Two Weeks in the United Kingdom in November - itinerary help

I would hire a car on 18th-21st November. The trip from Stratford to Bath via Stonehenge, and visiting the Cotswolds from Bath, will be much easier with a car rather than public transport.

Don't forget that at that time of year the hours of daylight are very short. It's going dark by 4.30pm.
Hope you enjoy your trip!

I would take the train from York to Oxford, renting a car and making the Cotswold area your base, then from there you could take day trips to the other areas. Broadway, Bourton-on-the-Water or Stow-on-thw-Wold would make a great villages for a base. If you rent from Avis then you could turn the car in at Moreton-in-Marsh walk over to the train station to take the train into London. The best way to see the Cotswold, Bath, etc., area is to have a car.

Is there a particular reason you are flying into Dublin? It seems a shame to go to Ireland for just two days in the city. There is so much more to see! The beauty is really in the countryside, and with only two days you won't see much of that, just a city.

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts. Robin - I really like the idea of posting up in the Cotswolds and will look into that soon. Have you stayed anywhere you would suggest in particular? Great advice regarding the train and car, too. Can you rent a car from the train station in Oxford do you know? Maggie - Thank you for the reminder about dusk! Nancy - Thanks for your comments. I do plan to visit Ireland again in the future. There's never enough time to see everything I'd like.

Hi Natalie, The Crown and Trumpet Inn in Broadway is great to stay at.....http://www.cotswoldholidays.co.uk/default.asp?ID=173&Page=Crown%20and%20Trumpet Yes, you could get the car at Oxford Train station....http://www.avis.co.uk/CarHire/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Oxford/Oxford-Railway-Station...so you can pick it up there and then go the Cotswolds. I hope this helps. The best way to see the English country side is to rent a car. It's fun to drive in England.

As a pretty ironclad rule, it's a bad idea to rent a car to see any city in the UK. On the other hand, using a car to see the Cotswolds a semi-rural region with small towns and villages is a better idea. I am not a fan of Stonehenge. But, I won't discourage you. Time permitting, the nearby town of Salisbury is well worth a few hours and a meal. For the purpose of seeing Oxford, you do not need, or want a car. Pick it up at the station on the way out of town. Oxford is not a small town; its population is 100,000 or so. The station is about a 10-15 minute walk from the town center, which is where you want to be. Check out Blackwell's books, which is deceptively huge. Remember,the center of UK towns were laid out centuries before the auto. There is no grid system there. Driving is confusing, at least for an American. You cannot "go around the block" because there is no block. Parking is minimal and expensive.

Natalie, driving in the UK is fun and simple, it's not confusing at all. Just remember when you get to an round about (these are at intersections) the cars in the round about have the right away, there usually is three or four exits off the round about, you can drive around as many times as needed until you are sure which exit you want. I don't find parking expensive...you can park at Bath Spa train station, it's £10.10 for 24hrs so for a day it wouldn't be much. Parking at Green Park Station which is a 14 minute walk to the City Centre is free.
Having a car gives you the advantage of going any where you want at anytime you want....staying as long or as little as you want...there are so many quaint villages in the area that you could see by having a car.

The only area that is really seen better by car is the Cotswolds. However, since you just have 1 day scheduled for the area, it really isn't worth the trouble of renting a car. In November the scenery isn't that great (no flowers, no leaves on trees, etc), and you'd be dealing with driving on the left. Also, if you need a car with automatic transmission there may not be one available. That said, I'd suggest sticking with public transportation. Take the train from York to Stratford (one change in Leamington Spa). If you want to see Warwick Castle, take a bus. Take a bus from Stratford to Oxford .... it will go through part of the Cotswolds. Train it to Bath .... do a bus tour to Stonehenge from there the next day. I agree with an above poster who isn't a big fan of Stonehenge. It's kind of like seeing Plymouth Rock; after looking at it for 5 minutes it's time to move on.

