Things to do in UK

[methoddingo]

Hello all!

I'll be going to Britain in September with my folks. We'll be doing a 8 day Trafalgar tour which includes places like York, Stratford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Bristol.

We'll also be having 3-4 days free & easy within London and possibly travelling out. So far, I only have plans far day trips to cambridge and westminster, and probably catching a musical.

Besides the above mentioned, are there any places worth visiting in London or England? Any places with breathtaking scenery, or rustic charms which are worth capturing? I guess during most of the tour I would be seeing quite a few castles and places of religious worship.

TIA

 

[carsnap]

There are a lot of course. You may want to consider Covent Garden, Regents Park and Bloomsbury, Piccadilly and St.James, Westminster and White Hall, Maritime Greenwich, the City, or Hyde Park, Kensington in Chelsea.

Wherever you may head it's worth the scene!

Bon voyage!

 

[tikiman]

There is also Kew Garden.

 

[Lingkang]

For Scenery i'd recommend going down to the south and south west coast around to places like dorset. There you get the beautiful cliffs along the coasts, and also the interesting rock formations that are really nice to photograph. There are pretty decent sunsets around that area as well.

I'm flying off to UK tonight, and will be travelling around Lake District and Wales, to Snowden and the areas around there. Hope to take lots of green hills, blue lakes type of landscapes!

 

[Chandler]

Hello all!

I'll be going to Britain in September with my folks. We'll be doing a 8 day Trafalgar tour which includes places like York, Stratford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Bristol.

We'll also be having 3-4 days free & easy within London and possibly travelling out. So far, I only have plans far day trips to cambridge and westminster, and probably catching a musical.

Besides the above mentioned, are there any places worth visiting in London or England? Any places with breathtaking scenery, or rustic charms which are worth capturing? I guess during most of the tour I would be seeing quite a few castles and places of religious worship.

TIA

Nice itinerary. You will have plenty of nice photo opportunities. Let me try to list them out as best as I can remember from my last trip there:

York
1. Yorkminster - only the largest cathedral in the Northern Hemisphere. The stained glass in the cathedral is beautiful - unfortunately parts of it were under maintenance when I was there in the winter of 2007. Lovely place. Must visit.

2. The Shambles - medieval cobble-stoned street in York with plenty of original timber buildings from circa 1500s. I was enthralled by the butcher shops there hahah don't ask me why.

3. Roman walls around the city center - old Roman fortifications from the Roman conquest era.

4. Clifford's Tower and Ghost Walks - think there are plenty of guided tours and walks offered there.

Edinburgh
1. Edinburgh Castle and the surrounding area - Royal Mile I think. Edinburgh Castle is massive. And when you get to the top, you have a superb view of the city.

2. The Elephant Cafe - this was where JK Rowling wrote her Harry Potter novels when she was still a struggling single mother, sitting down in the cafe the whole day so that she can save on the heater in her apartment. Other than that, the food is superb and price reasonable as well!

3. St Giles Cathedral - actually I found the often overlooked St Giles Cathedral a lovely little place with nice stained glass too. Try to check it out when you're there.

Glasgow
1. Downtown Buchanan Street Train Station - Nice place for photography. Bustling with nice train station architecture.

2. Mitchell Library - nice architecture.

3. If you're a football fan ... then it's either Celtic Park or Ibrox for sure, depending on whether you're Protestant or Catholic. Don't end up in the wrong area coz the rivalry is more than just secular!

London
Plenty of places, no need for me to mention, a simple search online will yield you the usual suspects.

Pop down to Lillywhites (Picadilly Circus) for cheap sports stuff. Kinda like our very own Queensway Shopping Centre haha.

PM me if you want to have the address to the best Fish n Chips in the world!

Have fun during the trip and share your photos on your return!

PS: My photos are on my FB account. PM me for the link. Cheers

 

[methoddingo]

Thanks guys for sharing!

 

[junliang78]

Since you are going with the family , maybe you can consider renting a car ,we drive on the same side of road and perhaps drive to the Lake District or Yorkshire for "English Countryside" scenery .

 

[Alpc]

I would say Lake District is one of the most beautiful place in UK, and given the chance, I would love to go back and spend more time in that area.

 

[Shen siung]

I would say Lake District is one of the most beautiful place in UK, and given the chance, I would love to go back and spend more time in that area.

Yes Lake district is good,scenic. though, out of London.

 

[cowmera]

Yes Lake district is good,scenic. though, out of London.

6 hours drive from London, 1 hour plus to 2 hours from Manchester depending on how slow you drive.

There are many small towns surrounding the Lake. Only Windermere is worth going.

 

[cowmera]

Hello all!

I'll be going to Britain in September with my folks. We'll be doing a 8 day Trafalgar tour which includes places like York, Stratford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Bristol.

We'll also be having 3-4 days free & easy within London and possibly travelling out. So far, I only have plans far day trips to cambridge and westminster, and probably catching a musical.

Besides the above mentioned, are there any places worth visiting in London or England? Any places with breathtaking scenery, or rustic charms which are worth capturing? I guess during most of the tour I would be seeing quite a few castles and places of religious worship.

TIA

If you are going free and easy.... south of England has more charming places. You can go Cornwall, Bath, Brighton (50 mins by train from London Victoria and 2 trains every hour so it can be a day trip)

Midlands wise... York is ok, Manchester is just another city unless you want to go Old Trafford. Nearby Chester is nice and there's a factory outlet called Cheshire oaks. Liverpool has Albert dock and the Beatles museum. Leeds,Warwick and many cities have castles so if you see one, you've seen all. If you have limited time, just go Windsor castle and nearby legoland.

