Travel in the English Countryside: Part 1

A couple of years back, we planned a week's car trip through the English countryside for May. Just before we left Perth, it snowed for days in London. Air traffic was a mess; roads were nearly impassable; and it was bitter cold. However, a week later flying into Gatwick we saw the canola fields in bloom, the blue cloudless skies, the meandering country roads and knew that the travel gods were smiling on us once again!

And that was only the beginning of our wonderful holiday. Of course, travellers can't control the weather, but when they can make careful plans otherwise, it always pays off.

Here are a few of the plans we put in place before leaving Perth which served us well:

• Since we had seen London on a different trip, we decided to stay away from that city altogether, choosing the English countryside instead. Before leaving Perth we reserved a rental car that we would pick up at Gatwick. John researched it carefully, considering the following: fuel consumption, room in the boot for our luggage, road worthiness, riding comfort. He decided on a mid-size Ford Mondeo. [Note: This trip took place before we stopped traveling with over-sized luggage.]

• We made reservations at B&Bs across the countryside, estimating the length of stay in each area as best we could. England invented the concept of the B&B, and they know how to do it right. There are several excellent websites that give complete details concerning every possible accommodation outside London. We chose farmstays in all cases except one night. The main reason for choosing farmstays was parking for the rental car. In towns, there simply is no extra parking. At the farmstays we had parking galore at the accommodation, so we avoided having to park outside the town and traipsing with baggage down the town street to the B&B. [More details about the different accommodations in a following post.]

• We decided to have a purpose for driving. Instead of aimlessly poking down roads or breezing through towns, we decided to see the National Trust homes, castles, gardens, etc. So we went on the website and used their intelligence to plan our days in England. The website has ideas for everything from day trips to picnics to two-wheel adventures, in short all you need to plan your visit. We priced the membership and decided it was a terrific deal because once bought all the National Trust venues are free. [More on specific National Trust stops in a following post.]

• We had good road maps. John studied these maps ahead of our leaving. He found good routes for sightseeing and for getting to accommodations. He knew when we had to drive on the highway and when we could take the scenic route. He also looked at the venues we'd visit on Google Earth and got a sense of where we'd be in relation to other stops we'd make. This map study was very essential because when you are driving on the narrow roads, the super highways, the town streets, you don't have time to read maps and you don't always have a way to pull off the road. In all the travel we did, we only missed seeing one venue that was scheduled (the map was more wrong than we were) and only circled one roundabout extra times in seeking the right exit. Other than those two minor glitches, we drove staight to all our desired locations.

After making those four very important decisions-organizing the transport, the accommodation, the tours, and the map study-we were ready to begin our experience.