Can y'all help me plan a trip to England / Scotland / Wales?

[Rajah]

Okay, the schedule continues to be refined. I think I'm getting more reasonable -- am I right?

----

Fri: Depart Houston

Sat Apr 29:
Arrive London
Check into hotel
Portobello Road
(if time)
Ride the hop on / hop off bus to get a feel for London
Take the London By Night bus tour
Night: Hotel in London, Sat & Sun night

Sun Apr 30 & Mon May 1:
Hop on / Hop off bus tour
Changing of the Guard (~2 hours incl wait time?)
British Museum (~2 hours)
Library's room with ancient maps, etc (~1-2 hours)
Tower Bridge (~30 minutes max)
Tower of London (~2-3 hours)
Tower of London Keys ceremony
Westminster Abbey (~1 hour)
Big Ben and Parlaiment (~30 minutes max)
Trafalgar Square (~30 minutes)
Globe Theater (~1 hour)
St Pauls Cathedral (~1 hour)
(if time)
Queen's Garden in Regent's Park
National Gallery
Brief stop in Kensington Gardens & view of Kensington Palace
Mon Night: Transfer to Hampton Court Palace B&B, Mon & Tues night http://www.paddocklodge.co.uk/about.html

Tu May 2:
Hampton Court Palace & Gardens

Wed May 3:
Train to Southampton (1.5 hours)
Pick up rental car in Southampton (1 hour)
Drive to Salisbury (1 hour)
Salisbury Cathedral (1 hour)
Stonehenge (1 hour to reach, 1 hour to view)
Night near Stonehenge

Th May 4:
Avebury
Bath
Up to Cotswolds
Night in Cotswolds

--Fri May 5:
Down-day in Cotswolds

Sat May 6:
Warwick Castle
Stratford-upon-Avon
More Cotswolds
(if available, dinner at Warwick Castle)
Night in Cotswolds

Sun May 7:
Great Tews & Oxford
Night in Cotwolds

Mon May 8:
Cotswolds

Tu May 9:
Drive from Cotswolds to Cardiff
Castle(s) in Cardiff
Night in Cardiff

Wed May 10:
Drive from Cardiff to lower Snodonia via Brecon Beacons & waterfalls
Night in Snowdonia somewhere

--Th May 11:
Down-day in Snowdonia area

Fri May 12:
Snowdonia to Chester via Conwy
Night in Chester

Sat May 13:
Chester to Lakes District
Night in Lakes District

Sun May 14:
Lakes District to outside Edinburgh
Rosslyn Chapel
Night outside Edinburgh

--Mon May 15:
Edinburgh & down-day
Night outside Edinburgh

Tu May 16:
Edinburgh -> somewhere near Blair Castle
Night central Scotland

Wed May 17:
Up to Loch Ness
Night Loch Ness

Th May 18:
Loch Ness to near Glasgow (the flowers town)
Glen Coe region
Night near Glasgow

Fri May 19:
Glasgow region & Glasgow
Night near airport

Sat May 20:
Fly home

 

[Miffy2003]

Wow, you are going to see more of the UK than I ever have! Yes, I know that is a sad admission but I suspect I am not alone

It looks quite ambitious to me but this way you will get to see a lot of things

 

[Rajah]

Yeah, it's going to be very ambitious and I probably won't be mentally conscious for a week after we get back, but we're looking at this as possibly the only trip my mom will ever get to take to the UK. If we're wrong and she can go back, we have other stuff to see for a second trip, but if this *is* the only time she'll ever get to go we want to make sure to hit all the things she'd regret missing if we didn't see it.

 

[Tartan Tigger]

Wow, you are going to see more of the UK than I ever have! Yes, I know that is a sad admission but I suspect I am not alone

It looks quite ambitious to me but this way you will get to see a lot of things

I was going to say the same thing.

Also Rajah if you are going to be in or near Glasgow at the end of your trip then it would be a whole lot easier for you to fly out of Glasgow for your journey home.

 

[disneyangel]

Hi Tammi

Your Scottish leg looks much more do-able. In fact I don't think you'll use a whole day to drive from Perthshire and visit Loch Ness so you could head back down towards Glencoe that night.

What is the flower's town ??

I'd recommend taking the bus tours hop on/off around both Glasgow and Edinburgh.I'll try to get a website for the Witchery tour in Edinburgh for you. It's a kind of tongue-in-cheek ghost walk around the old city led by a deceased man called Adam Lyall where you get to meet a whole host of other 'ghostly characters'.

