We would like to present out itinerary for any feedback from the forum.
Day 1 arriving in Heathrow to London, sightseeing
Day 2 pubs and sight seeing
Day 3 train to Oxford, lunch and sights (Cotswolds) rent a car, drive to Stonehenge, then from Stonehenge head to Port Isaac
Day 4 Port Isacce
Day 5 drive to Bodmin drop car off and take train to London to pick up train to paris.
Spend 4 days in paris.
Is this reasonable?
having driven in these areas last year, the time to drive from place to place can take much longer than you think. ie day 3. have you considered other stone circles etc instead of stonehenge? check your time on rome2rio or google maps etc
we enjoyed port isaac, they were filming there on the day and got to meet the cast/crew.
Agree it will be a long day 3. I know we can rent a car in Oxford, but can we drop the car off at Bodwin or is there another train station we should consider?
London to Cornwall is a L-O-N-G W-A-Y, I know, I've done it many times. Like 5½ hours (train or car) versus only 2½ hours London to Paris by train. I would seriously consider flying from Exeter airport to Paris, or second choice Bristol airport. Both have flights to Paris. There is Newquay airport, but that has no flights to anywhere useful.
Bristol is actually nearer to London than it is to Cornwall, that is a measure of how far west and remote Cornwall is.
If you are going all the way to Cornwall, please stay for a few days. There is much more to see than just one film-set village.
Day 3 is ridiculous -- sorry to be blunt but it's gotta be said -- London to Oxford to Cotswolds to Stonehenge to Port Isaac. It will be a blur of tracks, roads, and hedgerows. The whole plan seems very rushed to me. Have you spent time in London before? If so, maybe you don't need that extra day there. If not, you should really give it more time.
If you can do without your jet-lagged day and second day in London, there's frequent bus service from Heathrow to Oxford. Then you could give Oxford and the Cotswolds, on Day 2, more than the couple of hours you'll have with your Day 3 plan. Day 3 could take you to Port Isaac, with a brief stop at Stonehenge and time for little else. Day 4 you could explore elsewhere in Cornwall, and on Day 5 drive to Exeter for your flight to Paris, per Chris' excellent suggestion.
I hope your flight home is from Paris so you don't have to backtrack to London.
I'm sorry , but your plan for day three is terribly ill conceived . Adding to Chris's comments , you are not addressing the issues surrounding driving a car in the UK , colloquially referred to as " driving on the correct side of the road " ( there is a good deal more to it than that ) . Having done considerable driving in the UK and being familiar , with the areas you intend to visit , There is absolutely no way that you can accomplish what you intend on day three . Remember that you will need a car to see any of the Cotswold villages , and the roads are narrow , and flanked with hedgerows which obscure unforgiving stone walls ( same in Cornwall ) . By way of a far more helpful suggestion , you might consider coming to our next NYC travel meeting , at Panera , 452 Fifth Avenue ( 40 - 41 street ) One PM , on January 14 , we are usually at the rectangular table in the back .
Sorry for some of the duplication , Dick and I were posting simultaneously , I would pay heed to his remarks
You are right! I have mixed up several different itineraries! I will straighten this out and come back to the forum with the correct one! Obviously this is our first trip!
I have to add another monkey wrench to this - Arriving by car in Port Isaac ,there is really no parking in the village proper. The carpark is on the road leading in , and it is a considerable walk down ( and I mean DOWN ) to the village ,and a steep hike back up to the car park
London Paddington to Bodmin Parkway is 4 hours on the direct train. We did this several years ago and lived our time ( 2nights) in Port Isaac. We took a taxi ( pre-booked) from the train station to our B and B in the village for £30.
I would not want a car there nor would I want to drive on those narrow roads. You do need to re-work your itinerary as Day 3 is not reasonable. I would suggest that if Port Issac is the goal you forgo some other soghts and spend some time there.
I don’t think you realise just how much there is to see in Britain. If you are going all the way down to Cornwall just to look up Doc Martin, then you really should extend your stay and see all the other places worth seeing in the county. I would see Paris for another trip and concentrate on southern Britain.
https://www.visitcornwall.com
If you are going to Oxford, then you really should also see Blenheim Palace - which is 7 miles to the NW - and would take at least half a day to see.http://www.blenheimpalace.com
You also should visit Bath.http://visitbath.co.uk/#
I agree with Lola - simple and direct. But I am going with some people who want to see Stonehenge - I am not so interested. It would be nice to see more of the country but time is limited - London and Port Isaac is on our bucket list.
Your schedule falls apart on Day 3. There's enough listed there, on Day 3, to fill 4 days of a normal vacation.
It is simply impossible to do all of what you have planned for your entire England portion.
You say "London and Port Isaac is (are) on our bucket list."
"I am going with some people who want to see Stonehenge"
I suggest that you put your "bucket list" items first.
Day 3: Early train from London to Port Issac (train station Bodmin Parkway). Stay that night at a B&B in Port Issac.
Day 4: Early train to Salisbury. Take the Stonehenge Bus out to Stonehenge from the train station. Then bus back to Salisbury. Then train back to London. Sleep in London that night.
Day 5: Train to Paris.
I am repeating Lola's first paragraph here:
"London Paddington to Bodmin Parkway is 4 hours on the direct train. We did this several years ago and lived our time ( 2nights) in Port Isaac. We took a taxi ( pre-booked) from the train station to our B and B in the village for £30."
Lola is giving you great advice when she tells you that you can take the train out, taxi to your B&B, and not have to use a car.
Just so you know...Port Issac is a really, really long way from London. I don't know that the pay off will be great enough for you to warrant the amount of trouble it will be.
Skip Oxford and the Cotswolds. You do not have any time at all for it.
Do NOT pick up a car. A car slows you down. The train is fast. And you don't get lost.
You say this is your first time to London or England. Even more reason not to drive while you're there.
It's okay to leave some of your bucket list stuff for the next time you visit England. Since it's your first time over there, you may want to spend all your time in London. There's a lot to do in London! And you really don't have a lot of time.
As an alternative plan, if you spent all your time in London, you could do one day trip out to Salisbury/Stonehenge by train.
It would be much less stressful to do this and forget all the other stuff and leave it for another longer trip to England some day.
About Oxford and the Cotswolds and why you should leave them off this time.
Both places are ideal for multi-day stays.
Oxford--one should spend at least one entire day there, walking around. One excellent museum which should be seen. Lots of great pubs. A person would want to stay at least one night in Oxford to fully appreciate it.
Cotswolds--Many small villages. The emphasis here is on peace and quiet. One should choose one of the villages and check into a B&B for a couple of nights. Drive or hike to one or two nearby villages to see what's there. Relax. Enjoy tea rooms.
NOT zoom through at a breakneck speed, from one village to the next, checking them off of a list. There! We've done the Cotswolds! Don't even bother. You won't see what they're about, because they're about relaxation, the peaceful countryside and nature....not a road race through on a mad, mad dash across England.
Save these two destinations for your next trip to England, and you will enjoy them more.
This is so true! We will stay in London for 3 days and save Port Isaac and other areas for next time! Thanks everyone!
