UK trip thoughts

[Bluegoat]

I am planning a UK trip, and I have some questions where I'd like advice from real people. 

 

My initial questions are about travel.

 

We are going to have an England and Scotland portion of our trip.

 

In the England portion, we'll go to London for the bulk of the time, but we also are going to a village in the Cotswolds with  a family connection.  That might be only one day really but we'll stay the night.  We could potentially do two nights there and do some more sight-seeing.

 

We'll be going to Scotland from there.

 

Does it make sense to go to London first, or the Costwolds? Is train/bus the best way to travel to Scotland, or are there real advantages to flying?  

 

We'd also considered popping into Oxford for a night - we have some friends there.  We would probably stay there one night and do a kind of day trip, in between London and the village we are visiting, since it is about half way in between.  There are pros and cons to that obviously, but what I am not finding easy to figure out is how inconvenient or complicated it might be in terms of the actual travel arrangements.

 

It's very difficult to figure out the actual travel aspects of other countries!

 

I should also probably say - our sense of travel time is Canadian, so relatively used to distance travel.  But - we really don't want to drive ourselves if possible - I don't like it, and my sister finds it difficult to switch to the opposite side.

 

 

My other question is - we will spend some time in the city in Scotland, but we might like somewhere smaller as well, either a town or village, or even someplace fairly rural.  We like walking but won't be prepared for serious hiking - we aren't sure what sort of place might be nicest.

 

 

Any insights to any of these problems would be most appreciated!

[regentrude]

Since you'd fly into London, I would do London first. There is easy bus service to Oxford (takes less than two hours), and the Cotswolds are very close. Really, it's not a big country.

 

Not sure about travel to Scotland.

[Laura Corin]

London to Oxford by train is easy - it takes about an hour.  This is the easiest site to use to look at train prices and schedules:

 

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

Does the village have a nearby train station or how will you be getting to it?

 

London to Scotland is easy by train, with frequent services.  London to Edinburgh takes about 4 hours.  Flying is sometimes cheaper, but you need to take into account that you will need to take the train out to the airport from Central London, then take the tram back into Edinburgh from the airport.

 

If you are going to be taking trains, invest in railcards - bought in advance or at the station.  They will reduce the fares considerably.  Details here:

 

https://www.railcard.co.uk/portal/?utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CKHyxqjVrNUCFRcmGwodhxIOoQ&gclsrc=ds

 

One nice trip from Edinburgh is St Andrews.  It's a picturesque small town on the cliffs about the North Sea.  There is a direct train from Edinburgh to a nearby station and frequent buses to St Andrews itself.  The train takes an hour.  The Fife Coastal Path runs through the town - heading south from St Andrews is quite pretty and gets you out of town within minutes.

[Twolittleboys]

I agree with Regentrude and would do London first unless there is some reason not to. That way you can get settled, figure out about the train/bus service etc. instead having to do it right away when you are jet-lagged.

 

I definitely have visited Oxford but think it might have been on the train? I did it as a day trip from London so it isn't a huge journey. You could combine Oxford with Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, if you enjoy stately homes.

 

Personally, I would use the train to get to Scotland unless you can find a really great/cheap flight. We went up to Northumberland two years ago (which isn't that far from Edinburgh) on the train and it was quite relaxing. Also, you get a better idea of distances and the countryside that way.

 

I am not sure about the Cotswolds. I know they are not far and can done on a day trip from London but not sure if there are good connections from Oxford.

[Bluegoat]

London to Oxford by train is easy - it takes about an hour.  This is the easiest site to use to look at train prices and schedules:

 

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

Does the village have a nearby train station or how will you be getting to it?

 

London to Scotland is easy by train, with frequent services.  London to Edinburgh takes about 4 hours.  Flying is sometimes cheaper, but you need to take into account that you will need to take the train out to the airport from Central London, then take the tram back into Edinburgh from the airport.

 

If you are going to be taking trains, invest in railcards - bought in advance or at the station.  They will reduce the fares considerably.  Details here:

 

https://www.railcard.co.uk/portal/?utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CKHyxqjVrNUCFRcmGwodhxIOoQ&gclsrc=ds

 

One nice trip from Edinburgh is St Andrews.  It's a picturesque small town on the cliffs about the North Sea.  There is a direct train from Edinburgh to a nearby station and frequent buses to St Andrews itself.  The train takes an hour.  The Fife Coastal Path runs through the town - heading south from St Andrews is quite pretty and gets you out of town within minutes.

