Warwick Castle from Salisbury

[Nymue]

We are planning out next summers trip. We will be spending several days at a B&B in the Salisbury region. We would like to visit Warwick Castle, is that doable as a decent day trip, or should we save it as a day trip out of London?

 

Anne

[Nickwolf]

If you are planning to have a car it is certainly doable. It would be about a 2 hour drive each way.

 

On the other hand it would be a bit of a pain by public transport.

 

THIS is by far the best website for assessing your options.

 

Nick.

[Nymue]

Thanks Nick, yes we are renting a car ;)

[haggis]

How are things with you?

If you are hiring a car, as Nick says, its doable. One handy site for you would be

 

http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp

 

By using this site you can easily work out any variations to your route and it also includes the mileage and it also includes a map.

Regards,

Mary and Jimmy

[pcur]

It's going to be a long day. It's about 120 miles from Salisbury to Warwick.

 

I spent most of a day at Warwick Castle. It's a real treat, and there is a LOT to see. The grounds, the castle, and several live "entertainment" type events.

 

Have you considered staying overnight in the area, and then going to Stratford on Avon the next day? They have a great hop on/off bus.

[Nymue]

That's a great link!

 

Hugs to you and Mary,

Anne

[Nymue]

Peggy,

 

After looking at the link from Jimmy, we are thinking the best bet may be pick up the car in London - Warwick for a day first, head to Stradford on the Avon and spend the night. Proceed to Salisbury the following noon from there.

 

Anne

 

It's going to be a long day. It's about 120 miles from Salisbury to Warwick.

 

I spent most of a day at Warwick Castle. It's a real treat, and there is a LOT to see. The grounds, the castle, and several live "entertainment" type events.

 

Have you considered staying overnight in the area, and then going to Stratford on Avon the next day? They have a great hop on/off bus.

[pcur]

Peggy,

 

After looking at the link from Jimmy, we are thinking the best bet may be pick up the car in London - Warwick for a day first, head to Stradford on the Avon and spend the night. Proceed to Salisbury the following noon from there.

 

Anne

 

That is EXACTLY what I think you should do, too! I thought about that after I posted, and said to my husband that you would be better to do an overnight in the Warwick area, and go to Stratford.

 

We loved it there! Here's a link to the hoho bus, if you're interested:

 

http://www.affiliate.viator.com/brochure/results_2.jsp?CONTINENT=Europe&COUNTRY=United+Kingdom&CITY=Stratford-Upon-Avon&REGION=England-Heart&PRODUCT_TYPE=Sightseeing&PRODUCT=SITours_NEW&ISO_3166=gb&AUID=2833

 

You can also buy them right there, but since you are going during the summer, I'd buy them in advance.

 

If you email me at pcurri at yahoo dot com, I have a bunch of maps of the hoho route, Warwick, local bus routes, a map of S on Avon, if you're interested. It might be easier to take the bus into Warwick instead of driving there, since it's going to be crowded, and it's a beautiful country ride.

[caneable]

Hi there, Warwick native here

Well I grew up there and still visit regularly, so hopefully I get it all right!

 

Firstly, there's been a lot of good comment on this thread already, especially about parking. There are two reasonable options. Firstly, coming off the M40 at Junction 15 you pass the Castle Car Park on the right hand side. Secondly, you can leave the M40 at Junction 13 and follow the Warwick signs. This brings you into Warwick over the River Avon bridge, the site for THE Warwick Castle view. Just as you have crossed the Avon you should see St Nicholas Park on your right hand side. There they have a good car park and it's less than half a mile to the Castle entrance. One word of caution, if you are visiting on a summer weekend or during school holidays, this park heaves, and so does the car park.

 

Now there's a lot more to Warwick than the Castle! If you've got time, and depending your interests, you might enjoy the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in St John's, or the Dolls Museum in the Thomas Oken House. From the Dolls house you can't miss St Mary's Church with the beautiful Beauchamp Chapel. The good news is that all of these places are within walking distance of the castle and each other, and to get to them you walk through some lovely historic streets with a real range of architectural history.

