First time in England Itinerary and travel advice

Hi Regina, your possible trip ideas sound great! One thing I often do is look at tour companies and the itineraries they have to help me decide what and how I can fit in what I would like to do in planning my own self- guided tour. I quickly searched and pulled up these two for example:

https://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tours/literary-england-tailor-made-journey-london-lake-district/itinerary/

https://literarytoursengland.com/

They obviously provide the transportation, but you can start there by identifying the sites and locations and then see how public transportation can get you there and let you decide how much time you need. In ten days, you’re probably going to find yourself narrowing down your options, but that’s ok. There are some amazingly wonderful and helpful folks on here that can guide you with the route planning if you need it.

Just some ideas to start!

Immediately I thought of Geoffrey Chaucer's “Canterbury Tales.” Canterbury is a pretty town and an easy daytrip from London. Catch the direct, one hour train at Waterloo Station. The historical core of the city is about three blocks from the train station and is very compact and easily walkable. The cathedral is impressive.

On the literary theme in the Lake District there is a Beatrix Potter thread on this forum which I have been developing for someone. Or you have also got Wordsworth as a theme as well in the Lake District.
John Ruskin would be another literary theme in the area. As would the other Lake Poets- Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey.

All of these listed places are easy to get to by train, supplemented by buses in the Lake District.

With 2 or 3 days you would have to choose between hiking and Beatrix Potter. Likewise for Wordsworth.

Wordsworth, with enough time to investigate the family would be an interesting trail, which neither Rick or Wikipedia does anything like justice to.

For anyone really seriously interested in Wordsworth I have a short essay written for the open churches tourist trail on the west coast of Cumbria which explores some of the less well known parts of the story, not something you would have time for to go so deeply into.

Jane Austen's home at Chawton (Alton) is an easy day trip by rail from London, then a short bus or taxi ride.

While in London and given your interests researching the London Walks might be of interest.

www.walks.com

I talk a walk on each London stay. Last one was Inns of the Court.

Groups are relatively small. Inns of the Court had 14 people. Guides personable and knowledgeable. IMHO cost is minimal

Train travel is a great mode of transport throughout England.

For hiking in the Lake District, I highly recommend either of the two HF Holidays country houses with guided walking programs—-3 nights or 4 nights. They provide easy directions for reaching the house by public transport, so all you need do is follow those and they cover everything from there—- very nice lodging, great meals ( choices including veggie, gluten free, etc), transport to and from trailheads, and guides who lead the hike and provide educational commentary on the area, features, and history. Choose from 2or 3 levels of difficulty each day.

We have been to the Derwentwater location—- a lovely large house with a lawn sloping down to the lake. Now we are looking for a time we can go to Monk Coniston next. We just got back from a week at Lago Maggiore hiking with HF Holidays, and our tour leader, who has been guiding with HF for 30 years, said Monk Coniston is his favorite location.

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/destinations/united-kingdom/lake-district

Take my advice with a huge grain of salt, as I'm also a newbie, but I've been hanging around these boards for about a year and like to think I've gained some wisdom from the hugely helpful people here.

I do think it's too much ground for 10 days. My instinct is to cut the Lake District and instead focus on two "bases" -- perhaps London and Bath. From London you could day trip (by train) to Windsor, Hampton Court, and Jane Austen's house in Chawton; from Bath you could day trip (also by train) to Stonehenge.

Including this link only because I was curious about getting here by public transit and so looked it up:

https://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/business-directory/jane-austens-house

If your ten days includes your arrival day (and not the travel day the day before), I'm thinking about something like:

• Day 1: arrive at LHR and train straight to Bath
• Days 2, 3, 4: Bath (with one day trip)
• Day 5: train Bath to London
• Days 6-10: London (these five days could be split among seeing London and however many day trips you prioritize)

This site might be helpful to punch in various places and get the lay of the land with the train options/schedules

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Hi Regina -

You might consider taking a trip to Haworth, Yorkshire to visit the Parsonage museum, home to the Bronte sisters. Two of the Bronte sisters, Emily and Charlotte are buried in the adjacent church which their father was the vicar of. Ann’s grave is on the east coast at Scarborough. Do check the opening hours of the Parsonage museum as it is not open seven days a week and has different hours dependent on time of the year you visit.