Scotland is lovely especially the people. I feel that Edinburgh is prettier and Glasgow is better for shopping. Since you are going in sept, no point going Aberdeen as Aberdeen is nicer in winter.

8 days is pretty amazing race so I suggest you spend lesser days in London. To see the real England, go out of London.

September is still a nice time to drive around England so you might want to consider renting a car? Driving along the motorway is pretty straight forward and there's plenty of service stops for food and toilet breaks.

I think I'm too random. Do share if you are going free and easy.

 

[hanzohattori]

6 hours drive from London, 1 hour plus to 2 hours from Manchester depending on how slow you drive.

There are many small towns surrounding the Lake. Only Windermere is worth going.

Can I go by train from York ?

 

[Alpc]

6 hours drive from London, 1 hour plus to 2 hours from Manchester depending on how slow you drive.

There are many small towns surrounding the Lake. Only Windermere is worth going.

Did not go to the Lake District for the towns!!! It's the surroundings that captures my attention. Towns? Blah, just to stay in - well, except if you are a fan of William Wordsworth whose home town is Grasmere (you get to see the cottage he was in), and wrote the daffodils poem somewhere near Ullswater (if I recall the history correctly). Ok, I forgot Miss Potters was also from Lakes region, and you get to see Peter the rabbit shop there in one of those towns.

 

[Alpc]

Can I go by train from York ?

I believe so, I took train from Edinburgh to Windermere.

 

[hanzohattori]

I believe so, I took train from Edinburgh to Windermere.

How long is the journey ? I've check the schedule, its 3 hrs plus. :bigeyes:
did you stay there or return at the end of the day ? thanks

 

[Alpc]

How long is the journey ? I've check the schedule, its 3 hrs plus. :bigeyes:
did you stay there or return at the end of the day ? thanks

I stayed at Windermere for 5 days - rented a car and drove round all around, an area per day - North, South, East, West regions... and the Great Langdale. I still have other areas which I have not gone to... So, a return trip would be necessary. Heck, a few return trips might do as well. But well, will have to see how it goes.

 

[methoddingo]

Since you are going with the family , maybe you can consider renting a car ,we drive on the same side of road and perhaps drive to the Lake District or Yorkshire for "English Countryside" scenery .

If you are going free and easy.... south of England has more charming places. You can go Cornwall, Bath, Brighton (50 mins by train from London Victoria and 2 trains every hour so it can be a day trip)

Midlands wise... York is ok, Manchester is just another city unless you want to go Old Trafford. Nearby Chester is nice and there's a factory outlet called Cheshire oaks. Liverpool has Albert dock and the Beatles museum. Leeds,Warwick and many cities have castles so if you see one, you've seen all. If you have limited time, just go Windsor castle and nearby legoland.

Scotland is lovely especially the people. I feel that Edinburgh is prettier and Glasgow is better for shopping. Since you are going in sept, no point going Aberdeen as Aberdeen is nicer in winter.

8 days is pretty amazing race so I suggest you spend lesser days in London. To see the real England, go out of London.

September is still a nice time to drive around England so you might want to consider renting a car? Driving along the motorway is pretty straight forward and there's plenty of service stops for food and toilet breaks.

I think I'm too random. Do share if you are going free and easy.

Thanks guys, I'll be on this 8day tour (http://www.trafalgar.com/amazing-britain-2011?tab=2) which would already have taken me to most of the northern cities. After which we'll be based in London commuting around for about 5 more days. so far, looking at cambridge, musicals (les miserables/wicked), BigBen, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace.

After they leave, I'll be staying back alone for 3 more days before flying off to Istanbul for 4months. Hope to catch an EPL match and probably visit the south-west to soak in some coastal views.

 

[cowmera]

Can I go by train from York ?

Yes you can. I'm not sure if there's a direct train from York but by car it's about 2 hours. Do check out the trains and coach timetables?

 

[cowmera]

Did not go to the Lake District for the towns!!! It's the surroundings that captures my attention. Towns? Blah, just to stay in - well, except if you are a fan of William Wordsworth whose home town is Grasmere (you get to see the cottage he was in), and wrote the daffodils poem somewhere near Ullswater (if I recall the history correctly). Ok, I forgot Miss Potters was also from Lakes region, and you get to see Peter the rabbit shop there in one of those towns.

Eh, the huge lake is surrounded by many small towns and mountains. You can still see the lakes from some towns. I feel that if time is tight, just go Windermere as it's the nicest place at the lake district.

You are right, no point staying overnight. I guess some people stay overnight cos they don't want to rush for the train? Usually we'll just drive to Windermere, take some photos, eat some ice cream, tickle the swans, lunch and go back.

I recall seeing a Peter the rabbit shop somewhere. Is it at Kendall or Windermere?

 

[edutilos-]

Did not go to the Lake District for the towns!!! It's the surroundings that captures my attention. Towns? Blah, just to stay in - well, except if you are a fan of William Wordsworth whose home town is Grasmere (you get to see the cottage he was in), and wrote the daffodils poem somewhere near Ullswater (if I recall the history correctly). Ok, I forgot Miss Potters was also from Lakes region, and you get to see Peter the rabbit shop there in one of those towns.

I actually enjoyed the towns. It's a huge change from the hectic city life and I spent many mornings and afternoons sitting in the cafes of these many small towns you seem to think nothing of just relaxing. Traveling is more than just about sightseeing for me.