Help with pre-stay Southampton

We are planning on taking a Baltic cruise in 2017 sailing out of Southampton England. We are going to arrive into England 2-3 days prior to the cruise start date and trying to figure out what makes the best sense on where to stay / visit.

We have been to London before and while I would love to visit again I think we will save it for when can do it more justice and can bring our young adult children with us. This is just a mom and dad holiday for our 25th anniversary

Should we go to Windsor for two nights, visit a town / village closer to Southampton, somewhere between the airport and Southampton? We are pretty much open to suggestions. We don't want to go too far out of the way between Heathrow or Gatwick and Southampton (not sure where we are going into yet, airfare not yet available). We will be on an overnight flight from the U.S.

We would like somewhere where we can walk in the evening for our meals, simply enjoy the area. Looking for quaint villages and beautiful scenery. We will have a rental car

Suggestions?

Windsor for 2 nights is probably overkill, 2 or 3 hours is usually enough !!

Have a look at Winchester, an interesting old town, and very easy to get to Southampton from there.

Next May we are planning to stay in Winchester for two nights pre-cruise. We will use Smiths for Airports to take us from Heathrow to Winchester. Lots of interesting walks, places to see and eat. Thinking of staying at the Winchester hotel.

Thank you

As you will have a rental car you can be pretty flexible. If it's beautiful countryside you like then have you thought of the New Forest? You can stay near Brockenhurst or Lyndhurst and visit Beaulieu, Lymington, Bucklers Hard. Or if you want to go a bit further from Southampton then visit the beautiful Jurrasic coast near Lulworth and Corfe Castle in the Purbecks. If you are flying into Gatwick then maybe you can visit the South Downs. Arundel is a beautiful town with a stunning castle and a good gateway to the South Downs.

Travelling down from Heathrow you of course have the option of Stonehenge and Salisbury if you haven't already been there. And further to the west you can always stop at Oxford with a visit to Blenheim Palace.

Lots to chose from, enjoy your visit.

I guess it largely depends on what you want to see. Old ruins don't come much more spectacular than Stonehenge; cathedrals don't come much more spectacular than Salisbury; olde worlde villages abound in the New Forest and there is enough green scenery to keep anyone happy in Dorset.

Just about everywhere you can find at least one pub serving good food and real ale, and Five star B&Bs abound.

I agree with the Scottish exile in Switzerland, two nights at Windsor is overkill.

Assuming your airport is Heathrow & depending on your flight arrival time & your reaction to jetlag, you might want to go there from the airport, then drive down to the vaguely Southampton area late in the day. Heathrow/Windsor to Southampton about 90 minutes, or to Winchester just over an hour, or to Salisbury about 1hr 15.

There's really nothing much of interest between the Heathrow/Windsor area and the vaguely-Southampton area unless you go way off-route. So treat that drive as a necessary hour or more of motorway boredom.

"Vaguely Southampton" includes Salisbury (40 mins from Southampton by road), Winchester (20 mins), the New Forest (15 to 45 mins) and plenty of small towns & villages.

Salisbury & Winchester are historic cathedral cities & both have their charms, Stonehenge ties in well with Salisbury But both -especially Winchester - have their parking limitations so you'd be wise to book either a city hotel with guaranteed parking or a hotel outside the city. You can easily visit Salisbury from a hotel in Winchester or vice-versa - they're about 45 minutes apart), but the cities are quite similar in many ways.

Getting lost in the lanes of the New Forest is an option direct from Heathrow, or as a lazy full day, or for the morning of your sailing. Easy from Salisbury or Southampton, no more than 15 minutes from either to the edge of the Forest.

Or further afield...........

......west to the Jurassic coast isn't too much for a day trip from Salisbury or Southampton, but both nights that way would mean a longer drive from the airport (2 hrs plus) & might be further than you want from your ship (about 90 minutes) on your sailing day.

......or east to Portsmouth, with its historic dockyard & ships and much more. That could be a two-night stay in / near Portsmouth (Holiday Inn Express, Gunwharf Quays is ideally situated), or as a day-trip from Southampton or Winchester. Something over an hour from Heathrow, about 30 minutes from Southampton.

JB :)

Having lived in the Windsor area apart from Winsor Castle some tourists like to visit Runnymede the site were Magna Carte was signed by King John. Others might like to visit the RAF memorial to Aircrew with no known grave at Englefield Green if they have relatives that are remembered there.There is enough time there for a day but not much more.

thank you

Something a bit further than New forest.

if you can take the jet lag

land LHR(different options for LGW)

do Winsor first morning/day.

Move on to the Avebury area do the stones, then Stonehenge, Salisbury

Then head down to somewhere like Wimborne or Poole for 2 nights.

(or 3 and double back to do the previous options)

Corfe castle and Studland bay take the ferry back through Sandbanks.

another option there is Kingston lacy national trust house/gardens and the Bradbury rings near Wimborne. at a push you could do Corfe castle

drive back to Southampton last morning via the coast road/new forest, on the ship for late lunch.

Gatwick flights consider staying that side Wakehurst house and Brighton spring to mind.

Another option that could drop the car early is to do Portsmouth historic harbour (cheap deals on tickets) good for a full day and more with easy access to Southampton

A base anywhere west of Southampton will have a lot within striking distance for days out by car.

what sort of things do you like to do.

... olde worlde villages abound in the New Forest .

I plan to take train to NF on the morning if the cruise to do some hiking. Right now I am thinking Brockenhurst, but should I consider another "olde world village" given the limited time I have, 4-5 hours?

