Planning stage for a trip to England. Any info appreciated!

[SeaSpray]

Hi everyone :wave2:

We want to plan a trip to England for some time in 2007. (Disney this year, Disney Cruise in 2006).

We have no idea where to start our trip from. We will be your typical American tourist, flying in from Boston, Massachusetts. Our first priority is to see some castles! princess: Where are these located? DS13 (he'd be 16 at travel time) really loves castles and we want to show him the REAL ones. Actually our entire family is interested in castles and their history.

We would also like to see some of the traditional sites in England such as London, Buckingham Palace. Can you go INTO Buckingham Palace? How about the guards outside? Are they the "highlight" of the Palace?

How would you recommend traveling around England? We might be most comfortable with a touring company, basically "leaving the driving to them". Our idea of a vacation is not having to worry about driving. Any good touring companies you can recommend?

How about hotel accomodations? How many days is a good length to visit England? Our finances would allow for probably moderate to nicer hotels, but not overly crazy in price.

ANY advice is greatly appreciated!!!! Thanks! :sunny:

[florida sun]

Terry

My dear friend, what a suprise to see you posting over here on my home ground.

Well if it's castles your after you have to have a few days touring Wales, we have some great castles here, and if you come to Cardiff, I can meet up with you and we can have a coffee and I will show you around our great city.

We have Cardiff castle here right in the middle of the city, about 12 miles away we have Caerphilly Castle and not far from there is the very pretty castle called Castell Coch, known to locals as the Fairy Castle, in a very small way it reminds me of Cinderellas Castle at the Magic Kingdom,Look it up on the web and you will know what I mean. I know that there are also beautiful Castles further afield in West and North Wales.

As for the rest of the country I am sure my fellow UK disers will be able to help you out.

Good Luck and Happy Planning,

Sue :wave:

[Joanne UK]

I would definately recommend Warwick Castle. It's about 2-3 hours drive from London but it is a great day out. Always things going on there.

Buckingham Palace is open during the summer when the Windsors are taking their extended break at Balmoral. Only certain rooms are open though ie state rooms. i think you were referring to the changing of the guards? I think this takes place several times daily but I'm not exactly sure.

The Tower of London and London Dungeons are a must and a trip over Tower Bridge at night seeing the Tower of London lit up is wonderful.

Built to celebrate the millenium is the London Eye. It's a very big,slow big wheel and you can see so many landmarks - it's fantastic. London is a fantastic city and has so many things worth seeing it's impossible to list them all but it is expensive both for accommodation and refreshments.

Hope this has been of some help,
Joanne

[paulh]

think the place where they filmed the prisoner would be a good place to visit
Paulh

[Miffy2003]

Hi There!

Do you have an idea of how long you might spend over here? Just to give us an idea of how far you might be able to travel.

I would say you could spend at least 3-4 days based in London and not touch the surface of our captal's attractions :)

Karen

[emily1982]

Also, if you're in the midlands area to see Warwick Castle there also places such as Stratford upon Avon(shakespere's birth place), Birmingham (city) and a couple of theme parks!

[emily1982]

Oh and also around the country are lot's of National Trust properties which are usually historic places or beauty landmarks there are protected against development and are nice places to visit!

[carolfoy]

I live right down in the west country where we have many historical sites, Plymouth is worth a visit where you can visit the site of a game of bowls that was played by Sir Francis Drake just before he set sail to discover that little old place known as America, we also have miles of completely unspoilt national parkland known as the moors, Dartmoor (home of the prison and the hounds of the baskervilles) and Bodmin moor (home of Daphne Du Mauriers Jamaica Inn ) and the fairly new Eden project (largest greenhouse in the world housing millions of tropical plant species) . Coming down here? need more info? just ask! :wave:

[Clare D]

Hi
Don't forget to check out the weather for the time of year you want to come as in some parts of the UK it is freezing during Winter months! Also should you come summer time our schools are on holiday from late July to the first week in September.
Near London is Windsor Castle, an offical residence of the Royals. But to see the real beauty of this small island (Florida is the size of ENGLAND) you really have to come away from London.
I agree with the recommendations for Warwick and Stratford and you can't possibly turn down the opportunity to visit Wales and another DIS member.
I live right bang in the middle of England by Nottingham, home of Robin Hood. In Derbyshire where I live we have the Peak District and various statley homes - no castles though.
I would think about a trip to York whilst you are here, beautiful medieval town with a lovely Cathedral (large church) and do a ghost walk as you normally find out alot of history about the places and the town you are in.
Also check out the National Trust web site and the Tourist board - you will also get some tips for local Bed & Breakfasts which should keep your budget on track.
Oops almost forgot visit Bath - where the Romas settled.
::MinnieMo

