Itinerary feedback

You might find it more efficient to visit Oxford first, then get the car and spend time in the Cotswolds, then Bath, then Cornwall. If you're landing at Heathrow, there's a good bus service to Oxford.

Driving in Cornwall takes longer than a map might suggest. It's very hilly and the roads can be very crowded in summer. But with two full days you'll have time to see a good deal. You might consider Truro as a well-located base, but there are many other choices. Two full days will give you time to see a good deal.

Returning, you could visit Stonehenge, leave the car at Salisbury, and take a train into London.

Beware of trying to "fit in" too much in a limited time. Your itinerary would be too rushed for me, but it should work if you have the energy and don't need to "see everything."

I too am nervous about driving on the left, had a lot of trouble on my last trip, and normally I enjoy driving in Europe. But with your itinerary it would be hard to avoid driving. You might consider an automatic shift to minimize the adjusting you have to do, though that will cost more and may not be available in all locations.

What time of year? Will make a difference to journey times to Cornwall. This order isn't logical. You might be better off with starting your holiday in London. Taking a train to Devon/Cornwall and hiring a car then drive to a single base in the Cotswolds from where you can undertake day trips to Bath, Oxford and many other delights within an hours drive. Straight forward drive back to Heathrow for your return. 3 hotels rather than 5.

Concur with the parts about driving in Cornwall and that it will take longer to get to places than one would think. Not only do the roads twist and turn, but they are narrow and have rock walls covered by hedges on the roads’ edges. Don’t expect any shoulders. Truro is a good choice for a base.

Thank you for the feedback. The reason I wanted to start with a train to Bath is because we don’t need a car there and it sounds like a hassle, plus didn’t want to drive while recovering from jet lag. Also I am least excited about Bath, so thought a 2 night stay there would be perfect while recovering from jet lag. I wanted to save London for the finale, but could rearrange. We will travel in late June. Dick, we are experienced with stick shift, but I didn’t even think about how it would be left handed... and is it reversed also? I guess my biggest question is to do Cornwall or skip it this time?

The movement of the gear stick on most cars here - some notable older French exceptions - is the same as most places - the transmission isn't built differently - 1st up to the left, 2nd below it, third back up and a bit to the right, 4th below that, 5th up again and to the right and 6th below that. Different cars do have different numbers of gears, but most are either 4, 5 or 6 speed. Reverse all the way to the right and down.

Generally.
YMMV.

Especially with older French cars.

Some cars also have hill start, and others have stop start.

Is this better? I looked at prices and it seems more economical to drive to Cornwall vs taking a train.

London (4 nights)

Pick up car, drive to Cornwall, stop at Stonehenge (3 nights)

Drive to Bath (2 nights)

Drive to Cotswolds (2 nights)

Drive to Oxford and drop car (1 night - or sleep in Cotswolds another night)

Bus or train to the airport

As said, the manual gear shift (and foot pedals) are same as the US but you shift with your left hand:

https://previews.123rf.com/images/zenstock/zenstock1509/zenstock150900128/46050051-car-interior-manual-transmission-gear-shift-.jpg

Your revised itinerary makes more sense (to me) than your initial one because it doesn't zigzag.

Re shifting, the problem wouldn't be the position of the gears, it would be doing it with the left hand instead of right. But I've become a wimp about UK driving, sad to say. Give it a try and you'll probably be fine, manual or automatic.

Did you check the rail fares about 11 weeks ahead of now - for that will give you an idea of the prices for specific trains by booking in advance! www.nationalrail.co.uk

Regarding your last suggestion: you could land at Heathrow and take the bus link to Woking station for a train (not pre-booked due to unable to predict exact arrival time) to Salisbury. Check into a hotel for 2 or 3 nights. It is easy to take a shuttle bus up to Stonehenge which will save you all the worry about driving. http://www.thestonehengetour.info/timetable

Leave Salisbury by train for Bath and check into a hotel for maybe 2 nights. On leaving Bath - hire a car to explore The Cotswolds. Finally, visit Blenheim Palace before turning car in at Oxford.

If you want to add on Cornwall - consider going by train from Salisbury to maybe Plymouth and then hire a car. You could drive back north to Bath etc. or use the trains.
https://visitbath.co.uk
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.1221686,-1.6552334,8.82z/data=!5m1!1e1
Railmap >http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/images/structure/css/nationalrailnetworkmap.pdf
https://www.visitcornwall.com

If you're not that interested in Bath and with your revised itinerary you're not using it as a place to recover from jetlag why not leave it out and use those two nights in Cornwall? It will be a better use of your time.