 

Thanks, these are very useful links.

 

The closest train station is 7 miles away, Cam & Dursley.  Straight from London it's between 2 and 3 hours.  I think we can get a bus from the train to the village, though I haven't yet figured out the details of that.

 

It looks though like getting to Oxford from there might be slightly more complicated.

 

I guess this is why people like travel agents!

 

St Andrews is an idea - the coast would be nice.  Stirling was another possibility we considered.  We don't know anyone that's been to either!

 

[Laura Corin]

Thanks, these are very useful links.

 

The closest train station is 7 miles away, Cam & Dursley. Straight from London it's between 2 and 3 hours. I think we can get a bus from the train to the village, though I haven't yet figured out the details of that.

 

It looks though like getting to Oxford from there might be slightly more complicated.

 

I guess this is why people like travel agents!

 

St Andrews is an idea - the coast would be nice. Stirling was another possibility we considered. We don't know anyone that's been to either!

 

Stirling has a lovely castle. The Wallace monument is nearby, but I don't think it's walking distance. There's a frequent bus. You could definitely walk into the countryside from Stirling too.

 

I think that St A is overall a more pleasant place though. I know it well, so I'm happy to answer questions.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Laura Corin

[PrincessMommy]

London first.  I would do the train all the way around...  We traveled from Cambridge to Scotland via train 30yrs ago.  I think it was a sleeper train.    We also rented a car once we were out in the country to tool around.  I loved driving in the countryside.  

[lailasmum]

From the Cam & Dursley railway station you could easily do a day trip into Bath.  

[Laura Corin]

How about approaching the Cotswold research from the other end. You could identify a good B&B in the relevant village, and ask them for advice on transport from the railway station. They may even have information on their website.

[Twolittleboys]

Looks to me that from Oxford to Dursley takes about 2.5 hours on public transportation. Not great but not horrible either.

[madteaparty]

Just listening in as I'm doing this next year with my kids and won't be driving so I'm curious how we can get around.

But last time we were in London we took a day trip out to Oxford, Cotswolds and Shakespeare's birthplace. It was all in one day and quite touristy (I regret nothing) but frankly one of the better things we did on that trip because our driver/guide was lovely and very knowledgeable and really hit it off with my kid.

[Bluegoat]

How about approaching the Cotswold research from the other end. You could identify a good B&B in the relevant village, and ask them for advice on transport from the railway station. They may even have information on their website.

 

That's a good idea - we actually know where we are staying, in a pub.  I think, from what I am seeing, that it may actually be better to take a bus from Oxford.

[Bluegoat]

One thing is for sure - I think we are going to want to keep our baggage very light.

 

 

From the Cam & Dursley railway station you could easily do a day trip into Bath.  

 

I'd like to go to Bath sometime, but I think we probably won't make it this time - we really want to go to my grandmother's village, and if we make an extra stop it will be Oxford.

[Bluegoat]

What do people like to do in London?  What is over-rated?

 

I want to be flexible so I am making a kind of list of things we might want to do.

 

There are a few London Walks tours - especially Old Westminster and one of the ones that go into the Inns of Court.

The National Gallery

The British Museum

Westminster Abbey

Dinner at Rules

Churchill's War Cabinet rooms

Dennis Server's House

Boat up river to Hampton Court

 

Not so sure about wandering about.  I'm more into neat little alleyways than Georgian squares.  I promised the kids I'd take a picture of the Peter Pan statue.

[Twolittleboys]

As for London, what I personally enjoy:

 

I love the London Walks tours and have done several over the years

 

Hampton Court is great

 

I think the Tower is neat. Borough Market was cool too (though I don't know if there have been changes post-attack).

 

Shopping (Harrods, Fornum & Masons, Libertys) etc. is always fun, even if you don't want to buy much

 

Kensington Palace is nice as well

 

Neat day trips from London are Kew Gardens, Windsor, and Greenwich.

 

Something I really enjoy in London (though it is a bit geeky) are the Treasure Trails. They are available for many places in the UK and fairly inexpensive. Basically, they are scavenger hunt style entertainment. You download your booklet and have to follow clues in a specific area. I guess it is more a family activity (though my kids are way less excited about it than I am). The neat thing about it (other than the low cost and the fun) is that it makes you look for small details you might miss otherwise (at least I would as I am not at all the observant type). So you may have to search for stained glass windows, inscriptions, statues etc.

