Hi all, My husband and I are planning a trip to England in September for 13 days. I would like to stay in London 4- 5 nights and then see the Cotswolds, Bath and Cornwall. I do not want a car in London so was thinking of going to Heathrow and picking up a car after London. We love gardens and would like to include some/several on our trip. Wondering if this is too much to do and I should give up either Bath or Cotswolds? Does anyone have an itinerary that might work for all 4 places or just 3. Also suggestions on when to pick up a car or perhaps include train travel? We will be flying into and out of Heathrow with staying at the airport our final night for an early flight next morning.
Thank you!
Posted by
Lake District, England
8136 posts
This recent thread may help you with the matter of gardens in Cornwall- https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/where-to-stay-in-bodmin-and-cornwall-suggestions
Posted by
Preston UK
1232 posts
I would suggest dropping both Bath and the Cotswolds and concentrating your post London trip on Cornwall and maybe Devon. You could get a train from London to pick up a car in either Exeter or Plymouth. That will give you plenty of time to see the countryside and many great gardens.
Posted by
Land of La
9261 posts
Way too much for only 13 days!
Have you used Google maps to research the distances of the areas of England you wish to see? By doing do you can see train travel time.
For instance from London to Cornwall is over a 5 hour train ride. You’ll also notice by viewing Google Maps that Cornwall is a county in England. Is it St Ives or Penzance or New Quay or the Lost Gardens of Heligan that might be of interest.
I’ve used the website to discover English Gardens.
Hopefully it’s helpful to you.
https://www.gardensillustrated.com/gardens/25-of-the-best-english-gardens-to-visit
Posted by
2816 posts
You could easily do London, Bath, & Cotswolds. We spent 5 nights in London, 3 in Bath, and 3 in the Cotswolds. We did not rent a car but you can rent in Oxford. We were intimidated by driving on a different side of the road and then we went from Cotswolds to York so car rental and return became complicated.
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1454 posts
Cornwall has some great gardens. Agree that getting a train to Exeter then picking up a hire car to travel down to Cornwall would be a really good plan. If you wanted to return the car to Exeter you could then catch a train to Bath, then back to London. But you’d have to see how you time panned out.
Posted by
England
13 posts
After London you have 8 or 9 days for this trip. Personally I would drop the Cotswolds and spend time in either Cornwall, Devon or Dorset. There are many beautiful gardens in these counties and they have the benefit of the coast too.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you everyone for your thoughts about my trip. I think I will change my trip to London and Cornwall and save Bath and the Cotswolds for another time. Maybe do some day trips from London as well. I am really just starting my planning. I was thinking I wanted to go in September to reduce crowds but the more I research I do I am finding the gardens may be more colorful in June and that may be okay for crowds. Does anyone have thoughts on a June 2025 or September 2024 visit in terms of the gardens and also crowds? Thank you!
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1454 posts
I would expect June and September to be pretty similar in terms of crowds. If there is good weather then more people head down to Devon and Cornwall at short notice so that’s the thing that could make a difference - but it’s impossible to predict!
I’m no gardening expert but I believe June is the best time to see gardens. September would still be nice though.