[Queenie]

I would definately agree with Clare that York is a must see if you can come this far north during your trip. The Yorkshire Moors are beautiful and worth a look around too. Make sure you take in some traditional seaside resorts such as Skegness and Blackpool (tacky as anything but they give you a true taste of English holidaying!) Cornwall is an amazing place as are the Scottish highlands and you must take in some old Roman historic sites, St Albans and Chester are brilliant for that, basically you'd need a lifetime to see everything worth seeing! I'm in lovely Leeds which is just south of York, if you need any more info feel free to PM me whenever you want!

[Dimplenose]

I agree that you can spend 4 days in London and still not see everything. Although UK looks quite small I think you'll find the driving times a bit longer than you'd imagine. Check out the AA website for driving directions and journey times.

www.theaa.com/travelwatch/inc/planner_places_redirect.jsp

Hampton Court Palace (30 minutes train journey from London) is very interesting and you'd need most of a day to visit if you take all the tours offered.
I also think Warwick castle is very good in UK school holidays there are lots of activities to watch such as jousting.
I've also spend many summer holidays visiting Welsh castles.
Why don't you look at a tour company's routes to give you ideas.

I think you'd need at least 2 weeks here but more if you want to travel to Scotland and Wales, but I've lived here all my life (43 years) and not seen everything.

Libby

[SeaSpray]

Thanks so much, everyone!!!! :sunny:

Can any of you suggest the minimum number of days we should plan for? Would a week be enough to at least see a few castles and some sights in London? Or maybe 10 days? I think 10 days would probably be the most we could do at one time because of DH's job.

Are there any tour companies who take you around in buses and spend a couple nights here and then a couple nights there? Or am I better off customizing my own plans so we see specifically what we want to see? Neither DH or I really are fans of city driving, but we'd be fine with country driving if we had to rent a car.

Thanks again everyone for all of the replies, I really appreciate them and will save all of the ideas you're giving me :)

[Clare D]

Hi SeaSpray

Try this link. Just had a quick look on Google for you under bus tours. Jus thought you could then get a flavour of what is on offer and looks like it includes Warwick Castle.
http://www.astraltravels.co.uk/
If you have under 2 weeks here my advice is do as much as you can in a short space of time in London and then get out and move about. Probably 3/4 days max.
If our railways were better I would have recommended them but by the time the train turns up you'll be getting ready to fly home again! (only joking)
Clare ::MinnieMo

[Miffy2003]

I would definitely go for ten days rather than a week - you might find the first day or two you struggle with jetlag too.

Keep asking away and we will keep trying to help!

[carolfoy]

I think ideally you should allow 3-4 days for London then south to southampton/portsmouth for 3 days, the west country for 3-4 days, 2 days in bath, 4 days in wales, 3 days at the lakes, a week in scotland, down the east coast towards yorkshire for 3-4 days and back to london to go home. I realise this is a lot of time but you'd really appreciate the vast differences in our little islands geography. you can buy national express passes in the states that allow coach hopping around the uk (like we can buy greyhound passes) but unfortunately I don't know where you'd get them. you could try www.nationalexpress.co.uk or see if theres a link thru' the uk tourist board.
As a national rail agent I can help a bit nearer the time with timings, prices etc or could work out prices based on current fares. There is a national problem with rail here in the sense that its really not that reliable but we could work something out.

[mickg7dyd]

:smooth: Hi,
If you find you have 10 minutes to spare you could always visit my home town the "original" Boston... :)

Mick.

[Joanne UK]

Do you know Woodhall Spa? I've just booked up 2 nights at the Petwood Hotel for a wedding in July 2006 we've been invited to.

[Hilary]

Hi there :wave:

Check out this link (http://www.historic-uk.com/StayUK/Tours.htm) for some information about places you may want to visit :)

I think you'll have to decide first whether you want an escorted tour, in which case you'll have to stick wth their itinerary, or if you want to choose your own itinerary and then arrange your own transport.

[BONZO]

Hi,

Well - it's been some time since I followed your posts about CBR some time ago on the Resort Board as we were doing the same at the time.

Anyway - quick link for you Visit Britain (http://www.visitbritain.com/VB3-en-US/index.aspx?c=1)

Back with more info later.

