Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

First-ish Trip To UK Itinerary Suggestions?

First-ish Trip To UK Itinerary Suggestions?

Old Jan 15th, 2017, 03:35 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
First-ish Trip To UK Itinerary Suggestions?

My husband and I are thinking of going to England this summer, with maybe a few days in Edinburgh. I did a trip when I was 16, so I've done a few of the tourist destinations, though this will be a first for my husband. We will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary while we are there, so would like to do something to celebrate (was thinking maybe the Thermae spa in Bath?) We're big C.S. Lewis fans, so we have our minds pretty set on visiting Oxford, but that's really the only thing we definitely have on our list (other than the insistence on riding a red double-decker).

We have a rough idea of spending 5-6 days in London, 1-2 days in Oxford, 1 day to Bath, and maybe a few in Edinburgh.

We love museums and old churches, but realistically won't want to spend all our time in them. We love to read, and are excited to scope out classic spots mentioned in books, or visit author favourites (I remember visiting the cafe where J.K. Rowling would write Harry Potter).

I was thinking of looking at hotels in the Westminster / West End? Would that be a good home base?

All in all, just really looking for some experienced tips, tricks, and suggestions

Thanks!
hneal22 is offline  
Old Jan 15th, 2017, 05:28 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Here are my (random) thoughts.

In London, for big readers, there's the British Library, which has an interesting display of some of the important books that it holds.

Dr. Johnson's house (where he wrote his Dictionary of the English Language); Dickens' house; Sherlock Holmes supposed house.

LondonWalks has really good walking tours; it looks like some of those are focused on various writers.

I like staying in Bloomsbury. It's close to Covent Garden and the theatres, and easy to get every else by Tube or bus. Also, many famous authors lived there: Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, SPercy Bysshe and Mary Shelley, E. M. Forster, members of the Bloomsbury Group.

Do some Googling to scope out spots in London that were mentioned in your favorite books. This is similar to my journey in Paris to the place depicted in Gustave Caillebotte's "Paris Street; Rainy Day." Kind of silly, but it meant a lot to me.
Lexma90 is offline  
Old Jan 15th, 2017, 11:00 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,631
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Many people visiting both London and Edinburgh like to stop off 'half way' and spend time in York. This works really well if using the train as the East Coast route goes from Kings Cross London to Scotland via York.
York itself is a beautiful city - lots of museums and an amazing Minster (Cathedral) which has to be one of the most stunning buildings in this country.
http://www.visityork.org/
You don't mention if you are driving or using public transport. You can easily get around York on foot as it is compact.
If you fancy exploring further from York then you could hire a car and maybe drive to Haworth in West Yorkshire(Brontë Parsonage)
https://www.bronte.org.uk/
Or take a drive east to the lovely North Yorkshire coast across the Moors to Whitby, famous for its Dracula connections (and also for its fantastic fish and chips!)
http://www.visitwhitby.com/
Morgana is offline  
Old Jan 16th, 2017, 08:20 AM
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
These are great suggestions!

We are going to be relying on public transportation. I trust my husband, but there is no way I want to be in the car with him as he learns how to drive on the opposite side of the road and car.
hneal22 is offline  
Old Jan 16th, 2017, 09:28 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Trains are great anyway =especially if just going city to city. Check www.nationalrail.co.uk for schedules and fares- book early to nab limited in number discounted tickets (non-changeable often however) - for general info on UK trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

We have a rough idea of spending 5-6 days in London, 1-2 days in Oxford, 1 day to Bath, and maybe a few in Edinburgh.>

Oxford is best a day trip or two-day trip from London

You could do Bath and then go to Scotland from there by rail- fly into London and out of Scotland.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Jan 17th, 2017, 02:25 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I trust my husband, but there is no way I want to be in the car with him as he learns how to drive on the opposite side of the road and car.>

Really not a problem for most -especially if you stick to daul-carriage (divided) motorways - but for your wish list trains are great if going mainly to cities.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Jan 17th, 2017, 11:43 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The logistics of your plan aren't altogether straightforward.