 

It does take a bit of time (we never manage in the 2 hours they claim) but it is a way to "wander" around without actually "wandering around" (i.e. you have a plan even though you don't know what it is). The trails can easily be combined with some sights (e.g. we did one around St. Pauls and you could easily visit the church or museums on the way and then continue the trail).

 

You probably won't have time for this as it is not the most efficient way to get from A to B and it isn't for everyone but I wanted to put it out there because I do enjoy it so much and I have seen/noticed so many things that I would otherwise never have noticed.

[Bluegoat]

A scavenger hunt sounds neat.  We may well want to spend some time wandering, my sister especially likes that way of looking at a city.

 

I expect we will do Fornum and Masons, but probably not a ton of shopping - it's hard to buy to much on a trip like this, in terms of luggage.  If we were staying in one place the whole time, it might be easier.

 

For whatever reason, the Tower doesn't make my heart go pitter-patter enough to want to brave crowds. 

 

I am thinking I might go to a church service at the Abby if my sister isn't keen on looking around there. 

[madteaparty]

What do people like to do in London? What is over-rated?

 

I want to be flexible so I am making a kind of list of things we might want to do.

 

There are a few London Walks tours - especially Old Westminster and one of the ones that go into the Inns of Court.

The National Gallery

The British Museum

Westminster Abbey

Dinner at Rules

Churchill's War Cabinet rooms

Dennis Server's House

Boat up river to Hampton Court

 

Not so sure about wandering about. I'm more into neat little alleyways than Georgian squares. I promised the kids I'd take a picture of the Peter Pan statue.

I'm a broken record, but I loved the British Museum. Do the tour.

[Twolittleboys]

A scavenger hunt sounds neat.  We may well want to spend some time wandering, my sister especially likes that way of looking at a city.

 

I expect we will do Fornum and Masons, but probably not a ton of shopping - it's hard to buy to much on a trip like this, in terms of luggage.  If we were staying in one place the whole time, it might be easier.

 

For whatever reason, the Tower doesn't make my heart go pitter-patter enough to want to brave crowds. 

 

I am thinking I might go to a church service at the Abby if my sister isn't keen on looking around there.

We generally don't buy a lot either but do enjoy looking around a bit.

 

If you do like the idea of a scavenger hunt you could take a look at their website (I do not work for them or anything in case I am sounding like it). The nice thing is that they aren't that expensive so if you start one and don't finish or don't get to it at all there isn't a huge loss.

 

Most of my London trips were with kids so some of our activities are more family type stuff (though to be honest I am a bit immature that way and they are what I like best myself). We've enjoyed doing brass rubbings at St Martins in the fields - large ones can take a while, but they do have smaller ones as well (and I have seen adults pretty engrossed). It might be an option if one of you doesn't want to do the National Gallery.

 

I would also go and see some show/play/concert while in town. Afternoon tea might be fun if you have time.

[Bluegoat]

We will go to a play for sure.  Maybe a concert, but our tastes are a little divergent. She likes pop, I like ancient and Baroque.

 

I'm sure we'll have tea at some point, maybe when we go to Kensington gardens. 

 

 

[SporkUK]

I recommend the recently revamped https://travel.sygic.com. You can 'favourite' all the places you want to see or look at themes to get ideas to get a realistic idea of distance and travel times. I find this sort of thing vital for prioritizing what I can actually do with what time I've got in places like London where there are lots of stuff all over and going between can eat a lot of time so grouping close things together can help. They have lists of walking tours and shows and such if those are your main interests. I've never used it for multiple cities personally but I've heard it's good for that as well. 

 

Whether or not things are over-rated depends on what you like especially with tourist hot spots. I tend to find most of them over-rated - or maybe just too busy for me to really enjoy - but I know others who absolutely love them. I prefer quieter out of the way places like, in London, the RAF museum which is quite a ways up the Northern line is lovely. 

Edited July 29, 2017 by SporkUK

[TCB]

I lived in London for many years but it was only after I went back with my daughters to show them around that I took one of those Red Bus tours. I now think that that is a really good thing to do when you get there because you get a good overview of all the cool places and can then go back to those that interest you most. The tour guide on the bus was really knowledgeable and it was beautiful seeing everything from the top deck. My favorites in London are: The Tower and Tower bridge, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, the National Gallery, St James Park and Buckingham Palace ( I've not been inside, only the outside), Kew Gardens and Richmond. There are so many wonderful places to see.

 

Also, the public transportation network in the UK is so extensive that there are very few places you can't get to from just about anywhere. It does mean changing trains etc at times but even the journeys are great for seeing the country side.