[jen_uk]

Portsmouth is worth a visit, there is the historic dockyard which has Nelsons ship there as well as others, there is also Charles Dickens birthplace, Portchester Castle and lots of other stuff to see as well.

Jen :flower:

[carolfoy]

Hi Jen_UK I agree, I beleive we are staying in the ASMo at the same time? ;)

[jen_uk]

Yep, just under 8 months to go! Have you requested a specific building there? I asked for Fantasmic when I booked. :flower:

[carolfoy]

Asked for toy story, although not really bothered, Me (34) Mum (58 and totally Disney nuts) and my son Callum (10) and our friends Reg (72) Ruth (50) and their son Dan (9). They are total newbies, never even been on a plane so am really looking forward to their first reactions at 'everything Disney'

[jen_uk]

Ive been twice before but my husband Alex has never been, he grew up in a small village in Sardinia and doesnt really know anything about Disney World (I think he imagines it as the local fair with people in costumes!!) so I cant wait either to see his reaction when he sees what its really like there!

[carolfoy]

BLESS!!! he is going to have THE MOST FANTASTIC TIME!!

[SeaSpray]

Hi everyone! :wave2:

I'm sorry I haven't replied sooner. I want you all to know that I appreciate very much all of the info you've posted here. I have started a folder just for this vacation in my "Favorites" section of my computer! :teeth:

I know this might sound silly, but my entire family loves the movie "A Knight's Tale". How do you all feel about that movie? We don't have royalty over here, and I just LOVE the ending where the prince of England knights Heath Ledger. I love the actor who plays the prince! :sunny: Heath Ledger isn't too bad either. Heheh. Anyway, we are a family of Americans who love the idea of royalty, chivalry, castles, etc. and are so excited at the thoughts of visiting over there! We also love the Beatles and I think I read on one of the web sites that someone gave, about a tour to visit the Cavern and other old Beatles stomping ground sites. Like I said, we'll be the obvious American tourists while we're there. Even here in our own country when I go visit a new state, I love to check out the typical tourist stuff! :) I have a feeling that we'll have to make more than one trip over, in order to see everything that we'd like to see.

BONZO! Wow, a blast from the past! I certainly remember you! How have you been?? :chat:

[Clare D]

Hi Seaspray
As you have this love of castles, royalty etc I would check out Amazon as they stock books by Davod Starkey who is the worlds leading royal historian. He has done 3 series here looking at Henry VIII and his wives, Elizabeth 1st and the Monarchy, looking at how the Royal family began in England .
You can also read up on it via the Royals own web site www.royal.gov.uk - very good.
Yes you can tour Liverpool and Sir Paul McCartneys old house is a National Trust property.
Have a great time and happy reading ::MinnieMo

[UK Crowbirds]

princess: Greetings my Lord, Lady, & Young Squires princess:

Being former medieaval re - enactment society members (and Elisa is studying history at University!!) heres our advice for people who want to enjoy Britain and its History.

1) The longer you come the better - the UK is approx. the same size as Florida!!

2) There are hundreds of statley homes and castles across the uk, managed by English Heritage (www.englishheritage.co.uk), The National Trust (www.nationaltrust.org.uk) ( I think there is an American branch called the Oak Leaf Foundation) and private see Hudson's Historic Houses & Gardens at www.hudsons.co.uk - they list nearly every private, English Heritage and National Trust castle and house.

3) The Lake District is an excellent area to spend some of your holiday, the whole area is protected and has numorous historical sites including Beatrix Potter's house and Muncaster Castle.

4) if you go to London see a show it is much cheaper than Broadway!!! we would recommend We Will Rock You if you like the rock band Queen, or for more traditional Les Miserables, if you like plays rather than musicals there are many showing in theatres across london, you can even experience Shakespeare's plays, presented as in his time, in the reconstructed Globe Theatre!!!!

5) We have some marvellous world heritage sites such as Stonehenge (definitely worth seeing), Bath, Hadrians Wall (do at same time as lake district) Canterbury and Durham cathedrals etc (listed at http://www.lawhf.gov.uk/LAWHF/inscribed.htm)

6) English Heritage and The National Trust run a programme of events throughtout the summer these can be viewed at the websites and if you plan carefully you could be rubbing shoulders with anyone from cavemen to WW2 soldiers. These events could just involve one or two entertainers, such as our friends Heuristics, or the hundreds involved in the annual Festival of History.

