Things to See in the English Countryside
After our time in London we knew we wanted to venture out into the English countryside to see a bit more of the country for a couple days.
We decided to spend two days and one night traveling through the countryside and we were able to see quite a few fun areas. We definitely recommend renting a car and just wander and let your whimsy take you where it will!
Looking for things to do in London with kids? Check out this post.
Tips for Renting A Car
We decided to rent a car for two days to drive around. It was much for convenient and efficient than trying to take public transportation and allowed us to see a lot more than we would have been able to otherwise.
It also was a great way for the boys to finally relax without having to be quiet or conscientious about the public around them. They sang their hearts out, napped and generally were very content to just watch out the window.
Here are a few quick tips for renting a car in England:
You do not need an international driving license. As long as you have a valid driver’s license from your home country you can drive in the UK for up to 12 months.
Get a data plan. We have never used international data or SIM cards when we travel. We love to unplug a bit and rely on sporadic WiFi. However, we opted to turn on our international data for two days ($10 a day with our Verizon plan). This made it much easier to get around using GPS and directions and finding fun places to stop and see.
Also, we always make sure to ask for automatic transition when booking a rental car internationally. For one, even though I can technically drive manual transmission, it’s much less stressful to go with automatic. But also, automatic cars are always more luxury vehicles and more comfortable.
Lastly, if you are feeling stressed about driving on the opposite side of the road, try not to let that stop you! Once we got started it was actually quite natural since that’s how the roads and traffic is all designed. You’ll do great!
Stonehenge
One of the most notable things to see in the English countryside is Stonehenge. I’m sure you’ve seen pictures, I had too! But I never knew much about it before visiting. I didn’t know what to expect and I actually learned that a lot of what I thought I knew about Stonehenge was wrong!
Visiting Stonehenge is amazing. It’s mind-blowing to think about how this incredible astronomical structure came to be. This circle of stones that was built 5,000 years ago and was built to align with the solstitial axis and at midsummer the sun rises near the Heel Stone. And in midwinter, the sun rises in between the two tallest stones.
Not only is it a great site to take in, but it was also an amazing opportunity to teach my children about astronomy, history and life before modern technology.
Getting to Stonehenge
Stonehenge is located in Salisbury, right off of the A303 highway. It’s about an hour and 40 minutes drive time.
We drove from London. However there are several other ways to get to Stonehenge. You can take a train to Salisbury and then take a hop on hop off bus to Stonehenge that stops at several other historic sites.
You can also take an organized tour with a tour company that takes you all the way from London. There are lots of options, so make sure to do your research on the best one to fit your needs.
Viewing the Stones
Once at Stonehenge you do need to pay to go see the stone, and honestly, we were a little surprised at how pricey it has gotten from when my husband last visited. Adult walkup tickets are approximately £21 at the time of writing. Child tickets for age 5-12 at the time of writing is approximately £12.
If you are on a tight budget, or have a larger family with more tickets to purchase, there are several ways to see Stonehenge for free. Here’s a great writeup on how to do that from The Portable Wife.
For us, the decision was easy to just purchase tickets because it’s one of those things that you dream about seeing your whole life and there we were. It is definitely worth seeing Stonehenge. If you have more flexibility, we hear that circle access tours at sunrise are well worth the additional money.
We loved visiting and teaching the boys about how Stonehenge was made and the significance of it. I loved that every stone was different and as you walk around you get a different view with every step.
I also loved having lots of room to run for the kids after being in the city for four days. We played tag and chase and ran around for an hour just enjoying the fresh air and green grass!
Bath
Bath was another part of England that I was dying to see! My favorite Jane Austen book is Persuasion, which is partially set in Bath and I have always dreamed of visiting.
You can take a train to Bath from Paddington Station if you don’t want to rent a car and drive. There is plenty to do in Bath for several days, but if you only have half a day like we did, you can still definitely get a good feel for Bath and have a great day.
Roman Baths
The Roman Baths were the highlight of our morning. The Roman Baths are a religious bath house with history dating back to 60 or 70 A.D. There have been several iterations of temples and bath houses over the years.
The water is actually rain water that seeps into deep limestone aquifers where it is heated by geothermal heat.
