@Sam_F very very helpful. I agree that we will be better served to add another day or two for that road trip. 
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Congratulations @pietkuip on securing your sit in Cambridge for 3 weeks 
I just thought I would make some suggestions for your time in Cambridge which hopefully you and anyone else venturing there might find helpful.
Cambridge is renowned for its University so I will start there. The University consists of 31 Colleges and has produced over 120 Nobel Prize winners. Some of the Colleges are open to the public and better known than others, for example King’s College, the quintessential Cambridge College and here you can find the fan vault roofing in the College Chapel. To see Cambridge’s very own version of the Bridge of Sighs you need to visit St John’s College which is one of the biggest of all the Colleges. Trinity College was the former home to Sir Isaac Newton and it is here that you will find Newton’s Tree, which was grafted from the original legendary apple tree. One of the smaller Colleges and the oldest Cambridge College is Peterhouse, adjacent to which is Little St Mary’s Lane full of picturesque houses, lamps and dinky doorways.
A photo of King’s College.
Being located on the River Cam you should take the opportunity to enjoy a leisurely hour or two, punting. These flat bottom boats can be hired, either chauffeured by a punter or you can go it alone propelling the punt yourself with the use of a long wooden pole.
If you enjoy a mid morning coffee then you can’t go far wrong with a visit to Fitzbillies and perhaps enjoy one of their renowned Chelsea buns with your coffee. If you prefer a hot chocolate then you should head to Knoops on Green Street which is fast becoming a local favourite. If you have ever lived or studied in Cambridge then it is more than likely that you have sat and enjoyed a coffee or tea at the Copper Kettle. This institution has a photo wall of the great and the good who have frequented it in the past and also provides a superb view of King’s College whilst you enjoy your beverage. A short stroll from the Copper Kettle you will find the Corpus Clock, on the corner of Bene’t Street. This is a large sculptural clock at street level on the outside of the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College and was unveiled to the public on September 19th, 2008 by Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking.
Apart from Colleges, Cambridge is also well known for its wealth of museums and galleries, the most famous of all is the one that @Maeve mentioned, the Fitzwilliam Museum. The museum was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard Fitzwilliam and is reputed to hold one of the best collections of antiquities and modern art in western Europe. Pieces by Monet, Picasso, Rubens, Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt, Cézanne, Van Dyck and Canaletto can all be seen for free as there is no entrance fee. It is also worth checking their website to see what the current transient exhibitions are. A far smaller but no less dramatic museum is the Polar Museum. As its name would suggest it contains artefacts relating to Robert Scott’s unsuccessful attempt to be the first man to reach the South Pole. Items include original food rations and clothing and the heart wrenching letters home written by Scott and his fellow explorers as they froze only a short distance away from vital supplies.
Even if the weather isn’t particularly warm you will surely enjoy a visit to either Jack’s Gelato or Aromi located around the corner from each other, on Bene’t Street and Peas Hill. Jack van Praag started selling gelato in Cambridge from a custom made tricycle before he moved to his current premises where he serves up a bewildering array of flavours including Roasted Banana and Bourbon or Beetroot and Black Cumin alongside the more traditional flavours. John and I particularly love sampling the flavours at Jack’s Gelato.
If you fancy a sundowner before dinner then you should head to the Varsity Hotel rooftop bar with its expansive views out across the city. If you prefer it a little more lively then you should visit the Cambridge Wine Merchants on Bridge Street. Also on Bridge Street you will find the family run La Margherita serving delicious Italian meals and desserts. This is just one of many fine eateries in Cambridge and if you are not sure of what cuisine you desire then head down to Mill Road where you will find Jordanian, Spanish, Indian and North African cuisine to name but a few.
If you fancy heading a little further afield and if aircraft museums are your thing then you can either take a 7 minute ride on the train or a slightly longer journey on the bus to visit Duxford Imperial War Museum. Here you will find Britain’s largest aviation museum consisting of nearly 200 aircraft. Military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels can also be found in the 7 main exhibition halls. Not only does Duxford have static exhibits it you can also go up in some of the older aircraft.
This is a photo of John about to depart for a flight in a T6 Harvard.
I hope this will help @pietkuip for your upcoming trip and hopefully give you some ideas.
