We want to stay in East Anglia for three nights during our upcoming driving holiday in Great Britain. I like to stay in smaller historic towns or villages rather than large cities. There doesn't seem to be much information about this area but I've read that there are many pretty places to see.
Cambridge might be a good base as it looks central to the area. Does anyone have any other suggestions please?
It's a lovely area.
Cambridge is a beautiful city but it's quite big and busy - lots of traffic.
Take a look at Bury St Edmunds, really attractive town.
Cambridge has lots of old narrow streets so they aim to keep cars out of the centre. When you approach Cambridge, you will see Park & Ride signs to car parks. Here you leave the car and shuttle buses take you into the middle.
Bury St.Edmunds would be a good central base that is not too busy. Norwich would also make a good base due to central position but it is a city - though not a huge one. If you want a small historic place, then it would be hard to beat Lavenham. However, it is not in the best position for exploring the wider area - especially Norfolk.
Thanks. I will look at accomodation in those places. I didn't realize Cambridge was such a big place.
Bury St Edmunds would be a good choice. It may even be more "central" to East Anglia than Cambridge. But if you decide on Cambridge here are my thoughts,
Cambridge isn't really very big from a population standpoint (125,000 more or less) but the streets are narrow and parking can be a challenge. It would be worth considering as a place to stay if you can find a B&B on the outskirts of town. If your trip is planned for Cambridge University "vacation" time (second half of June to end of September) there should be many B&B opportunities.
If you stay elsewhere in East Anglia I would definitely encourage you to spend a half day or a day in Cambridge, Take a punt or canoe to see the "backs" of the colleges. The "backs" are scenic Cambridge at its best.
There are many pretty Essex and Suffolk villages to visit and stay in East Anglia. If you want to be right in a city or town then try Cambridge or Bury St. Edmunds The Angel Hotel in Bury St. Edmunds is across from the old Abbey and on the square. But it is a quite a busy little town. If you are wanting pretty villages, then I could recommend Lavenham, Suffolk (try the Swan Hotel). Closer to the M11, The village of Finchingfield is one of the prettiest in Essex, but most accommodation there is in weekly cottages. The Fox Inn has some excellent food and right on the village pond. There also two places in the village that do afternoon tea and/or lunch. You could easily drive through Great Barfield to Finchingfield, to Thaxted onto Saffron Walden and then onto Cambridge. (This is all close by Stansted Airport and easy access to the M11). Not sure where you are coming from or going to - but that would make a difference in where you need to stay.
I think Bury St Edmonds is where we'll stay. We need to drive there from Llandudno in North Wales. I see that it's a long way, so would an overnight stop half way be a good idea? This would cut down our nights in East Anglia to only two though, so it may be better to just get on the freeway as soon as possible and get there in one day so that we have three nights in East Anglia.
What do you think?
I should add that I have a problem knee so need a lift in the hotel or ground floor room. This reduces accommodation options quite a lot. There's a Premier Inn in Bury St Edmonds which has a lift so that might be the best place for us.
Oh, wow you are going from one side of the country to the other. Yes, you can do it in one day - but its a very long drive and when you consider traffic it will take a lot longer than it looks. I am not sure I would try to do that in one day. I am trying to think of a possible place for you to stop in between - where are you heading to after Bury? The premier Inn looks like a good place - I can't recall where it is located exactly in town - But I am sure it is fine. They are a pretty good hotel chain.
yes, I realized I had abbreviated Bury St Edmunds when I posted my last post. I grew up 10 miles from Bury St. Edmunds and us locals do tend to just say Bury. Yes, please don't get this confused with the other Bury which is no where near Bury St. Edmunds.
East Anglia will be our last stop on a three week trip before leaving the car somewhere and catching a train to Kings Cross Station. I guess Cambridge might be a good place to do this.
Driving from Llandudno to Bury St Edmonds is estimated to take about 4 1/2 hours on the freeways. If we add around 1 1/2 hours for stops it should take about six hours all up which is doable in a day if we leave by 9am. I much prefer country roads to freeways but in this instance only the freeways make sense.