Self-guided audio tours are available at the Roman Baths and just like Windsor Castle, they have a great kids version that my boys loved. You get great views of the pools and also the rest of Bath from the top level of the Roman Baths where you start your tour.
You can see lots of artifacts and learn about the history of the baths and the Roman cultural ties.
The bottom level of the museum area is pretty hands on and you get to see how the water comes through the limestone and how to the baths were built. The boys loved seeing the inner workings of everything.
We loved that most of the replicas all said, “please touch!” It was a nice treat for the boys and us!
The final stage of the self-guided tour is the pool level. The pool was pretty crowded, but also very peaceful. Everyone was very respectful and quiet while we were there and we had a really good experience.
Spend some time just sitting around the pool and breathing the mineral air. Walk around to see the different alcoves and just take in the atmosphere.
Before leaving, make sure to head back to the wishing pond where you can make a wish and taste the sulfur water. Spencer remembered the taste of the water at the Glenwood Hot Springs and refused to try it again, but the rest of us took one sip each, which was plenty!
Bath Abbey
Right now to the Roman Baths is the Bath Abbey, which is a gothic cathedral. We did not tour the Abbey, but we loved playing in the courtyard in front of the church and listening to the street musicians!
If you do tour the Abbey and want a place for the kids to run around afterward, we did walk down to the Parade Gardens to walk around and see the River Avon. It’s a great place to take a little break.
Royal Crescent
The last thing we wanted to see in Bath before heading on to the Cotswolds was the Royal Crescent. The Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses that overlook the city of Bath. They form a crescent and have a huge luxurious lawn out front.
The Royal Crescent was built in the 1700s and many rich and famous Londoners have owned vacation homes here or even lived here at times.
It’s a fun spot to drive through, and there is also a museum and spa if you have more time.
Bibury in the Cotswolds
If you decide to head from Bath to the Cotswolds, you simply must stop at Bibury. It’s a sweet little village with approximately 600 residents with adorable English cottages and tiny little cobblestone streets.
It’s exactly what you imagine in every old British novel.
While driving through, make sure you stop at Arlington Row. This little row of houses located on a hill with a bubbling spring is EVERYTHING you dream of about the English countryside.
The homes were built in 1380 and are part of an architectural conservation effort to preserve buildings and homes from that period of time.
We parked on the main road and walked across the river and up through the homes. It’s so quaint and gorgeous! I did find it a bit odd that I was taller than all of the doors to the homes. I guess people have grown taller in the last 700 years or something!
Bourton-on-the-Water
Our last stop was in the lovely Bourton-on-the-Water. And yes, that’s the official name. This charming town is known as the Venice of the Cotswolds. The town straddles the River Windrush and is a lovely little village to stroll through. We took a long walk along the water and saw all of the little homes and shops.
You could easily spend a day in Bourton-on-the-Water seeing several museums (including a toy car museum, a model of the village and an old mill museum) and sightseeing.
Unfortunately, since we needed to get back to London, we only stayed for fish and chips before driving the two hours back to London for an early flight the next morning.
Bonus: Cardiff, Wales
Since this isn’t technically in the English countryside, I’m including it at the end of the list but on our first day driving through the countryside, we didn’t have any evening plans after seeing Stonehenge.
We decided to look up the distance to head into Wales for the evening and realized it was only about an hour extra drive time than heading straight to Bath. So we figured we would add an extra country to our trip and head to Cardiff to see Wales!
We loved being able to see the coast and the drive was enjoyable. We spent more time on big highways than the small country roads we had been driving all day.
We decided to head to Cardiff Bay where there is a convention center, a church, the docks and lots of recreation and restaurants.
When we got there, there was actually a huge celebration for the Welsh rugby team that had recently won the Six Nations Cup. We loved being able to join in on this cultural celebration and even bought a Welsh flag for £2.
After the boys grew tired of the celebration (they started giving speeches in Welsh) we walked along the water for a bit, rode the carousel and had dinner.
Then we drove back to Bath and checked in to our hotel a bit later than originally planned. But we love the spontaneity and adventure in deciding at the last minute to visit an entirely different country!
Make sure to Pin this for the next time you are planning a trip to England!
