Help with London to Bath/Cotswolds Itinerary Please

I am a little biased towards the Cotswolds. train from London to Bath, see Bath, drive to Cotswolds and spend three nights. There are many day drives you can do from the Cotswolds, but i would spend the time there. If it appeals, after thrid night you can drive via Blenheim Palace on edge of Cotswolds. i would pick up the car in bath- you are likely to have more choices there- limited rental places in cotswolds. Drop off car where convenient and take train back to London

Thanks for your reply Brian. I have heard similar recommendations regarding the Cotswolds. I'll call the rental car co's tomorrow to see if it is significantly more expensive to pick up the car in one location and leave it in another. It would definitely be more convenient that way.

Looking at the big picture, you may be able to save some time and money by flying into London and returning from Scotland. As an example, Icelandair has service from Seattle to both London Heathrow and Glascow. Looking at the 1st week of June they have a fare of $1,224 into London and returning from Glascow (just 1 stop each way). If you prefer to return from Edinburgh, United can get you back from there but the fare is about $300 more (again, just 1 stop each way). Also consider driving from the Cotswolds to Edinburgh (about 5.5 hrs) instead of going all the way back to London to catch a train. I picked up a car 2 yrs ago at EDI and returned it to LHR and the extra charge for returning to a different airport was £ 40 (Avis). Something else to decide is whether you think you'll need a manual or automatic transmission car. The automatics cost quite a bit more and small towns in the country (like Bath) may not have automatics available.
Lots of time to research all this on the Net.... good luck.

Thanks Tim. I thought it might be a longer drive to Edinburgh, but that's a good option to look into. My understanding is that the train takes 5+ hours anyway. Also, with regards to automatic vs. manual transmission - the left handed shifting will likely be manageable but thanks for the tip. Last question - do you know if they have rental cars that seat 8 or would we need two cars? Cheers!

Stay in the Cotswolds for 3 nights if not longer and do a day trip to Bath.
The Cotswolds is well worth it.

Thanks Robin. Do you prefer Chipping Camden or Stow in the Wold as the home point?

Both are ok starting points, Stow being a little bit further south. Corsham Fields Farmhouse is a great place to stay, a farm just outside of Stow.

Kerri, I agree with a previous reply that it would be more efficient to use open-jaw flights, perhaps inbound London and outbound Edinburgh. The time frame of your trip appears to be about two weeks? You could consider something like this..... > Flight to London (4 nights?) > Train or Bus to Bath (2 nights?); rent car > Drive to Cotswolds - I'd suggest Stow-On-The-Wold as a good home base for that area (3 nights) > Travel to Edinburgh - I'd have to check on the easiest transportation option. In my experience, driving will take far longer than travel websites state, so my preference would be to use public transport. (3 nights?) Of course, you'll also need to allow for your two flight days. Given your home location, another option to sort out the details of your trip would be to take a drive to Edmonds and have a personal travel consultation with Rick's excellent staff. Good luck with your planning!

Thanks Darren for the recommendation in Stow on the Wold. I'll look into it. Ken, good idea! We might just have to swing by Edmonds over the weekend and stop by their office.

It's been quite awhile, however we once did an overnight sleeper train trip Exeter-Edinburgh that worked well. So check that out. It would be easier and save time compared to returning to London. If it works, you could spend a night in Bath then drive to Exeter. If you are comfortable with driving in England, I suggest you pick up a car at Hearhrow and drive to the Cotswolds. It's probably cheaper and enables you to visit more villages along the route.