Best Cotswold village to stay in with teens?

Sandi, I love the Cotswolds, but even I get saturated after three or four days of looking at cute cottages (we tend to go to the smaller- probably touristy- villages). What do your sons want to do for the week- I am sure they do not want to drive around looking at houses? you need to figure out what they want to do- most renowned Cotswold villages are cute but really nothing to do except look at tourists. I assume you will have a car. You may be better off on the outskirts of a small town in the area, where your sons can get away from you every now and then. Even you will need a break from the villages. Possibly Winchester or Salisbury. Actually Oxford probably makes most sense, right on the border of the Cotswolds, lots for your sons and you to do in town, on a good train line to London. So you can rent your car in Oxford and not have to fight London traffic. Probably also much less expensive than renting in the Cotswolds. You could probably find something on a bus line into Oxford

Sandi: I agree with Brian...finally some one has come out and said that the Cotswolds can be just too much cute...especially for two teenage boys. Woodstock is a twenty minute bus ride from Oxford and could be a good base for touring. It's walking distance to Blenhiem Palace. You can go back into Oxford for culture or sports and catch the train from there to Bath and Stonehenge. A Car is prefered, but do not drive into Oxford...there is no parking. You might be able to get a B & B in Oxford. On School break...there might even be rooms at one of the colleges.

You must take your teens to non touristy Avebury it is fabulous. You can actually walk among the stone circles. There is a pub nrby where you can enjoy lunch or dinner. I enjoy it more than stonehenge becuz you can feel its power as you walk in the pasture there. Very thought provoking. Burford is an option with reasonable lodging and an easy drive to Bath, Avebury, Cotswolds. There in not a big tourist draw for Burford but it is well placed for you.

Thank you for the advice. We are still in the very early stages of planning, so any input is great. We are just thinking that it would be nice to rent a place for 5/6 days as a way to make the trip a bit more economical in terms of food costs etc.....I just picked the Cotswold area thinking it would be central (and cute). However, as we do have teens, they are not so much into "cute". I am looking at RS UK 3 week itinerary, and trying to modify it for 2 weeks, with flying into London and out of Glasgow. We do plan on renting a car. Right now I have this as a starting itinerary: 3 days London 5 days Cotswold, seeing Bath, Stonehenge (may change this based on advice from here) 2 days Keswick 1 day Oban 2 days Inverness 2 days Edinburg fly home from Glasgow I would prefer doing a longer stay in at least one place, so we can rent a cottage/house. Any advice is greatly appreciated, as we are not going until July 2011

If you visit Stonehenge (which I like) you must also drive the short extra distance and visit Avebury. Together they make a great experience. Let us know what your sone would enjoy, we could come up with some good selections for your 6 day stay (which does make sense-just need to find a logical location)

......and on the way to Avebury you have to go Woodhenge, Silbury hill, and the West Kennet Long Barrow. Then you start looking around for chalk horses and never make it to the Cotswolds. Yes! (Sorry, but we suffer from earnestmaritaldisharmony about the Cotswolds and I had to get my plug in while Herself is traveling and not looking over my shoulder.)

Thank you so much for your help! I planned a trip for my husband and I a year ago, and this place was invaluable!!! It gets really overwhealming to plan a European vacation, as there is SOOOO much to see,and limited money/time! I am wondering if there is a "homebase" within easy transportation to London for our week long stay? That way we could just do a day trip to the Cotswolds, Bath, Stonehenge, Avebury? We could spend our first night in London, then travel out for a week long stay in a cottage/house. Our boys both enjoy history, so I think they will enjoy most attractions. My husband is the one who doesn't like art/museums so much. They all like architecture, so now I am thinking a trip to York might be a must see?? Also they are interested in the Vikings, as my older son spent a summer in Sweden and finds that history really interesting. I just wish we could stay a month! However the longest I can do is 16 days, July 1-16. We land lunch on the 1rst, then leave the afternoon of the 16th. Keep the advice coming, as nothing at all about my itinerary is set in stone. I haven't booked the plane tickets yet, but will do that soon.

If you try to plan a trip based on what you imagine might interest a 13 year old you are doomed to failure. Do what YOU would want to do and if the children don't like it they can stay home next time. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but we travel with our three children all the time and we never make our itinerary just for them. They love to travel and never complain about being bored. What they WILL care about most, however, are the lodgings. That can make or break an experience for them. We stayed in the Cotswolds for a week, basing in the village of Painswick and making day trips. We stayed at a rental called Capp Mill (do a google search and/or PM me for more information - I would be glad to help). It is a lovely converted mill built in 1400s next to a creek. Painswick is a very pleasant and not very touristy small town well located to see all the typical sights. We even spent a day in the SE corner of Wales and saw some fantastic ruins. Capp Mill is like an English fairytale - it will be the highlight of your trip and yes, you can save a fortune on food by making your own dinners. That also makes it feel more like "home".