 

[Rajah]

That's the question, Tigger -- do we swap the plan to end at Edinburgh and fly out of there, or do we fly out of Glasgow?

 

[Rajah]

It's official! We have our plane reservations, and are working on hotel / B&B ressies now!

We opted to go with London/Gatwick and Edinburgh as the less crowded of the airports, so we'll swing through Glasgow on our way up to Loch Ness.

 

[Miffy2003]

That's great news

 

[daipp]

Well done on your planning, you seem to be doing really well.

One thing you don't seem to have thought of is that when you arrive you will be really jet-lagged (6 hours time difference and you will have flown through the night). Make sure that you are able to check into your hotel when you arrive and not have to wait until mid-afternoon!

Keep us all informed of your planning as I'm sure that there will be many of us who will want to help you along the way and perhaps briefly meet up.

You will have to come back one day because you seem to have missed out on the East coast of the UK.

David

 

[Rajah]

Oh, we hope to be able to do an entire 2-week vacation another time to get all of the East and Central part of England. Just not enough time this visit.

Our entire first day is "optional" -- we'll either just check into the hotel and veg, or go exploring depending on how we feel.

 

[#1MMFan]

Up here in not so sunny Scotland I would recommend a day trip to Glasgow as well as Edinburgh. Glasgow hasjust got fantastic shopping and I work there so if you are around email me for a wee cup of tea. The Rosslyn chapel is not in the centre of Edinburgh and is maybe 20 or 30 mins drive from the centre. You would probably be best served flying out of Glasgow as it has a bigger airport, although you may be as cheap flying back to Gatwick or Heathrow. Dont forget there is Edinburgh Catle and Stirling Castle. If you are here in May then the Pipe Band competitions start you might be lucky and catch one.
Apart from that the west and east coast of scotland between Edinburgh and Glasgow will only take you about 1hr to drive so it is very doable.

I would suggest seeing Loch Lomond as opposed to Loch Ness; the former is within one hour of Glasgow (i.e much more manageable) and has the Trossachs nearby where the scenery is stunning. Loch Ness is 3 or 4 hours north by car easily. My own american relatives all were blown over by the Trossachs and Loch Lomond. Please feel free to email me for more info.

 

[susieh]

With regards to the Southern bit of your plan

Train to Southampton (1.5 hours) - not sure this is enough, I checked the train times and it looks like it is a 2 hour journey (that was from Hampton Court to Southampton)

Pick up rental car in Southampton (1 hour) - where from ? There isnt a car rental at the train station - there is a Hertz rental at Southamption airport station but that is another train ride (allow about 30 mins more to get there).

Drive to Salisbury (1 hour) - ok
Salisbury Cathedral (1 hour) - is this enough by the time you have parked the car and walked to the cathedral?

Stonehenge (1 hour to reach, 1 hour to view) - what about meals? You havent allowed any time for those!

Night near Stonehenge - had you got somewhere in mind?

 

[Rajah]

We've actually modified the southern part of our schedule a bit. I should post it updated, but basically we're having a private guide pick us up in London, take us to Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Avebury, then to a B&B. We're trying for the Bath Lodge, which is set up like a cute castle just south of Bath. Then the guide is supposed to pick us up the next morning and take us into Bath for a half-day tour, then drop us at the car rental at the train station on the outskirts of Bath.

MM -- is it possible to see Loch Lommond on the way up to Loch Ness if we're planning to take the full day to do that drive? From Glasgow up to Ness. Or is it an either/or thing with Loch Lommond or the Glen Coe? We're also researching private guides for our Scotland loop so we don't waste time being lost.

 

[#1MMFan]

I believe you can go the Fort William route via Loch Lomond, but you will probably be so caught up with the staggering scenery you will end up hanging around! They've done the place up nicely at the southern end of Loch Lomond, you can also take a trip on the boat there (which I understand is a floating restaurant) and as you go north the scenery with Ben Lomond (a mountain) and waterfalls high up in the mountains is stunning. I'm not saying you can't see it 'on the fly' but you might end up wanting to spend more time there. I can't say I have been overly impressed by the Loch Ness area when I was up there, and the roads up there can be precarious; you have to be really careful. You'll also want to spend a bit of time in Glasgow as there is much to see and do. I recommend the sightseeing bus that was mentioned previously - I have done this and it showed me plenty of Glasgow that I do not know well. It's also a 2 day thing - you can use your ticket for 2 consecutive days and get on and off where you like. I think the same thing is true in Edinburgh. Be sure to visit the University area near the Art Galleries in the west end, as the area is so attractive and the University is 500 yrs old. It has a lovely outlook over Glasgow.

