England / Scotland anyone?

[caitycaity]

In Scotland, you should try to get to Sterling. I did it as a day trip by train from Edinburgh. Have a great time!

 

[Rajah]

That's also on our long-growing list, Caity.

I really am starting to want to take a full month off work to be able to do this. LOL!

We're just going to have to break it into two trips or something.

 

[eclectics]

Never been. But it's a dream of mine. I'm jealous! My cousin goes to the UK frequently and he loves to do the "manor house" thing. He went this Sept. and raved about Congham Hall in Kings Lynn, Norfolk. I'm sure they have a website if you want to check them out. Cousin is a seasoned UK traveler and very fussy so I'm sure it's a nice place.

 

[Rajah]

Thanks Eclectics -- got it written down to research!

 

[Huggles]

If you are genuinely thinking of doing another trip then you may be best to concentrate on England and Wales one trip and Scotland on another. Although flying between Scotland and England doesn't take too long, maybe a couple of hours, the fact that you spend all the time hanging about airports etc means you have less time to visit the sights. At least if you go by bus or train you see the scenery whilst you are moving from place to place.
Were you to visit Scotland this trip, along with the England and Wales, then you'd probably have to miss out on the beauty of the Highland and Islands and concentrate on the central belt (between Glasgow and Edinburgh..which takes in Stirling). It has wonderful ancient sites such as the castles at Edinburgh and Stirling, Linlithgow Palace, St Michaels Church in Linlithgow (has wonderful stained glass windows and was consecrated in 12th century) and Glasgow has wonderful architecture (remember to look UP at the buildings too). You could fit in a trip to Arran on the west coast of Scotland as the ferry is handy by train from Glasgow but most of the other islands would be too far away for such a short trip. The Orkneys and Shetland Islands are wonderful to visit to see standing stones and prehistoric settlements but would be ruled out on a short visit.
BTW Falkirk (central belt) has the only rotating boat lift in the world ..have a look for the Falkirk Wheel online. Its a short trip but an interesting one and on a clear day the views are stunning.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a wonderful trip and that the weather is kind to you.

 

[live4christp1]

We went in 2002, mostly staying with friends who are on the mission field there. We did stay at a couple of bed & breakfasts over night while traveling and found these very charming. These are the places we visited:

Belfast Northern Ireland


Glasgow Scotland
Loch Lomond - beautiful little village there with a place that serves great soup and bread it was Luss I think.
Sterling Castle
Loch Ness
Iverness
Fort George


England
Stoke-on-trent
Milton
London

If you have any questions about any of those let me know.

Cristy

 

[Rajah]

Thanks y'all.

I'm strongly thinking we're either going to have to do one trip this time to focus on England / Wales and another trip to do northern England and Scotland another visit, but I don't know. If I can figure out how to squeeze just another 5 days, we could at least touch it all.

As for flying -- if we do get into Scotland (which I'm still trying to do...), I intend to fly into London and out of either Edinburgh (is that pronounced "burg" or "burrow?") or Glasgow, so we don't waste any time driving *back* down to London. We're also going to focus on the west coast.

Can you give me an estimate of how long it takes to drive from Edinburgh area to Loch Ness?

 

[Huggles]

Edinburgh is pronounced Edin-burruh. It will take you about 5 maybe 6 hours to drive to Drumnadrochit (Loch Ness) allowing for your not being familiar with the roads. Add in rest stops/meal breaks and it will take as long as you want it to take. You can take your time and visit places of interest along the way ( Battlefield at Culloden is very interesting) or just focus on getting there.

Lots of whisky distilleries on the way but drink driving is not a good idea particularly as some of the roads are very winding. Glenfiddich does tours round their distillery and gives a free sample at the end...I think most do this. It is in Dufftown which would mean a detour but it boasts 7 stills amongst 7 hills. The cooperage there also demonstrates barrel/cask building.

The west coast is beautiful and around Ardnamurchan there are fantastic beaches....remember 'Local Hero'? It was filmed on the beach at Camasdarrach,between Ardnamurchan and Mallaig, although the village in the film is called Pennan and is up near Banff on the other side of the country! The Harry Potter train sequences were filmed at the the Glenfinnan viaduct with the views down the loch ( flying on Buckbeak) being looking down Loch Sheil...the steam train does the run on set days but I can't recall when. However there are a lot of very narrow single track roads with passing places around that area so make sure you are used to driving in the UK before you try negotiating the wee roads.

