My husband and I are going to England in the fall. We arrive at Heathrow about 9:30am on Oct 19. I have Eurostar tickets to Paris at 12:24 on Oct 27. We've been to London a few times and to areas south of London so we thought we would like to rent a car and visit the Cotswolds area. We are planning to visit Bilbury, Burton-on-the Water, and Stow-on-the-Wold and also see Blenheim Palace, Sudeley Castle, and Snowshill Manor.
Questions: Where should we rent the car? Can anyone suggest an itinerary to best use our time? I'm wondering the best location to stay while exploring the area. Any recommendations for a base and/or is there a village and/or hotel or bnb that might be more budget friendly compared with some others? Also any suggestions for other sites/villages are welcome.
I don't think we will spend more than 4-5 days there so we thought we could return the rental and take a train (from Oxford or ??) to York or Edinburgh for the last couple of days. We would have to be at St. Pancras in plenty of time to catch our train on the 27th. Alternative places are Cardiff, Wales or possibly Mousehole or similar in Cornwall. However, I'd wouldn't mind staying in the area if that's recommended. We have driven in Wales before so we are familiar with narrow roads and left hand shifting so if needed we can keep the car and drive if that works better. We love beautiful scenery, castles, manor homes, history, art and architecture. England has so many possibilities!
We don't want to be stressed or exhausted (ages 62 & 58) but also want to see as much as we can in the short time we are there. (Doesn't everyone!) If any of the options above seem crazy, I'm open to ideas and, there's always spending more time in London.... I know this is a bit convoluted but I need help to get this decided so I can start booking lodging and tickets. Thanks!