June trip - itinerary advice

I would see if I could fly into Manchester, unless you really have things you want to do in London. For one, Heathrow area (especially the airport) is just a depressing area for the most part, and I wouldn't start there if I didn't have to. There are hundreds of places to go "near Oxford or outside Birmingham".

For hotels, I am now off "quaint"... I would choose a small hotel part of a big chain - the B and B's are just too unpredictable (eg. dusty, uncomfortable beds, tiny rooms). Throw a dart at a map, since you will have a car. The really small places are like food over there: wildly unpredictable quality. You might get lucky and love it, you might... not.

For a car, I have used Europcar, but don't remember anything of note, and don't know the others in Europe/UK - at the time, many years ago, it wasn't expensive. Just remember, anywhere NEAR London has ULEZ and congestion charges to contend with.

You don't say where you are coming from which could be anywhere in the world but at a guess, I would think USA? Obviously Birmingham Airport would be the most favoured location to fly into and failing that maybe Manchester or Heathrow. Go to https://www.skyscanner.net and put in FROM the airports I have just mentioned in the UK and your country as destination and select month as whole of June. So, by doing things in reverse, it should be able to show up flights from your best place of departure which you can then book direct with airline.

Birmingham city centre is well worth a visit and the downtown rail station is called New Street with Moor Street (for Stratford-upon-Avon) a relatively short walk away. Birmingham International is the station by the Airport and the NEC (National Exhibition Centre).

Oxford city centre is virtually traffic free and people who use cars generally have to park out of town at Park & Rides where they leave their cars and use shuttle buses to the centre. You could go by bus from Heathrow to Oxford. For journeys such as Birmingham to Oxford or up to Manchester, the train is probably the best option. Manchester Airport has its own station.

When in the north Cotswolds, suggest you visit Hidcote Manor Gardens.

I don't see the need to be flying in or out of Heathrow. If you are thinking of flying back from MAN to JFK that would either be on Virgin or Aer Lingus.

If the latter you could open jaw and fly MAN in one connection, and BHX in the other (by one ticket connection via Dublin)- into MAN and out of BHX feels the obvious.

The NEC is next to Birmingham Airport.

There is very frequent rail service from MAN to Manchester Piccadilly station for an hourly train to Oxford in 2h 50m (or cut the corner on the express bus to Stockport and pick up the train there). That is as fast (if not a bit faster) as you can drive the distance.

Thanks everyone who has posted so far! Yes, I’m flying from Rochester, NY, US (maybe via JFK or Boston). The reason I was considering flying into LHR: I see there’s a bus from LHR to Oxford, because I’d prefer not to drive (on the other side of the road haha) the moment I step off an overnight flight. We could get settled in for a day, then rent a car in Oxford for the rest of our trip, since we plan a roaming around the countryside & visiting several sites.

So…considering flying into LHR & perhaps out of Birmingham, as you’re right: the airport is right next to the NEC. The trade off: 3 flights to get home or driving a few hours to a bigger city (LHR or MAN) and 2 flights. I’m going to search flight routes as suggested & see what the cost difference is.

Thanks for general hotel comment & I agree! Small hotel chains better than B&B. In Oxford, I’ve been looking at:
- Old Bank Hotel: centrally located with parking, but maybe too busy/noisy there.
- Old Parsonage on north side of town: a bit out of the fray, but parking not guaranteed.
- south of town there is the Oxford Thames Hotel: looks lovely, but a 15 min drive to Oxford, and on the opposite side of most of the things we want to do, north of Oxford.

Close to NEC/Birmingham I’ve been looking at Mallory Court (part of the Eden Hotel Group).

And thanks so much for the garden suggestion! I’m a professional landscape designer, so keep them coming!

Is the desire to visit Oxford something you definitely want to do or just a convenient place between Heathrow and Birmingham? If the latter and you do consider flying into/out of MAN and/or BHX then it doesn't make much logical sense. You could base yourselves in the Peak District, a national park between and a bit to the east of MAN and BHX. Lots of lovely places to stay, countryside as a whole probably more interesting than the Cotswolds and the best stately home in the country to visit in Chatsworth, also very interesting for a landscape designer.

Whilst flying back from BHX will mean 3 flights home you could if you fly via Dublin to Boston or New York, take advantage of US pre-clearance which will allow you to land as a domestic passenger for a transfer to Rochester. I assume that you can book JFK-MAN and BHX-JFK or BOS as one booking with Aer Lingus, maybe even adding flight to and from Rochester.

For anyone interested in gardens and travelling in the summer they should check out the National Garden Scheme (NGS)- details won't be out yet for until much closer to Easter.
It is a chance to visit private gardens on specified dates- for a nominal contribution to charity (and a great way to meet locals, or even towns/villages way off the normal tourist radar). Many of them are simply stunning.
Apparently there were 136 such gardens in Oxfordshire this year. I know in my part of the world (the Lake District) there are some stunning such gardens which you would never know existed without the NGS.