Edited July 29, 2017 by tcb

[TCB]

We will go to a play for sure.  Maybe a concert, but our tastes are a little divergent. She likes pop, I like ancient and Baroque.

 

I'm sure we'll have tea at some point, maybe when we go to Kensington gardens. 

 

In my opinion you need to have multiple teas with scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream! Preferably Rhodda's clotted cream.

[Jann in TX]

... Red Bus tours. I now think that that is a really good thing to do when you get there because you get a good overview of all the cool places and can then go back to those that interest you most. The tour guide on the bus was really knowledgeable and it was beautiful seeing everything from the top deck. My favorites in London are: The Tower and Tower bridge, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, the National Gallery, St James Park and Buckingham Palace ( I've not been inside, only the outside), Kew Gardens and Richmond. There are so many wonderful places to see.

 

We went this summer-- had too-- middle dd is at the University of Lancaster working on her Master's Degree and she needed a mommy hug (or maybe I needed the hug...).

 

We spent a week in London, the bolded above were among our favorites too.

 

The Tower was not on my wish list to see-- BUT it ended up being one of my FAVORITE places!

The trick is to get their early and go right to the crown jewels THEN take the Beefeater tour.

If you can't do that then take the Beefeater tour, leave and come back just before 5-- no lines for crown jewels-- we just walked right in and could take our time without the crowds! 

 

LOVED the British Museum-- and I'm not typically a museum lover.

 

DD15 and I took a day trip to the Harry Potter Studios --so much fun!

 

We also took a day trip to Bath (stopping briefly at Stonehenge).  Could have spent a few days in Bath...

 

We spent a weekend in Edinburgh and then another week in the Lake District (northern England)-- we stayed just outside of Kent (close enough to Lancaster so dd could join us)... we rented a lovely cottage next to a brook...  LOVED the Lake District!!!

[Laura Corin]

I like the Tower best.

[CAJinBE]

We were in the Tower of London last week and it wasn't too crowded. The tours are very interesting and of course you can see the Crown Jewels. The British Museum is fantastic as others have said. They have the Rosetta Stone, an enormous antiquities section. We also saw a show, Wicked. It was fantastic. My least favorite thing was the hop-on hop-off bus, but it's good when you get tired of walking and don't have time to figure out the public buses. We missed getting into Westminster Abbey because it has limited hours. So definitely check on trip advisor or something to plan your day. We only spent three nights so we didn't have time for everything. Oh, if you like Chinese food, there are great restaurants in China Town. If you are looking for something quick and healthy, there is a chicken chain called Nando's. 

[Bluegoat]

Maybe we'll have to rethink the Tower.  Hmm.

 

I think I need to start planning the other end in Scotland, so I know how much time we want to spend there.

[J-rap]

I haven't read everyone else's.

 

Regarding whether to begin in London or Scotland, how to travel in-between, etc., it would depend on transportation costs.  I'd probably begin with airfare.  Is it cheaper to fly into London or Scotland?  Would it make more sense to fly into one, travel to the other, and return home from the other?  Sometimes two one-way flights can be as cheap as a round-trip.  Then you can look into whether traveling by train or on one of the cheap European airlines makes the most sense.  Sometimes, the "multi-stop" option can end up being a good deal.  So, play around with destinations, one-way flights, round-trip flights, and multi-stop flights.  I LOVE traveling by train and ideally I'd probably fly into London, train to Scotland, and then fly home from Scotland.  But, that might not make sense financially at all.  It might make more sense to fly roundtrip into London, and then either get a roundtrip train ticket or cheap European airlines ticket from London to Scotland and back to London again.

 

When we had ten days in London/Paris/Scotland, we saved a lot of money by getting a roundtrip ticket to and from London.  I believe we took an Easy Jet flight between London and Glasgow.  If you did that, you could do England at either end -- the beginning or the end.  

 

We just had four days in Scotland, but after research, decided we wanted to spend it in Edinburgh.  So after we flew into Glasgow (I think because that's where Easy Jet flies into?? Can't quite remember), we immediately caught a train to Edinburgh.  We really enjoyed the train ride, and LOVED Edinburgh.  We spent two whole days in Edinburgh, and on our third whole day, went on an all-day tour of Loch Ness and the Highlands, I think through this company:

 

https://www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk/lochness

 

That's the first time we did a guided tour on a family trip, and it was well worth it!  The guide was great, and we saw so much in a day and learned a lot.

