I just wrote a lengthy response and before I could hit "Submit", it went POOF! I am therefore going to post this in stages ... bear with me.

I'm sorry we were unable to communicate by PM, Marti, but am glad you posted this here as I'm sure others will chime in with excellent suggestions. I was initially going to suggest Bath, but since you've been there/done that, I would say Bradford on Avon is a place you might enjoy. It isn't far from Bath and easily reachable by train in less than 2 hours from London Paddington. We spent 2 weeks in a cottage in Bradford on Avon last year, although circumstances were less than ideal (it was very cold and snowed heavily, and my mother was suffering with a back injury that required her to have surgery when we got back home). It IS a lovely place though, and easily walkable. Be sure to have afternoon tea at the famous Bridge Tea Rooms there, which is quirky and adorable and a little bit magical.

Bradford on Avon is right on the river and I love the little canal boats.

http://www.bradfordonavon.co.uk/about-boa/

I have not been to Rye (East Sussex), but understand it too is lovely. It's long been on my list of places to visit "someday." It too is less than 2 hours from Paddington by train. If you watched the British series "Mapp & Lucia", it was set in Rye. So quaint!

https://sussexbloggers.com/tips-for-visiting-rye-east-sussex/

One of our favorite places -- in fact, we've reserved a sweet cottage in which to spend 9 days this coming May there -- is the medieval town of Lavenham, Suffolk. There is not a train station there, but you can take a train (from London Liverpool Station, I believe) to several different outlying towns and taxi in to Lavenham. We are taking the National Express coach from Heathrow to Colchester (2 hours and 20 minutes) then taxiing to Lavenham. It's a small place, but oh-so-picturesque. One of the most famous buildings here was used in one of the Harry Potter movies to good effect. Everything here is higgledy-piggledy, and full of charm.

https://www.visit-burystedmunds.co.uk/blog/2018/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-lavenham

Here is where we're staying next year. I am so pleased that we found this cottage, as it will be perfect for my mother and me.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/26080321?source_impression_id=p3_1563057884_YspHRsf2Yh6I28fE

This will be our third time to Lavenham. On the first trip, we stayed directly across from a very old, characterful pub, and quickly made friends with the family who ran it, as well as a number of friendly locals. There was an ancient piano in the place, and they enjoyed hearing my mother (who is a professional pianist) play. One evening, the wine and cider flowed, and we all ended up having what they refer to as "a knees up" in the pub. People gathered 'round, singing and dancing. Here I am looking absolutely insane, dancing with another woman. ;-)

Yeah ... we had fun! Below, another woman has taken over piano-playing duties ... and the gentleman with the major "moves" in the foreground and his wife invited us to their 13th century home for coffee one Sunday morning. Such wonderful memories!

As you can see, it's a quaint and charming town. The Swan Hotel is a fabulous place for a meal or afternoon tea.

I also adore Cornwall, and you can get there by public transport - but it's about 5 hours by train from London. But depending on how much time you have, you might consider it, as it is truly a very special area. I adore tiny little Mousehole (we stayed in the even tinier nearby village of Paul -- we went line dancing in the village hall there!), as well as St. Ives and larger places such as Penzance and Falmouth. In 2015, Mum and I took my then-12 year old niece there and stayed in Fowey. Loved it! Cornish people consider themselves to be unique - and they really are.

https://www.visitcornwall.com/

We stayed here (Driftwood Cottage) in Fowey, and it was a lovely and comfortable place, in an excellent location.

https://www.estuarycottages.co.uk/driftwood#Photos

This is one of my favorite pics from our time in Fowey -- just loved the lineup of Wellies:

We had a car on our first trip to Cornwall, but I would not drive there again. The roads are tiny, and especially if you get out into some of the more remote areas, not as easily navigable as you might expect. One day down around Land's End, I accidentally hit a slab of granite rock that jutted out into the narrow road, ruining a tire on the rental car. That was not inexpensive to deal with. On our trip to Fowey, we relied solely on public transportation and had no trouble getting around by local bus and taxi, and often took the train from the nearest station in Par.

I'll shut it for now and give someone else a go. If I think of anything else, I'll chime back in. I hope this is of some help. Happy travel planning, Marti!

It depends...there are small charming villages but sometimes after that first two days I am ready for more than a road or two. I’ve been going for over twenty years (married an Englishman) so my favorites may not be yours.

I like to day trip the small villages but stay where I have more options. Also, I like different areas for different reasons. All of the above ideas are good though.

It’s been a long time but Rye was amazing. You also might want to check out the Brighton Lanes area. It’s not a small village but the ancient lanes has some very cool shops. If you watched Harry Potter you have seen the lanes ( it’s where they buy their magic wands and school supplies). You have the English Channel and endless areas to explore nearby. Another area I like (my fav) is the Devon Hope Cove, Kingsbridge area near the ferry crossing to Salcombe. There are amazingly beautiful walks along the sea in Devon around Kingsbridge Hope Cove. Also the estuary is very lovely. A ferry crosses to Salcombe which used to have a great art gallery with extremely reasonable originals. Salcombe is like Cornwall in that it can be a bit crowded with tourists in the peak season but you will have a few more dining options. I haven’t stayed right in Salcombe as I usually do the fantastic walks and then ferry across.

Here’s a little ole cottage for you lol.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/VacationRentalReview-g1526073-d8696046-Port_Old_Colonial_House_Hope_Cove_Devon-Hope_Cove_Salcombe_Devon_England.html

Thanks you two!! With only 9 days total, it will be tough to make choices. More please ‘

We liked the cathedral city of Ely in Cambridgeshire (also loved Cambridge). Ely is not a tiny place, but small enough to be walkable and not at all overwhelming in scale. It has a train station. And that's the thing -- the charming little villages are not always served by frequent public transport; even taxis in some places can be a bit hard to come by. So you might want to stay in a place where you can easily take day trips by train.