The obvious garden to visit in Oxfordshire is that of Blenheim Palace, also the University of Oxford Botanic Garden (founded in 1621 ).

If you fly into Manchester there is the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) garden at Bridgewater - it is quite new, and even has an express bus link from central Manchester.

Also open to car rental company recommendations (I tend to use Avis when possible) and best airlines these days for flights in & out of England.

I've used Arnold Clark on my last two trips to the UK. Earlier this year I rented directly with AC (17 day rental) and then in 2023, I rented from them through their broker, Celtic Legend (14 day rental) for my trip to Scotland. Both rental experiences went very well. Arnold Clark is a pleasure to deal with. Their agents explain everything to you and make sure that you understand the fine print. They are good about upgrading sometimes, and very courteous and helpful. I will always use them in the UK for future rentals.

https://www.arnoldclarkrental.com/
https://www.celticlegend.co.uk/car-rental/

For airlines, I prefer Delta and will always fly with them if possible. A lot depends on where you are flying from. I usually fly out of MSP and can almost always get a nonstop flight to Heathrow from there. I would check Google flights to see what your best options are (and price). https://www.google.com/travel/flights

ETA: I do agree with the others that flying into Manchester airport would probably suit you best. There's really no need to fly into London. You could then just take the train to Oxford, stay there for a few days (Oxford is wonderful!) and use public transport to get around in Manchester. If you really want a car, you could pick one up in Manchester, but really, I don't see the need for it, unless you just want to tool around in the countryside.

I'm adding another reply (should have read the other replies beforehand). I agree with Johnnew52; if you are interested in gardening, then definitely Chatsworth would be a wonderful location to visit, but be prepared to spend a lot of time there as it is huge. https://www.chatsworth.org/

Another must-see would be Lyme (owned by the National Trust), which is just south of Manchester and quite beautiful; especially the gardens. It's definitely worth a visit. FWIW, it was used as Pemberley in the filming of Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle version).

If you are interested in visiting these (or similar) places, then a rental car would definitely be handy.

To add to Mardee's post above the National Garden scheme will also have gardens open in Cheshire and Derbyshire. You can see some of them already on the NGS website but many more will be added in the coming months. Here is just one example -https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/9282/fir_croft - open on Sunday 15th June. There will be plenty more.

The Mallory Court looks very good but although I used to work in Royal Leamington Spa, along with our station cat, a black one called Centro, I don't know it. It is south of town and the easiest (ha) way to the NEC by car is my old commuting route of the A452 through town to the A46 then north to A45 and all the way until the airport/station/NEC.

Only little problems are traffic through Leamington and Warwick, the sneaky speed camera vans on the bridges over the A46, the back ups (and confusing junction - do it the first time each way in the daylight) at the junction of the A46/A45 on the outskirts of Coventry, the speed cameras on the A45, the perennial traffic between Kenilworth Road and Costco/Sainsburys on the A45, and the sky high parking charges at the NEC. (local knowledge and years of experience speaking here)

Counterintuitively, it will be no slower to take the long way around making your way toward Warwick and then following signs to the M40 at junction 14, then M40 to the M42 North confusing junction at M40/M42/M42 because the M40 turns into the M42 towards Droitwich - you want M42 towards Solihull and Airport). Little problems are the high level of traffic on the M42, and variable speed limits controlled by the overhead gantries and associated speed cameras, narrow lanes on the M42 because of the bridge and tunnel work on the boondoggle called HS2 until (or if ever) the construction is finished, backups at the exit for the A45 and the airport/station/NEC, and the sky high parking charges at the NEC.

If you will be there for BBC Gardeners' World Live, it will be packed and parking even harder to get and even more expensive.

A modest proposal would be to park at Leamington station (not free) and take either the local Leamington - Coventry - Nuneaton train to Coventry and change for anything heading towards Birmingham - they will all stop at Birmingham International for the airport and NEC. The airport is reached from the station by a 60 second free ride surface cable car every 90 seconds. The NEC is reached from the station by a fairish walk (depending on the exhibition Hall needed) entirely indoors with some travelators and escalators. Or if you are lucky and get a Cross Country train from Leamington via Coventry (don't take a Cross Country via Solihull, it won't go where you want) because it will whisk you to Birmingham International in only 2 stops, via Coventry but you stay on. Issues on that choice, you need to fit the frequent schedule.

If you do end up staying at Mallory Court or other places in or around Leamington or Warwick there is a lovely small garden under the walls of Warwick Castle and riverside (River Avon) now maintained by others since the creator died several years ago. Small but perfectly formed. Called The Mill Garden. They don't have a website but on Google Maps it is at https://maps.app.goo.gl/ha4y6QcY67PMVWhH8

https://bourtonhouse.com is a garden I visited in early September when it seemed to be at its peak. It is near Moreton-in-Marsh in the N Cotswolds. Sezincote is also in this area.

If visiting Hidcote Manor, Kiftsgate Court garden is not far away. However, note that some of these gardens are closed on certain days and it can be a job to visit them on the same day.