 

In London, we didn't have a lot of time, but the three main things we did were the Tower of London, a boat ride on the Thames, and lots and lots of walking around -- viewing famous landmarks (from the outside -- didn't actually go into many), parks/gardens, and interesting old neighborhoods.   I'm really, really glad those are the things we did in our limited time.

 

Have fun planning!

Edited July 30, 2017 by J-rap

[J-rap]

oops... quoted myself instead of editing, to make changes.  sorry!

Edited July 30, 2017 by J-rap

[mumto2]

I'm another Tower vote. I am always glad we went even though it's a bit separate from most of the popular attractions.

 

Hampton Court is wonderful. Slightly outside London but an easy underground ride.

 

Our favourite walk in London is tube to Green Park. Go across the park to Buckingham Palace, down the mall to the horse guards, head by number 10 to Westminster. The river boat tours start there frequently. This can take as long as you want. We frequently do it as part of an afternoon in London and take the tube from Westminster to the Tower or Greenwich.

 

Remember for your Coventry trip that Private Hire cars might be an easy option for transportation to your village from the train station. You negotiate the price up front. That might cut down on the travel time to Oxford also......not the car to Oxford but the car to the best train station for the journey. I haven't looked at any maps so just a basic suggestion.

 

The British Museum is close to the British Library. When my dc's were littles they were amazed that they managed to see a Guttenberg Bible and the Rosetta Stone within a half hour. The Library is worth the stop imo.

[Twolittleboys]

Yeah, I am a bit surprised that everyone seems to love the Tower. Not that it isn't great but usually people's tastes are so different that there is more disagreement. We have always gone first thing in the morning and it wasn't that crowded.

 

Just one tip: DON't get in the way of the guards when they do their marching/changing of the guard. Some tourist lady did when we were there and they basically just kept walking and she got pushed out of the way.

[Laura Corin]

When thinking about London, it's worthwhile looking at street maps and Tube maps together. The Tube map is stylised, so doesn't represent distance on the ground. Sometimes stations look far apart that are right next door.

 

The whole area of ancient London is called The Square Mile for a reason, as it's tiny. Walking from The Tower to The Monument, then on to St Pauls is all very close. You could then cross the Millennium bridge and walk down to The Globe, either to do a tour, see a play, or just view from outside. Google maps says that this whole walk takes 35 minutes.

 

Westminster was a separate town.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Laura Corin

[Jann in TX]

We flew into Manchester-- cheaper than flying into London --Houston to Manchester direct with Singapore Air for under $700 round trip-- Singapore Air is third highest rated airline... we had great service and would use them again.

 

If you are traveling with a minor you can get a friends and family 'card' at the train station-- saved use quite a bit of $$$.

 

We took train to London then took train to Lancaster for a night (where dd is at university) and then took a train to Edinburgh-- we also stayed in the Lake district for several nights (working our way back to Manchester).

 

Our favorite place to stay was in Lancaster-- an old estate that has been occupied since 1080  (Thurnham Hall) 

We had a HUGE 2 bedroom apartment with full kitchen and laundry for less than the cost of a hotel- BEAUTIFUL grounds too!

 

We rented a very cute cabin just outside of Kendall-- but that required renting a car and DH driving on the NARROW hedge-lined country roads!  No regrets about spending half of our trip in the Lake District--  lovely countryside and lots of picturesque villages and castle ruins to explore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bluegoat]

I'm another Tower vote. I am always glad we went even though it's a bit separate from most of the popular attractions.

 

Hampton Court is wonderful. Slightly outside London but an easy underground ride.

 

Our favourite walk in London is tube to Green Park. Go across the park to Buckingham Palace, down the mall to the horse guards, head by number 10 to Westminster. The river boat tours start there frequently. This can take as long as you want. We frequently do it as part of an afternoon in London and take the tube from Westminster to the Tower or Greenwich.

 

Remember for your Coventry trip that Private Hire cars might be an easy option for transportation to your village from the train station. You negotiate the price up front. That might cut down on the travel time to Oxford also......not the car to Oxford but the car to the best train station for the journey. I haven't looked at any maps so just a basic suggestion.

 

The British Museum is close to the British Library. When my dc's were littles they were amazed that they managed to see a Guttenberg Bible and the Rosetta Stone within a half hour. The Library is worth the stop imo.

 

I was seriously wanting to get to the British Library.  I'm a little wary of overdoing my sister on museum type stuff - I could go all day, but she'll burn out.    I know I'll kick myself if I don't get to a gallery with some important pictures, and I'd really like to go to the V&A as well, but that may be too much.