Oh, don't discount Wales! It's a good sized city, but I have a real soft spot for Cardiff.

I suppose you've been to Windsor?

Just thought of another trip we enjoyed to the east coast of the country. We stayed in the little seaside town of Sheringham (has a train station and also an adorable vintage steam train that operates seasonally). As quite a few towns in England do, Sheringham has an annual 1940s festival in the summer that looks like such fun, where people really get into the spirit of things. We enjoyed taking day trips from there to picturesque places such as Cromer and Holt, and thoroughly enjoyed the larger city of Norwich with its old cobblestone streets, shops and tea rooms.

Marti, when are you travelling?

I'm asking because I was just reading about a new book to be published in late September, Janelle McCulloch's "The Gardener's Travel Companion to England: What to See and Where to Stay",

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1864707577/

Near Wales is very nice too, around Herefordshire and the Wye Valley -- Hay on Wye, Ross on Wye etc.

Look at York too. 2 hours and change from Kings Cross. Have not been, but it's been on my list for some time. It's a city, but easily navigable by foot. It is said to be full of charm and history, and it has Betty's Cafe Tea Rooms which is adorable.

Is there a way to follow a thread without commenting on the thread?

That book sounds good... thank you Becky S. ! Trip is planned for next May or June.

JTL, you make an excellent point : after wandering through one quaint village after another they might begin to mentally run together. What you have done, Ida, is stay in one place long enough to take home tangible forever memories. Don’t have the time for quite that, but I’m beginning to think we should break the trip into two or three major areas to “call home” and take short trips from them. On this visit, we both seek a simple soaking up of atmosphere. Our first 2 or 3 days will be in and around Hampshire . Then....

Yorkshire? A long train ride would be okay if the passing scenery is pretty. But not all will be, I expect. Only hours from London, Ida? You can tell this trip is a very new thought. :>O. Must get a good map! These tips and suggestions are a big help!!!!

Bbstx, now that you‘ve posted, you should receive an email re. new posts, if you've checked that box. But hey! I can’t even get my message box to work, soooo.

You can play around with the National Rail site to see how long the train journeys are, number of train changes in a route, etc.

http://m.nationalrail.co.uk/pj/pj

Bbstx you can save the thread, and for example create a ‘folder’ called Travel for it.

Martin, yes, I’m getting notices now that I’ve commented. I was just wondering if there were a way to get notices of new posts without commenting, like Facebook’s “turn on notifications for this post.”

Outside, but the folder won’t update with the new posts, will it?

Just bringing this back as I feel I didn’t express, my appreciation for all the wonderful. Insights as thoroughly as should have. they are all being saved to my travel folder. Thank you again!!!

If you haven't watched, I highly recommend the show Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages.

It's available on Amazon, but we watched on Acorn TV (one of the better bargains out there).

Glastonbury, while not really a village, was unforgettable for me, although it's been many years.

Yes, Hidden Villages is wonderful!

Going to England was the preeminent desire for the first decades of my life, ever since I was old enough to realize there was an England. Finally realized the dream almost 30 years ago, and I had so much fun plotting my itinerary with maps and books, all spread out for three months on the living room floor ("do NOT touch this mess!").

The trip was wonderful, weather was superb (too hot for the natives but ideal for us) and I got to every place I wanted to see, with the exception of Dorney Court (gorgeous Tudor manor house which was not open the day we were there, unfortunately).

The one thing I wish I had done differently in my planning would be to choose one or two locations as a base and do day trips around that area(s). I had worked out a system that covered a large area in the south and west of England which we stayed one night and moved on to the next location. It worked out, but was a tad tiring. Hindsight is a wonderful teaching tool!

Talking about one's first trip to England ... When I was in high school, my dad worked for a company that would send him to England for two weeks, then he'd be home for two weeks, then Germany for two weeks -- lather, rinse, repeat. He was able to take my mom with him on a few of these trips, but I had all of my "teenage things" going on and it probably never even registered to me that I might enjoy going as well. When my high school graduation was approaching, my parents offered me a trip to England (all on my own, although we had/have friends there at the time who would've looked after me) - OR, help with buying my first car and a trip to hang out with a family who had an adorable college- aged son in Daytona Beach. Guess which one I (foolishly) chose? I did consider the offer of England, though, and even had a lovely high school teacher who was quite an Anglophile himself, and when he learned of my consideration he tried to sway me in favor of England. He brought me books to read, maps, brochures, and outlined an itinerary for me. He was truly a lovely, lovely man (now long since passed on). Anyway, I got the new 1980 Pontiac, got the trip to Daytona (where I deepened my crush on the college boy, to no avail), and England returned to the deep, dark recesses of my mind.

Sometime in the 90s (I'd have to dig deep to remember the actual date), my mother asked me if I'd like to accompany her to visit our friends -- the ones who would've looked after me, had I chose to visit after graduation) in their 450-year old thatched-roof cottage. Well, of course I wanted to -- so I did. And thus began my love affair with England that, despite several instances post-trip where I told myself, "OK, that was the very last one", it remains in my blood and I truly don't know if I'll ever be done returning.

I will never forget that very first trip, though -- of being in Gerry's car (with him driving on "the wrong side"), whisked from London-Heathrow to just outside a little village in Wiltshire where their cottage stood, and saying over and over to myself, "I can't BELIEVE I'm in England!" Waking the next morning to the raucous call of the rooks in the tree out the little wonky window of my room, I thought, "That's ENGLAND out there!" And after many other trips across the pond, I still think the very same thing each time. It never gets old. I don't think it ever will.