June 2023 England & Wales Trip Report

Our trip:

We took the easy connection from Heathrow to Oxford with the Airline Bus. Our first hotel was a prison! Cheap rooms?? No, LOL! We stayed at Malmaison Oxford, a former prison, which has capitalized on the theme with some cute decor, such as “counting the days” carpet with groups of five tally marks.

After a short nap, it was time to walk the area that has so many photo opportunities! We loved the architecture & British university vibe! We stopped briefly in a historic church to enjoy a small orchestra group practicing classical music, and my husband walked into a gelato shop. He IS a great travel partner! : )

The next morning, we picked up our rental car when they opened and were supposed to go to Blenheim Palace. But, I found when purchasing tickets on-line that they were hosting a triathlon this weekend, so we quickly decided for a Plan B. Buscot Manor & Gardens, south of Burford, turned out perfect! The place was smaller & more intimate since the owners still use the manor. The grand piano in the Italian Room had a sign, so I confirmed permission and sat down to play classical music to fill the home with atmosphere of the time period. What a special experience, and the workers thanked me for playing.

My husband said I had that certain smile photographing several villages - Stow-on-the-Wold, Lower & Upper Slaughter and Burford. My favorite for flowers & overall cuteness was Lower Slaughter.

We stayed one night at the Lamb Inn in Burford. Burford was quaintly decorated - a nice location! I splurged on a slightly larger room - very nice decor and sitting area with a bay window and lots of light. The inn on Sheep Street was a block off High Street, and we were always able to find a parking spot for our car on the street out front.

Originally I had booked us at The Shaven Crown, but I cancelled that reservation after seeing their name changed that last month, and some of the recent reviews had issues with honoring their reservations. Since I had planned to be in Shipton-under-Wychwood, I already had a dinner reservation for us at The Hare in nearby Milton-under-Wychwood. We decided to keep it anyway, and drove the short distance from Burford for an amazing dinner at The Hare!

Our next day was focused on the chance to see more Cotswold villages. We went to Sarsden, Kingham, Chipping Norton, Moreton-in-Marsh & Broadway.

Dinner tonight was a special one at Russell’s at Broadway. Their friendly staff treated us very well, and the dinner was excellent! I had forgotten that I noted in our reservation that this trip was celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary. They finished our meal by bringing out a large slate square with “Happy Anniversary” written in white chocolate with some accompanying truffles & fudge.

Initially I had booked the Woolmarket in Chipping Campden for our next two-night stay, but I switched it to the Dumbleton Hall in the countryside outside Broadway a few months before our trip. Dumbleton Hall - a stately huge hall situated across a field of sheep and mature magnificent trees, opened onto green lawns. I reserved their room with the best views to enjoy the pond & hill in the distance and the sheep field out the other window. My husband really enjoyed this special place - so out of the norm! And since it’s not in the villages it was a very reasonable price! Since we were renting a car on this trip, I used the opportunity to pick places normally off our list when we travel by train.

A friend who is an avid gardener recommended Hidcote Manor & Gardens, so we spent the next morning there. Wow, such beautiful & serene gardens with so much in bloom in early June! I was in flower heaven! We even had the perfect conditions - slight morning clouds for excellent color hue in the photos! The garden design with formal gardens expanding transitioning outward into more natural gardens out to the sheep field was so well thought out! Each area was very enjoyable! Afterwards, we stopped at Chipping Campden for a soup & scone lunch…and a little cake!…and walked it off afterwards reading the RS walk details, plus just enjoying the town on our own. A quick drive through Broadway again to enjoy the climbing roses, etc. contrasting the Cotswold stone homes. I realized I’ve probably taken mainly two types of photos in the Cotswolds - either the old historic buildings, or the flower-themed cottages & homes. Hint: the portrait setting on the iPhone makes a gorgeous flower focal point in a garden or along a rose climber on a stone wall!

Time for some fish & chips! We drove back to Broadway for Russell’s Fish & Chips. The huge cod was moist & flaky and just the right amount of coating….per this expert from the USA - ha! We have another week to try more of them to learn from the real experts as we hone into the perfect one. : ). Update: Russell’s was my favorite!!

