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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Travel Advice from UK ers
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Evangeline
Shipmate
# 7002
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Posted
I am investigating some complicated travel plans at the moment. Trying to make use of frequent flyer points means that in order to get to Italy as cheaply and comfortably as possible from Australia I might be flying into and out of London ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
So I'm looking for recommendations as to the best way to spend 3 or 4 days in England prior to travelling to Italy (arriving in LHR and probably leaving from Gatwick)-more than happy to get out of London but will obviously arrive and leave from there. Any inspired ideas of places to stay and things to do for a few days within reasonable travel distance of London. FWIW I've done the main tourist things in London and would prefer to get out of the high crime, high cost centre of London if poss as I'll be travelling on my lonesome.
Posts: 2871 | From: "A capsule of modernity afloat in a wild sea" | Registered: May 2004
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Marvin the Martian
Interplanetary
# 4360
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Posted
Depends. What sort of things do you like doing/seeing?
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Hail Gallaxhar
Posts: 30100 | From: Adrift on a sea of surreality | Registered: Apr 2003
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Evangeline
Shipmate
# 7002
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Posted
I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, art/cultural stuff, shopping, eating, drinking scenery, walking in the bush, just nothing too extreme like bungy jumping or rock climbing.
Posts: 2871 | From: "A capsule of modernity afloat in a wild sea" | Registered: May 2004
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Ricardus
Shipmate
# 8757
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Posted
Cambridge is forty-five minutes from King's Cross on the train. (Admittedly King's Cross isn't very close to Gatwick.)
Then you can go punting, or visit any one of the free museums on esoteric subjects, or go to Choral Evensong at a different college chapel each night ...
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Then the dog ran before, and coming as if he had brought the news, shewed his joy by his fawning and wagging his tail. -- Tobit 11:9 (Douai-Rheims)
Posts: 7247 | From: Liverpool, UK | Registered: Nov 2004
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
Most places In England (and even Wales or Scotland) are within reasonable travelling time from London by Australian standards. Train fares aren't that cheap although you can get some bargains online. For history/culture York and Durham are hard to beat; northern cities like Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle well worth a visit. But with only three days I would read up the guide books and make a list of priorities.
Places of interest nearer London often take nearly as long to get to by train as more distant places... Canterbury would be worth a visit as would Oxford or Cambridge. Brighton is fun.
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Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ricardus:
Cambridge is forty-five minutes from King's Cross on the train. (Admittedly King's Cross isn't very close to Gatwick.)
No but there are through trains from St Pancras Thameslink (or whatever it's called these days).
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Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
Chepstowand/or Gloucester
Chepstow (on the England/Wales border): castle one of the best in the UK. Town is where the rivers Wye and Severn meet the sea and at one end of Offa's Dyke, ancient earthwork which is now a good walk (lots of cheapish B&Bs, plus youth hostels). Within 1 hour of Chepstow 10 castles or fortified manor houses from the time of Edward I to explore, plus Caerwent - complete set of Roman walls & excavated roman town.
Walk up the Wye Valley WhiteBrook (earliest paper mills) to Monmouth (birthplace of Henry V and Charles Rolls of RR fame) (cycle hire in Chepstow, horse hire in Brockweir). Monmouth to Symonds Yat - you can hire canoes or kayaks by the day, they'll drop you off by the river; then to Ross-on-Wye before heading towards Gloucester, train and London.
Severn Valley railway is one of the best in the UK, alongside the river Chepstow to Gloucester (old docks, Cathedral, etc, etc).
Alternative would be Bristol
Cathedral, museums, good architecture in places, old port with Brunel's SS Great Britain. See the Clifton Gorge and the Brunel suspension bridge; go to Filton where they developed the Olympus engines that powered Concorde - they've got one there too. Bath is a day trip away, Gloucester another.
Both suggestions are on the GREAT WESTERN railway which will take you back to Reading or Windsor and a bus straight to LHR or change at Reading for a train to LGW.
Have fun!
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
L'Organists suggestions are good! I say that as a committed Northerner. I think for Cambridge, Oxford, York and Durham that you actually have to want to do those places and be prepared to spend in order to do them. They have glories indeed but they know they do and will charge you for seeing them.
