Itinerary help, England/Wales

Old Nov 24th, 2014, 04:31 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 13,491
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Itinerary help, England/Wales

My cousin and I are planning a trip to the UK for May 2015. Background: we spent 3 days in London and 12 days in Scotland in 2013. We plan several trips to the UK, so this is not a must see everything trip. We will not be driving, taking trains, buses, whatever.
For this trip we are allowing 10-11 days on the ground. We have several possible itineraries but this one is the front runner now, subject to more research and your helpful comments:
Day 1 fly into London
Day 1 arrive Heathrow, check into hotel or leave bags, tour St. Paul's
Day 3 day trip to Dover, see castle and hopefully a boat tour of cliffs
Day 4 tour British Museum and Palace of Westminster
Day 5 day trip to Stratford upon Avon
Day 6 train to Bath, tour bath
Day 7 Mad Max tour of Cotswalds, Stonehenge, Avebury, etc. departing from Bath.
Day 8 possible other Mad Max tour
Day 9 train to Caerleon
Day 10 Train to hotel near Heathrow, tour Hampton Court or Windsor Castle
Day 11 tour which ever one we didn't do the day before
Day 12 fly home
This will put us in 3 hotels, which we know is a lot, but we had SIX hotels on our previous trip. We pack light and can handle the rigors of moving around. We also prefer hotels over B&B's.
With almost all my previous trips I have concentrated on just one area with maybe a day or one overnight trip, but we are trying to make sure we see the things we are most interested in now as who knows what will happen in the future.
Suggestions welcome! Thanks in advance.
Challiman is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 05:03 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 25,422
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
This is pretty useful if you need to look at the whatever (which is a joke word in the UK) version of public transport http://www.traveline.info/

And of course you need
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

and I would read seat61.com

I had to look up Caerleon it is by Newport with a Roman bit.

Boat tour of cliffs.... they are not that exciting, I think you can still visit the listening posts in the cliffs though
bilboburgler is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 07:47 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
"I had to look up Caerleon it is by Newport with a Roman bit."


Tsk, tsk.

It's now known (well, claimed by some connected with its archaeology) to be the largest Roman military base ever excavated in Europe - which I think means anywhere, ever.

The headline grabbing stuff was uncovered, by chance, in the past few years. Sometime in the next month or two, it's supposed to be coming on TV. "Roman Britain from the air" was due to be aired this autumn (which sounds suspicious, since there's not much of that left, but given the tripe currently on, it'd be mad to leave it unaired)

The Hadrian's Wall bit seems photogenic, though rehashing pretty much what most of us know already, only more prettily. There's some extraordinary new stuff about London: get yourself to Bay 52 in the NCP carpark at London Wall. But the content star seems to be Caerleon.

Used to be one of those boring expanses of a few rocks with a Ministry Of Works sign that made most of us convinced the Romans never did nothing for us.

Seems now to have gobbled up a ton of some devolution cash or sponsor's money and to be looking extraordinary.

I've got no idea,Challiman, what's currently visitable to us civilians, or how much useful and updated explanation there is on site: the stuff on the Cadw website doesn't seem to include the latest finds. Incidentally: the nearish Caerwent has the largest set of Roman walls in Britain.

But if you don't get to see the ITV programme locally, it should be available on catchup at ITV.com if you can access one of those proxy systems that bypass "only to be shown in Britain" restrictions.
flanneruk is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 07:58 AM
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 13,491
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
flannerUK, thank you. Cousin is an engineer and I am a history nut, so we sometimes try to see some rather odd things on our travels. Falkirk Wheel, for one
I will look into the program(me). And see what I can find about what we might actually be able to see. I am very much into photography, though certainly an amateur, so scenery, architecture, people, etc., are always of interest.
My usual preference for travels is to stay in one place and see it thoroughly as possible in less than two weeks, with a day trip here and there or even an overnight, but we are trying to do highlights and hope to go back again. LOL, getting older makes my priorities change a bit. We'll see how this goes.
Challiman is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 08:00 AM
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 13,491
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
bilboburgler, thank you for the links! Cousin has been exploring Britrail and we'll be checking out these other links. We've never waited this long to plan a trip but circumstances forced us to do that this year
Challiman is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 08:19 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It's the common view of those here who use trains regularly (as opposed to those for whom such things are an exotic novelty) that Britrail is rarely as cost-effective as prebooking trains.

Your only needs, on the basis of the itinerary you've suggested, are:
- one return to Dover
- one return to Stratford
- one single to Bath
- one return Bath-Newport
- one single Bath-Reading, and railair bus to Heathrow

I suspect there isn't a Britrail pass to compete: look at the National Rail site and cost up those journeys prebooked 11 weeks out. If you're over 60, remember there's a £30 railcard that gives you 33% off those discounted prices.
flanneruk is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 08:36 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 25,422
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
"convinced the Romans never did nothing for us" I can hear "he's a very naughty boy" in the distance.