Driving from Broadway to Betws-y-Coed involved A LOT of twisty little roads! We wondered if our GPS was playing a joke on us for awhile! Eventually, we were near Leominster, but wait! What’s that? Quick turnaround to stop into Hampton Court Castle which turned out to be a great mid-trip break. The tour guide through the castle shared several interesting facts and stories, and I also had another garden entrance dripping with wisteria and a beautiful rose garden to enjoy before we headed onward.

We stopped for a late lunch at Church Stretton, the town with the best restaurant reviews when I had been searching for possible stops during the planning stage of the trip. Berry’s provided a delicious lunch and excellent homemade bread on the side.

Later, as we passed over the river on the bridge, we both said, “This must be Wales!” Very pretty intense shades of green trees, brooks & rock walls along the road. Our kids used to call roads like this “The Enchanted Forest”, and it certainly gives that feeling of anticipation & adventure.

We paused at Llangollen, a location I had penciled in during the trip planning stage as our overnight, but I selected the Glyntwrog House at Betws-y-Coed when the itinerary was final, especially after reading about the beautiful setting. We definitely could have used a couple of extra nights in this location. The host of Glyntwrog House was very welcoming, and we took his advice to just walk the 15 minutes into ByC for a great pizza at Hangin. ByC reminded us of Banff, British Columbia, Canada when we were there 45 years ago for our honeymoon. I’m sure Banff is still the same now - LOL!

The next morning, we stopped by The Ugly House & Swallow Falls. We were the only people at the Ugly House and just one other couple at the falls. The falls were beautiful, and there’s several vantage points to enjoy it. Back in the car, and we were off to Conwy. While my husband played golf, I went through Conwy Castle - lots of great photos!, walked the quay, wandered the small town, and I had my first official English (Welsh) Afternoon tea at Anna’s Upper Room. I ordered the “High Tea for one” option on the menu. While I was waiting for our room to be ready to be able to change into a dress for the tea, I sat on a bench in the sun at the quay and had a very nice conversation with a couple on holiday from the Chester area. They had been to the US - NYC, LA & San Francisco, and Las Vegas. That made me smile thinking of what they probably think of the US!

My husband returned from his day at Conwy Golf Club. A seaside links course, opened in 1875. He was thrilled to have a great day playing since it’s a challenging, difficult course. We travel light, so it was worth renting clubs from the golf club, and they gave him a nice set. His caddie is on the University of Bangor golf team - a great help since some of the fairways cross each other!

Our second day in Conwy, I went through the Bodnant Gardens - just planned to stop a brief hour while my husband was doing his exercises & reading in the parking lot. Oh! This was the garden experience I had been dreaming of in England! I purchased a ticket on-line for an early time slot while the color hues would be vibrant. I saw their tickets were sold out for several time periods late morning/afternoon - probably because the Laburnum Arch, a 55 metre-long avenue of hanging golden flowers was in full bloom! Look up Google images; it’s spectacular and only lasts two weeks.

Since I was in an early time period, I hardly saw anyone in the garden! Exploring & savoring, stopping to smell fragrant roses and just being in the moment in the midst of such beauty! I thoroughly enjoyed walking through most of my favorite types of garden species & designs. Just when I thought I saw all of the roses, there was another & then another level of roses in various settings - an exquisite garden! But, as I was hurrying back up to exit, here came the tour buses of people! The rose garden quiet atmosphere that had been so special to enjoy was gone, now replaced with so many people standing between the rows of bushes near the home and chattering. I felt very fortunate to have those special quiet morning garden memories to savor over & over!

Then we were off to go see Caernafon Castle. We climbed the towers & walls, took the usual tourist photos (& don’t miss the museum inside the castle), and we ate a big lunch in Bangor.

We stayed at the Conwy Castle Hotel for two nights. The deluxe room is very spacious with better decor than I have at home. The view is of High Street, chosen because I enjoy a front street view unless it’s a busy city. One of the guys in a biking group at breakfast complained that the church bells rang all night! We slept very well and only heard them once at 5am.