7) we also have a rich sporting heritage and many premiership (soccer) football clubs have museums and stadium tours including our beloved Manchester United, and after which you are always welcome to come for tea!!! (there is also now the new national football museum at Preston North End one of Elisa's regular haunts while at university!!!!!) Preston is also a great base for exploring the north west as the lake district, Manchester, Liverpool and the Blackpool and Fylde coast are all about 1 hour away by car or if you wanna have a day of from driving train.

8) I'd really recomend hiring a car, I Know you're a little reluctant but it does make everything alot more accessible. The exception to this is London, never, ever drive in London.

9) If cost is a consideration, there are lots of nice self catering cottages available.

:jester: Please don't hesitate to contact us :jester:

[dreamflight99]

I would definately agree with Clare that York is a must see if you can come this far north during your trip. The Yorkshire Moors are beautiful and worth a look around too. Make sure you take in some traditional seaside resorts such as Skegness and Blackpool (tacky as anything but they give you a true taste of English holidaying!) Cornwall is an amazing place as are the Scottish highlands and you must take in some old Roman historic sites, St Albans and Chester are brilliant for that, basically you'd need a lifetime to see everything worth seeing! I'm in lovely Leeds which is just south of York, if you need any more info feel free to PM me whenever you want!Just popping into to say Hello! :wave2:
DD has received many unconditional offers to universities in England (via UCAS), one was the University of York!! We've heard nothing but wonderful things about the area, and the fabulous reputation of the school (consistently in the top "5" in the UK). Looks like we'll be traveling to England again this fall, helping DD settle-in to begin her college life in her beloved England! :love: :goodvibes There will be many more trips to the mother country over the next 3 years (minimum!)!! :flower:

Terry...if you have any queries on traveling, visiting castles, etc., feel free to contact me for any help. We had a lovely 2 1/2 week visit last Nov/Dec., and would be happy to offer any assistance which may benefit you (with planning your own trip across the pond!). From a "meffie" (born in Medford), to a Bostonian...It would be my pleasure. :flower: We actually stayed in the Park Lane on Piccadilly, overlooking GREEN park! We could see Buckingham Palace and the London Eye from our windows. ;) The walk to the Palace was about 4 minutes through the park. I could help with transportation, prices, etc. Just give me a shout via PM. :wave2:

[minkydog]

DH & I made a 20th anniversary trip to England a few years ago and we had a blast. Rather than choosing a tour company, we read every trravel book we could get our hands on to get a feel for what we wanted to do. We only had 7 days, so we were somewhat limited. But there were certain things that we really, really wanted to take our time on and I didn't want to be hemmed in by a tour company's schedule.

We opted to stay at a lovely B & B near Victoria Station, not too far from Buckingham Palace. It was an easy walk to the Tube, the trains, the bus station, and several restaurants and pubs. Breakfast was "home-cooked" every morning, which was delightful. The first day we were there, we did buy a Hop On/Hop Off ticket on one of the big red buses so we could get an idea of where we were. Otherwise we used the tube for everything else.and walked. a lot :rotfl:

In 6 days, we saw: Buckingham Palace, Green Park(what's that place where people can give speeches?) Trafalgar square, Cleopatra's needle,the British Museum (twice!) the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Bath, the cathedral in Bath, Cardiff, the Welsh Museum outside of Cardiff(fabulous!), Harrods(!) and I forget what else. The thing my DH keeps talking about is eating lunch in the crypt under St.Pauls. :goodvibes

We are going back next year, in May. We will either go to York or Wales. I love ancient Roman/Viking history and DH wants to see some castles( my feet were hurting from all that walking, so I didn't enjoy the castle in Wales as much). And we want to go back to the British Museum--even though we spent 13 hrs total there, we only saw 40% of the museum. :earseek: I this time I want to take in a show.

Best of luck. Don't be afraid to strike out on your own. It's the adventure of a lifetime and there is nothing better than getting to talk to the people who live and work there. We even found a young waitress in Bath who offered to make us some sweet tea--she figured out from our accent that we were from the southern US. :teeth:

cathy--can't wait to go back :love:

[Tron[ADS]]

For a good taste of British history, you might want to plan for a day in York, in which you can see a great deal of Roman and Viking stuff (for want of a better word). There is a good underground viking museum place, and the city tour bus is very informative, and well worth doing.

I wouldnt waste your time with Blackpool to be honest...its just full of litter and drunken louts. I could be being overly negative because unfortunately I live there, but I think you would feel you had wasted a day if you visited.