Planning a trip to england, any tips?

[mtemm]

I'm going to be (gasp) 40 next april and am done waiting around any longer, so I'm planning a trip for dh and I for sometime next year. I know we want to go to London and the cotswolds, but not sure what else/where else to go. Possibly Bath and Stonehenge.

The problem is we will most likely only have a week to 10 days for this trip. Neither of us have ever been before. Am wondering when is the best time of year to go? Any favorite sights we might overlook? Any tips would be very helpful. also, if you know of any decent places to stay.

We both love art (well, me a little more than him) and history. Some fun nightlife for him, a castle (or 2 or 3) for me, that kind of thing. Neither of us have been to England before and who knows when we'll be back, so we'd like to see/do as much as possible.

Thanks!

 

[lawlesslovewdw]

I'm going to be (gasp) 40 next april and am done waiting around any longer, so I'm planning a trip for dh and I for sometime next year. I know we want to go to London and the cotswolds, but not sure what else/where else to go. Possibly Bath and Stonehenge.

The problem is we will most likely only have a week to 10 days for this trip. Neither of us have ever been before. Am wondering when is the best time of year to go? Any favorite sights we might overlook? Any tips would be very helpful. also, if you know of any decent places to stay.

We both love art (well, me a little more than him) and history. Some fun nightlife for him, a castle (or 2 or 3) for me, that kind of thing. Neither of us have been to England before and who knows when we'll be back, so we'd like to see/do as much as possible. Thanks!

London would satisfy the castle addict you will have to do London Tower, although my fav is Warwick Castle. Go either late june early July, weather should be good and the schools dont break until around 20th July. Nightlife is good in London, plenty of bars, theatres etc. Manchester is also good for nightlife.

Stonehenge is amazing although thats it really - not a lot else for miles around except Bath. Try staying around Oxford area for the cotswolds as Oxford its self is historic and pretty.

For the Art lover the Tate Gallerys in London are def worth a visit!

As for hotels/apartments not too sure on although we are going to london for a child free weekend in july, will let you know where we stayed etc...

Hope you have a fantastic trip

 

[Frances999]

If you plan to come for just a week, then I would personally stay in London for the week and maybe plan a couple of day trips to Stonehenge and Bath.

I am also an art fan - there are obviously the three major galleries of the Tate Modern (Bankside), Tate Britain (Millbank) and The National Gallery (Trafalgar Square) which are all "must-sees". The Royal Academy of Arts at Picadilly is also worth a look if you have enough time, as is the National Portrait Gallery.

The National History Museum and the Science Museum are also excellent places to visit for a few hours - and both have the benefit of offering free admission. Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London are also "must-sees" if you are history fans.

With regards to the best time of year to visit, if you are flexible then May/June is a good time to visit - with (generally) nice weather and low crowds as schools are still in-term.

We always stay at the Mandarin-Oriental at Hyde Park or the Hilton on Park Lane. Both are excellent hotels, and it is possible to get discounted rates if you book in advance. If you are an HHonors member you can sometimes get a promotional code for the London Hilton hotels.

For a week-long stay I would only arrange two day trips out of London, perhaps to Stonehenge/Bath on one day and then more extensive visting of the Cotswolds on another day if that is of interest to you - you could visit Stratford-upon-Avon as well, which I know is very popular with American tourists. Personally, I would rather visit Oxford or Cambridge than the Cotswolds, or even Warwick. If you can push for ten days then obviously you will have more time and could spread outside of London a little more. You could even take a quick trip to Paris via the Eurostar!

 

[waltfan1957]

I'm going to be (gasp) 40 next april and am done waiting around any longer, so I'm planning a trip for dh and I for sometime next year. I know we want to go to London and the cotswolds, but not sure what else/where else to go. Possibly Bath and Stonehenge.

The problem is we will most likely only have a week to 10 days for this trip. Neither of us have ever been before. Am wondering when is the best time of year to go? Any favorite sights we might overlook? Any tips would be very helpful. also, if you know of any decent places to stay.

We both love art (well, me a little more than him) and history. Some fun nightlife for him, a castle (or 2 or 3) for me, that kind of thing. Neither of us have been to England before and who knows when we'll be back, so we'd like to see/do as much as possible.