There are the big former industrials: Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle. They tend to be big and though there is lots on, it is not necessarily compacted around the city centre. This can mean you end up having to use public transport a lot.
I would suggest Liverpool, smaller more compact, interesting maritime, but then there is Bristol which is just that much closer and has much of that as well.
I suppose I am overlooking Sheffield, itself compact and easy to get out of for walking in the Peak District but the compactness is just Sheffield to the East there is the sprawl of South Yorkshire and many of the attractions are there rather than in Sheffield.
Other smaller city possibilities include Lincoln, Nottingham and Southampton/Portsmouth.
Jengie
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Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Bristol and the Wye Valley/Forest of Dean would be my bets and easy access from Heathrow - either bus all the way or Rail/Air link bus to Reading and then train from there.
But then Sussex is delightful as well and that is where Gatwick is, lots of lovely small towns and lots of history.
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Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
quote:
from Welease Woderwick
But then Sussex is delightful as well and that is where Gatwick is, lots of lovely small towns and lots of history.
True - but being so close to London can be expensive... Forest of Dean is a lot cheaper.
Thanks for kind comments about my recommendation - will this swing it:
The Boat at Redbrook
Lovely pub right on the river Wye. You park in England, walk across the disused railway bridge and drink in Wales.
- and if its been raining the stream comes down the mountain at the back through the rear wall and across the floor and then straight out of the front door... ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
(and I can't spell "Redbrook" first time off...!
[ 26. April 2013, 14:23: Message edited by: L'organist ]
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Heathrow to Bristol is a couple of hours by direct bus and may cost GBP25 - Bristol to Gatwick takes just over three hours, again direct, and costs GBP12.
Seriously.
Bristol is a great place and Bath, though more expensive to stay, is a short bus or train ride away and it is easy to do a day trip there from Bristol.
[ 26. April 2013, 14:54: Message edited by: Welease Woderwick ]
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Piglet
Islander
# 11803
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Ricardus:
... Choral Evensong at a different college chapel each night ...
Or do what D. and I call the Cambridge Sprint and do the best two in the same night - King's at 5:30 and St. John's at 6:30 - it's just a short walk along the road from one to the other.
They're both wonderful in quite different ways: King's will be full of tourists (mostly Japanese with cameras) and you may have to queue up to get in (it's worth it); and John's will be almost empty, but the music will be every bit as good (maybe even better) and if you're like us you'll get a Very Good Feeling from having done it.
Oh, and if you're going in autumn or winter, take a warm coat - the wind in Cambridge comes straight from Siberia ... ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I'm turning green with envy now - we haven't been in Cambridge during term-time for ages. ![[Waterworks]](graemlins/bawling.gif)
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I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
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Curious
Shipmate
# 93
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Posted
When are you coming? I don't live too far from Heathrow and could (depending on dates & time) offer at least a first night bed.
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Posts: 1372 | From: Betwixt and between | Registered: May 2001
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
Severn Valley railway is one of the best in the UK, alongside the river Chepstow to Gloucester (old docks, Cathedral, etc, etc).
The Severn Valley railway is nowhere near Gloucester! At least if you mean the preserved steam railway that runs from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. But well worth a visit even if you are not a train buff.
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon
I would suggest Liverpool, smaller more compact, interesting maritime, but then there is Bristol which is just that much closer and has much of that as well.
Actually Liverpool is much bigger than Newcastle and about the same size as Leeds. But much as I love the place I concede that Bristol is equally interesting and probably more practical for a southern-based tourist.
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Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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Jay-Emm
Shipmate
# 11411
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
L'Organists suggestions are good! I say that as a committed Northerner. I think for Cambridge, Oxford, York and Durham that you actually have to want to do those places and be prepared to spend in order to do them. They have glories indeed but they know they do and will charge you for seeing them.
[...and then describes the benefits and faults of the Northern Cities]
Counting Birmingham as a variant on the Northern Cities then...
The 3rd option the Shires are lovely and have glories of their own but they are so spread out with poor travel you have to be the right person in the right place at the right time (and maybe still pay). Even more so in Cornwall, Norfolk and the Northern non cities.