Chester - today was our last day to have the rental car. We will be happy if we don’t have to buy two left wheel hubcaps when it’s returned! (All was well!). Those curbs on the tight, tiny roads with large vehicles coming towards us seemed so tight! We try to keep the driving attitude light and a bit comical in stressful situations, so we’ve both mimicked the GPS lady giving our own advice! ; )

My husband left me off near downtown Chester, and he drove up to Wallasey Golf Club to play his second game of golf. He absolutely loved the course designed by Old Tom Morris, and had a great round! (If we’re coming back to England, I think a few rounds of golf will become a request. ; ). In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoyed Chester. The wooden architecture, clock, etc. gave me a lot of photo opportunities! I stopped into Huxley’s, located on the end of the clock’s walkway over the street, for a cappuccino. The owner was friendly. The cozy seating room held five tables. When he delivered my drink, I asked him about the building history - in particular, what was the reason behind the bird’s eye view porthole faced down the street? This turned into a fun moment! Suddenly, instead of everyone in the room keeping to themselves, we all looked towards the porthole as he told about a sea captain moving into this building and adding it to the building. People started sharing where they were traveling from, and it turned into a special “community” bridge of locals & travelers over a tea/coffee break.

Chester still has a Town Crier! He makes proclamations at noon and is quite entertaining! He had the crowd gathered laughing, answering questions, and I won’t share anymore details to keep the entertainment fresh for your visit!

I really liked the Chester Cathedral and spent a couple of hours in the cathedral & garden. While I was relaxing in the courtyard garden, an elderly mom in a wheelchair and her two daughters came by. I felt like I should ask them if I could take a photo of them being together. They said they don’t usually bother taking any photos of themselves, so I took a few moments to give them three nicely set up photos with their phone with varying subject backgrounds from the various flowers & bushes. They really turned out nice - something I know someday they will treasure as I now treasure past photos with my parents.

My husband returned from playing golf just in time for us to head over to the cathedral for Evensong. Afterwards, we walked over to Stile Napoletano and had pizza & tiramisu - yum! I had seen their photos on TripAdvisor while I was planning last winter and figured by Chester, we’d be ready for some excellent pizza. Perfect crust, by the way! : )

For Chester, I had booked the Chester Grosvenor, but I changed us to the Coach Inn Hotel a few months before our trip to reduce the cost since I was spending more on some of the earliest hotels. The Coach Inn has a nice location! It’s very close to the cathedral, the courthouse, and the Market is located behind it. The room was basic but very large with a dresser, table & two chairs and a desk.

York - I was really glad that I didn’t follow the advice to cut York out of our 2-week itinerary! We both thought it was one of our favorites.

Evensong - they sat us in the Dean’s guests chairs! The straight on view of the stained glass window with the amazing sound of the choir echoing from behind the seating area was almost angelic! Later, we ate at Cut & Craft, a modern restaurant with a nice lively atmosphere, and our meal was excellent!

As we were eating breakfast, the York Minster bells began. I love the sound of them! We walked over and took some videos of it, and then I just stood there enjoying the moment for 10-15 minutes.

We both recommend the York Cycling Tours, The City Tour (Inside and Outside the Walls)! Our friendly guide was a former fireman and shared stories about different locations with history woven into it. We saw so much of York that we wouldn’t have normally seen, including some interesting & unique neighborhoods and a local park. He gave us the freedom to cut him off if he was sharing too much, or we wanted something different, but my husband & I thoroughly enjoyed exactly what he had planned. York is so nicely flat that this was an easy 2 1/2 hour bike tour. I appreciated that he shared several recommendations for things to see beyond the normal. The time was enjoyed by the five of us so much with the perfect, sunny warm day to enjoy it all! During the tour, he mentioned the Roberto gelato shop, so we were “obligated” to go, of course - LOL! There was a small line out the door as we arrived. I greeted the worker behind the counter with a “Buongiorno” because it looked like an authentic shop, and he was pleased! Passion fruit & strawberry cheesecake were my choices. The passion fruit was outstanding!

Later we walked off our gelato treat by taking to the walls, and walking the sections & gates that our bike guide had recommended.

As we came down off the wall, we were near York Minster, so we decided to attend the Evensong that began in 15 minutes. Afterwards, we relaxed and ate dinner at The Forest, our hotel restaurant - yum! Everything we’ve had to eat at York has been excellent, even the breakfasts are better! We finished dinner by sharing a dessert, and the sweet staff at the restaurant also brought a wood serving board out to our table with “Happy 45th wedding anniversary” scrolled in chocolate with strawberries, etc. edging it. The staff at this hotel have all been so nice, and I love the location.

We stayed at the Galtres Lodge Hotel near The Shambles, and I reserved their room with a large non-working fireplace. The door to the bathroom is an old metal safe door! The bathroom had both a shower & a clawfoot tub. The tub was reminiscent of my aunt’s.