 

Well that's one day taken care of and there's always Stratford too!!

 

Have a great trip, and if you're thinking of travelling further north, I've got another post there!!

[Nymue]

Thank you for the WONDERFUL info!!!! As far as traveling further north, we would love to, however I'm afraid that will have to wait for another trip. I would love to drive up to Hadrian's Wall sometime.

 

Do you know anything about the Winged Warriors Experience at the castle?

 

Anne

 

Hi there, Warwick native here

Well I grew up there and still visit regularly, so hopefully I get it all right!

 

Well that's one day taken care of and there's always Stratford too!!

 

Have a great trip, and if you're thinking of travelling further north, I've got another post there!!

[marcb71a]

Peggy and Anne,

How do you find a B&B in these towns like Sainsbury?

We are on the Prinsedam next July, British Isles and would like to do

Oxford and Sainsbury.

Thank you,

Mary

[Nymue]

Mary,

 

Try Frommer.com and enter England and the region you are interested in. From there query B&B. You will get a list of recommended ones. You can trust their recommendations ;)

 

Good Luck,

Anne

[Nymue]

Mary,

 

BTW - What are your stops? We will be sailing with Princess on the Grand, 12 night British Isles in July next year.

 

Anne

 

Peggy and Anne,

How do you find a B&B in these towns like Sainsbury?

We are on the Prinsedam next July, British Isles and would like to do

Oxford and Sainsbury.

Thank you,

Mary

[Albino Mosquito]

Definitely do a day at Warwick, and a day in Stratford! I loved them both when I was there last June!

 

Oh... and if you are into little trinkets to bring home... I loved the "Love Spoons", kind of like a Welsh (I believe it is) "engagement ring".

 

They are lovely hand carved spoons, and on the top of the handle is a heart, a lock etc. And what was symbolized at the top, was what the fellow was promising to his bride to be. Lock = Security, things like that.

 

Anywho where I am going with this is... the cheapest place I had found to buy them was in Stratford, in a little trinket shop... I think it was at the 'top' of the street (away from the river), that Shakespear's birth house is on.

 

I believe they were 8 or so BP there for a medium sized one, and much more expensive everywhere else!

[marcb71a]

Anne,

Thanks for the tip on the B&B.

The HAL Cruise is 15 days, from Amsterdam, Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh, Invergordon, Belfast, Barrow in Furness, Liverpool, Dublin, Waterford, Milford Haven Wales, Guernesey Islands and back to Dover.

We were on HAL this July, on Voyage of the Vikings, the 17 days over to Rotterdam with stops in Nova Scotia and Iceland and Greenland. HAL's experiences on longer cruises are definitley a step up from Caribbean and Alaska. We can't wait.

Mary

[Nymue]

Mary,

 

It sounds wonderful! We've never sailed HAL, however my sister will sail no other.

 

Anne

[Roo]

Anne,

Thanks for the tip on the B&B.

We were on HAL this July, on Voyage of the Vikings, the 17 days over to Rotterdam with stops in Nova Scotia and Iceland and Greenland. HAL's experiences on longer cruises are definitley a step up from Caribbean and Alaska. We can't wait.

Mary

 

Hi there,

We are looking at the similar HAL trip for this summer (2008). Would you be willing to share some of experiences in Iceland and Greenland? Thanks.:)

[FinelyRetired]

JMHO.

 

While I enjoyed my day excursion from London that included Warwick Castle, I thought it was a bit touristy, maybe privately owned for-profit attraction. Close by, to my surprise, we passed Blenheim Palace and I was so sorry we didn't go there! Home to Sarah Churchill , wife of lst Duke of Marlborough.........immense war hero. And she was quite the strong minded, politically saavy lady of her day and a great aunt to Winston I believe. Her story is truly interesting.

 

So.....if in the area, maybe consider also doing Blenheim Palace which was built for them out of appreciation by the English. I'm so sorry I didn't see that.

 

Martha