If anyone else has any suggestions for Cambridge please feel free to add them to this thread.
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@HelloOutThere the village of Lacock is beautiful to walk around with an extremely old pub that’s great for lunch and interesting shops. You will need at least a few hours there if you are going to the abbey as you can’t not go to the village as well.
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Hello and thank you!
Good to know.
Truth be told the abbey is a Harry Potter stop for us, so we will linger now even more so!
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Hi @lmhale I have tagged you on here as @HelloOutThere recommended this thread as there are several posts on here that you might like to peruse with regard to your upcoming trip to Cornwall.
I see that you mentioned you are starting your trip from Bournemouth and I am not sure what you are doing before you get to Bournemouth but you might like to include a visit to Stonehenge, a prehistoric megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain. Stonehenge is the most architecturally sophisticated and only surviving lintelled stone circle in the world and is about an hours drive to the North of Bournemouth.
En route from Bournemouth to Stonehenge you would have to pass through Salisbury and you might like to stop and spend some time at Salisbury Cathedral which lays claim to having the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom since 1561 and is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English Gothic architecture. The Cathedral also holds one of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta.
For your journey down if you take the A35 then just before you reach Dorchester, on your left hand side you will see signposts for Hardy’s Cottage. This is where the writer Thomas Hardy was born and penned some of his earlier novels and is now owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.
About an hour and a half from Bournemouth you could make a slight detour to Lyme Regis, a seaside town dubbed the Pearl of Dorset. It is located on the world famous Jurassic Coast, which has been the source of a large number of fossils being discovered and unearthed. It is a pretty seaside resort consisting of beautiful beaches, a picturesque harbour, breathtaking scenery and a fascinating history.
As @Ketch mentioned a stay in Exeter is a good suggestion and there are many things to do there. One of your top priorities should be a visit to the Cathedral which is over 900 years old and decorated in stunning Gothic architecture and carvings. On exiting the Cathedral you will find yourself on the pretty Cathedral Close and the whole area around the Cathedral is well worth exploring. You may well discover parts of the Old City Walls which were built by the Romans around 1,800 years ago and of which over 70 percent still remains. Another intriguing part of Exeter’s history that you can visit are Exeter’s Underground Passages. These Medieval subterranean passageways were used to transport water beneath the city centre. These are the only passageways of this kind open to the public in Britain.
Continuing with the theme of staying on the slow road from Ashburton you could take the A38 and then the A390 towards St Austell. From there it is a short drive to Mevagissey, a quintessential Cornish fishing village full of pubs, cafes, shops and galleries. If you like gardens then you might like to pop in to The Lost Gardens of Heligan, which are just outside Mevagissey and if you would like to sample a Sunday roast they serve a great one here, but you would need to check the calendar to see if they are doing them whilst you are there.
Moving nearer to Penzance but staying off the main roads you could drop down to visit St Mawes, another pretty Cornish seaside village. One of our favourite places to stay and dine here is called Idle Rocks where you can idle away the hours over a leisurely lunch or dinner.
@lmhale There is another post on this thread (post number 85), which has further suggestions for things to see and do in Cornwall that you might like to peruse.
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@HelloOutThere I’m guessing Gloucester Cathedral is also on your list for its Harry Potter connection! The cloisters were used as the corridors of Hogwarts in some of the films. There’s a lot more to see in the cathedral, including a nice little garden in the middle of the cloisters. It is a working church so there might be services taking place.
The area around the cathedral is lovely with lots of old buildings, including another with a literary connection. The House of the Tailor of Gloucester was the building Beatrix Potter chose for her story The Tailor of Gloucester.
Gloucester Docks is not far away and is a nice place to visit. Lots of bars and restaurants, regular markets and events and an annual visit from a group of tall ships.
My boys favourite place to eat is a little takeaway cafe in the docks called “On Toast” which serves a wide variety of toasted sandwiches, both sweet and savoury!
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Exactly one year ago today we visted the impressive Salisbury Cathedral and climbed the many many steps to the top of the spires. Absolutely amazing experiehce.
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Hi @Crookie do you have any photos from your visit to Salisbury Cathedral that you could share on here?
