A Tourist Question

[hyphenate]

for Brits and other UKers:


When my mom and I went over in 1992, I had a fairly rigid itinerary set up, ala "If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium." The most we spent in one place was three days, and that was in Glasgow. We spent a total of 20 days there, so you can imagine it was hectic.

We got to see Salisbury Cathedral, and of course, Winchester Cathedral in London because I have a passion for English history.

On our way to Edinburgh, we got to see the Durham Cathedral from the train in passing as well.

We saw many really wonderful places, but I want to see more sites like the cathedrals, and I'm afraid we didn't get to others. What sites and magnificent buildings would you recommend for a second trip? The first trip went from London, to Nottingham, to Edinburgh, to Inverness, to Glasgow, to Windermere, to Ireland, to Cheltenham, to Salisbury and then back to London.

There were a few places I would have liked to see that we didn't get to, like Avebury and Stonehenge, more time in the Lakes region, some of the castles in Scotland, more of Wales, Blackpool, and of course, King Arthur's area at Glastonbury Tor.

So tell me some places I should try to see on my next trip to Brit land, although it might be another couple of years til I get there. :)

[sweetheart]

1. Try the isle of skye

I don't do cathedrals... hadrians wall is quite interesting.... as
it is a lovely land-area. Orkney is breathtaking, and some of the
oldest human buildings in the UK are thereabouts.

Off the beaten track, can be nice. It depends if you're driving or
just using public transit.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. I hate intineraries...

and just fly somewhere, without even a hotel reservation. There's always some place to stay, particularly if you're going off-season. (Could be tough finding a room around Edinbrough during the Festival, though.)

So, you pick up some guidebooks, check the travel sections of the newspapers, see what's in the news, and jump on a train or a bus just to go somewhere that sounds interesting. I've rented cars, but it's a vacation, so why not let someone else do the driving? If the train doesn't go there, I usually don't have to either. And I hate wasting time in traffic jams or looking for a place to park.

I don't know if they still sell the Scottish Rail Rover, but it used to be cheap weekly rail and bus pass. Even got you on some of the ferries. The Ft. William-Maillog train is a spectacular ride, but most of the Scottish trains are spectacular rides. A neat thing about Scottish trains is that a lot of them have hiking trails marked through the moors starting at the station, and the end of the trail is the next stop on the train.

I'd like to spend some time just meandering around the Lakes. Find some appealing small town and stay there awhile, hiking and bussing around the area meeting people.

Just go, and realize you can't see everything in a week or two, so just see something. And relax. Everything will still be there the next time you go.

[WritersBlock]

3. Caledonian MacBrayne does an "island rover" ticket

8 or 15-day duration:

http://www.calmac.co.uk/islandrover.html
(Check out their "Links" page for loads of ideas on places to go, etc.)

Rail tickets such as TB (love that name!) mentioned are at:

http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/content/travelinfo/ticketsandfares.php

If you prefer bus travel, Scottish Citylink does an Explorer pass: http://www.citylink.co.uk/products.htm


(edited for grammar, or the lack thereof)

[non sociopath skin]

4. If you liked the look of Durham Cathedral ....

... try spending some time in the North East next time you're here. Durham is a wonderful old city, Newcastle upon Tyne is a wonderful modern city (though with plenty of history too) and we have the largest number of historic castles in any British region, as well as the aforementioned Hadrian's Wall.

Don't take my word for it - check out the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet Guide to the UK...

... then plan your visit at
http://www.visitnorthumbria.com/

The Skin

[hyphenate]

5. Thanks everybody for

the great suggestions. I don't know when I'll be able to afford it, but I just love planning it in advance.

[SweetLeftFoot]

6. Northern Ireland

I have always had a lot of fun in the North of Ireland. Derry in particular is a lovely town.

[T_i_B]

7. Outside of London

I would reccomend the National parks such as the Peak District.

Inside London, there are museums from The National Gallery, to the British museum, to the Natural History Museum.

Places like Edinburgh Castle are not too bad either.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. North West Wales could be a good region

It has both mountains, and possibly the most impressive castles in Britain (Harlech, Conway, Caernavon).

[Pert_UK]

9. I recently stayed in Lake Vyrnwy, Wales.....

Here's a view from the hotel verandah:



Magnificent walking, golf, boating, shooting (clay or hunting) and the Lake Vyrnwy hotel is reasonably priced with some EXCELLENT food. Great for a short weekend break, but you'd need a car to get there and also explore the surrounding area.

Norfolk is often overlooked but can be very beautiful, and you should try to get down to Cornwall / Dorset if you can.

If you haven't visited Oxford or Cambridge then you can pack a HELL of a lot of history / churches / old architecture into a day if you visit one of them.

Lincoln is a beautiful city with a great Cathedral but not necessarily worth going all the way there just to visit it.

Worcester is nice if you're in the area.

Outside the UK - highly recommend Dublin and Rouen in northern France - easy drive from the UK and like going back in time several hundred years with THREE massive Cathedral style churches.

[Happywarmgun]

11. Lake Vyrnwy Hotel

That's spooky. I staid at just that hotel this weekend. The Tower Tavern next to it was fantastic - lots of native Welsh speakers wearing full country estate attire - bit like a little Britain sketch!

Only thing against Lake Vyrnwy if you are a visiting American and coming here for the history and heritage is that it is entirely man made! If course if your historical interest is the genius of the Victorians then that in itself could make it of interest!

For a complete wild card - (and most Brits would be astonished at this suggestion but I have just been amazed by the place) - Try Birmingham - very contemporary city center (a well kept secret), fantastic food - but also (I kid you not) more Canals than Venice! Hire a narrow boat and off you go round the Midlands.

[Pert_UK]

13. That IS spooky! Incidentally....I'm a Yamyam...............

Lived near Brum (Stourbridge) until I moved down to London a few years back. Still support the Baggies in their laughable quest to stay in the Premiership, although not really a massive fan.

Brum centre is indeed getting better, but I'm afraid Broad Street has gone heavily downhill since its regeneration a few years back - too many drunken fighting blokes for my liking.

Brum's good for a curry though, there's no denying that!

Did you try the shooting at Lake "Can I buy a vowel?" Vyrnwy?

[fedsron2us]

10. If you like history and cathedrals then you must visit York

It is probabably the best preserved medieval town in England.

You should also try and visit Bath which has magnificent Georgian architecture built upon a Masonic street plan.

My personal recommendation would be a short stay in Chichester in West Sussex. It has a fine Cathedral and would be an ideal place from which to visit the nearby Roman palace at Fishbourne; the village of Bosham where King Canute was supposed to have tried to have held back the sea; and the beautiful countryside around Pulborough. If you fancy a bit more excitement and variety you could also use this as a base to visit the town of Brighton, a place which has something to suit almost all tastes.

[Taxloss]

12. Bath, Oxford and Cambridge have to be seen.

They are all such sublimely beautiful cities.