Visiting the UK

[Zooshoveller]

I hope this is the right place to post!

DH and I were discussing my possible retirement in 6 years. I told him I wanted to take a 2-3 week UK vacation.

My first question (of hopefully many) is how is the weather in early August?

 

[sjt22]

Hi unfortunately the U.K climate is a bit unpredictable and I wouldn't really like to say we have any kind of set weather in our summer months. This year we are being very lucky and having a heat wave and most places have seen temps in the mid to high 20s or even 30s (thats degrees Celsius).

Other years we are lucky to get 18c it might be dry it might be wet its one of our british quirks:good vibes

Don't let it put you off visiting though there is plenty to see and do rain or shine.

Sarah x

 

[Zooshoveller]

All those temps sound lovely!

My temps are very hot and humid (like WDW) but the air is stagnate.

 

[Chilly]

Remember all attractions will be busier in August due to the school holidays.

 

[klangkat]

Since it's early August now, why not keep an eye on:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

for the next couple of weeks and see the weather for yourself. Although as someone has said already, we're having a bit of a 'freak' summer this year in that it's been very warm.
Another thing to remember, when looking at the weather for here is the wind chill factor. We live on the West coast of Scotland (but not right on the coast) and the wind, on any day, can reduce the temperature by several degrees - so it may feel a lot cooler than those little number icons suggest!
Our weather changes so often, and so unpredictably that it's hard to plan for - but that's just part of the UK I'm afraid.
I work in tourism and honestly, the amount of visitors we get from abroad in the Summer months that haven't brought a jacket with them?!? Either done no research or highly optimistic lol.

 

[peachiepie]

Also where in the UK you plan to visit will effect the answer. Northern Scotland tends to be chillier than southern England for example.

As others have said the weather can be a bit of a mixed bag, some summer are lovely, sunny and hot (such as this year), some can be chillier and at times rainy (such as last year).

 

[Zooshoveller]

My retirement is now in 5 years, and we are still discussing a trip across the pond. 2 weeks to see and experience England, Scotland, Ireland, and maybe a day trip to Paris to visit the Louvre.

Where would you take someone? My family has come up with Stonehenge, Loch Ness, Big Ben, Sherwood Forest, a castle, and a EPL match. Seriously drawing a blank on other ideas. We love history and being outdoors.

 

[ILOVEDLP]

Hi
You could go to the Edinburgh tattoo in august Edinburgh is a great city
London take in a show les mis is my top show.
have afternoon tea I really like the savoy v posh and you need to dress up.
Walk along Westminster do the open top bus.
Visit durham and York they ate both very pretty.

 

[Holstar]

Get out and about and see the country! You'll not really see or experience England if you stick to the big cities!

My best friend came across from Canada a couple of years ago for three weeks. We spent five days in London and did the touristy stuff, saw Buckingham Palace, the Towers of London, the National Art Gallery, took a open top bus tour, went on a river boat, the London eye etc.

If you want to do Paris - use London as your base, and then it's just a quick and cheap trip via the Eurostar to the centre of Paris (you could even throw in a cheeky day trip to Disneyland Paris, which is about 45mins out of the city by train).

We then travelled around a bit - we went to Edinburgh for two days, and drove up to Fort William through Glencoe for the weekend... if you want to do Scotland by the way, Glencoe is stunning. It is prettier in winter though (when the roads aren't closed!).

And then we travelled back down, focussing on the smaller towns and villages - where you'll really fall in love with England... little cobbled streets and cottages with thatched roofs

For smaller towns with tons of history, try http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/aug/24/shortbreaks.uk . You can barely throw a stone without being close to a castle, so maybe pick a couple of small towns to visit and go visit the local castles and historic houses! I'm biased, but I love Herefordshire... Hereford itself is beautiful, but there are some gorgeous towns close by like Hay-on-Wye which is famous for its books!

I second Durham and York - both beautiful! I also love Cambridge!

 

[Dimplenose]

Are you planning to drive or use public transport?

