I am wondering if this is a reasonable tour of Cornwall and Devon.
Sat 6/8 arrive Heathrow drive to Bristol, lunch, sleep in Dunster.
Sun 6/9 tour Lynton and Tintagel, sleep in St Ives.
Mon 6/10 Minack Theater, Mousehole, sleep in Falmouth.
Tue 6/11 Exeter, Wells, sleep in Chippenham.
Wed 6/12 drive to London.
We will fly in from Lisbon, and have experience driving in England and Ireland. Have a civil wedding on Friday.... hoping to visit one or two friends before returning to Portugal on Saturday.
We are seniors, enjoy scenic views, strolling thru shops, finding little restaurants. Museums and organized tours are not our thing.
Thanks for your advice!
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
8159 posts
I would avoid the drive from Heathrow and take a train from London to Cornwall, then rent a car there. I'm heading there in March and that's what I'm doing. The drive there will take a while, and will take a lot of time away from the places you want to see.
Also, instead of driving to and sleeping in a different place each night, I would strongly suggest finding a base that is central to your locations. It would be much easier, and would not involve any more driving. For example, you could take the train to Falmouth, rent a car there, then head to your base (although it could be Falmouth). But many others here have based themselves in places like Totnes, St. Ives, Mevagissey, etc.
Posted by
Land of La
9261 posts
Drive to London???
Please spare yourself.
Train from Chippenham to Paddington instead and use the London Underground train system for transport around London.
Busses are fine but traffic is horrific.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8135 posts
If you train to Truro there is a Hertz car hire office literally on the arrival platform from London. Step off the train, in the back door of the office, check in then out the front door of the office to your car. Sleep in nearby Falmouth that night.
Then start with Day 4 of the above itinerary and essentially reverse the itinerary
Posted by
2599 posts
Why are you flying from Lisbon into Heathrow when Easyjet have cheap direct flights on most days of the week from Lisbon to Bristol?
Bristol would be an excellent starting point for your car tour of the south-west.
Posted by
Edmonton Alberta Canada
93 posts
Maybe this idea might appeal to you if you want to save the expense and hassle of driving to Devon/Cornwall: Last year I hired/rented a car in Exeter and did a one week loop through Devon and Cornwall. I arrived at Heathrow, took the train to Bath, stayed two days to unwind, then a train to Exeter, took a cab to the south location of Enterprise car rental because it was close to the motorway to minimize driving in the city (it was my first time driving on the left). At the end of the loop I stayed overnight at a small pub/hotel on the eastern most edge of Dartmoor Park, where the next morning it was a quick few minutes dive back to Exeter to drop iff the car and continue on a larger loop around England via trains.