Two weeks west of London

How far west, Thomas? M4 due west of London takes you to Bath. Near Heathrow, on the M25 at M4 is Staines. Its the home of Ali G, not much else. Windsor and Hampton Court are close to the west. There's a Lands' End outlet. National Trust places all over the place. What sort of things do you want to see?

Bath is definitely on the list. Stratford-Upon-Avon, too. Otherwise, nothing is set. We're getting a car and plan to stay at B&Bs.

I don't know how far west you want to go. In addition to Nigel's suggestions, you could go out and see Avebury and Stonehenge. I would suggest visiting the little villages of the Cotswolds, since you say you will be visiting Bath and Stratford-Upon-Avon. You will be driving right through them anyway. From Bath take the A46 north, fork slightly to the right onto the A433; that will take you in to Tetbury. Continue on to Cirencester, where you will take the A429 through the center of the Cotswolds in order to get to Stratford-Upon-Avon (about Tredington, veer left onto the A3400/Shipston Rd.) Chipping Campden, Broadway, Moreton-In-Marsh, Stow-On-The-Wold, Bourton-On-The-Water, are a few of the villages you may want to explore. Rick Steves' Great Britain Guidebook has a section about the Cotswolds. If you don't want to stray that far from London, you could visit the places Nigel suggested, and Warwick Castle (which is not too far from Stratford-Upon-Avon).

You might add to the previous suggestions: Glastonbury, Wells, Salisbury, and Winchester. If you enjoy cathedrals, that gives you three interesting ones to compare and we enjoyed all four cities...... You have enough time to go farther west if you want: Devon and Cornwall are two of our favourite areas of England.

If you do drive up the A429 through the Cotswolds, you are on the old Roman road known as the Fosse Way. Cirencester has the Corinium Museum which is known for its extensive Roman collection, Roman coins, statues and everyday items found in the area from the days of Roman Britain. Nearby is the Chedworth Roman villa and its museum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chedworth_Roman_Villa http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-chedworthromanvilla/ That's something interesting to see along your journey. Cirencester is a neat town to walk around in, also. Hope this helps.

Thank you for the wonderful suggestions. We'll research them all and see as much as we can fit in. This is really helpful. Thank you!

Thomas, I just pulled a book off my bookshelf you may like. D.K. Eyewitness Travel Guides, "Back Roads of Great Britain". If you look for it online at Amazon, or in a bookstore, the ISBN number to enter to find it is: 978/0/7566/59134. It has many scenic drives with maps, plus restaurant, pub, and B&B/Hotel suggestions for every village you pass through on their routes. About $12.50, and worth every penny. Superb book.

Some great suggestions here. One suggestion skip Stratford and save it for another trip. It's a long way out of the way from Bath, Stonehege, Salisbury and the Cotswolds. Some photos to give you ideas: http://www.lodgephoto.com/galleries/uk-england-salisbury/ http://www.lodgephoto.com/galleries/uk-england-stonehenge/ http://www.lodgephoto.com/galleries/uk-england-aveburystonecircle/ If you make an appointment with English Heritage (see their website), you can get right into the stone circle at Stonehenge early in the morning.

Terrific ideas! Thanks to everyone!

Avoid Stonehenge if you can. Avebury offers the same glimpse into the Druid past if you will and is an infinitely less crowded experience. Depending upon how far west you want to venture, I might also suggest St. Ives if you want to visit a coastal fishing village. If you do so, check out the Barbara Hepworth museum in town.

Sounds great.