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@HelloOutThere I totally agree with @Sam_F re Day 2. Too much driving and trying to cram in too many places to pay them justice. You could easily spend 2+ hours at Blenheim Palace.
Stratford-upon-Avon is at least a half day visit.
I think sometimes we try to cover too much in a short time when we travel to new places and have too few memories because of this. And I find it is hard to predict the length of time between A and B because of road works, accidents on main roads and motorways, not to mention the very narrow country lanes, especially in Devon and Cornwall! Google maps does help but time and time again it has taken me far longer than it should have.
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Totally agree with @temba 100% having experienced jam packed holidays seeing many exciting things that I struggle to recall. Our slow travel experiences have been so much more enriching and rewarding and memorable. Quality over quantity wins hands down.
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Wow! Stunning photos @Crookie and thank you for sharing 
To give others a rough idea, how much time did you spend exploring the Cathedral?
Hi @temba and @Crookie thanks for your input.
It is quite a challenge to plan a month of travel for 3 people who are agreeable but have agendas for sight seeing.
And as I plan things out, I am finding that certain venues are closed or limited on the day it lands on our working calendar.
I think I have a good draft of the 30 days and we are going to meet soon to discuss the details, travel times and visiting times to be more realistic…
I may be posting for more insightful input😉
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Enjoying my sit in Quaint and charming Dunbar east Lothian Scotland. Despite the damp and cold weather Dunbar does exude small town historic charm. Heres a few shots from downtown and the area .
Dunbars proximity to Edinburgh is ideal only 35 miles east and on a direct train line.
ining
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@Catgoddess_99 we visited Dunbar while on a housesit elsewhere in East Lothian. We thought it was a lovely place with a stunning coastline. We especially enjoyed watching the kittiwakes squabbling and fighting in the cliffs above one of the harbours. They kept falling off the cliff and fluttering down to the ground or the water, still fighting! They were nedying, so I think it was the males trying to muscle in on females who were already with a male.
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Was it summer or late spring? That’s typically when they arrive to nest. For many Years I’ve worked seasonally in Alaska and Black-legged Kittiwakes begin arriving in spring to nest. Once I was out on a boat, and then suddenly there was a lot of commotion on the cliffs. The Kittowakes began peeling off the cliff’s which they do when there’s a predator. Anyways, a few minutes later i saw a Bald Eagle flying off with a Kittiwake in it’s talons. I couldn’t quite get my camera in focus quick enough, yet managed an okay shot.
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Beautiful photos @Catgoddess_99
@Catgoddess_99 I have a couple of places that we have tried that you might like to try whilst you are in Dunbar.
My first recommendation is Parkers at 144 High Street, Dunbar which is dog friendly too. This cafe offers an interesting yet simple breakfast menu served from 9 till 11am and they have various wraps and salads for lunch which is served between 11am until 3pm. If you are a coffee lover then they serve great coffee sourced from roasteries in Great Britain and Europe and they have homemade dog treats which I am sure will get the paw of approval! 
My second recommendation is Wishing Tree by the Sea that can be found in Lauderdale Park which is just 100 metres from the High Street. This was originally the bowling pavilion snack bar which was converted to the present day cafe which opened in June 2019. This is a great place for a coffee and a cake or something savoury and not only can you enjoy a beverage and a bite but your canine friend can also choose from Puppuccionos, Doggy cupcakes, Doggo ice cream and various other treats! 
If you would like to visit a traditional pub that is also dog friendly then I would suggest going to The Brig & Barrel at 8 High Street, Belhaven which is around a 20 minute walk from the centre of Dunbar. The pub has an extensive menu where you can try some local dishes like Haggis, Stovies or Cullen Skink-Cake from the starters menu or various main plates and they have various vegan options too.
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Hi @botvot Stunning photos and thank you for sharing. 
For anyone who appreciates the beauty of flowers, I couldn’t see any dates for a flower festival at Salisbury Cathedral this year but there is a Festival of Flowers in the nearby Chichester Cathedral. This will be a four day spectacular from June 5th - 8th, 2024 in the beautiful setting of Chichester’s almost 950 year old Cathedral. Visitors can also browse an exclusive range of stalls within the on-site Market which will be in the 600 year old Cloisters.
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