London
When we arrived at London by train, I chose the Westminster tube stop instead of the closer St. James stop because this was my husband’s first look at London. We came out of the metro to the view of Big Ben which he really enjoyed! We left off our bags at our Premier Inn Hub, Westminster Abbey and headed off to walk to several of the normal tourist sites. It’s easy to get great photos from this city! I also wanted to stop & see the Covid memorial; how heartbreaking to read the words written on the red hearts that go on & on along the long wall!

Started the morning with breakfast at The Hub. My husband & I had planned that he would see the Churchill War Room & museum while I went over to the Victoria & Albert Museum. I loved mine, and it was so empty at 10am to fully enjoy empty rooms of gorgeous pieces! After two hours when the crowds were ramping up, I walked over to Harrods to walk though the store - passed on purchasing a new tiara - LOL! There were some beautiful displays. We met up at Leicester Square and ate savory crepes for lunch. He really liked the Churchill War Room & museum. We walked down to the river and took a boat over to the Tower Bridge and walked across it. Tonight was our theatre night, The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre. We saw it several years ago in Seattle and enjoyed this one so much!

We had free tickets for the British Museum this morning, but we skipped it - what? How could we! This is a prime example of allowing the trip to be our own without adhering to “expectations” from others. We both enjoyed our museums yesterday, and word on the street of an extremely crowded museum, regardless of the contents vs. spending the day outside with the perfect weather was instantly an easy choice.

After a double espresso cappuccino at our Hub lounge, we took the tube over to the Borough Market. Sites, smells and lunch completed, we wandered the immediate area, the river edge and walked over London Bridge. I exchanged an old 10 pound note at the post office - no line, and my husband exchanged the pounds we had left from our trip back into dollars. (Apple Pay has been our method of choice almost everywhere, except to pay the golf caddies and a few dinners and small shops.)

I’ve always loved the design architecture of The Gherkin, so we walked over to it, plus the more unusual modern skyscrapers. A side street stop at Leadenhall Market for some photos, and we were heading to St. Paul’s Cathedral within our ticket time. I insisted we ride the double decker red bus at least one time - a fond memory from 1975. Well, they lost their glamour somewhere between those years - LOL, but it was an easy way to get back to the Westminster neighborhood.

Our last day, we participated in The London East End Food Tour with Eating Europe. We both highly recommend it! It was a feast, beginning in the Spitalfield Market - our new favorite open market! Our guide, David, was very knowledgeable with a dry sense of humor, and he shared so much history & ethnic culture along with sharing six tasty restaurants with us over 3 1/2 hours. My husband & I both felt it went fast, which is always a sign of a great food tour!

Our finale for our time in England & Wales was attending the Evensong service at Westminster Abbey. We were in line 40 minutes early, and there were a lot of people behind us who were led to seats where they couldn’t see the service, only hear it.

If you know me, then it’s no surprise that I had a final gelato shop screenshot in my iCloud planning folder from planning the trip last winter….just in case we wanted gelato while in London! ; ). Giolato was just a few blocks from Westminster Abbey, so we walked over to it. Two great signs: the gelato in metal tins was almost all gone at 6pm, and the lady in front of us had a heavy Italian accent. I was eyeing the basil-ricotta and either the honey, cinnamon or passion fruit. She & I talked about the basil-ricotta, and it was excellent! My husband, a true aficionado of vanilla & cream said those two were also wonderful!

Usually I wait a few days after I’m back home again to post a trip report. But this time, my trip is in two segments. When my husband is flying back home to the US, I will be flying farther east for a few days in Ljubljana before joining the RS Best of the Adriatic tour.

Jean

Thanks for the thorough and humorous trip report. My husband and I will be taking our 4 week, 50th anniversary trip Aug/Sept this year. We start in Ireland, then to Cotswolds and Bath, on to Cornwall and Wales then back to Dublin for a few days before flying home. I took a few notes from your report.

@katiecem, congratulations, and I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating!

First of all - Happy 45th Anniversary! Secondly, wow, what a well-executed, memorable trip! Your love of travel planning was certainly evident in this trip. You are one travel planner extraordinaire! I especially like how you gave yourself permission to be flexible with your activities on this trip so that you could stop and smell the roses!

