Day trip to the Cotswolds, Oxford, Warwick Castle, and Stratford!
Nov 1st, 2011, 07:37 AM
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Day trip to the Cotswolds, Oxford, Warwick Castle, and Stratford!
Hi All!
I just took a great day trip from London to the Cotswolds, Oxford, Warwick Castle, and Shakespeare's Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. It was a great day out, and while the trip was long (12 hours!) it was nice to see so much in one day.
The highlight was seeing the Great Hall at Christ Church in Oxford. It is where some of the scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed, and was the inspiration for Hogwarts.
I wrote about the trip on my blog if you want to read more and see photos and a video: http://www.aladyinlondon.com/2011/10...on-oxford.html
I just took a great day trip from London to the Cotswolds, Oxford, Warwick Castle, and Shakespeare's Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. It was a great day out, and while the trip was long (12 hours!) it was nice to see so much in one day.
The highlight was seeing the Great Hall at Christ Church in Oxford. It is where some of the scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed, and was the inspiration for Hogwarts.
I wrote about the trip on my blog if you want to read more and see photos and a video: http://www.aladyinlondon.com/2011/10...on-oxford.html
Nov 1st, 2011, 10:57 AM
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Nice blog. Don't know how you do it, but you are certainly taking advantage of your opportunities.
As ex-pats in Derby, our experience has been relatively mundane.
http://ukfrey.blogspot.com
As ex-pats in Derby, our experience has been relatively mundane.
http://ukfrey.blogspot.com
Nov 1st, 2011, 11:59 AM
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I like your blog, and your report on your day trip.
It's not something I would ever do, but for someone with only a short time in the UK, or maybe a free day whilst on a business trip it would be a good, if tiring, choice.
It's not something I would ever do, but for someone with only a short time in the UK, or maybe a free day whilst on a business trip it would be a good, if tiring, choice.
Nov 2nd, 2011, 08:55 AM
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Thanks all! I felt the same way about the trip covering a LOT of ground for just one day. I think it would be a good way to see a lot of great places for people that only have a short amount of time to visit the country, though. As an expat living in London, I'm a bit spoiled for time!
Nov 3rd, 2011, 07:23 AM
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How interesting - I did almost the exact same tour on my first trip to the UK. As mentioned above, I wanted to see as much as possible in my limited time.
Unfortunately that was in January so the day was shorter than you experienced. The bus picked me up at a hotel near mine and we were taken to Victoria Station where we changed buses and joined others from other parts of London. Then we waited and waited for some who were late. Eventually we set off without them but endured a lecture from our guide about rudeness, punctuality etc - we who were the ones on time!
We'd only just left London when the guide got a phone call. It seems it was the companies fault that those people were late and so we waited roadside while these people were driven out to meet with us. The guide was furious and kept making snarky remarks the whole way. At each stop we got such a lecture about being on time.
At Warwick Castle there was an ice rink and other holiday attractions which was interesting but was visual clutter out of keeping with the period IMO.
We were somewhat rushed at Stratford because we were trying to make up time and it seemed getting to the White Hart was a higher priority. Some of our party were unable to partake of the Traditional Sunday Roast for religious reasons and it seemed there were no alternatives available for them so we felt bad indulging in our dinner while they waited cold and hungry on the bus.
By the time we got to Oxford it was dark and we were rushed through Christ Church, which was about to close. I think the majority on the bus voted to return to London as we didn't see much of Oxford.
All the way back we got the pitch for tips for the guide and driver. All up, I was fairly unimpressed and got off the bus at its first stop - it wasn't going further than Victoria Station anyway. Never a fan of guided tours and this episode put me right off.
I sound really negative and I'm sure many have a lovely day and a good experience, as did flytheworld.
Unfortunately that was in January so the day was shorter than you experienced. The bus picked me up at a hotel near mine and we were taken to Victoria Station where we changed buses and joined others from other parts of London. Then we waited and waited for some who were late. Eventually we set off without them but endured a lecture from our guide about rudeness, punctuality etc - we who were the ones on time!
We'd only just left London when the guide got a phone call. It seems it was the companies fault that those people were late and so we waited roadside while these people were driven out to meet with us. The guide was furious and kept making snarky remarks the whole way. At each stop we got such a lecture about being on time.
At Warwick Castle there was an ice rink and other holiday attractions which was interesting but was visual clutter out of keeping with the period IMO.
We were somewhat rushed at Stratford because we were trying to make up time and it seemed getting to the White Hart was a higher priority. Some of our party were unable to partake of the Traditional Sunday Roast for religious reasons and it seemed there were no alternatives available for them so we felt bad indulging in our dinner while they waited cold and hungry on the bus.
By the time we got to Oxford it was dark and we were rushed through Christ Church, which was about to close. I think the majority on the bus voted to return to London as we didn't see much of Oxford.
All the way back we got the pitch for tips for the guide and driver. All up, I was fairly unimpressed and got off the bus at its first stop - it wasn't going further than Victoria Station anyway. Never a fan of guided tours and this episode put me right off.
I sound really negative and I'm sure many have a lovely day and a good experience, as did flytheworld.
Nov 10th, 2011, 07:13 AM
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That's too bad you had such a negative experience, eigasuki. It sounds like the tour wasn't run very well. Hopefully you will have better luck if you take another tour in the future!
Nov 30th, 2011, 09:18 AM
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janisj - Yes, it is definitely a lot of ground to cover in one day, but I think it's a good way to see the sights for people that don't have much time and want to see as much as they can. I'm lucky that I live in London and can go to these places on the weekends, but most people don't have the chance to go more than once in a lifetime.
Nov 30th, 2011, 04:36 PM
#13
"but most people don't have the chance to go more than once in a lifetime."
Even more of a shame that they don't actually 'see' anything much. Suppose it depends on whether ticking the boxes is more important than having a wonderful experience.
Even more of a shame that they don't actually 'see' anything much. Suppose it depends on whether ticking the boxes is more important than having a wonderful experience.