Insidecabin- Thank you for the information will look into those areas

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Something a bit further than New forest.

 

if you can take the jet lag

land LHR(different options for LGW)

 

do Winsor first morning/day.

 

Move on to the Avebury area do the stones, then Stonehenge, Salisbury

 

Then head down to somewhere like Wimborne or Poole for 2 nights.

(or 3 and double back to do the previous options)

 

Corfe castle and Studland bay take the ferry back through Sandbanks.

 

another option there is Kingston lacy national trust house/gardens and the Bradbury rings near Wimborne. at a push you could do Corfe castle

 

drive back to Southampton last morning via the coast road/new forest, on the ship for late lunch.

 

Gatwick flights consider staying that side Wakehurst house and Brighton spring to mind.

 

 

Another option that could drop the car early is to do Portsmouth historic harbour (cheap deals on tickets) good for a full day and more with easy access to Southampton

 

A base anywhere west of Southampton will have a lot within striking distance for days out by car.

 

what sort of things do you like to do.

Some good ideas from inside cabin. :)

But don't be mis-led by the phraseology, which could be read as the day you arrive at Heathrow you go to Windsor, Avebury, Stonehenge & Salisbury, & then head to an overnite somewhere like Wimborne or Poole.

I'm sure that inside cabin knows that's impossible, and hasn't clarified that it includes an overnite at Windsor or Avebury.

Even fitting in a visit to Windsor, then perhaps a drive of something over an hour to an overnite in the vaguely-Southampton area or Avebury, depends of your flight arrival time and your level of enthusiasm after an overnight flight.

Avebury is one of those places I had in mind some distance off-route between Heathrow/Windsor and the Southampton area - a more scenic route than the direct motorway & with plenty other places en-route. But it would need a full day between Windsor and Salisbury / the south coast.

The places mentioned by inside cabin are worth considering, because by car is the only practical way to visit places like Avebury, Kingston Lacey, Corfe Castle, the Jurassic coast or the New Forest.

By contrast, Salisbury & Winchester & the Portsmouth sights are compact & any of them can be easily visited either by car or by train from a Southampton / Winchester / Salisbury base.

BTW I always shy away from using the Sandbanks ferry, which crosses the mouth of Poole Harbour between Sandbanks/Corfe castle and Poole/Bournemouth.

Depends on the day-of-the-week and time-of-day, but the lines to use the ferry can be very very long & slow & totally screw-up your schedule. But there's a simple road alternative round the back of the harbour.

Lots of choices - tell us the ones that interest you & we can help string them together.

JB :)

Windsor is great and give it 3 hours at least. Also, consider Winchester or Salisbury. Winchester is closer.

Thank you everyone. Looking to base ourselves for two nights in a English village/ town something similar to Chipping Campden. Do not want to drive more than two hours after an overnight flight and be within two hours drive to Southampton on the day the cruise begins. I think Winchester seems like a good option but looking for a few more options before making a decision

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Should have added there is an overnight after Winsor before the rest.

you could do Winsor(9:30) and Avebury same day off an early flight

Then you could pick somewhere for three nights.

We will only have two nights before the cruise. Maybe three nights but that will be max and would rather have a hotel in one place for such a short stay

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Thank you everyone. Looking to base ourselves for two nights in a English village/ town something similar to Chipping Campden. Do not want to drive more than two hours after an overnight flight and be within two hours drive to Southampton on the day the cruise begins. I think Winchester seems like a good option but looking for a few more options before making a decision

 

 

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Winchester and Salisbury are both quite a bit bigger & busier than Chipping Campden, though their centres are quite compact.

Wilton (near Salisbury), or Romsey (near Winchester), or Wimborne Minster (if you want to explore places like the Jurassic coast, the Dorset downs, Corfe castle, Poole etc on your full day) are more the size & style of Chipping Campden.

For a longer stay I'd recommend any of those as a base, but with such a limited time you may prefer to base yourselves in one of the cities that you want to explore, such as Winchester.

All of those places are comfortably within 2 hours of Heathrow and Southampton.

For the morning of your sailing I can suggest a route or two across a corner of the New Forest from Wilton/Salisbury or Wimborne Minster to Southampton.

If you base yourselves in Winchester, you can leave that city's sights until that morning.

JB :)

Thank you John, very useful information. Will do a bit more research and come with more specific questions

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These are our current plans for Winchester next May.

Winchester Hotel Heritage Break http://www.thewinchesterhotel.co.uk/hotel_special_offers.html

We are usually very tired after our flight from the US so think we will have a nap in the afternoon and then go to evensong at the Cathedral followed by dinner at the hotel.

On our full day we will tour the cathedral, have a light lunch, walk around to the river mill or maybe longer to the water meadows and Hospital of St Cross, have an early dinner wherever suits us. The next morning maybe a massage and get wine etc for the cruise. We will not have a car but will use Smiths for Airports.

Here is a thread I started about Winchester that is very helpful http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2316043

Thank you

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I plan to take train to NF on the morning if the cruise to do some hiking. Right now I am thinking Brockenhurst, but should I consider another "olde world village" given the limited time I have, 4-5 hours?

With your limited time Brockenhurst is your best bet, because of the railway. Trains to Southampton every 15 minutes on weekdays, journey time 15 minutes.

(There's also a railway halt called "Beaulieu Road", but it's out on the New Forest heathland, just a hotel & horse corrals, and very few trains stop there.)

Not sure you'll see much of the Forest by hiking with a short time-scale. Don't know whether it's worth the cost, but you can rent a bike at Brockenhurst station.

http://www.newforestcyclehire.co.uk/

JB :)