Renting a Room in an English Village

A little more information would help...what area of England would you like to be in......what time of the year....what are your interests. I know some B&B's will rent rooms for a long period of time.

Agreeing with Robin Z. There are probably 500 villages in England alone which might meet your needs. Trains stop at many small towns and villages. England stretches from Devon and Cornwall to Kent; all the way up to Hadrian's Wall. The Welsh border is nearly 200 miles long with train served villages all along it. Where? When? What?

Along with what's already been said, what are you looking for in an English village? Thatched cottages (in which case Hampshire and Dorset are good areas)? And are you looking for fairly easy access to London, or some other major city? 2 websites for you to look at: westcountrycottages.co.uk or
cottages4you.co.uk

Part 1 of Trip: Well, I can stay in any part of the country, but I guess I'd like either the middle of the country or Southern part. There are so many villages, as you say, that it's hard for me to pick one. I was looking at Bakewell, Castle Comb, Haworth, and Whitby. I am arriving on August 1st and want to stay in a village for one month. I am looking for a village close to a train station, since I won't have a car. I would like a relatively small village, but not so small that they don't have the basic storesgrocery store, pub, restaurant, bakery, post office if possible, etc. I would love to stay in a village that gets beautiful fall colors and where they might have some good cider. :) At this point in my trip, I'll probably be traveling to Wales, any nearby castles, and maybe Edinburgh. Part 2 of Trip: Then, from Sept 1 through October 20, I'd like to stay in a different place, either Arundel, Cornwall, or Ramsgate, or similar place a little more south. During this time, I'll be taking little trips to Stonehenge, London, Canterbury, and Paris. Also, during this part of my trip, I'd like to stay in a place with a little larger population than the village I stay in from Aug. 1st through Aug. 30th. I hope that helps. I guess what's important is that I can find an affordable room to rent and that I have access to the train. Thank you, Kristen

For the first part of your trip...I would suggest either Broadway or Bourton-on-the-Water..both near Moreton-in-Marsh which as a train station, you could take a taxi to either. Both have what you need, want..grocery store, pub, etc., and both are beautiful. You mentioned Castle Combe..you need a car to get there. Also, you mentioned that you want to see Stonehenge, you should do that the first part of your trip since you will be near that area. For the second part of your trip I would suggest a small village in the Kent area..which it would make it easy to get into London, go to Canterbury and to Paris. Cornhead would be good village to stay in, it has a train station. It would be easy to to Ashford station to get the Eurostar to Paris.

Whitby is definitely not a small village. The abbey is very evocative on a windy and overcast day, especially if you climb up the steps from the sea front. But it feels like a bustling market town, not a village.

When you decide where you'd like to go, I'd suggest finding the name of the local newspaper and either putting an ad in or seeing what's available for rent under Flats. Most newspapers are on-line these days. For the south there's the Southern Evening Echo which has different editions for all the towns in the area.

My concern now is that this all has to come together in a week. That's sailing a bit close to the wind. I would suggest Holiday Homes/Flats. Estate agents or newspapers may have those. I'd be concerned that those for next month would already be in train. It is the Olympics and peak tourist season. I would doubt that the National Trust would have (m)any of their most excellent holiday homes at this late date. Sorry, I don't know any other ideas at the moment.

I can't recommend any villages, but have you tried airb&b to try to find someone with a room for rent? Since you have such a short time before you arrive, you might have to decide where to stay based on the lodging you can find.

Thanks to all who have responded! Andrea, what is airb&b? I am willing to try anything. :) Kristen

Kristen: Air B&B is this website: http://www.airbnb.com/info/how_it_works. Watch the video and you'll see how it works. As with any such set-up, do LOTS of careful research with any listing. I've read tales of both wonderful and horrible experiences with it.

Thanks, Harold!

Check out the wonderful village of Painswick, north of Bath, it is very quaint.

Ok, thanks Darren. I did have Painswick on my list.

If you want to go to Painswick you would have to take a train from London to Stroud, which is the nearest train station. Then you would have to take a taxi or bus to Painswick. Taxi would probably be the easiest, you might have a long wait for the bus, depending on what time you arrive in Stroud.

I use VRBO to rent apartments, but I have never seen an option to rent a room through them.

We have rented places to stay through Vacation Rentals By Owner (www.vrbo.com) three times and were very happy with all our experiences. We have two more lined up for a trip to western US states this fall but I have been looking at the ones for the UK too and I think you could find something by using this service. I hope you find the perfect place for you.

Kristen you mentioned Ramsgate as a possibility in southern England I would suggest looking at Broadstairs just along the coast from Ramsgate, much nicer and quainter, with equally good links to Canterbury and London

Thanks to Robin, Jerry, and Pauline for the suggestions!