 

[Rajah]

Sounds good to me, MM! I've still got to spend a bit more time on the Scotland part of our plan. I'm currently looking into private guides that could do the driving *for* us since most of the Scotland portion will be quick one-night stays at varous places. Including Castle Stuart, we hope!

Been a while since an update, so time for another one. I keep running into annoyance roadblocks on planning this trip. Mostly in the form of B&Bs and guides not answering my email enquiries which makes it difficult to plan.

We're trying to get our accomodations set up now at least through the Snowdonia section of our trip. We've decided on Rubens at the Palace for our hotel in London for 2-4 nights. The catch is, we don't know whether it's 2 or 4, and I can't get them to email me back with any answers to my questions regarding their specials that include breakfast. And the reason we don't know if it's 2 or 4 is the B&B we want to try for in Hampton Court (which I know is only 30-45 minutes away from Buckinham region, but we want to be able to get up and walk to Hampton Court first thing without having to be up really early) ... okay, I was saying, the B&B in Hampton Court hasn't answered any of my emails about availability. Argh! We did get one night at the Bath Lodge set up for the day we go to Stonehenge, so that's confirmed at least. Now I'm working on finding a B&B with availability and decent price / room size and reviews in the Cotswolds and in Cardiff. If my mom and I wanted to share a *double* bed, we'd have one. But we're okay with sharing a queen + but not a double. Then it's on to the hunt for the B&B we want in Snowdonia.

 

[Rajah]

And on to the Scotland portion of our planning!

Here's what we're sketching out... we've had to remove some items that we really wanted to see, but that's just going to fall onto our list for the second visit, whenever we can do that. And since Ness is a must on our list (may not be as pretty as other areas, but it's the mystery surrounding it as well), we've got to make a large loop.

Anyway, here's my sketch so far, not fully researched yet:

On Sunday, we'll be driving from the Snowdonia region of Wales to Scotland, and I think if the main purpose of the day were driving, we'll be able to make it to the little town of Luss on Loch Lomond. So we'll spend the night there.

Monday spend exploring Loch Lomond and driving up to the Glencoe, finding somewhere to stay there for Monday night. I know I want to see the Five Sisters if I can, that looks great.

Tuesday, drive up from Glencoe along the northern edge of Loch Ness to Castle Stuart, a B&B in a castle just barely outside of Iverness. Any time we have extra after getting out of Glencoe will be spent on castles up near Ness. Plus, we've got to be at the Castle Stuart by 7pm since our B&B price includes a full dinner with a piper.

Wednesday, drive on the south side of Loch Ness and see Urquart (sp?) Castle and there's a waterfall near there that would be nice to see (Foyers I think?), then drive down to the Blair Castle region and maybe spend the night on Loch Tummel?

Thursday, see Blair Castle, then drive down to Edinburgh and find a B&B somewhere on the outskirts of Edinburgh or maybe by Rosslyn Chapel.

Friday, see Rosslyn Chapel, then into Edinburgh for Edinburgh Castle and an hour or two on the Royal Mile. Night in Edinburgh near the airport.

Saturday, we fly home.

So... does all of that sound doable?

(Oh, and I think Luss was the town we were told to stay in that was a flower town.)

 

[Rajah]

Oh, and the things we had to remove that we didn't want to: Glasgow and Stirling

 

[disneyangel]

Hi Tammi

You'll love Castle Stuart it's very near Nairn where I used to holiday as a child. It has a roof tower you can go out onto and have a wonderful view from and although I've never stayed over I've visited it and thought it was really cool. There are a few castles nearby - Cawdor Castle and Urquart Castle (I'm not great at spelling either )

 

[manning]

I probably won't be mentally conscious for a week after we get back, .

Factor this in.

You won't be mentally conscious when you get there. It's called JET LAG!!! You will be dragging your butt for the first couple of days. Figure about a one day recovery for each time zone you go thru before you really feel better.

The following may help

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/travel/skills/jet_lag.htm

 

[Rajah]

We've got that factored, Manning