Planning a trip to England. Pro tips?

[GoinAllTheWay]

S/O and I are planning a 2 weeker to England around the beginning of June. It will be her first time. I've been before but it was a loooooong time ago. Coming up on 30 yrs.

I'm trying to compile a list of things that we can realistically do in such a short trip. I had toyed with the idea of landing in London, spending a few days touring the city before making our way into the countryside and start moving east towards Dover where we would take the train across the English Chanel and spending maybe a few days in France (Vimy Ridge Memorial has always been high on my list) before coming home via Paris but the price to fly out of Paris may be a bit steep.

I really wanted to see things like Stonehenge, Wookey Hole and Tintagel but they are Westerly. Tintagel is quite remote so not sure it's worth the trip when most of the really good castles are east or south of London.

What would you guys do with 2 weeks?

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

What would you guys do with 2 weeks?

Spent two nights in Bath. Got an awesome "B&B" which was a huge room in an old manor with a massive courtyard for half the price of the Holiday Inn there. It was awesome, and a neat little town. Would go back for sure. The old Roman ruins/hot springs were fun to tour.

[Locke]

Try the Fish and Chips.

Visit Downtown Abbey.

[Ozy_Flame]

Isn't getting in a Friday night pub fight a right of passage as a tourist?

[Bane]

Tintagel Castle
Glastonbury Abbey
A drive through Dartmoor National Park
Roman Baths in Bath
Salisbury Cathedral
Avesbury stone circle
Stonehenge
Uffington White Horse
A few days in London (if you're a nerd or like nerd things, hit the Forbidden Planet)

[Flabbibulin]

Yes, Bath is incredible. Definitely recommend. Stonehenge is very underwhelming and you can't get close like you could in the olden days- but can basically hit it quickly on the way to Bath if you did decide to go.

This is probably a little too much to take on if you aren't really planning a westerly route, but if you do decide on Bath, my recommendation is going even further into Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall along the northern coastal route (ending in St Ives). All absolutely amazing with some stunning coastal views and stops. It is a short distance in mileage, but not on a fast motorway once you get to Somerset. Still, that coastal route into St Ives, and the towns along the way, are incredible. Our family is quite found of the towns of Lynton and Lynmouth in Devon. Very cool stuff.

edit- and stay overnight in an old 12th century pub at least once.

[CaptainCrunch]

Take a spare bottle of mouthwash, toothpaste and a toothbrush.

When someone wants to talk to you, lay them out on the counter and point at them.

[Bane]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Take a spare bottle of mouthwash, toothpaste and a toothbrush.

When someone wants to talk to you, lay them out on the counter and point at them.

That's good for Edmonton too.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Stonehenge is very underwhelming and you can't get close like you could in the olden days- but can basically hit it quickly on the way to Bath if you did decide to go.

That's disappointing. Not surprising, but disappointing none the less. Glad I was able to see them up close the last time I was there.

Bath, I remember that name from my last trip! Will have to look into that some more.

I recall that despite the country not being all that big, it takes a long time to get around due to small narrow winding roads.

[undercoverbrother]

I second the Stonehenge comments. When I went back in the 90's you could stroll around (at least that is what I recall).


I know you aren't heading to far north, but York is a pretty cool city as well.

[Huntingwhale]

I'm not even kidding when I say be careful crossing the streets. Drivers aren't as ''courteous'' as they are here. And you'll have a habit of looking to your right before you cross, only to have a car whiz by on your left. It's quite unsettling at first.

And when you order at a pub, you order from the bar. We learned that the hard way waiting for our server to come back, only to realise 20 minutes later it doesn't work like that.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I'm not even kidding when I say be careful crossing the streets. Drivers aren't as ''courteous'' as they are here. And you'll have a habit of looking to your right before you cross, only to have a car whiz by on your left. It's quite unsettling at first.

And when you order at a pub, you order from the bar. We learned that the hard way waiting for our server to come back, only to realise 20 minutes later it doesn't work like that.

I have to agree.

They have signage on the road that says 'Look Left' but still....keep your head up.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

I'm not even kidding when I say be careful crossing the streets. Drivers aren't as ''courteous'' as they are here. And you'll have a habit of looking to your right before you cross, only to have a car whiz by on your left. It's quite unsettling at first.

Haha, yep, had to get used to that in Australia too. For whatever reason, that was harder to get used to then driving on the wrong side of the road in the wrong side of the car. That was surprisingly easy.

[Coys1882]

Now - this isn't a conventional UK tourist outing but as someone who was born in Norfolk and has been back a few times to visit - a day out on the Broads is a lot of fun. Rent a boat and just cruise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Broads

http://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/explore/Broads.aspx
http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/norfolkbroads.htm

[FireGilbert]

I've only spent a week in England, mostly in London and Somerset but here are a few recommendations:

London:
-Tower of London: so much history and a cool museum
-Churchill war rooms: also a lot of history and cool museum
-Borough markets: yummy food.

Somerset:
-Bath obviously: one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The Roman baths are a must see.
-Glastonbury: a pretty and quirky town with Arthurian mythology.
-Cheddar gorge: a gorgeous part of England that is heaven for any cheese lover.

Do not recommend: Stonehenge. Up there with the leaning tower of Pisa as one of the most overrated tourist attractions in the world. Save yourself time and money by snapping a picture from your car while driving past on the highway.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

Now - this isn't a conventional UK tourist outing but as someone who was born in Norfolk and has been back a few times to visit - a day out on the Broads is a lot of fun. Rent a boat and just cruise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Broads

http://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/explore/Broads.aspx
http://www.waterwaysholidays.com/norfolkbroads.htm

That's a very cool suggestion, thanks! May be a bit far north but that's really up my alley. Neat idea for sure.

[Nufy]

Go to Green Street....become a hooligan.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

That's a very cool suggestion, thanks! May be a bit far north but that's really up my alley. Neat idea for sure.

The North is far and away the best part of England, IMO.


Try to squeeze some time into that part of the country.

[afc wimbledon]

Go for a drink along the Thames, the Prospect of Whitby in Shadwell, Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death in one of the rooms above the bar, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad starts as a tale told on a boat moored out front. Or the Anchor Tavern on Bankside where Samuel Pepys sheltered from the fire of London and wrote his diary entry for that day.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Nufy

Go to Green Street....become a hooligan.

No longer there, have to go down to the Olympic park now