Haworth has a station accessed by private railway (Keighley and Worth Valley Railway) from Keighley mainline station. The station is at the bottom of Haworth, while the Parsonage is at the top, accessed by a steep uphill climb up the cobbled Main Street. There’s plenty of accommodation in Haworth and it’s closest, of the places you have on your outline itinerary, to the Lake District.

Not too far from Haworth is Heptonstall, again a hill top village, where the grave of American poet Sylvia Plath is. Not quite as easy to access by public transport, but doable by bus I would think. Maybe a taxi from Hebden Bridge would take the stress of climbing up to Heptonstall out of the equation!

Ian

If you want to visit the Cotswolds, I highly recommend

https://www.cotswoldteacuptours.com/

Victoria is amazing- she will drive you around to beautiful villages. You can take the train from London and she will pick you up. You can tailor the tour to your interests if you let her know ahead of time. My friend and I had the best day with her.

Happy travels!

For a relatively short time, it would probably be redundant to visit both Windsor Castle and Hampton Court.

To keep travel to a realistic level, you might consider Bath, Oxford [J.R.R. Tolkien & C.S. Lewis], Stratford-upon-Avon for Shakespeare, and then London - Dickens + The Old Globe either as a tour or to view a performance, plus the other things you refer to.

You might start to narrow your scope by making a list, group it geographically, and then assign priorities.

You will need 3 nights in Bath for 2 days, one in Bath and one going to see Stonehenge etc... The thing that stuck out to me was adding the Lake District, a long way away, on there. I love the Lake District, but I don't think you have time. Canterbury as suggested is a good add on instead.

I’m a retired English teacher (after 38 years) who has visited England several times; there are a wealth of literary associated sites, so enjoy planning and deciding which sites are most important to you and your interests.

When you say, “ten days total,” does that include your arrival and departure days, or will you have ten full days for touring? If it’s the first, then you would have about 8 ½ days for actually touring sites.

On your arrival day, it’s best to do outside walking tours (either self-guided or a London Walks tour).

Depending on where you stay, traveling to and from the Lake District takes 3 ½ to 5 hours by train and bus, so that will take up a good part of two separate days. If you have 10 full days and really want to visit the Lake District, it could be worth it, but if you only have 8 ½ travel days, you may wish to concentrate your time in other areas. There are plenty of places to hike and visit small villages that are closer to London.

The Lake District is beautiful, with lots of literary associations, so it’s hard to pass up. But think about the amount of time it takes to get there.

You could look at flying into London and then back from Manchester Airport, which is closer to the Lake District (and only a 20 minute train ride from Manchester Piccadilly. There are several hotels a short walk from the train station. I stayed at Motel One Manchester Piccadilly.

Here are some other ideas for literary themed visits:

Oxford has many literary associations, including Lewis Carroll, John le Carre, and Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse) in addition to those mentioned in earlier responses. Le Carre attended Lincoln College as did his character, George Smiley.

You also have the Bodleian Library and Blackwell’s bookstore (which is a delight).

There are nice walks along the rivers and bike trips as well.

You can book a short river trip, including an Alice in Wonderland trip, or take a boat to nearby Abingdon and walk or take the bus back.

https://salterssteamers.co.uk/short-trips/

https://www.localwalks.co.uk/local-walks-blog/oxfordshire-walks-abingdon

https://www.experienceoxfordshire.org/places-to-go/abingdon/

Oxford is a reasonable day trip from London or Bath, or you could stay a few nights and explore the Cotswolds and Stratford-upon-Avon from there.

You can get a taste of the Cotswolds in a day; here is a tour that’s been recommended by several:

https://www.gocotswolds.co.uk/product/cotswolds-in-a-day/

For more ideas, look here:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/5-nights-in-cotswolds

In the Cotswolds, you can hike part of the "Cotswold Way," a long distance route. Just pick two villages on the route that are connected by bus, then take the bus out and hike back.

I have a few more possibilities, which I’ll post in a second post.

All the best,

Raymond

Here are a few more ideas:

If you’re a Dickens’ fan, then Rochester and the surrounding area near the Medway River has numerous sites where he lived, visited, and received inspiration.

It’s about an hour from London via train and was the childhood home of Dickens before his father was sent to debtor's prison and Dickens to a workhouse. Dickens' father would point out a large mansion and said, "If you . . . were to work hard, you might someday come to live in it."

