Over-thinking my itinerary has just overwhelmed me

It's only a two-hour train ride from London to York and York is far more interesting IMHO. We have been there twice and hope to return, but four hours of Canterbury was plenty for us. York needs at least one full day, but probably not more than two. Dean Court Hotel has rooms which face York Minster, if you would like a bit of a splurge. If you have time, also see if you can visit nearby Fountains Abbey, a World Heritage site.

Assuming you have a map, draw a line encompassing these areas: Oxford--Stratford-upon-Avon----Warwick---Bath (personally, we did not care for Bath but others seem to like it)---Wells---Glastonbury---Salisbury---Winchester. There is a plethora of sites in that area and you will get to enjoy lots of countryside as you drive around. If Stonehenge interests you, arrange for private access ASAP. The car can be hired and returned to Heathrow and then you can finish with London.

Cambridge is north of London, Oxford is WNW.

While I enjoyed Canterbury, I agree that it is more of a day trip- unless you plan to take the train to Dover for a day. Why not consider something like this:
Eurostar to London- I think it arrives now at St. Pancras???? If so, just walk over to Kings Cross and catch the train to York. If you arrive in London around 11:30, you'll be in YOrk around 3 or 4ish at the latest. We like to stay at the Royal York Hotel- it is attached to the train station. Stay in York for 2 nights. It is a city, but it is NOT big!!! Feels more like a town. Has great shopping, the minster, good resturants.

Then train back to London. I'd go ahead and get your hotel for London. Do a day trip to Bath by train if you want. Or go to Cardiff Wales, Stratford-upon-Avon, Winchester or Brighton as a day trip. Definitely do Winsor. With the time you have, you can do alot in London and have plenty of time for some day trips by train. You could also include Greenwich, Kew Gardens, and other areas that don't have the big city feel while still based in London.

A couple of years ago I wrote an article for AAA Carolinas' "Go!" magazine about staying in London and doing day trips by train. If you are interested, let me know and I'll get you the webaddress of the article. With more than 40 trips to the UK, we LOVE using the trains- we have never felt the need to drive there!!! You don't really miss the countryside- you can enjoy it while someone else does the driving.

Ok, in my completely biased opinion, York! No, I haven't been to Canterbury but I love northern England.

I got totally lost when you decided to take the train to Ashford and go to Canterbury only to rent a car to drive all the way across the country to Bath. Unless you plan to stop and see specific things in countryside that would otherwise be difficult to get to by train or bus, take the train from Canterbury to Bath. (If you still plan to go to Canterbury, that is.)

I'm confused about the one-way car rental. I had no trouble pre-arranging renting a car that I picked up in Newcastle and returned in Glasgow. I looked into the car rental agencies and then had my travel agent help with the booking so I wouldn't goof it up. But like I said, unless you plan to visit tiny villages in the countryside where busses pass through only four times a day, you really don't need a car.

We have been to England many times - all areas mentioned are great. We were in Canterbury and liked it a lot, but one day there is enough; however, if you rent a car there, there is much to see in the area and you could use Canterbury as your base, e.g. Rochester/Chatham ship yard, Leeds Castle (fantastic), Hever (Anne Boleyn's home), Knole, Battle, Sissinghurst (beautiful gardens), many wonderful little towns to drive through. Look these places up on the internet to get a better idea of them.

And Dover!