My husband and I will be traveling to England and Wales for 17 days in a few weeks to celebrate our thirtieth anniversary. We have just a few questions left before we wrap up plans.
We travel light, so moving around is OK, but we’d like to have a few bases for 3-4 nights, except our first night and in Oxford (we’ve already been there and this time will be to catch what we missed and just wandering around), so we’re not constantly on the go from one city to another. Most of our time will be sightseeing, museums, gardens, castles, world’s fastest zip-lining for the first time! and enjoying new (to us) restaurants and pubs. Last time around was with family for two weeks, including a wedding and we tried to do too much. This will be a more leisurely time, walking, but no hiking - sore knees. We won’t have a car and will rely on public transportation and taxis or ride shares as needed. Our senior Rail Cards have been purchased.
We’re still reading through Rick Steves’ “Great Britain,” are following some suggestions, and we’re thinking of this route after arriving at Heathrow on a Tuesday morning:
- Day 1: Lunch in London, then train to Canterbury or Seaford with an afternoon trip to see the Cliffs of Dover and Seven Sisters.
Where would you spend the night, including dinner - Canterbury or Seaford, before heading to Bath the next day?
Day 2-4: Bath (3 nights) - will spend a day walking around Bath, Day trip to Windsor, Stonehenge and Avebury, or Windsor one day and then Stonehenge and Avebury the next and relax in Bath in the evenings.
Day 5-8: Llandudno (4 nights). Eager to go back to the little Fish Tram Chips after a run up the Orme. The view of Llandudno Pier is lovely and we like the little shops and restaurants there. We’re considering staying at either the Wildings Hotel in Llandudno and doing day trips over Snowdonia by tram, Zip World at Penrhyn Quarry, Betws y Coed, Swallow Falls, Bodnant, etc.
Or, since we’ve already stayed in Llandudno, staying instead at the inn, Tyn y Coed inside Snowdonia National Park this time and doing day trips out into Llandudno, Conwy, etc. Tyn y Coed has good reviews and is also much less expensive than the hotels in Llandudno. Have looked at Sykes Cottages, as someone in this forum has suggested, with laundry facilities. We’ve been to Conwy Castle and the town. Wouldn’t mind wandering the town and shops again. Is there much more to see in Conwy after you’ve been through Conwy castle?
Could split time between Llandudno and Tyn y Coed, but would it be better to stay in one place and do day trips out?
Should we get the CADW pass?
Maybe a brief stop in Chester for a few hours and lunch.
Do we need a night in Chester?
What would we do with our carry-on luggage?
Day 10-11: Oxford for (2 nights)
Day 12-17: Finally, London for the rest of our stay (6 nights) to take in museums, galleries, a few shows and maybe catch the last day of the Chelsea Garden Show.
We did think about including the Lake District and/or South Wales, but it feels hectic and we’d prefer to spend more time in fewer places this time around.
If you would suggest a different route, have favorite places to visit, stay or eat, please do share. Insights and suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.