Painswick is one of the small towns I would consider- close to all the scenic Cotswold villages, but big enough to have things to do when you want a break. We have stayed close to there and were able to do Tintern Abbey ruins (Wye valley, Wales) which is as impressive to me as Stonehenge and Avebury; Kilpeck church (old Norman with old Celtic crosses) Tewksbury Cathedral, there is also a church with a wooden steeple. Compton Wynyates (large manor house) Chedworth Roman Villa remains. We have found churches with pre-reformation glass, Crusader tombs. All not on the eregular tourist route. You may even have time to see some Cotswold villages

Or if you want to be "in" the Cotswolds, Chipping Camden is the biggest village. With a long main street and more shops than others

Just an idea - but when I travel with my kids (now teens very similar in ages to yours) they each get a special day of the trip where they pick what we do from start to finish, where we eat, etc. It's THEIR day and they do the research and planning (with various amts of assistance that varied with their ages). I usually give them a spending limit too - so that things stay reasonable. Honestly, some of our best vacation days have been these days. It also makes them very invested in the outcome of our trip and over the years the siblings have sometimes joined forces and worked together on their days. Anyway.. it can be fun and sometimes surprising to find see what they'll come up with.

Would a cotswold village be too far to do day trips to London? How far is Chipping Camden? I am trying to find one place we could stay a week, so as to rent a cottage and save on meals, etc... Love the advice...keep it coming! Also...anyone done Hostels for families? Looking at that possibility for the other half of the trip, where we only need a night or two in each place.

Yes, can do London from Cotswolds: As I recall, only two Cotswold villages have train stations- the most common one is Moreton on the Marsh, toward the east. reasonable train journey (via Oxford, but you stay on the train). I think you arrive at Paddington (dont remember)and probably an hour plus- there are train gurus on this forum who will give you the real facts. Problem is that London is tiring. So you are tired when you catch the train back. Also miss out on all the things to do in London at night. You would get more by spending the last two or three nights in London

It's about three hours by car from Chipping Campden into London, but I wouldn't try it even with the short time available in the city. Traffic can make the trip much longer and finding a place to park is maddening. I threw in the towel a few years ago when they invented the congestion fee business. I'll be in London by next weekend and my plan is to get close to an outer tube station and find a hotel. I have no idea how long a train would take or what the connections/duration would be, but that'd be my approach if it's workable........EDIT: If you take Brian's approach, which is a good one, and want to save a couple of bucks, there's an Etap hotel (part of the French Accor chain - - spartan and small, but safe and clean) that runs about sixty or seventy bucks a nigh per room (you'll need two). The tube station is about a five-minute walk with maybe a twenty-plus minute ride.

Sandi, I would never try to either see the Cotswolds from London or see London from the Cotswolds. The question isn't can it be done, it's should it be done. No, it shouldn't. Yes, you can easily use hostels as a family. Most have rooms they call "family" rooms which are simply regular rooms a family can use without the "risk" of having to share it with anyone else. Most European hostels are not all that youthful, nor do they have the party atmosphere some people seem to remember from the 1970's. Basically, they are perfect for families on a budget and kids love the relaxed atmosphere, common rooms, and interesting people being very casual and friendly. Regarding a week in the Cotswolds; remember, it's not just saving some money having a kitchen, it's the priceless feeling of having a home to return to each night, a town to call your own, and memories cemented in a way that can't be achieved in a 2-3 night stay.

Ed, whilst I agree with your logic I disagree with your driving time this time around. Its 88 miles from Sheep Street to Finchley Road just south of Golders Green Station where you can either ride the 13 bus into town or walk up to Golders Green and run down the Northern Line. I frequently park there because if you park in the right place it can be free. My experience is 1:40 to 1:50, A44 to A40 to M40 to A40 to the North Circular (A406) to A41 to surface streets. -=- I do agree that train or staying in London is a better plan. Moreton-in Marsh to Paddington is 1:32 to around 1:46 with a pretty frequent service and a couple of gaps.

Just to say that Moreton-in-Marsh is not a village. Have a look at the weekly market and you will see that it is, in fact, a market town. Oh, and there is no marsh there. Over the generations "marches" has evolved into "Marsh".

