Itinerary Help- 10 nights in England over holidays

You are short changing time in London with a trip to HP and Windsor.

1 January is a Bank Holiday and most things including all shops will be closed. The Roman Baths are however open. There maybe engineering works over Christmas/New Year that will delay your arrival in Bath. You may want another day in Bath.

Personally, I would drop the Cotswolds at that time of year, as there will be no colour in the gardens and daylight hours are short and add this time to Bath or London.

Does Stonehenge interest you? It appears on many itineraries on this forum, but it wouldn’t be on my top 100 things to see in the UK.

What time is your return flight? You need to be at Heathrow at least 3 hours before your flight and there is no direct train there from Oxford, so I would stay at the airport the night before your departure unless your flight is later in the afternoon, which it doesn’t appear to be.

I'd drop the Cotswolds. They'll have no charm when you're viewing them on a grey day with rain.

Book the Harry Potter studios immediately. You're not the only one on holiday during that time of year, and being an indoor activity won't be affected by weather. There's also a new Fantastic Beasts movie being released late this year.

As mentioned above, do you really want to see Stonehenge? It might lose a lot of charm on a typical damp, cold, and rainy day that time of year.

On departure day you want to be in central London or near Heathrow, especially if it's a typical morning or early afternoon departure.

You might be interested to see how a couple of American twenty-somethings cope with driving in England.

https://youtu.be/AHblOO907VQ?t=104

There are only two tracks in service between London and Slough enroute to Bath on 1 January, instead of four. This will mean some form of reduced service in frequency and possibly speed.

There is a direct coach from Oxford to Heathrow that runs through the night.

You asked, "Is this an appropriate amount of time in each city?" The answer is no, you are trying to cram too many destinations into too few days.

I agree you should drop the Cotswolds; stay another night in Bath or else go to Oxford on Jan 3 so you'll have two days there plus the Blenheim Palace trip (which you could skip if you find that you're tired by then). Also don't try to go to Stratford-upon-Avon.

You're young. You'll have chances to visit Britain again!

Much as I am in favour of the Cotswolds - having grown up where I walked the dog on Cleeve Hill - that is not the time of year to enjoy the area very much.

The day you are arriving is Boxing Day. No trains will be running, but the Tube will be - to a certain degree - and so will most buses. Shops except those with Boxing Day sales will be closed. Which airport are you arriving, and where are you staying?

Boxing Day is a Bank Holiday.

Consider you are visiting when the days are shortest for daylight and most often cloudy with a spot of rain. During this time of year we gain travel "value" by slowing down the itinerary and minimizing transfers from place to place. Given your interest in architecture and museums you are definitely short changing London and I highly recommend you visit Windsor. Another impact will be the holiday schedule and reduced hours of opening times. Is this your first trip to England?
I recommend sticking to London with only one two night trip to either Oxford or Bath. Take a deep dive into checking out each desired site's website to learn opening times and tios for visiting.

"My friend and I are going to England around the holidays"

Another case of two nations divided by a common language, when I first read that I thought they were coming during the summer.:-)

We loved Lucy with www.cotswoldstours.com.uk who went out of her way to accommodate what would clearly be a custom type tour for you.She knows the nooks and crannys of northern Cotswolds and would know special spots that won't be affected by a Boxing Day visit to the region. She picks up at Moreton on Marsh station and is quite reasonable. We got her from a private tour guide in Provence. Wish you a wonderful trip.PS. They are already advertising Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations.
Blenheim is fabulous!
Best,
Mary

We travel to Oxford every year and find the best way to Heathrow is to take the Airline bus from Gloucester Green directly to the airport. The buses run very frequently all day. We've never had any trouble getting to Heathrow in plenty of time even if we had a noon flight back to the States.