Hampton Court Palace (home of Henry VIII) is an easy 30 minute train journey from central London. You would need at least 3 hours here but could stay for the whole day. Guided tours from costumed guides are included in your ticket. http://www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/

Salisbury is a lovely town. About 1 hour 30 minutes from London by train. A beautiful old town that survived WWII without any bombing. The Cathedral is amazing. You can get open top bus trips to Stonehenge from the town centre.http://www.destinationsalisbury.co.uk/

The Tower of London is a very historic castle, great guided tours by Beefeaters included in the price of your ticket. http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/

Windsor Castle is still used by the Queen. Very interesting audio guides available. Again, an easy train trip from London. Windsor itself is a pretty town. http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/windsorcastle

Warwick Castle would need a car to get to. A well preserved building but a bit commercial. They do have lots of events during school holidays that are worth seeing (jousting, birds of prey, etc.) https://www.warwick-castle.com/

 

[RobynPrincess]

I wouldn't waste your time with Stonehenge personally, nothing there. You will need more than a day trip to paris, stay a couple do days and maybe even squeeze in a trip to DLP. I love Windsor, it's my hometown so I'd say try fit in a visit there, it's very quaint and easy from Central London. I agree re afternoon tea, it's gotta be done claridges would be my choice. Go see a show after

 

[Jenheartsdisney]

Remember the $ is quite weak against the £ and things in the UK can be pricey anyway. When I worked in Edinburgh we had a lot of US tourists very upset that a simple vodka and coke cost $10 on a Saturday. They also didn't realise the travel time from Edinburgh to Glasgow or London and got upset at the cost of hotels - but this was during festival season.

 

[GAN]

Rather than Stonehenge, why not plan a day in the Cotswolds? Or if you really had that on your bucket list -just incorporate it into the plan for the day. We'll be visiting in less than a month( very excited) and decided to skip Stonehenge in favor of the Avebury Stones.

 

[finchy3]

You could do Warwick Castle and Stratford upon Avon (Shakespeare) together as they are very close to each other, just over an hour's train ride from London Marylebone with Chiltern Railways.

 

[DisFanJen]

Don't forget to visit lovely, lovely, Wales.

 

[GAN]

I wish we had time to visit Wales on this trip -it's on the bucket list!

 

[karen1987]

I'd recommend trying to get out of the cities if possible (although they're worth seeing!), and visiting a National Park and Areas Of a Outstanding Beauty.

The Peak District (Midlands of England) is 3 hours drive from London and close to Nottingham City, home of Robin Hood! The Peak District is very beautiful and there's a very ranging landscape to see there, from gritstone outcrops to limestone and slate. Go and have a Bakewell Tart in Bakewell too!

The Lake District (North-West England) is another level of beauty and quite on par with Scottish scenery IMO. The landscape has been shaped by glacial activity and seeing the scale of the natural history is just great, and Lake Windermere is beautiful. Plus, cream tea and scones up there is not to be missed! The drive is further though, at about 5-6 hours from London.

Dartmoor (West England) is also great, but is quite exposed and therefore windy! Dartmoor is towards Bristol, and Cheddar Gorge is nearby and worth a visit. Our ancestors lived there during the past several thousand years and it's a great part of British history. Dartmoor is about 3 - 4 hours from London.

As others have said, the weather here is so variable. August climate can be sunny and dry, like it has been this year, or overcast and raining, there's no telling I'm afraid. In comparison to WDW though, the humidity is much much lower!

 

[disney_princess_85]

The Lake District (North-East England) is another level of beauty and quite on par with Scottish scenery IMO. The landscape has been shaped by glacial activity and seeing the scale of the natural history is just great, and Lake Windermere is beautiful. Plus, cream tea and scones up there is not to be missed! The drive is further though, at about 5-6 hours from London.

Just a quick correction, The Lake District is actually in the North-West.

OP, enjoy your trip!

 

[karen1987]

^ Right you are! That's embarrassing!