Arran is beautiful and you can get there on public transport from Glasgow..train then ferry. There are numerous bus trips around the island and many great places to eat. It is a small place so the round trip usually can be done to coincide with the returning ferry.

if you want to get an idea of distances and times just access www.mapquest.co.uk and click on directions. Enter as much info as you have and it wil give you an idea of directions and time to get there by car.

Once again, have a wonderful time.

 

[Rajah]

*cries*

I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO wish I could just take a full month off of work! There's soooooo much I want to see and do between England, Scotland, and Wales!

 

[Rajah]

Okay, I know that I don't have 3 weeks right now, but I want to know if this 3-week plan is feasible or if I'm trying to fit too much in a couple of the days.

If it's feasible, I'm going to talk to my manager to see if there's *any* way I can take one more week while we're already out there.

---

Fri: Depart Houston
Sat: Arrive London, approx 10am. Get settled
Sun: London gardens and play??
Mon: London sites (Westminster, changing of guard, etc)
Tu: Train to Oxford or Winchester, end in Cotswold, picking up car along way
Wed: Bath & Stonehenge
Th: Cotswold area

Fri: Day trip to Warwick Castle, Glouchester, dinner @ Warwick Castle
Sat: Down-day
Sun: Travel to Cardiff, Cardiff castles
Mon: BB Nat Park in Wales to Pen
Tu: Penbrokshire, King Arthur Labrynth
Wed: Snowdon
Th: Snowdon to Beatrix Potter area

Fri: Beatrix Potter area
Sat: Down-day in Beatrix Potter area
Sun: Drive to Edinburgh
Mon: Edinburgh and Stirling and Blair castles
Tu: To Loch Ness
Wed: Lochs
Th: Loch Ness to Glasgow region

Fri: Glasgow region
Sat: Fly home
Sun: Recover before going to work on Mon

 

[RoyalCanadian]

If one sits down with train and bus schedules (both easily accessible via the Internet) then it can be quite easy to plan a trip through England without relying on car rentals. There are train schedule websites which will even plan out your entire journey, noting train changes, station changes, etc.

Just a note -- Stonehenge, Salisbury and Glastonbury can all be done in a day trip operated by a tour operator out of Bath. (Mad Max Tours is the name, I believe.) Rick Steves has more information on this possibility on his website.

Warwick is easily accessible by train from London -- once again, an easy day trip out of London to a beautiful castle (operated by the folks from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum) -- getting there from anywhere else requires changes in either Birmingham or Reading, or so it would seem. Taxi cabs are easy to get from the train station to the Castle -- however, it might not be so easy to get a cab from the Castle to the train station. That said, it's about a 10 minute walk through a very nice town (with one of the oldest British post boxes I've ever seen -- a Queen Victoria one -- along the route).

The Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus tours available in many of the cities are among the greatest values out, IMHO.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Okay, I know that I don't have 3 weeks right now, but I want to know if this 3-week plan is feasible or if I'm trying to fit too much in a couple of the days.

Far too much. Take for example your one day in Edinburgh in which you want to fit in 3 castles. You can spend a day exploring Edinburgh Castle with the Scottish Crown Jewels, then a walk along the Royal Mile and then a tour of the Palace of Holyrood House. Stirling Castle and Stirling are worth at least a half day to themselves.

Bath is worth at least two days of exploring.

To barely scratch the surface of London one needs at least 5 days. With this proposed itinerary you're giving more time to the Potteries than you are to one of the greatest and classiest cities in the world. Think Tower of London; Buckingham Palace, the Queen's Galleries, the Royal Mews, The British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, The Palace of Westminster, the Bank of England Museum (a great place!!), the London Eye, walking in Whitehall, a pint in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, St. Clements Dane Church (listen to the Bells play Oranges and Lemons), a day in Greenwich with the Maritime Museum (see Lord Nelson's uniform and straddle the Prime Meridian), a cruise along the Thames, shopping in the Camden Markets, a walk along Regent's Street, gazing with wonder at the Harrod's Food Hall. Then top off the day with dinner at Mr. Wu's Chinese Buffet in Bayswater -- one of London's best values and some great Chinese food.

I think you're trying to see as much of Great Britain as you possibly can and you'll find you haven't seen anything because you're constantly running from place to place. You won't enjoy yourself and you'll run yourself ragged. This is supposed to be a holiday -- not a commando trip to WDW.

Explore Great Britain with the plan that you will be back. Save London for another trip -- it's not worth the time you're giving it.

Choose three or four locations and give your attention to that area.

