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Possible trip to Great Britain


whitestavern
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I am considering a trip to Great Britain for next June. Would like to visit England, Scotland, and Wales, hoping to do two weeks. We are a family of four that likes to mix up historical sites, cities/museums, countryside and also like to hike. After initial research I am thinking we will fly into London and spend a few days there. Would like to do the Cotswolds, Bath, either Exmoor or Peak National Park as well as the lakes/Hadrian's Wall area. In Wales we'd go to Snowdonia NP. In Scotland hit the Highlands. Is there anyone on here that's been there done that and can provide some recommendations like must do's, in what order to visit each country, places to stay, really any advice you can provide. Thank you in advance for any help!

 

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This Rick Steves page would be a good place to start to think about itineraries.  

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/britain-itinerary

For efficiency, I would do the Peak District rather than Exmoor.  The roads down to the South West get very congested and you will waste a lot of time getting down there.  The Lake District is chockablock in summer, with tour buses trying to get down tiny roads, but June is a good time to go, as most schools won't have finished.  In general, I'd try to stick to June and not push your trip into July or August.  I would choose one or two out of Peak/Lake/Northumberland.

Things to remember:

- the weather is entirely unpredictable.  Don't bring more than one pair of shorts - better still, bring a pair of trousers that converts into shorts if necessary.  My standard travelling outfit in summer would be: waterproof shoes (Gore-Tex or similar), chinos, short sleeved tops, cardigans, waterproof jacket (covering my bottom) with hood.  If planning on hiking, I would add waterproof over-trousers.  Don't worry too much about blending in with the locals - you will probably be an obvious tourist anyway.

- consider taking day trips by bus/coach to Bath and the Cotswolds.  Parking can be horrendous, and particularly with the Cotswolds, that way you get to look out of the window the whole time, rather than coping with busy traffic and parking spaces.

- if you are renting a car, go for something marked as 'compact' unless you have a strong reason for a larger car.  Many roads are tiny and parking spaces are smaller too.  Consider not renting in central London.  Instead, take public transport out to the airports (Luton Airport, for example, is an hour by train from London Bridge station and will get you well on your way out of London and heading north for the rest of your trip - I haven't been to LA, but it's an example)

- although GB looks tiny, it's a congested island.  The reason that there are such lovely areas of countryside to visit is that the planning regulations (zoning) are fierce, with each town/city contained within a 'green belt'.  That means lots of people in densely packed cities, and more people than you would expect (given all the green space) using the roads.  Google maps will give you a good idea of travelling times for major roads (A roads and M roads) but for B roads it tends to assume that you can travel the speed limit (60) whereas single-track B roads with wandering sheep have to be taken slowly.  I would put your entire itinerary into Maps and see what the times are actually like.  Then add in extra breaks if you are not used to the driving.

Have fun!

 

Edited by Laura Corin
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My one concern is that you have quite a few places to visit in not really a whole lot of time given what there is to see in each area and the time it takes to get from one region to another. London alone would probably easily take up 3-4 days depending on what you would like to do. I would highly suggest an open jaw flight, flying into one city (say, London) and flying out of another (Edinburgh perhaps). If you rent a car, the roads can be narrow and slow and it takes considerable more time to get from point A to point B. 

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My then 19yo dd & I did a fast 5 day British circuit in 2010.  We loved it.
I do not drive a lot at home, but managed a stick shift Renault, Left-Side Driving, about 50 roundabouts and about 300 miles.
The freedom while driving was well worth it.
We did London, Stonehenge, Bath, then both "Pemberleys" (Lyme Park & Chatsworth).
We had to bypass Sherwood Forest & Oxford b/c we ran out of time.

We planned 2 major sites per day.  Shoestring Budget.  Our relationship withstood the pressures.
And my favorite part was walking OUTSIDE the fence at Lyme Park before it opened.  🙂

Please go!

