Itinerary fine tuning

Does it make more sense to start at Bruges off the ferry then go to Amsterdam then Paris?

The ferry arrives at Hoek van Holland, just a hop, skip and a jump from Amsterdam, so I would start there.

What is Strasbourg like in September? Would it be a good base to do several day trips by train? Do The European Parliament sessions impact on hotel prices and crowds. Planning to be in Strasbourg in the last week of September.

Tail end of grape harvest season, so should be some wine festivals about. Check at booking.com to investigate seasonal hotel prices.

It is a very active trip with a lot of traveling. Still, it is well thought out. I have been to nearly all the places you mentioned and have some tips.

3 nights in Brugges is too much. You can see the city well in a day, cut to two nights.
Zurich is not that great a tourist destination. Consider visiting Interlakken.

Strasbourg is great, but you only need on day there. If you visit Alsance, Friberg and Black Forrest, you might justify four nights.

As for your plans for England. We just did a four week drive tour of Wales and England. Here is my detailed story and review of our cruise home.
28 days in Britain and Celebrity Eclipse home
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=599139

For Winchester, I strongly recommend this historical inn:
Wykeham Arms
75 Kingsgate Street, Winchester, SO23 9PE, GB Phone: +441962853834

For Bath, I strongly recommend this B&B:
Brooks Guesthouse
1 Crescent Gardens, Upper Bristol Road, Bath, BA1 2NA, GB Phone: +441225425543

You could make a day trip to S. Wales, visiting Tintern Abbey and some castles, but it would be a bit of driving.

Going from Winchester to Canterbury, if you take the M25 you will encounter the largest parking lot in the World. Traffic in and around London is terrible.

This is a very thoughtful itinerary. If it reflects your priorities then I wouldn't tweak it much.

But I think the previous poster's advice about Brugge and Switzerland is worth considering, except I'd go beyond Interlaken to one of the mountain towns. Spend your last night in Zurich.

Also, consider Colmar or one of the smaller Alsace towns as a base, since you will have a car. After England, your itinerary does strike me as city-heavy. But maybe that is a conscious choice--if so it is not an unreasonable one.

On longer trips, I'm a big fan of blocking off a half day here and there as 'hang out at local park; feed the ducks' down time, or doing some laundry in a proper laundromat, and Bruges seems like it would be a good place for that kind of relaxed day.

Longer trips are truly a marathon and not a sprint and you don't want to burn out the first week and start resenting the rest of the holiday.

Looks like a sensible plan altogether, I agree with others about Zurich. Presumably you'll be renting another car in Strasbourg for those days? I would.

Via Michelin reports a drive time just over two hours from Canterbury to Harwich, skirting London's eastern suburbs. This is probably an underestimate. National Rail reports a nearly three-hour train journey with three changes. I'd recommend driving and allowing plenty of time.

There is a recent thread on this forum about the Harwich ferry, try the search feature. Also a good writeup by The Man in Seat 61, describing the ferry. You need a cabin as well as ferry fare for the overnight run. I haven't done it but it sounds great. You'll want to make sure you can return the car in Harwich.

In addition to southern Wales, Wells is a nice day-trip from Bath. It wouldn't fill the full day, so--depending on what you want to do in Bath--it might not require a change in any of your other plans.

If you run into high hotel rates in Strasbourg, consider Colmar. It does get a lot of tourists, but it is a gorgeous town with a really fine museum. It's close to many attractive wine villages. I'm not sure what it would do to your travel time by car into Germany. If you plan to do those trips by rail, Strasbourg might be a better option.

I agree with all the others about Zurich and will also point out that--as the business capital of Switzerland--it may also be costlier than more picturesque options. Consider Lauterbrunnen to be surrounded by mountains or Lucerne if Alps are not a priority.

Thanks so much for the great suggestions. Really appreciate the different perspectives offered.
Cheers.

Picking up from Canterbury UK ....

• Drive to Ashford in Kent, drop off car and take Eurostar to Paris and stay 5 nights
• Train to Ghent and stay 3 nights - day trip to Bruges
• Train to Amsterdam and stay 4 nights - day trip to Harlem / Utrecht
• Train to Cologne and stay 2 nights - day trip to Aachen
• Train to Strasbourg and stay 3 nights - day trip to Colmar
• Train to Luzern and stay 3 nights - day trip to Pilatus / Zurich
• Fly home from Zurich

I would choose Ghent as a base over Bruges.
I would choose Luzern as a base over Zurich.