If I were planning this trip, here's what I'd do. Arrive at London Heathrow or Gatwick -- hop the express train straight in to London. Get yourself to Paddington Station (you'll be right there if you take the Heathrow Express) and hop the train to Bath. Give yourself 3 wonderful days at Bath to recover from your flight, take a Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tour, wander through Bath Abbey and read all the memorial plaques, explore the many wonderful museums, take the waters, pretend you're Jane Austen. If you run out of money, just use your bank card at the HSBC ATM in the high street near the McDonald's and you're all set. Don't forget to compare the prices at the Disney Store to what you might pay at home.

I'd give more references and suggestions -- however, we are in the midst of packing for an impending move and all my regularly referenced travel guides are safely packed in boxes.

 

[nwdisgal]

Jolly good. It's been a while since I've been there, but you'll enjoy both. Have fun! Just don't get freaked out if someone offers you Haggis and Meeps. It is actually quite tasty.

 

[Rajah]

Neil -- no offense to London and all that, but we're giving more time to the Beatrix Potter region and the Cotswold because that interests us more.

Tower of London -- If we have time, okay, if not, okay

Buckingham Palace -- Must

the Queen's Galleries -- The what?

the Royal Mews -- The what?

The British Museum -- Nah, not this trip

the National Portrait Gallery -- the what?

St. Martin's-in-the-Fields -- The what?

Trafalgar Square -- What's there to do there besides see it?

The Palace of Westminster -- Must, and the Abbey

the Bank of England Museum (a great place!!) -- Nah, not this trip

the London Eye -- What *is* that anyway? I keep hearing it referenced...

walking in Whitehall -- Where?

a pint in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese -- We don't drink.

St. Clements Dane Church -- If we have time

a day in Greenwich with the Maritime Museum (see Lord Nelson's uniform and straddle the Prime Meridian) -- Nah, not this trip

a cruise along the Thames -- Next time

shopping in the Camden Markets -- Next time

a walk along Regent's Street -- Where?

gazing with wonder at the Harrod's Food Hall -- Huh?

Then top off the day with dinner at Mr. Wu's Chinese Buffet in Bayswater -- one of London's best values and some great Chinese food. -- I don't want to go to London to eat Chinese food. LOL!

Thanks for all those suggestions, but we've looked at what's most important to us. We're not as interested in big cities as we are in the smaller quaint villages. Every cultural vacation we've ever taken (Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Hawaii -- which counts! LOL!) we've found that our preference every time has been the smaller places. The little towns that time forgot, stuff like that. We have more of an interest in the ancient history, the ruins, the legends, and landscape scenery (mountains, lakes, pastures) than we do in big cities.

So for us, this is plenty of time for London for this trip. In fact, if we tried to fit more into London, we'd feel trapped.

We also don't like bus tours. I know you can do a lot with tours and trains, but we're taking our bags and we don't want to be hampered by "can't get there from here without a 10 mile walk with bags and/or an expensive taxi", or by "oh, look, there's Stonehenge you have 5 minutes to take pictures then get back on the bus". Or "come spend half a day touring all the drinking establishments within 10 miles" when we don't drink alcohol and I'm allergic to cigarette smoke... So going our own is the way to go for us. If we do take any tours, it'll be one-day things or half-day things that hit the places we want to see -- like the one you mentioned with Stonehenge.

Can you tell me more to see in Bath? I know the Roman Baths and the church... what else?

 

[RoyalCanadian]

the Queen's Galleries -- The what?

The Queen's Galleries are the art galleries of Buckingham Palace with wonderful displays of the massive collections of artwork often hidden away inside the deepest depths of "Buck House." When we were there in September 2004 the entire display was devoted to the "Patronage and Collections of George III and Queen Charlotte." Wonderful paintings, furniture, pottery, jewellery, sketches, and the like -- all commissioned by or collected by George III.

the Royal Mews -- The what?

The Royal Mews are the working stables and garages of Buckingham Palace. This is where you go to see the wonderful carriages the Queen uses. Grooms are often seen exercising Her Majesty's horses. The London police were using one of the arenas when we were there in September 04.
The British Museum -- Nah, not this trip

the National Portrait Gallery -- the what?

I believe it is Rick Steves who mentions that one should visit the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square as a part of any trip to Great Britain. It is what the title says -- a gallery of portraits of Great Britain's heros, prime ministers, authors, artists. Everyone you see referenced in museums around Great Britain - their portrait is most likely in the National Portrait Gallery. It's free.

St. Martin's-in-the-Fields -- The what?

The spectacular church in Trafalgar Square -- the parish church of Her Majesty QE2.

