Stratford-upon-avon, Warwick and Oxford - Recommendations

[angel1976]

Hi,

My parents are visiting from Asia in April and my dad loves, loves, loves the whole quaint English countryside, culture, farm animals etc. We also will have our (then) 14-month-old DS with us. The plan currently is to drive from SE London where we reside to Oxford for the day, then drive to Stratford-upon-avon where we will rent a cottage for 3/4 nights and from there we will explore Stratford-upon-avon with a day trip to Warwick Castle etc. Would like to ask for following recommendations:

• Holiday cottage rental in Stratford-upon-avon (we will bring own cot and highchair so won't need the rental to be 'child-friendly' as such), we'll have a car so it doesn't need to be right in town

• Any attractions in the area that we shouldn't miss? Any farm visits type of place?

Many thanks!

Ax

Bumping for you.

I don't know about farms - but there is lots to do in the town of S/o/A. You can go to Ann Hathaways cottage and take a bus tour around the town.

Are you looking for somewhere to stay? This looks good
in Warwick and you could go visist the castle there.

Thanks PR and Scorta. Scorta, checked out the property and it's lovely but too big for us! Yeah, definitely plan on the castle as I loved the castle when I was there.

have a look on Owners direct for others or ring the local tourist board, they will have loads

There is a butterfly farm
a river boat
the theatre
brass rubbinh

loads of fun stuff

Mary Ardens House? I haven't been but I plan to.

Check out the National Trust - they do a "day out planner" - the Warwickshire one is here. I'm not sure I'd try to do all this in one day but all three of these places are beautiful. I also love Hidcote Manor Garden which is not too far away. If you want a farm-type place, Hatton Country World is just outside Warwick and might fit the bill.

Thanks all. Great suggestions. I will have a look at all of them tonight. We are planning to use Stratford-upon-Avon as a base so we won't be doing all in a day (especially not with a 14-month-old in tow!). Your help is very much appreciated!

Come over to the Malvern hills for the day - it is beautiful, and very English. You could do the cathedral at Worcester too.

Hatton Country Park is good, but very pricey. The Cotswold Farm Park is nicer and cheaper and the countryside is outstanding round it

it may be naf but the bus trip round oxford is really good to get an idea of the sites.

going in to look round some of the colleges adn walking round is just lovely.

I hope they have a lovely trip.

oh and afternoon tea at the randolph hotel is very veyr nice.

If the weather is poor, you might want to check out Stratford Armouries which has a great restaurant and soft play.

Otherwise, I'd second Hatton Country World and Mary Arden's House.

If you do go to Warwick Castle, do leave the castle and check out Warwick. The church is worth a visit and I can highly recommend Oken Tea Rooms for fab cream teas. You can also wander down to the Lord Leycester where Dr Who and Pride and Prejudice were filmed.

The castle will let you back in, just check with the ticket office before you leave.

Oh, and Packwood House and Baddesley Clinton aren't far from Warwick, and are lovely NT properties.

Actually, Coughton Court is worth a visit, as is Ragley Hall, although that isn't NT.

TBH with a 14 month old I'm not sure how much you'd get out of Hatton. Mary Arden's is probably your best bet and you used to be able to get entry to all 5 Shakespeare houses with 1 ticket.

Thank you for even more great suggestions! I really hope my parents have a good time too. The last time they were here it was 6 years old and they did mostly London, it was July and it rained and was cold the whole bloody time and I don't think in all honesty they enjoyed themselves. Am keeping fingers crossed that this trip will be much, much better!

I kind of agree with Llaregub about looking at Warwick and not bothering with the castle. It is extremely expensive and not really all that interesting - but you are the best judge of what your family will enjoy. Definitely don't miss Lord Leycester's, it's beautiful, including the garden. Like the sound of the Oken Tea Rooms!

Nothing more quintessentially English than a lovely cream tea in the country!

Kenilworth Castle is up the road from Warwick Castle. Less touristy, less expensive and hugely more atmospheric imo especially with the walk to Abbey Fields. Wouldn't recommend Hatton Country Farm - a bit of an expensive rip off I thought. Being based in Stratford, you could venture into the Cotswolds for walks/day trips to villages like Broadway.

I've just remembered visiting Ilmington which is an incredibly picturesque village not far from Stratford. Your dad will love it!

Thanks! Pity about the farm, it's just the kind of thing my dad loves... Just had a look at their website and might still go there. Think DS would love it too, sadly!

Ilmington loves gorgeous! Definitely will have that on my list of things to do then. Thanks for all suggestions!

I went there today, and it was very, very cold and not very open! It is bit of a ghost town mid-week. Still, we had the place to ourselves at least.

There are farm animals at Mary Arden's house, together with a couple of lovely houses to look at and I would say it is well worth a visit. We went there when DS was 14 months or so and he loved it. Having said that, he loves Hatton too!

I'd forgotten about Kenilworth Castle. It's great, we love it there.

We love Hatton Farm - although it is pricey. Umberslade Farm in Tanworth in Arden (just down the road from Warwick) is less commercialised and cheaper

We'll try that, thanks!

Some lovely pubs in Chipping Campden. Bourton on the Water is also worth a visit, as is Moreton On Marsh. Butterfly Farm in Stratford is fabulous. The train from Warwick Station is a cheap way of going to London for the day too.

Sounds like there's plenty to do and they won't get bored! Good! Thanks for all the suggestions...

TSM, when were you last at Umberslade? I heard a sad rumour that it is currently very down-at-heel. I hope this isn't the case as it used to be lovely.

I tried to access their website earlier and was redirected to a site called newsasia....and I had virus warnings jump out at me. Best to avoid their website, I think!