Hello! I'm hoping someone might have a good recommendation. My mom and I will be traveling to England in December, and will be doing some driving around the country. I have two nights booked in Bath (12/11 and 12/12) and then we will head back towards London (12/14-12/17). However...it was a LOT cheaper to keep the rental car for an extra night and return it on the 14th. I don't want to take the car into London at all, so I was considering staying somewhere in between Bath and London. Would Oxford be worth a visit? I'm a Harry Potter fan, so I figured we could try to visit the library and places used in the films. Or is there another place that you would suggest? Thanks!
Posted by
Bristol, UK
619 posts
Oxford would be good. Other towns could be Salisbury or Winchester, and you could visit Stonehenge and/or Avebury on the way. You could also go north and visit the Cotswolds, perhaps staying at Cirencester, Stow or Burford.
Don't forget that the days are short in December, and the weather could be anything, so staying in a town would be my preference. December is out of season, so it should not be difficult to find a good hotel, but you might run across Christmas parties.
Posted by
3124 posts
Agree that you should follow your Harry Potter bliss.
If you were keen to see Stonehenge, you could stay in Salisbury or (farther southwest) Glastonbury. However, weather on the exposed Salisbury Plain can be bone-chilling with winter winds and, as the previous poster pointed out, days are short. Indoor points of interest include the visitor centre at Stonehenge itself, museums in Salisbury and Devizes, plus Salisbury Cathedral. The site of Old Sarum, on same bus route from Salisbury as Stonehenge, is all outdoors (there's only a very small gift shop & visitor centre).
Theoretically it seems like a great idea to drive from Stonehenge to Avebury to see 2 world-famous stone circles in one day, but the most direct route is a narrow country road that's quite slow. In December you'd need a very early morning start to see both before dusk.
Posted by
Orinda, California, United States
308 posts
Check out Lacock - near Bath. Lot's of movies filmed in this delightful un-restored village, including Harry Potter. I'd check it out for a few hours - be sure to visit the chocolate store - before seeing Stonehenge and then staying in Salisbury for the night. Also check out the history of the cathedral in Salisbury prior to visiting.
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5467 posts
Where ever you visit before on the way, Oxford has the convenience of more or less all the car rental firms having a base in it, plus one and probably by the time you arrive two good train routes to London.