What Tim said. If you choose not to rent a car, take the train to Bath, stay in Bath, and then use this company to take a day tour through the Cotswolds, and then to Stonehenge another day, same company. All their tours leave out of Bath. http://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/

I usually rent a car and would suggest it if you had more time... but given your schedule I think the car is going to be more trouble then its worth unless you revise your itinerary and pick up a car in York and drop it in Bath. You can definitely rent an automatic and I would suggest it if you have not driven in England before. But, if you want to wing it a bit and add a few more villages to your itinerary then get the car. If it were my trip I would stay in a village and just drive in to Stratford, Oxford, and Bath during the day and visit small towns and villages on the way. I have been there in the winter a few times and I love the subtle colors of the dried hydrangeas and beautiful grasses, as well as the lack of tourists... but the days are short so make the best of it. I prefer winter travel there instead of the summer.

It's a packed 15 days and you are going to be traveling every other day for about half a day. You can travel by train from Edinburgh to York and I would think York to Stratford. From there a care would definitely be an asset. Do you have anything you specifically want to see in the Cotswolds - its a big area and the driving can be interesting in November (my family came from there and I am familar with the southern part around Cheltenham and Stroud). Do you want to see pretty villages, or castles, or stately homes? To me it would make more sense to do the Cotswolds when you are driving from Stratford to Bath and then do Oxford on your way to London. At that time of year you could easily break the journey and stay at a nice inn in one of the Cotswold villages like Broadway or Burton. Do Try and track down a copy of the AA Road Atlas for the UK - its invaluable for route planning. I find it always takes longer to drive somewhere in the UK than in North America as all roads except the motorways go through towns with the likelihood of traffic holdups. And of course having to get used to driving on the lefthand side of the road! Do be aware that in November the weather in the UK can range from lovely sunny days to occasional snow showers, fog, pouring rain, icy roads and, certainly in the Cotswolds and Yorkshire, very narrow one car-width lanes.

Hello All! Thank you for your continued help. We have finished booking all of our hotels for Dublin, Edinburgh, York and London - and we are just trying to finalize the middle stretch! We are hoping to rent a cottage (perhaps in Chipping Campden) for November 18, 19, 20 and check out on the 21. During that time we would want to have a rental car, which we would hope to leave in Bath. How would you suggest going about this piece of the trip? Where to rent a car? Any suggestions on location to stay - we like the idea of Chipping Campden but are open to other ideas. Thank you so very much! Natalie

I would consider train from York to Oxford for the simple fact of picking up a car there and returning there on the way back to London or dropping at Heathrow and taking the Tube into London from Heathrow. 5 days is plenty to See Oxford, Blenheim Palace then sleep Stratford/ Warwick region. Then travel a couple of days down to Bath and then see Stonehenge upon returning to London. I have traveled that region a bit and can reccomend some great B & Bs.

Natalie, we were in England in June and took a day trip to the Cotswolds from our home base in Bath. We didn't stay in the Cotswolds but visited Chipping Campden for most of the day and enjoyed some hiking around Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter, so our sample size was limited. But, in my opinion, you could not go wrong with staying in Chipping Campden. Wonderful, charming town. Everything is pretty close too, so a trip down to Stow-on-the-Wold or other towns isn't a big deal with a car. My only comment on your itinerary is that Bath is really worth a full day by itself at least. Have fun!

Stow on the Wold is a 30 min drive from Blenheim Palace ( just north of Oxford )and is a nice place to stay and is central, crowds will be minimal then. Short daylight though so try and take pics in the middle of the day with the most light.

Natalie... there is a fun little place to stay in Chipping Campden called the Volunteer Inn. It is fairly reasonable, on the main street, and a few of the rooms are above the Pub. It was a bit noisy on the weekend, but ended early and we enjoyed the Inn very much. It is a great central location to lots of the villages. I love being there in the winter, and yes, the days are shorter, but you just take advantage of the daylight and cozy-up in a pub with some nice soup when it gets dark.