Thanks for the responses, I've got 2 of 3 bookmarked already! We are hoping to visit for 6-8 weeks, where to stay is open to ideas (at reasonable cost). The wife wants to be within a hour of London by train/bus. I'm a country boy myself. We have friends who rented a cottage near Bath a few years ago, and they've talked it up. Read that the SE was a bit expensive, looking at Reading?