So probably not the ideal option, but they exist.
That leave Scotland to be sold.
Posts: 1643 | Registered: May 2006
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
quote:
posted by Angloid
The Severn Valley railway is nowhere near Gloucester! At least if you mean the preserved steam railway that runs from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth. But well worth a visit even if you are not a train buff.
I was referring to the line that runs along the Severn from Chepstow to Gloucester; service is operated by Arriva Trains Wales and Cross Country Trains.
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
My geography is a bit vague, but I've been on the line from Gloucester(ish) to Abergavenny (and Newport?). That is beautiful. I imagine the one that goes to Chepstow is as well.
The Welsh-English border country is the most beautiful in Britain IMHO.
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Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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Darllenwr
Shipmate
# 14520
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Posted
I'm reasonably confident that the railway L'organist is refering to is the main line running from Gloucester via Chepstow to meet the GWR main line at Severn Tunnel Junction and thence to Newport. The line into Newport from Abergavenny comes down from Crewe and Shrewsbury.
The run down the Severn estuary is magnificent, but one has to pick one's train with care - not all stop at Chepstow.
I'll add my endorsement to the recommendation of Chepstow / Forest of Dean. It's a fascinating area. It might be worth trying to contact The Weeder as she lives in the Forest of Dean and may be able to give valuable advice if you decide to visit the area.
Pants also lives in the broader area, as do myself and St Gwladys and Sioni Sais.
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If I've told you once, I've told you a million times: I do not exaggerate!
Posts: 1101 | From: The catbox | Registered: Jan 2009
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Evangeline
Shipmate
# 7002
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Posted
Thanks sooo much everyone, lots of food for thought.
Punting in Cambridge sounds lovely, but without my oarsman/punter it might be a bit tricky Angloid, yep everything in UK is within spitting distance by Aussie standards it's just that after 25 hours flying time every hour you add to that at the other end really stacks up (I can feel the jet lag already).
THis border country with Wales sounds lovely (I want to see that pub L'organist) and best thing is I haven't been there at all, years ago I drove around England and visited Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Bath, (and a very ill-advised trip to Blackpool) but never made it to Wales, so I think further investigations of this area (ooh off to get a guide book) are in order.
Jengie, by rights I should be a northerner, my Dad's father was born in Bolton (family came to Australia when he was 5yo).
Curious, thank-you for such a kind offer I'm budgeted for accom though and wouldn't like to impose but if times suit would love to go to the pub with some locals if anyone's up for a meet of some sort. Trip's not 'til September and still tentative atm but for us Antipodeans it's such a long way we have to start planning early.
Posts: 2871 | From: "A capsule of modernity afloat in a wild sea" | Registered: May 2004
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L'organist
Shipmate
# 17338
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Posted
Evangeline
Email me through the Ship if you'd like some more concrete/detailed suggestions of an itinerary.
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Rara temporum felicitate ubi sentire quae velis et quae sentias dicere licet
Posts: 4950 | From: somewhere in England... | Registered: Sep 2012
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jay-Emm:
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
L'Organists suggestions are good! I say that as a committed Northerner. I think for Cambridge, Oxford, York and Durham that you actually have to want to do those places and be prepared to spend in order to do them. They have glories indeed but they know they do and will charge you for seeing them.
[...and then describes the benefits and faults of the Northern Cities]
Counting Birmingham as a variant on the Northern Cities then...
Only if Oxford and Cambridge are! I just could not list the big industrials without listing it.
Jengie
[ 27. April 2013, 13:38: Message edited by: Jengie Jon ]
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
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Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Jay-Emm
Shipmate
# 11411
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Posted
Whoops, comes of deleting the content of a reply before replying.
You had indeed mentioned the Birmingham block.
Posts: 1643 | Registered: May 2006
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jay-Emm:
Counting Birmingham as a variant on the Northern Cities then...
Well it is north of Watford. Even Watford Gap.
Oxford fits on both counts, being a north-of-Watford industrial city as well as the dreaming spires.
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Brian: You're all individuals!
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Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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