Heathrow to Castle Combe

It’s really not a good idea to drive right after getting off an international flight, even in your home town, never mind in another country. I once had a near-disaster driving a few blocks to retrieve my cat from the kennel, having just returned from Italy (me, not the cat).

You could take the train from Heathrow to Chippenham, which is six mile from Castle Combe. So from Chippenham you could take a cab to Castle Combe.

I have been to Castle Combe twice. Both times as part of Mad Max tours out of Bath. Unless you are staying at the Manor House, the town is tiny and really not worth a night's stay.

The town has a small pub and a gift shop. You can walk from one end of the town to the other in about five minutes. Better off staying in a nearby larger town and spending an hour or two in Castle Combe. Or going to Bath for a night and taking a Mad Max tour of the Cotswolds that includes Castle Combe. Upon return to Bath you can then take the train into London. I've done that.

You can get either a bus or bus train combo from Heathrow to Bath. Get a good night sleep and the next day take a guided tour of some of the Cotswolds with MadMax. They are on 16 passenger vans. Both of the tours I took were excellent.

Look at Castle Combe on Streetview. Note the lack of parking. Click the link and proceed forward up the road:>>https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4919288,-2.2290748,3a,75y,9.03h,97.61t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHNZeXOtCvY98KPK9anPCXg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1

Don't drive with jet lag. We don't need another Sacoolas.

I second Frank II's suggestion.

I have no issues switching to driving on the right, I've done it so many times that the transition is seamless however I would never attempt it after a long haul flight, I have always picked up the car after an overnight stay. One only has to look at the tragic death of young Harry Dunn in Northamptonshire to see what the consequences of an inadvertent slip of the mind can be, and jetlag wasn't even a factor.

I’m going to third Frank II’s suggestion. That sounds like a much better idea. We do want to see Lacock as well so maybe head to Bath first, explore there, then the next day Castle Combe and Lacock and head back to London afterwards. We’ll skip the driving part too. Thanks for talking me out of that idea.

I’m thinking it also will be more crowded as we’ll be there in August. Surely midweek would be better than the weekend?

I agree with the comments against staying in Castle Combe. We stayed there once and regretted that we did not stay in Laycock. If you go to Laycock I can recommend eating at Sign of the Angel. Laycock is a charming village.

I have found that I can drive just fine after a flight from the US east coast. I am usually so excited that I am not sleepy at all. Still, driving after a long flight depends on the individual and I never plan driving very far the first day.