For short visits to Oxford and even possibly Bath, there's little benefit in packing up and moving from a London hotel.

Getting between Oxford and Bath or Edinburgh by public transport, though, is surprisingly messy. A train from Oxford to Edinburgh, for example, takes getting on for twice as long as one from London, and can cost a great deal more.

And you've mentioned the four cities in Britain where having a car is a useless, expensive and stressful burden best completely avoided whatever your views about driving on the proper side of the road.

To understand the practicalities:
- hotels in Bath, Edinburgh and Oxford cost much the same as in London
- you say "summer". Hotels in Edinburgh are probably close to sold out for August already
- For transport, there are substantial savings booking trains 12 weeks ahead. Looking for prices much further ahead doesn't work (the National Rail site doesn't show them): but setting dates about 80 days ahead on the site gives you a good idea of the financial and time issues involved.
- If your train travel includes Edinburgh,buying a Two Together Railcard (£30) will chop 30% off the price of almost all trains. ( https://www.railcard.co.uk/ ) It's unlikely to make financial sense if you don't travel to Edinburgh - but do do the sums.
flanneruk is offline  
Old Jan 18th, 2017, 12:04 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Getting between Oxford and Bath or Edinburgh by public transport, though, is surprisingly messy.>

Indeed on www.bahn.de/en -the German Railways pan-European rail schedule site lists about 6.5-7.5 hours Bath Spa to Edinburgh and nearly all of those they route you back to London to change there.

One none London route has three changes of trains.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Jan 18th, 2017, 01:06 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Flanner has a couple of points that you need to heed.

First, Edinburgh basically swells to 2-3x its normal size in August because it holds a series of festivals including the Tattoo and the Fringe. Evidently Edinburghers believed that the weather would be accommodating at that time of year and that August is the one month of every 12 for which "crapshoot" doesn't apply to the atmospheric conditions (they've been proven wrong). Thus the need to close on lodgings or procure them soon if you're going to Auld Reekie in August.

Trips to Bath and Oxford from London are easy to do as day trips by train and that would save you the effort of packing and unpacking, checking in and checking out. Oxford is 55-70 minutes from Paddington or Marylebone depending upon which train you catch. Bath is about 1.5 hours from Paddington. Edinburgh is a straight shot from Kings Cross in London; as the others mentioned above, it's a bit of a routing mess to get there from Bath or Oxford without going through London and having to go across the city to another train station.

Don't know what Flanner is on about with the cars since you didn't mention renting one. If you're concentrating on London and Edinburgh, avoid car rentals altogether.
BigRuss is offline  
Old Jan 18th, 2017, 10:18 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,911
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
For optimising your opportunities to ride on a bus, check out

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-...ral-london.pdf

(and explore the TFL site to get used to the transport system)
PatrickLondon is offline  
Old Jan 19th, 2017, 08:24 AM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,548
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
I agree w/ flanner and Big Russ -- for Oxford especially, it is a flat easy day trip by from London by either train or bus.

And re Bath . . . a REALLY good way to incorporate Bath is to hit it first. get off the plane at LHR, jump on an express coach to Bath and spend your first night or two there. Then take the train in to London. One day during you stay in London spend the day in Oxford.

Then take the train to York for one night (two nights if your have enough time) and finally on to Edinburgh.

The whole topic of Edinburgh greatly depends on exactly when in summer you will be there. August is a 'special case'.
janisj is online now  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Alex430
Europe
24
Oct 19th, 2016 05:20 PM
eddiekhor
Europe
9
Jan 22nd, 2015 02:58 PM
DejaDeb
Europe
42
Aug 13th, 2012 10:24 AM
petal
Europe
11
Apr 13th, 2004 05:55 PM
Tom
Europe
17
Jan 13th, 2003 12:35 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -