SumitRuchi

Hello, We (I and my hubby) are planning a visit to London in the 1st week of May for 2 weeks including travel from India. We will be staying with my sister in Cambridge for most of the days and travel to different places from Cambridge. We are planning to see few places around London, Scotland, Wales and if possible Northern Ireland. Our interest is to do some sightseeing, enjoy local food, shopping, mountains, scenic beauty, theme parks, lake, short cruise, etc. We are not very keen to see too many museums ...one might be good. May I request some suggestive do-able itineraries please?

janisj

"<i>We will be staying with my sister in Cambridge for most of the days and travel to different places from Cambridge. We are planning to see few places around London, Scotland, Wales and if possible Northern Ireland.</i>"

Meant kindly . . . But I really think you need to 1) look at a map, and 2) ask your sister what she thinks about these plans.

Staying in Cambridge you will be able to do day trips to London, parts of East Anglia, maybe York. But not Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland, or any mountain regions.

My first suggestion is to get a good guide book and a map of England (and talk to your sister)

BTW: Even if you <i>weren't</i> spending most of your time in Cambridge, 2 weeks is not long enough for London, Wales, Scotland,mountains, Northern Ireland or the other things on your wish list.

SumitRuchi

Hi, thx for ur suggestion. I guessed 2 weeks is quite short to see everything. However, our primary interest is to visit few natural scenic places. Also we aren't planning to stay in cambridge & visit Wales,Scotland, N. Ireland..we intend to stay over these places & spend some time. Am getting confused in interest of time, which places to prioritize...Shall check the maps & guide book as well.

janisj

In your title you say 12 days, but in the post you say 2 weeks. Then you say you are staying in Cambridge 'for most of the days'.

You need to tell us how long you actually have total . . . please clarify how many days you will be in the UK.

• What date do you arrive? • How many days will you stay in Cambridge? • What date do you leave?

without these details no one can really help you.

SumitRuchi

Hi, Sorry for the confusion.
We land at HTRW on 1st May arnd noon & go to Cambridge. Return is on 14th May evening frm GWK..So ideally we have a good 12 days (exclusive of travel days).
We do hv an option to do a few 1-2 days of an overnite trips to different places frm Cambridge. Thats where I need help in chalking out my effective itinerary. Also which places could we consider to do a day trips from Cambridge using rail/ bus.
I am new to this region, hence bit confused myself and also looking to make best of my trip, which we had been planning frm long time.

Appreciate your help. Thanks

Miguel1892

York would be a very do-able day trip from Cambridge and is a beautiful city. The highlights include a wonderful cathedral (for my money the finest Gothic building in the world), Roman walls, a number of excellent museums and some great restaurants.

It is a very olde-worlde city with history dating back to Roman times with architecture reflecting that.

It is also on the East Coast Mainline which is the main rail line between London and Edinburgh which means that you could stop in York on the way to Edinburgh which is another of the must see UK destinations.

SumitRuchi

Thanks...Certainly we will consider York in our itinerary. After reading in few forums about York, we wanted it to be in our itinerary but wasn't if it is doaable. Thanks for suggesting.
Would you have any other suggestion on places we can cover? I am working on the itinerary and shall share for review and inputs..
We are also looking to do some shopping, if time permits and not very expensive....Any suugestions around this as well please?
Thank you!

SumitRuchi

Hi, Am looking for budget hotel / B&B in Grasmere around 60 GBP per night for 2 persons, Lake District. Can I request some sugestions please. Also whats the best way to commute from Grasmere to Windermere,as we will be doing some sightseeing in Winderemere and a take train back to Cambridge. Thanks!

RM67

I would have maybe 1 week in Cambridge, spending 2 days in the city itself, and using the rest for day trips to London and York, plus possibly some drives out into East Anglia to see Suffolk/Essex villages.

I would then spend a week in Scotland or Wales. Imho Scotland has the more varied scenery and it's the one I'd choose out of the two. Again, a day or two in Edinburgh or Glasgow to start then head North West. Fly into London and out of Glasgow if you can to minimise travel.

SumitRuchi

Thanks RM67! we have considered almost the same itinerary, shall share the same soon for suggestions. Can you pls also suggest some good / budget place to stay in the Lake district and how to commute locally in the Lake District.

RM67

I stayed near Penrith, which is a few miles north east of the lakes, and also in the village of Garragill (spelling?) but it was a while ago so don't feel comfortable recommending accomodation to you. Also, how will that fit in with the itinerary? Do you plan on driving from the south east to Scotland with a couple of days in the lakes en-route? If so that will reduce your time in either the south or the north. Just to be clear - the lakes are not really doable as day trips from East Anglia or London. Well, certainly not driving...

SumitRuchi

Hi RM, Yeah we would be driving on our way back to Cambridge from Scottland and spend 2 days in the Lake district. We plan to stay around Grasmere...I was also checking Premier Inn hotels, found a few ..but not sure how far would those be from Winderemere or Grasmere..