Southern England

The route you’re planning is similar to Rick’s southern England tour. You may want to take a look its itinerary for help, and pick up his guidebook on England. Take a look at his shows too. He has one on southern England.

We stayed in Salisbury on the tour. I enjoyed the town and the cathedral. It’s very close to Stonehenge if that is something you’re interested in. It was on my must see list, however I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Good luck with your planning and happy travels!

Possibly think of adding Salisbury or Winchester to the trop. They are both attractive cities with a cathedral. Winchestrer tends to be off the tourist beat. Salisbury is good for a day trip to Stonehenge.

Loved Canterbury, the docents tour at the cathedral is cheap and worthwhile.

If we're ever in the area again, then we plan to have more than a daytrip to Portsmouth. We really enjoyed wandering the historical area by the harbour, and the Mary Rose Museum is outstanding.

I don't see Salisbury on your list. It's definitely worth a few days. We made a trek to Stonehenge for the sunrise tour and we're able to stand among the stones. I'd highly recommend that over the typical visit where you're standing behind a roped off area well back.

We spent a couple of nights in Winchester and really enjoyed it. There are no blockbuster sites but it was the most relaxing town we visited and simply enjoyed walks by the river.

As others have suggested, don't overlook Salisbury. Great town, cathedral, and super base to day trip to Stonehenge.

Thank you for your suggestions. Several of them have been helpful. Seconds, after sending my original post,, I realized I should have mentioned we have been to Salisbury before. Like you I enjoyed it immensely. Again thanks and keep the advice coming.

Sherborne, in Dorset, is a peaceful and very historic town with an abbey, two castles (an old one and a new one), and offers relatively non-strenuous walks to the surrounding villages. I give Sherborne my full recommendation.

We have been to some of the places you listed and they are all good.

I suggest adding Winchester and Salisbury. The two amazing cathedrals are special. Also, there is more to see, especially in Winchester.

I think 4 days in Weymouth and Lyme Regis in March is too long. This March it’s rained almost every day. I’d focus on places with things to do regardless of the weather.

As much as I love the county of Dorset, I agree that 4 days in Weymouth and Lyme Regis in March (with possibly rainy weather) is too long.

If you're going to Cornwall and have any interest in Arthurian legends, you should go to Tintangel on the west coast. You could then make your way south to Penzance. Penzance is also near Lizard Point so google that. As for legends of King Arthur if that IS something your interested in you should include Glastonbury in your itinerary. Hope this is helpful. Enjoy!

Just picking up on your 4 days in Weymouth and 4 days in Lyme Regis...you can easily visit Weymouth whilst staying in Lyme Regis (or vice versa). 4 days in each seems a bit too much. Sherborne in north Dorset is a real gem. The weather in March can be unpredictable. We have had snow, rain and even a heatwave in March. Dorchester has a lot of indoor options if the weather isn't nice. What are your interests ?

Thank you all for responding to my questions. You have been a big help in revising our plans. To continue: originally we planned to land in London for two days then to Canterbury and proceed South and then West , stopping at several cities along the coast, all the way to Penzance. Then to London and two more days and then a flight out. We are now considering a three day stop in Bath. Recently, we have learned that Cornwall may be loaded with tourists in April. So my question is , should we reverse the order and go from London to Cornwall in march and then head east along the coast to Plymouth, Portsmouth, Canterbury, and so forth and onto London, ending there in mid April?

If your trip will be complete by mid April I don’t think it will make much difference next year. Easter will be late in 2025 and you should be gone before it and nowhere will be really packed.

Many schools these days have fixed their holidays for the first two weeks in April so it’s likely that there will be some more tourists about but nothing compared to the Summer months.

If Cornwall is loaded with tourists then Bath will be even more so. And nowhere much there to hide from them.

Cornwall is a big county, there are a handful of places which get busy with tourists, most of the county does not. Even those places which do get busy it depends very much on the weather.

And Easter is pretty early for a lot of tourists. The same could be said of Weymouth- which is a big seaside resort.

Places like London and Canterbury will be far busier.

Cornwall won’t be too busy in April so I wouldn’t let that be a deciding factor. The tourist season is picking up by then but it’s in the summer that it gets really bad.