Thanks!

if you are going to hire a car prepare yourself for a shock petrol is about $7.25 a gallon here

 

[mark&sue]

Have a great time.


Susan

 

[martashsam]

I'm going to be (gasp) 40 next april and am done waiting around any longer, so I'm planning a trip for dh and I for sometime next year. I know we want to go to London and the cotswolds, but not sure what else/where else to go. Possibly Bath and Stonehenge.

The problem is we will most likely only have a week to 10 days for this trip. Neither of us have ever been before. Am wondering when is the best time of year to go? Any favorite sights we might overlook? Any tips would be very helpful. also, if you know of any decent places to stay.

We both love art (well, me a little more than him) and history. Some fun nightlife for him, a castle (or 2 or 3) for me, that kind of thing. Neither of us have been to England before and who knows when we'll be back, so we'd like to see/do as much as possible.

Thanks!

Have you thought of coming up North to York, if you want history there is nowhere better in the UK.York minster/Viking centre/The Shambles/National railway museum/Most haunted city in the UK-If you believe in all that. Only 2 hours train journey from London, hundreds of hotels and nearly 300 pubs.
Just avoid the big horse racing meeting in mid August-You can,t buy a hotel room.]

 

[mtemm]

Have you thought of coming up North to York, if you want history there is nowhere better in the UK.York minster/Viking centre/The Shambles/National railway museum/Most haunted city in the UK-If you believe in all that. Only 2 hours train journey from London, hundreds of hotels and nearly 300 pubs.
Just avoid the big horse racing meeting in mid August-You can,t buy a hotel room.]

I have thought about York, especially since as a child I was a huge fan of the James Herriott books I was just worried that with our time constraints we might not have time for it.

As for driving, is it possible to skip renting a car? I know how expensive petrol is there and if we can find decent train service for our trips out of London, we'd probably opt for that.

Thanks all! I really appreciate all the tips and ideas. Please keep them coming...I really appreciate it.

 

[Stitchy_Baby_626]

If it was me i'd spend all of it in London lol I used to live there and it's awesome. SOOO many things to do! To name a few...

Madame Tussauds (Most famous wax museum..SO cool!)
London Dungeons (VERY scary!)
Tower of London (I found this boring but personal taste lol)
Science Museum (Actually really fun and not just a place for nerds! lol!)
Shopping! (London has amazing shops!)
Natural History Museum (Really amazing!! and FREE!)
British Museum (Great if you love Ancient Egypt!! Fantastic exibits!)

Donna
xxx

 

[mtemm]

Thanks, Donna. Its very tempting to spend the whole time in London. I'm running about 4 different scenerios in my head right now. Whatever we choose, I have a feeling we'll be back.

Question for Frances999, or anyone else who might know. How long is the trip to Paris via the eurostar?

 

[Frances999]

Question for Frances999, or anyone else who might know. How long is the trip to Paris via the eurostar?

From London Waterloo the (direct) trip to Paris takes between two and a half to three hours.

 

[mtemm]

From London Waterloo the (direct) trip to Paris takes between two and a half to three hours.

Thanks! and, ooooh...so now I have 5 scenerios running around my head. well, if anything, it will be fun planning.

 

[wilmabride'sdaughter]

hello u probably dont no me but i live in england
bath is a realy nice place but a tip is dont cum to middlesbrough its not a great place to vissit and thats a nice thing
from sian

 

[Rajah]

I just returned from our 3 week UK trip, and our England portion was much like you just described.

Some questions for you: Will you be renting a car for any period of time? Do you have a limited budget or can you splurge a little on a private guide?

What I would do personally is I'd start out in London. Then I'd hire a private guide to take me to see Stonhenge and Bath (I can recommend someone if you wish me to -- we had a great guide). For the Cotswolds, I strongly recommend a few days. We spent 5 there and it wasn't nearly enough. If you want a nice place to stay, I can again recommend a great B&B that was well located for all the main sights we wanted to see. Take the time for Warwick Castle if you can -- that was hands down our favorite castle of the 3 weeks. Then end back in London.

You could easily spend the whole 10 days in London itself, but Stonehenge and Avebury (if you do the guide route and take the guide I recommend, he could do both, I'm certain), Bath, the Cotswolds, and Warwick Castle are all worth the time to get out to them.

Enjoy!!!