I am looking forward to reading your review of the RS Best of the Adriatic tour. As you are aware, this is the trip that I had planned to be on last year, until kidney stones did me in at the last minute!

I love that you both take time to do what you each love-separately! I also appreciated reading about some of the less touristed places. It sounds like you both had been to England before? Did you have any problems parking the car, especially in the Cotswolds? Since this was your first time by car instead of train, what did you think?

Hi Tammy, I was in London & Oxford way back in 1975 for a few days with a 4-H People-to-People program; this was my husband’s first time to the UK.

We didn’t have any issues parking our car at the Cotswolds. We found parking at Stow very close to the church (about 9am), at Upper & Lower Slaughter, at Chipping Campden for a late lunch, and several smaller villages. Our parking was easy at Burford - just one block off of High Street for our inn. And the Dumbleton Hall outside Broadway had plenty of parking, plus they’re out in the countryside. Broadway was the most difficult parking for dinner two nights, but mainly because we didn’t know about their parking area behind the buildings at first.

We enjoyed the freedom of driving, but my husband mentioned he was really looking forward to dropping off the car in Chester and switching to trains to York - a more relaxing way for the driver….and I could quit my job of saying “Left, left” which we both laughed about & he appreciated at the same time! ; ). I just asked him for his comment, and he said renting a car has its benefit, but he would not make renting a car the main transportation for our trips in the future.

For some reason we both didn’t feel jetlagged on this trip! Our flight was Spokane-to-Seattle, 4 hours walking/waiting, Seattle-to-Heathrow on a Virgin Atlantic 787 plane. Economy Plus seats in the bulkhead row. Any ideas why we felt so ready to go?

The advantage of the 787 and A350 is that with their modern carbon fiber construction, both air pressure and humidity are maintained at higher levels, resulting in less stress on your system. Along with the VA lighting scheme inside the plane, which imitates a day-night-day cycle, the theory is that the effect of rapid time zone change is mitigated, thus reducing jetlag.

I've also found that as I get older, it's easier to get by on less sleep, and I'm less adversely affected when having to get up in the morning much earlier than my usual time. You're older on each trip you take, and I wonder if that could also be a factor.

You don't mention whether you were able to sleep on the plane.

Thank you for a very interesting and well-written report.

Wow--great trip report and very obvious that you are rock star planner and organizer--everything you did seemed so clockwork! Wales is on my list--I had a goal of going to each section of the United Kingdom and Ireland and Wales is the only part I haven't been to.

Great trip report, as always, Jean. Sounds like you both had a great time. Can't wait to see your pictures and catch up with you in July. Enjoy the tour and I'll be anxious to see how you like it.

@markcw, that’s very interesting! Last year when I flew from Spokane-Seattle-Amsterdam-Milan, I felt like a zombie when I landed in Milan! It was all I could do to sit outdoors in the sunshine in Milan instead of falling asleep. I was blaming the extra leg of my flight since we lived in Seattle previously.

I usually have several short naps on the overnight flights, and this one was the same.

What a wonderful trip report! Happy anniversary as well. That Virgin Atlantic flight from SEA-LHR is really nice, isn't it? I felt more rested after that flight compared to when I flew SEA-FRA on Lufthansa. I completely relate to the need for gelato, even when not in Italy, I always check Google Maps to find the best gelato places and I bookmark them. Looking forward to hearing more about packing and your Adriatic tour!

Update: I want to state a couple of the names of people who really were helpful for the Wales, Chester area - isn31c & James. Your ideas for our driving, train route to avoid the line currently closed & timing of the purchase of train tickets were greatly appreciated! Also, everyone who suggested golf course ideas, my husband enjoyed looking at all of them on-line! Those ideas ramped up his excitement during our planning stage!

Sounds like a fantastic trip. I’m glad you both enjoyed it.

This lessons learned post refers to this trip.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/packing-lessons-learned-from-my-2023-england-wales-trip

Many thanks for the kind words Jean - as one of the Brits who gave advice.

I can't understand why your husband stayed in the parking lot at Bodnant Gardens. I have also walked through that laburnum tunnel when in full bloom. Apparently they have to prune it in winter in order to get all those cascading flowers in early June.

Hi James, my husband didn’t go into the Bodnant Gardens with me because he had walked his 18 holes on the golf course the day before, and he had another golf day the day after I stopped at the garden. His foot had been bothering him some before the trip, so we were being extra careful that he didn’t overdo it. His priority the day between golf days was to walk all through the Caernarfon Castle. Fortunately, during the trip, his foot hardly slowed him down by the time we reached York.

