Beautiful area, fairly central, good option doubtlessly.

Thanks! I have only been to Grasmere (LONG ago!) so I will look up Buttermere.

St Ives is indeed touristy, I just failed to say that. It's a lot larger than Mevagissey, though, and many people have heard of it and realize it gets a lot of visitors. Mevagissey is small and seems like you might be the one to discover it--but many others have gotten there before you.

A warning about coastal Cornwall: If you want to eat dinner sitting down, make a reservation. If you fail to do that, you're likely to be dining at a fish-and-chips truck. It's apparently the Poldark-and-Doc-Martin effect.

Thanks everyone!

In Wales, we enjoyed St. David’s very much. It is Britain’s smallest “city” on a technicality, but we”d call it a village or small town. Highly walkable, some bus service to other towns on the coastal path.