The only way a train from Moreton-in-Marsh can reach London is via Oxford. There is no other track. They may not require a change, but they all go through (and stop).

Hi Sandy You've had lots of advice and you are spoilt for choice with beautiful places, but my advice is to look for a cottage in or around Oxford. You can get to the North Cotswolds; Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden in less than an hour - and Chipping Campden is said to have the most beautiful high street in England - most of them are medieval. You also have access to good roads to Stonehenge, Avebury and the south Cotswolds. Oxford is close to Blenheim Palace (the World Heritage Site at Woodstock) where Winston Churchill was born, and Oxford itself has attractions for your boys. The train to London Paddington Station takes about an hour - so in Oxford you have the best of all worlds. Have a good trip Anne www.walkthelandscape.co.uk

Sandi, I agree with Randy, who said;"I would never try to either see the Cotswolds from London or see London from the Cotswolds. The question isn't can it be done, it's should it be done. No, it shouldn't." Stay for the first week in your cottage in the Cotswolds or Oxford, then check out and move to London for 3 nights. Personally, I would turn in my rental car at Heathrow's car rental facility on the way from Oxford/Cotswolds to London, take the train into London. A car will be a curse while you are in London. You will waste hours of your valuable time in traffic, and parking is expensive. Plus, London is best seen on foot! You would be paying big bucks out of your budget for those three rental car days when it's sitting in a garage unused. The train will get you to York when you leave London. Easy train trip, wonderful scenery, rest, nap,read instead of having the hassles of the car. Train arrives right downtown York. Plan on spending at least one night in York. Your teens will love this city. Train ride from there is smooth to Edinburgh; spend at least one night here. If you are planning on flying out of Glasgow, do yourself a favor. Arrive in Glasgow the day before your flight. Spend that night at a hotel at the airport. Less chance of missing your flight home.Or you could do this trip the easy way; book a Rick Steves trip that covers all this area. Transportation, hotels, and some meals are provided. It really takes the hassle factor out of your vacation. That would be my choice. Or you could spend a week in the Cotswolds/Oxford cottage, then have booked the second week as a Rick Steves 7 day tour of England/Scotland, in which you see London, York, Edinburgh. Have a great time! Cheers!

Thoughtful advice from all on this thread. We especially appreciate the contributions of Nigel and Anne, residents of the UK, sharing their practical knowledge of travel times and other subjects sometimes not well covered in guidebooks or in the personal experiences of the 99% of us here who are only visitors to the UK.

Sandi, Melanie from Minnesota had a good idea in her post. I would suggest that you let both your teens read all the way through your travel book.(I find my Rick Steves book to be best.) Let each of them start making their own list of the things that interested them. They may discover some cool things they didn't know about that they want to see. England has several great air museums; one of your teens may be interested in planes. Portsmouth Naval Museum has old ships, for a teen who loves ships. Don't miss the Tower of London (one of the obvious stops); I think it will rate high with your teens. If you are pressed for time in London, do not cut this out of your schedule. It rates #1 with me because of its historical significance.Teens love the display of suits of armor and huge carved horses, plus the tales of beheadings and people held prisoner!

Thanks again for so much information! I am a bit overwhelmed right now, but I know it will come together. This is our starting place right now : 2 days in London, 6 in a Cotswold village, 1-2 in York, and then 6 days in Scotland. I am again looking at a cottage rental for Scotland, as it would be much more comfortable and economical with teens. I have found a few between Glasgow and Edinburgh. We fly out of Glasgow, so this would work well. Would it be possible to do day trips to most things? We would like to see Loch Ness and Inverness. We don't mind driving, we actually enjoy it, and living in a remote area are used to long drives. We regularly take long weekends to Boston, which is an 8 hour drive each way, so we don't mind drives. I know when I was planning our last trip, many people tried to dissuade us from driving around France, Switzerland and Germany, but we loved it! It just makes so much more sense for us to find a few "home bases" then to pack up every day. I haven't decided on which English village to concentrate on yet, but I do have lots of ideas now. I guess I am hoping for some more information with our Scottish leg of the trip. Thanks!

Sandi,
I just moved to Bath from the US a couple months ago, and want to put in a plug for Bath - gorgeous city with loads of history. Can be a day trip from Cotswolds. As for London, I disagree with "walking is the best way to see a city". I think biking is. We took the Fat Tire Bike Tour of London with our 3 kids last month, and it's a great way to see it - guides were great and you can cover a lot more ground. If you do it the first day, then you have a better idea of what you want to spend more time on the next day.

Sounds like a fabulous trip! Have fun.