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Wow, thanks for all the great information so far! We did three countries last year (5 days in each) and needed to train to each one, which took considerable time, so I'm hoping 5 days in each of these countries (maybe 4 in Wales and/or Scotland and more in England) will work. DH spent a month in London on business before we were married, so he figures 3 days in London. We like the cultural aspect of being in a city but after a few days we're done. He agrees with a PP on getting out of London to rent a car, and that's is coming from someone who loves driving in NYC.

I did some quick Google searches and it looks like England to Scotland can be anywhere from 7-10 hours drive time. Is that not correct? To me it seemed like it would be easy to tour those three countries. Maybe that is wrong. We did a 6 week trip out west when we were still homeschooling and did several 8-9 hour days driving in the car, so that is not a problem for us, lol.

Laura, this would definitely be in June, looking at leaving around the 6th. What type of weather should we expect? And how would the crowds be around that time? We definitely want to rent a car, but dh is comfortable in any driving situation and loves his standard, so that should be no problem. Good advice on getting all the mileage/drive time down once we have a set itinerary, and thank you for the Rick Steves link. Also, in your opinion, where is the best hiking in Great Britain? And when you visit these types of areas, is parking at those locations also an issue?

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Adding (b/c this thread is making me reminisce!):

Our favorite hike = Mam Tor, near Lyme Park.
Locals suggested it. 
Low key hike, profound views.
Google Image Search! 

It was easy to pull off on the side of the road (from Bath to the Peaks) to enjoy the scenery.
 

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15 hours ago, whitestavern said:

Wow, thanks for all the great information so far! We did three countries last year (5 days in each) and needed to train to each one, which took considerable time, so I'm hoping 5 days in each of these countries (maybe 4 in Wales and/or Scotland and more in England) will work. DH spent a month in London on business before we were married, so he figures 3 days in London. We like the cultural aspect of being in a city but after a few days we're done. He agrees with a PP on getting out of London to rent a car, and that's is coming from someone who loves driving in NYC.

I did some quick Google searches and it looks like England to Scotland can be anywhere from 7-10 hours drive time. Is that not correct? To me it seemed like it would be easy to tour those three countries. Maybe that is wrong. We did a 6 week trip out west when we were still homeschooling and did several 8-9 hour days driving in the car, so that is not a problem for us, lol.

Laura, this would definitely be in June, looking at leaving around the 6th. What type of weather should we expect? And how would the crowds be around that time? We definitely want to rent a car, but dh is comfortable in any driving situation and loves his standard, so that should be no problem. Good advice on getting all the mileage/drive time down once we have a set itinerary, and thank you for the Rick Steves link. Also, in your opinion, where is the best hiking in Great Britain? And when you visit these types of areas, is parking at those locations also an issue?

I think you can tour them all just fine. I was just saying that you would want adequate time to see each region. And having driven through those areas I know that, once off of the motorways, the roads can be very slow and narrow. One lane, literally, in some smaller towns. But the smaller towns are lovely and a must. I just thought I would share our mistakes of way underestimating the driving times based on focusing just on the mileage. And if you can fly open jaw you would save yourself another 7-9 hour drive, which is pretty much a day, driving all the way back down to London (or wherever you choose to fly into), to catch your flight. We've driven all over Europe as we travel overseas frequently. We love to rent a car for the flexibility. And I hear you about London. We are headed there in just a few weeks, for just a full day on our way to Venice, and that's plenty for me

Sounds like a great time! 

Edited by tdbates78
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9 hours ago, whitestavern said:

Wow, thanks for all the great information so far! We did three countries last year (5 days in each) and needed to train to each one, which took considerable time, so I'm hoping 5 days in each of these countries (maybe 4 in Wales and/or Scotland and more in England) will work. DH spent a month in London on business before we were married, so he figures 3 days in London. We like the cultural aspect of being in a city but after a few days we're done. He agrees with a PP on getting out of London to rent a car, and that's is coming from someone who loves driving in NYC.

I did some quick Google searches and it looks like England to Scotland can be anywhere from 7-10 hours drive time. Is that not correct? To me it seemed like it would be easy to tour those three countries. Maybe that is wrong. We did a 6 week trip out west when we were still homeschooling and did several 8-9 hour days driving in the car, so that is not a problem for us, lol.

