Revising My Itinerary - Advice Please!

[artnbarb]

thanks - it worked!

 

[Pauline]

I was speaking to my friend Fran today who recently did a 4 night canal boat tour on the Kennet and Avon. She and her partner picked up the boat in Bradford-on-Avon (I really like that town) and went to Bath and back. She said it was more work than she had imagined. During the day you are busy with the boats, going through locks, navigating, docking, going through the bridges that have to be pushed open. In the evening it was restful.

She liked the social aspect of it, talking with the other canal boat people. They had some dinners in pubs, and did some cooking. She thought it was expensive - I think 700 GBP for 4 nights - but the cost covered the fuel for the boat (petrol is very expensive here). And the boat could have slept 4 people.

They went in May and she thought it might be too crowded in high season, that there would be a line of boats waiting to go through the locks. It is slow going through the locks. I have a map of the canal, and can check to see how many locks there are on the route you are thinking of.

 

[Pauline]

If you jettison the canal boat plan and do two weeks in the Cotswolds, then you have the big decision - two weeks in one cottage, or a week each in two different places!

 

[artnbarb]

I was really thinking the same cottage....but now that you mention it......AARRGGHH! It just gets harder, not easier!!!

 

[Pauline]

Personally, I like two weeks in one place. We did a trip to England a few years back where we stayed two weeks near Burford, then two weeks near Stow. I felt like we really got to settle in.

No one said the travel life was going to be an easy one!

 

[artnbarb]

When I thought about staying an extra week I was thinking of staying in the same place...until Pauline confused me. Two weeks in the same place would only work if Pauline's concentric circles were perfectly aligned!

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

I've just read through this wonderful thread. All packed and chomping at the bit to get going. Packed a lot to cover 3 seasons plus finery for wedding. 1 carry on and 1 duffle bag. Anyway back to this thread, I don't do a detailed itinerary anymore. Unless there is someplace special I want to go. I find that once I'm on the ground, my needs/wants/desires change from what they were sitting at my computer.
I leave lots of time to explore and do minimum admission type places even in big cities. A museum every couple of days is more than enough for me.
Pauline and Kathy always give the best advice! We're staying in the South Cotswolds as have been through the quaint villages of Chipping Camden etc many times.
I found many charming cottages booked up right until Novemember. I checked West cottages. Totally booked. So I'd advise you to book ahead if you find a place you like.
I booked with The Bolt Hole with Character Homes for 4 days in September. it is in Minch.
As we will be in Oxford for 3 months, I will have time to check out other places.
Have fun planning.

 

[artnbarb]

3 months in Oxford - lucky girl!!!

Planning a trip is a real project for me - and one that I love. Altho I don't believe in minute by minute, or even day by day itineraries, I do like to figure out interesting places and things to do while we're on vacation. If I have a list of 10 things, I realize I'll probably be lucky to see/do half of them, because of weather, or getting lost, or just serendipity! I do like to know what day places are open /closed. I'd hate to end up in a place for just one day where the one thing I wanted to see was closed. I also like to have a sense of the area so that if we're driving to point A, I want to know if something else on my list is close-by, or on the way, etc, just to make things more efficient. And then there are days when we just wander, either on foot or in the car, and see what happens.

Normally I don't have a problem with booking early, but planning for this vacation is still in the formative stages! Last year at this time I think I already had everything booked, including airfare for our June/July vacation! I'm hoping things start to fall into place soon - we need to decide:

• When we're going to depart from the US
• How long we'll stay in Italy
• When we'll arrive in London and how long we'll stay there
• When we'll pick up our rental car
• How long we'll stay after London/Bath, and where

If we forget about the narrowboat (which seems likely at this point) then I'm stuck with yet another dilemma: I really wanted to add something for 4 days after our week in the Cotswolds. If we decide to extend out time there, it will mean a full extra week instead of just 4 days, and the cost of keeping the car for an extra week (and meaning Art will have to drive on the left for an extra week. I know some of you will say it's no big deal, but I find it nerve-wracking!) So - somehow I keep ADDING new questions without having many solutions.

 

[Lindy]

Pauline, thanks for fixing that link. Interesting article! Guess we won't be looking to intently on "for sale" signs!

 

[Lindy]

Pauline & Kathy,

Thanks so much for your continual stream of info on the Cotswolds. I thought I had that part of the trip (1 week) reasonably sorted, however new things have come to light. Like Art & Barb, I wonder if a week is enough.

We're staying at a cosy "little" cottage in Lower Oddington, called Twinkle Toes - how could you not be drawn to a spot with a name like that.