Please help me plan...I'm overwhelmed with options

First tip: don’t drive to Edinburgh. It will cost more in drop off fees, an extra day of car rental and fuel than getting the train or a flight from Bristol airport, both of which will be much more pleasant. It’s a very long drive.

Are you intending to stay in Bath for 5 days and do trips by car from there or would you like to move around? You could split your time between Bath and Oxford. Take a day for each city and then that will give you I assume 2 full days for your day trips. So you don’t actually have that much time to fill anyway.

I won't offer any advice on your England plans as you have already decided on enough locations/sights to occupy five days and it wouldn't be possible to add on any more. My reason for my comment is to query why you intend on driving to Edinburgh? Unless there are plans for any stopovers along the way why not just drop the car off at Bristol airport and fly to Edinburgh (1hr 15mins vs 7+ hours driving non stop)?

edit Helen beat me to it!

How long were you planning to spend on the journey from Bath to Edinburgh? If it is just transit time instead of sightseeing time it might make more sense to take the train.

I think your idea to take a train OR a National Express Coach (from Heathrow for sure not certain about Gatwick) directly to Bath is good in my mind. I'd give yourself one full day to see Bath before you pick up the car. Day trips to Glastonbury and Wells plus Stonehenge and Avebury are very doable from a base in Bath. In fact there is a small van tour company, Mad Max that does the Stonehenge/Avebury trip if you decide not to rent a car. You could also spend another day going up into the Cotswolds, take a look at the Mad Max itineraries to see where they loop out to from Bath for the day.

Do you have 5 nights or 6 nights? To me 5 nights = 4 days, 6 nights = 5 days.

I'm also confused as to why you are wanting to drive to Edinburgh.... Are you intending to spend time in Scotland once you get there? Or is it a case of arriving in Edinburgh, dropping off the car and heading onto somewhere completely different?

It is going to be a very long drive from Bath - its just under 400 miles. That is going to be around 8 hours solid driving PLUS any time for stops. The first bit of the drive is pretty boring until you get well north of Liverpool.

If it is just driving to Edinburth to see a bit more of Britain , then foget it. Your time would be much better added to Bath and the Cotswolds. Add in places like Blenheim Palace, Wells, Bradford upon Avon, Cheddar Gorge, Sherbouren, Shaftsbury, Salisbury... In fact, Exmore and places like Dunster are possible to do in a day from Bath, or Dorset area... .

I'd really recommend taking a serious look at the Mad Max tours out of Bath. A couple years ago I took a small van tour of theirs that went to Stonehenge, Avebury, Lacock & Castle Coombe. It was a fabulous day and a restful way to see so much with someone else doing the driving.

Hi -

If you are going to Stonehenge, then you are not that far from Avebury, and it would be a crime not to take it in, in a ‘megalithic day’. Plus Avebury is free (OK, you’ll probably have to pay to park) and you can get up close and personal with the stones, which you notably can’t at Stonehenge. Silbury Hill - Europe’s largest man made mound - is nearby, and if you want to stretch your legs a bit, there’s a walk to West Kennet Long Barrow, a large chambered Neolithic tomb which is worth doing.

If necessary, and unless you have a very specific reason to want to visit Glastonbury, I think it can be dropped. My personal opinion of course, but it does seem to be full of new age/Arthurian legend/Dungeons and Dragons/mythic clothing and associated accoutrements, literature and not much else. Others may (strongly) disagree and it may be just what you are after. I think we’d all agree a walk to the top of the Tor is worthwhile and the abbey ruins are impressive, although their tie in to the Arthurian legend seems tangential at best, as does the Joseph of Arimithea legend. But it’s not for me to rain on anybody’s parade. Like I always say, you pays your money and takes your choice…..

Nearby Wells however, is in my view, much more to be preferred with its magnificent cathedral and associated precincts, plus you’ll recognise the rest of it if you’ve ever seen the film ‘Hot Fuzz’!

If you are driving north to Edinburgh, I’d be inclined to do it over two days, but it would be feasible in a long day, to drive via the Lake District for a change of scenery from the motorways and from there you could cut across to take in Hadrians wall en route (the section from Steel Rigg to Housesteads is usually the bit you’ve seen, for good reason!) before swinging north east-ish through the Borders to Edinburgh itself.

Hope that gives you food for thought!

Ian

Thank you so much everyone! This is exactly what I hoped to hear. You've convinced me not to drive to Edinburgh, we have a tour of Scotland and that's why we're headed that way. I'll look into options out of Bristol. It also sounds like we'll have plenty to fill our days if we just stay in that one area and see the many many villages and cities around us. You've all given above and beyond perfect ideas. Again, thank you!

I see that you are considering driving into Oxford. That's not generally a good idea, better take the train or park in the remote Park and Ride and take the bus in. Oxford City Council is seriously anti-car, on street parking is vanishingly hard to find, if you do find it it is for a short time and eye wateringly expensive, and then there is the high charge for the environmental zone, payable online daily. There are also bus gates with associated high fines, and intentionally convoluted routes you need to take to get from a to b.

Take it from someone who regularly has to drive into Oxford.

Park at the Park and Ride. Or better, take the train.