After success as a writer, Dickens did live at the house, Gad's Hill Place (which isn’t very scenic, but has a Shakespeare association as well).

The Restoration House is said to have inspired the massive, dark, Satis House, owned by Mrs. Havisham, in Great Expectations.

The Guildhall Museum's Dickens Discovery Room has objects related to the author on show.

There is also the Six Poor Travellers House, a Canterbury pilgrim's hostel (a Chaucer link) that is the basis of a Dickens' short stories and Rochester Cathedral, Britain's second oldest.

The Corn Exchange Building, a structure Dickens, famous for his daily walks through Rochester, would often stand and admire.

https://www.charlesdickenspage.com/charles-dickens-rochester-chatham-map.html

Another Dickens’ site is in Cobham, Gravesend, UK (about 1 ½ hours from London by train and bus)’ He visited The Leather Bottle pub and describes it in The Pickwick Papers. He was also a guest at Cobham Hall and walked its grounds. The Hall is now a private school for girls and only open on a few days a year. Cobham is a charming village to visit. The church features some excellent brasses. I visited Cobham and Rochester in 1985 and enjoyed both.

https://www.discovergravesham.co.uk/famous-people/charles-dickens.html

https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/cobham-stunning-kent-village-linked-7990194

https://annisbetweenworlds.blogspot.com/p/were-rare-medieval-brasses-in-cobham.html

In London, if you visit Westminster Abbey, it’s worth booking the Vergers Tour:

https://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/guided-tours?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4Oe4BhCcARIsADQ0csn_eU3KBU8O2RWOggXvv797Ag9hZStP0lUnIAz-8gN8evaEqX9gabEaAkYQEALw_wcB

London Walks will have several literary themed tours, and the guides are very enthusiastic and interesting.

https://www.walks.com/

All the best,

Raymond

Given your limited time something will have to give. Given a choice between the Cotswolds and the Lake District there is really no comparison - the Lakes will win every time. It's true that if you fly into and out of London it will mean a longish trip twice but as above Manchester Airport is very convenient for the Lakes - there are direct trains from the airport into the National Park, so doing that makes it easier to get to than the Cotswolds from London, which mean at least one change from any airport.

York is a wonderful city for a few days.

If you decide to drop the Lake District from your plans due to distance, consider walking in nature at the national arboretum or Stourhead, both day trips from Bath:
https://www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt-the-national-arboretum

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/stourhead

I agree with Hannah's suggestion for two bases (London, Bath) to include places already on your list, although there are so many other literary sites as others have suggested. This would ease your travel planning (I noticed your other thread) and allow more time to taste the cities and have time for unexpected finds. You still will be busy trying to include day trips from those locations.

We just returned from a trip which included London, Bath, Stonehenge, Hampton Court, Windsor (we didn't visit the castle this time; it was our overnight before flight), Wells, Stourhead, Arboretum, Sherborne...

This time in Bath, we had a wonderful afternoon tea at the Crescent Hotel, visited the little Jane Austen museum, (I) haunted charity shops, and we visited some great bookstores---Topping & Co, Persephone Books, & a tiny one near the Crescent. We had previously visited the Roman Baths and Abbey. During a heavy rainfall we sat at an covered outdoor cafe and people-watched while our daughter and partner visited the Baths.

Bookstore/Charity shop Caution: My daughter and I purchased extra suitcases to bring home our books and other treasures...

I just bumped my post with the Lake District advice that's been given here if that's a help to you.

Goodness, so many wonderful ideas here that I am bookmarking!

Thank you for all the amazing suggestions. I've decided to cut out the Lake District and stay at least 3 nights in Bath and 5 nights London and take day trips from both. I really appreciate all the advice; it has been soooo helpful!

While in the vicinity you may find nearby Wells and Salisbury (+ .agna Carta) of interest---both have cathedrals and are cute towns,

Wells and Salisbury are both amazing and well worth a look.

You might want to also skip staying in Bath and save time switching hotels. From London there are small group bus tours daily to Stonehenge, Cotswolds, and Bath is an easy day trip by train. You can get a bit of nature at Hampstead Heath, Richmond, and a day trip to Whitstable by the sea. Oxford, Windsor Castle and Hampton Court are also all easy to get to from London.

While it's easy to do day trips from London, you are paying a high hotel rate to do those trips. I think Bath or Salisbury would be better for day trips in that area.