Lodging on short notice

Whereabouts in the UK are you going? And by short notice do you mean you plan to book now, not long before you leave, or find lodging as you go?

Regardless, I don't think Sep and Oct will be too bad as the schools will be back in.

Hello, thanks for replying! We will be in London for 3 days and staying in airbnb there . Picking up car at Heathrow and driving to Eastbourne and staying 1 night in airbnb. We have rented a cottage in Powys for 4 days but have 2 days in between that and 3 days after and can't decide exactly where to go so thinking of winging it for those few days

The obvious attractions to head towards are the Cotswolds and Stratford upon Avon, however I'm suspicious of how easy it will be to acquire lodging there at short notice and especially if you just turn up somewhere. There are, however, Cheltenham/Gloucester and Birmingham close to those locations, which should have more (and likely cheaper) accommodation options if there's nothing in the places proper.

There's also Oxford, though Sep/Oct could be when the University gets underway so there may be a lot of families in town to see their kids off.

Thanks for the tips and the Cotswolds are definitely a must see. My grandmother was born in Kidderminster so thought of going there. And after Powys and Snowden were thinking maybe of York but afraid that might be too far . We have 3 days to get from Powys to London to get flight home.

I still have time to book online yet but not sure where😭

I'm hoping that just driving , talking to locals etc. will be enough to find a place while we are driving. I just wanted some opinions on how feasible this will be.

Cotswolds could probably be your stop between Eastbourne and Powys. I think your choice after Powys is to go north or south: south to Kidderminster/SuA eventually returning to London, or north to York/Dales/Durham, returning the hire car there and taking the train back to London.

Some of the Tourist Information Offices in the UK operate a 'Book a Bed Ahead' scheme where, if you have a general idea of where you are going, they can source what accommodation is available in that area and book you in at short notice. Of course, doing this you run the risk of getting some absolute clunkers along with the unexpected gems, but you could end up with that result booking ahead by yourself anyway. We've used the scheme over the years and only got one really duff accommodation. (No names, but it was in Amersham and the name of the place should have given us a clue. Anyway, by sheer coincidence, last time we drove through that way I noticed they were in the process of demolishing the place!).

Hope you get your stays sorted and have a great trip!

Ian and Julie

Thank you all for your helpful comments xx