Thanks for writing your most interesting and well-written trip report.
I have enjoyed reading it.
Wow, you are the queen of trip planning!
It is no small accomplishment to put together all these plans, hotel reservations, and sights to see.
Glad you had a great trip.
Great idea to occasionally split up so he could play golf and you could enjoy something else.
Happy 45th anniversary to you both!

P.S. We loved Caernarfon Castle and Conwy. Would go back there in a heartbeat.
We must include a stopover in Chester next time.

What a spectacular trip and trip report! Jean, you are always a wealth of information and I truly appreciate the details and tips provided.

We were in London and Oxford in 2019 and we also cancelled our plans to the British Museum. I sooo want to go! We also didn’t get to Harrod’s or the Churchill War Rooms so we definitely need to and will return!

We loved Borough Market too! We took a lovely walking tour of “Royal London” to see Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and St. James Palace, then hopped on the Tube to go to Borough Market for lunch. It was perfect! I love that you walked Tower Bridge. It was on my list but the kids won out and we walked the famed Millennium Bridge from the Harry Potter book!

Which did you like better, Chester or York? Both have been suggested to me as a place for a long stay to rent an apartment and settle in. Oxford also might be good for that. And Bath! (Too many choices!)

Your travel is such a inspiration to me. I love that you travel solo and look forward to taking a solo trip. There seems to be something magical about wandering the cobblestone streets alone.

Happy happy 45th Wedding Anniversary! What an amazing accomplishment! (We are at 33.) And thank you again for sharing your marvelous adventure!

Glad you enjoyed it, Rebecca!

Yes, I do love the research & planning process! I will be creating my large paper/Post-It calendar later this week for next year’s trip. It’s my second step in planning and already have lodging reservations for the festivals in Spello & Bari for May/June 2024. ; ). It’s easy to move the city Post-Its around during the initial idea stages.

Interesting trip planning method! That has me thinking how I could incorporate something similar into my trip planning. I tend to jump around a lot during the planning, so that might actually be a great fit.

I love how you write trip reports too, you bring us there right along with you. And I’m always taking notes for future reference.

I googled images of Laburnum Arch as you suggested, oh my gosh, how breathtaking.

Happy 45th Anniversary!

mln, I’ve tried a variety of methods over the years, and this one is the most visual so easy to see the overall trip, gaps, ideas, and where I need to focus when I come back another day to do more research.
Each Post-It covers one day of the calendar, so if I’m in Rome for five days, there’s five blue Post-Its with Rome written in the center of them. They might be followed with two yellow Post-Its with Orvieto on them, etc. I like to color-code different cities, so I can visually see how often I’m changing locations.

The top of the Post-It has the name of the hotel reserved. Below the city name are any ideas added for the day - add day-of-week closed for museums. Things will be added, crossed out, tickets reserved, etc. as the planning matures. Several of the Post-Its will get moved around on the calendar as the order of the cities changes. And it’s easy to tear up a messy Post-It and replace it with a new one as the planning becomes firmer.

When I’m close to the trip date, I load all of it into an Excel spreadsheet and/or the TripIt app.

CaliMom, between York & Chester, I would rather stay for a longer period at York. From our short time at both, there was more to do at York, also more restaurants, etc. Maybe it would depend on what you might want to visit at nearby day trips, too.

“There seems to be something magical about wandering the cobblestone streets alone.” Oh, yes! Full of opportunities! Planning to do it in the Puglia & Umbria regions of Italy next year. : )

Thank you for the additional detail Jean!

btw, we may have had (or nearly had) overlap in Bled. I finished the Eastern Europe tour there on June 18th.

mln, wow, almost! That was the day our RS Adriatic tour began in Ljubljana. We were at Lake Bled on the 20th.

I have adopted Jean's Post-it Note planning method as well! Love the flexibility of it!

Tammy, the number of nights we stayed in each location:

1-Oxford, 1- Burford (Cotswolds), 2-countryside outside Broadway (Cotswolds), 1-Betsw-y-Coed, 2-Conwy, 1-Chester, 2-York, 4-London.

CaliMom, glad to hear the visual, flexible planning method is helpful for you! I was just moving some Italian city Post-Its around this morning. 😊