Britrail? Ah. the marketing thing.
bilboburgler is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 08:46 AM
  #8  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 13,491
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the comments on Britrai. I believe she was checking for times and connections but we have not booked anything. I am not dealing with train stuff, I break out in hives just thinking about it. I am over 60 but she is not. Hooray, there's a benefit to being over 60! We did plan to prebook, though. I'll pass along the information.
We loved the train rides from London to Edinburgh, then to Inverness on our last trip to the UK. And my grandsons and I rode trains from Barcelona to Avignon to Paris to Amsterdam in May/June. Mostly very good experiences. One grandson with a huge amount of luggage (returning to US from year in Spain) complicated things but we still enjoyed the train rides.
Challiman is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 09:04 AM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Caerleon's recent public write-ups at

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2...sics-buildings
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/share/resea...orts/caerleon/
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/res...erleon_gardner

When I studied this stuff, most reading lists predated WW2 and no-one thought it at all odd.

Now a growing amount of discoveries aren't so much coming from digging up previously unexplored sites as from using technologies that weren't around 20 years ago. We've might have uncovered as much new data about Roman Britain since I stopped studying it as in the previous 1900 years.
flanneruk is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 09:22 AM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,548
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
Challiman: Re the senior discounts on the trains.

You don't need to have the senior railcard in hand to book discounted tix. You can download the form and fill it out then take it w/ you when you collect the tix at the station. The agent will first charge you for the senior card and then you can collect any pre-booked tickets.

You can do this at any station -- near your hotel in London, or at Victoria, Charing Cross or St Pancras (depending on which station you use for the trip to Dover).
janisj is online now  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 10:40 AM
  #11  
ESW
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 761
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
"we sometimes try to see some rather odd things on our travels"

Good for you. It makes a change from those who slavishly follow the the usual top attractions list (the Falkirk wheel is impressive isn't it).

I remember visiting the amphitheatre in Caerleon many years ago, before it appeared on the tourist map and being really impressed by it. It sounds as if there is a lot more to see now. We never did manage to find the Roman walls in Caerwent though.
ESW is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 11:41 AM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You are one of the few people who seem to be traveling potentially enough on trains to take a look at the BritRail or BritEngland Railpass which lets you hop any train anytime - several longer train trips can be as cheap with a pass as with discounted tickets and yes you just go to the station and hop on any train anytime - like to Bath on a day trip you may be reluctant to lock yourself into some discounted train-specific return ticket, etc. some of the discounts may provide some flexibility - key point is to check the conditions of use as well as price.

anyway do the maths - www.nationalrail.co.uk has all the fares and restrictions with them - check them all out and compre to a pass - if even close go for the pass. Great sources of info on British trains: yes the guru www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

actually you may want to look at the London Plus (or do they call it Days Out of London) railpass first - it covers most of southeast England - dover, Stratford and even to Bath and back and also gives two 100% covered trips p.p. on the Heathrow or Gatwikc os Stansted Expresses - you say you are taking a train to Heathrow - well from The West you may find it quicker to go into London Paddington and hop the Heathrow Express back to the airport.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 12:43 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,548
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
With the senior discount I doubt a pass will save any £££
janisj is online now  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 01:59 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
not sure janis if the Days Out of London pass may not compete for the day trips from London and train back from Bath - but it's all at www.nationalrail.co.uk - for BritRail see www.seat61.com for its commercial link to RailEurope for Days Out of London pass prices - as usual the more days the cheaper per day a pass is. I'm not sure but I'd take a good look at that at least. Probably not a straight up BritRail Pass.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Nov 24th, 2014, 02:55 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,884
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My sister and I used the senior rail pass on our trip this fall and saved considerably over the early booking rate that my daughter paid, although that was a lot less than walk-up fares.

Your trip sounds like a lot of fun. Why did you decide to stay in a hotel at Heathrow at the end rather than in London?
carolyn is online now  
Old Dec 2nd, 2014, 05:34 PM
  #16  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 13,491
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Carolyn, we don't want to stay at Heathrow, just within easy access for what we are sure will be an early morning flight back to the US. We'll be in London for 4 nights when we first arrive, and two nights before we head home.
We're making some good progress with things and hope to have all except the trains booked in the next few days.
Challiman is offline  
Old Dec 3rd, 2014, 04:11 PM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,884
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
In that case, we recently stayed at the Hilton Doubletree Inn and rode the Hoppa bus to the LHR terminal. It's quite close to the airport and was fine for our needs. BTW, we didn't reserve the £17 breakfast they offered us.
carolyn is online now  
Old Dec 3rd, 2014, 05:45 PM
  #18  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 13,491
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks, carolyn! I usually prefer to have breakfast at the hotel, since I get shaky if I don't eat on a regular basis, but good to know. I'll definitely check into that hotel. Thanks.
Challiman is offline  
Old Dec 3rd, 2014, 11:43 PM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 283
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
If only one of you is over 60, you should look at the Two Together railcard instead, which gives 33% discount for both of you if travelling together.
anicecupoftea is offline  
Old Dec 4th, 2014, 12:50 AM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,254
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
"My sister and I used the senior rail pass on our trip this fall and saved considerably over the early booking rate that my daughter paid"

If you use a senior railpass, you can get a further discount off the early booking rate.
chartley is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

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