Laura, this would definitely be in June, looking at leaving around the 6th. What type of weather should we expect? And how would the crowds be around that time? We definitely want to rent a car, but dh is comfortable in any driving situation and loves his standard, so that should be no problem. Good advice on getting all the mileage/drive time down once we have a set itinerary, and thank you for the Rick Steves link. Also, in your opinion, where is the best hiking in Great Britain? And when you visit these types of areas, is parking at those locations also an issue?

As mentioned, the motorways are reasonably fast, so long as you allow Google Maps to choose your routes.  It's once you get off those motorways that things get slow.  It could take a while from the motorway to a place you might want to stay in one of the national parks.  I regularly drive from southern Scotland to Oxford, so it's definitely doable.  From Pitlochry to Braemar, however (both good sized towns in the near Highlands) takes at least an hour for under forty miles.  From Edinburgh to my favourite place in the Highlands takes five hours.

All the places you mentioned have great hiking, so it's hard to pick.

Early June is a good time as the schools won't have finished.  You should be fine getting parking for hikes, particularly if you don't choose the absolutely most famous ones, arrive before 10am and avoid weekends.

In June, you could get any weather except for snow.  I'd look at some weather site averages and ranges.  June is drier in Scotland than August, so it's a good choice. It will be a few degrees cooler in Scotland than in southern England, rarely above 20 degrees C outside the cities.

Edited by Laura Corin
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We went two years ago and spent two weeks (England and Scotland).

One of my daughters was attending Lancaster University-- and you know we just had to go visit her!

For us, flying into Manchester was not only cheaper but more convenient as well since the Manchester airport it's easier to navigate. It was about an hour train ride into London.  We spent three days touring London (the Tower of London was a family favorite) then took a bus tour to Stonehenge and Bath.  Youngest daughter and I had a blast spending one morning at the Harry Potter Set (another bus tour).

After London we took the train to Lancaster spent a night at Thurmond Hall (very cool--it has been there for nearly 1000 years-- our room was constructed in the 1800's!)

We rented a car in Lancaster and drove about 30 minutes Kendall where rented a cottage in the countryside war.  This was our base for 5 days as we explored the Lake District--lots of opportunities to go hiking and walking trail maps can be found everywhere.  We have fun touring the ruins of several castles.  Ambleside was our favorite town to visit.  Driving on the narrow hedge-lined roads was quite the adventure for DH.

We returned the rental car in Lancaster took a short train ride (just a few hours with beautiful scenery) to Edinburgh, Scotland for the weekend.  Youngest daughter's favorite part of the trip what is the hike up to Arthur's Seat--it was a beautifully clear day.  We all loved Edinburgh Castle.

We ended our trip back in Manchester.  There we found an awesome book museum...

Have fun planning!

 

 

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We lived in London for 2 years and did a fair amount of traveling around. I absolutely cannot recommend Wales enough. It was the most wonderful vacation I have ever had- now our weather was perfect so it all hinges on that. We stayed near Tenby. The beaches are the most beautiful in the world. Most require an easy hike over ponds and white cliffs which make it even more enchanting. You then emerge in these beautiful beach valleys with like 10 other people. We loved barafundle beach and stackpole. Ireland isn't on your list, but Antrim County in northern ireland was also fantastic. Rugged coastline, where grassy cliffs meet crashing waves and sheep climb everywhere. We went to the Giant's Causeway and the Carrickarede (sp?) Rope bridge. That rope bridge was AMAZING!

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While in Northern Ireland we also went to Belfast which was really cool. We took a tour of the main prison where they housed the terrorists from the bombings in the 90's. They also have a fantastic titanic museum. The titanic was built in Belfast and the museum is on the very spot.

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Thank you to all who've responded, great input to help with my planning! For those who added info on Ireland, I am debating whether to add in a visit there. DH and kids are interested. I guess I would like to keep the trip to three countries. Thoughts on Ireland vs Scotland? How do you travel between GB and Ireland? Are there ferries? What's quickest/cheapest? I haven't looked into this at all.

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