I really wanted to see East Anglia on this trip but there's always the option of heading towards Heathrow to drop off the car and staying somewhere on the way instead. We have seen the Cotswolds so that area isn't really an option though.
If you don't mind the drive - then go for it. Maybe spend a couple of nights in Bury St Edmunds and check out the area. Drive to Cambridge the next day. Drop the car here in the morning and explore the colleges. Spend your last night in Cambridge before taking the train into London's King Cross or Liverpool Street station for your flight home. Alternatively, you could still drive to the Airport in London from Bury or Cambridge taking the M11 and M25, but depending on the time of your flight, you may have to leave very early in the morning to beat the traffic. The M25 can be particularly troubled with horrendous traffic jams in the morning hours. Have a great trip - if you need any more information on the area - you can send me a PM.
My husband says he doesn't mind the over 4 hour drive. We've driven further in a day in Australia, although I don't like long drives myself.
We're actually going to Belgium on the Eurostar after staying one night in London, which is why I thought we'd catch the train from Cambridge to King's Cross. Alternatively, I did wonder if it would be just as easy to drive to Heathrow from Cambridge and drop the car there before getting the tube to King's Cross. ( we'll be picking the car up at the start of our trip from Heathrow)
You may well wish to go to Belgium on the Eurostar to experience high speed rail travel. However, most people who are not in the London area would probably fly from a regional airport to Belgium. The nearest airport to East Anglia is Stansted. The nearest airport to Llandudno is Manchester. www.skyscanner.net will show who flies where & when - best to choose ‘monthly view’.
Are you sure that you are seeing everything in Wales?
We have been on the Eurostar before, to Paris. It didn't cross my mind to fly from Stansted. I think if you don't live in a country, you don't really know about the flights available.
Anyway, it's booked now and the good thing about trains is that they take you to the centre of cities so we'll arrive near the centre of Bruges.
We're spending six nights in Wales - just a small taste but when you come over from the colonies, you know you can't spend very long in any one area if you want to see as much as possible in a short time.
I'm now trying to decide between the Premier Inn in Bury St Edmonds and a ground floor room at the Swan Hotel in Lavenham.
The Premier Inn is quite a bit cheaper. Does anyone have experience of staying in either? I've read lots of reviews but it's hard to know which would be best.
I haven't stayed there but I have visited the hotel in Lavenham. The village is beautiful, the hotel is too. With a car it can be fab.
The Swan in Lavenham is a little more up scale. I have not stayed there - only eaten in the restaurant. (food is very good). If you want to be in a pretty Village then choose Lavenham over Bury St. Edmunds. (its more of a busy town). The Swan is right on the main street in the village. It is probably a little pricy - but if you are only there a few nights it might be worth it. It will be quiet and more of a village experience for you. To get into London you will drive right by Stansted Airport! I hate for you to have to go all the way back out to Heathrow when you need to go to St. Pancras. Perhaps you could drop the car off at Stansted and then get the train in to London. Depending on the time you have scheduled your train journey - you need to consider the extra time its going to take you in traffic to get to Heathrow just to drop the car.
We're actually going to Belgium on the Eurostar after staying one night in London, which is why I thought we'd catch the train from Cambridge to King's Cross. Alternatively, I did wonder if it would be just as easy to drive to Heathrow from Cambridge and drop the car there before getting the tube to King's Cross. ( we'll be picking the car up at the start of our trip from Heathrow)
Drop the car in Cambridge and take the train to London is definitely the better choice. Driving to LHR from Cambridge would be no fun. The M25 can be quite slow.
OK, we'll definitely arrange to drop the car at Cambridge or Stansted Airport then.
Lavenham itself appeals to me more than Bury St Edmunds, but I'm a bit concerned about some reviews for the Swan Hotel mentioning hot rooms and noise.
I hate both those things, so a quiet, air-conditioned room at the Premier Inn sounds better to me.
It's very hard to decide.