Trafalgar Square -- What's there to do there besides see it?

That's what you do there.

The Palace of Westminster -- Must, and the Abbey

You do know the Palace of Westminster is the British House of Parliament, right?

the London Eye -- What *is* that anyway? I keep hearing it referenced...

It's the tallest observation wheel in the world -- not worth visiting London without going there, IMHO. http://www.londoneye.com/

walking in Whitehall -- Where?

The street from Westminister Bridge to Trafalgar Square -- past Downing St., Horse Guards Parade, the Cenotaph, the Cabinet War Rooms where Churchill had his top secret bunker during WW2. It's 200 years of British history in a 15 minute walk.

a walk along Regent's Street -- Where?

A wonderful street to stroll and window shop. This and Oxford St. are great for sightseeing.

gazing with wonder at the Harrod's Food Hall -- Huh?

Best to go to the Library and check out Rick Steves tour books on Great Britain and London. Better still, go to http://www.ricksteves.com -- great stuff there.

Then top off the day with dinner at Mr. Wu's Chinese Buffet in Bayswater -- one of London's best values and some great Chinese food. -- I don't want to go to London to eat Chinese food. LOL!

This is a great part of visiting Great Britain -- eating just like the Pommies do. It ain't all bangers and mash, neeps and tatties, fish & chips, toad in the hole, and shepherd's pie.

Can you tell me more to see in Bath? I know the Roman Baths and the church... what else?

The Museum of Costume ; the Roman Baths ; Victoria Art Gallery ; Number 1 Royal Crescent ; Bath Bus Company Hop-On/Hop-Off; there's also shopping along Pulteney Bridge; a spectacular pedestrian only shopping area in the downtown core; and walking along the broad sidewalks of Georgian Bath.

Once again, Rick Steves guidebook to Great Britain will answer many of your questions about Bath, give you an in-depth look at the Cotswolds, give you information about Warwick, the inside edge on Stonehenge, and help you to pick between Oxford and Cambridge. Rick will never steer you wrong -- and it will help you figure out "just what is that blue book you see every other tourist carrying?" Plus he is a major supporter of PBS TV and visits many PBS stations around the United States during their pledge drives as a part of his work.

Here's a link to Mad Max Tours -- recommended by Rick Steves, and at very reasonable prices too.

 

[Rajah]

Cool, thanks Neil!

(And thanks for not being offended by my ignorance on some of those places so far. I haven't finished researching yet)

A lot of that stuff is stuff we'd like to see, but some of it would be lower on our list of priorities than the thatch-roof cottages of the English countryside this visit.

I would LOVE to have 3 months to just live over there and go see and do as much as possible, including all the museums and such. But I don't have 3 months so we're having to be picky.

London eye is out for us -- my mom and I both are afraid of ferris wheels, and it would kinda defeat the purpose of riding if we rode with our eyes closed the whole time.

Rick Steves is definitely on my list of things to research, just haven't gotten there yet.

 

[Rajah]

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! My manager just approved me for 3 weeks!

 

[carolfoy]

Oh Rajah! let the planning REALLY begin!!
ps the london eye is very slow moving, you stand in a big glass capsule and it takes about half an hour to go round, really nothing to be afraid of!
oh and Royalcanadian is entirely correct with all observations, but don't forget an indian meal in Brick lane, the British eat far more curries than they do fish and chips, bangers and mash etc

 

[Rajah]

I am SOOOOO happy he's approved this. We still won't have time for everything on our "want to see list" (which includes a lot of what RC mentioned), but we will have time to hit everything on our "If we never got to go back and we missed these, we'd regret it" list. Which has Stonehenge on the south and Loch Ness on the north.

As for the eye -- it's the heights and open window and no solid floor below that bug us. A tower we'd do, barely. Dunno about the Eye.

 

[WeirdEyes]

Okay, that's not the usual tour type, Julia. LOL!! Does sound like fun, but not what my mom would be up for unfortunately.

Here's a question...

I'm pricing out airfare and see two options. It would cost us almost the same to fly round-trip from Manchester as it would to fly *in* to London then *out* from Edinburgh, which would allow us to not have to spend one more day getting back to London or Manchester once we get up to Scotland. Would y'all recommend that, or avoid it?

We are going to Scotland and England in May/June 06. We are flying into Manchester because our first leg of the trip is Scotland. We're taking the train from Manchester to Carlisle where our friends that live in the south of Scotland will pick us up. After Scotland, we are taking the train to London and will fly out of Gatwick when we get ready to go home. Our airfare was around $600 each.