Where to spend Christmas in the English countryside

You may have problems with rural buses on that date, and depending on which train you wish to connect to, on the train too.

Everything will begin to shut down on Christmas Eve, no public transport at all on Christmas Day, which is also a Sunday so doubly shut if that is possible, and trains will likely start late and be relatively infrequent when they do get going.

The week between Christmas and New Year is pretty much shutdown except for the sales, and a lot of large planned engineering work takes place over the Christmas shutdown.

It would be worth bearing all that in mind as you choose where to stay. It is the one time in the year when a car is really useful.

Eurostar will be much easier and especially when you consider that ferries are subject to cancellation in winter storms, and the Channel gets fairly lumpy in winter even when there isn't a storm.

I do not work for these folks, nor have I had the chance to visit any of their cottages in person. I have been on their mailing list forever and love getting emails from them - a quick dip into fantasy, kindof like the movie, The Holiday. Anyway, maybe they can help make a suggestion.

http://www.grove-cottages.co.uk/

Debbie

As has already been stated, public transport can be very difficult over Christmas and New Year, as major rail engineering works are undertaken. There is no transport on Christmas Day.

Most cottage rental places have a 7 night minimum booking over this time and as the recommended Grove Cottages website demonstrates, where a 4 night rental isn't an option, everything is already booked up. It maybe better therefore to swap round your rural time with London. Try Airbnb as an option or B&Bs.

Rural areas in winter without a car aren't ideal (I live in the countryside). Many village stores have closed down, so where are you going to buy your provisions for a Christmas lunch without a car? Bus services are infrequent, it is dark by 4pm and although the chance of snow is unlikely, but not unheard of, it is more like to be wet if the past few winters are anything to go by.

The Cotswolds are not at their best in the winter, when there is no colour in the gardens. I would suggest that you look at a small town rather than a village such as Rye or Lewes. Getting back into London could be a problem if relying on trains, so stay in London to alleviate the risk. The Eurostar will be more reliable than ferries at that time of year.

Another option would be to stay in some of the pretty villages around Ashford (not Ashford itself - that's not pretty), then you could get a taxi to Ashford station, where there are infrequent Eurostar stops.

Agree with all the above. Jennifer's suggestion of staying near Ashford, so you can pick up the Eurostar there, seems your best option. There is a train service between Ashford and Rye (but will be on reduced service, when its not closed down over Christmas). Another town to suggest is Tenterden, but there are several others. Agree you need to think to stay in towns, rather than villages - and hope to find some local taxi services available.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. We may swap our schedule and do the countryside first and then spend Christmas in London. I have found several places that do rent for fewer than seven nights in the area.

Thanks again!

Ashley