I just got back home and want to thank the members of this forum for all their helpful advice. For any other first timers to the UK, here are a few of the things I REALLY found helpful:
- You cannot see "everything". Have a plan for the most important things for YOU. If you don't know what is important for you, go back and do some research or take a coach tour for an overview.
- Don't try to pack too much into a trip. We stayed in London, Edinburgh and Conwy for several days each and that was great. I had one big thing every day, then filled in with smaller things. For example: British Museum- spent 5 hours there, also that day, 2 hours at the British Library. I know some people would do more stuff, but this suited me. It was the days driving through Scotland and trying to get to Wales that were the problem because...
- Everything is much farther away than you think! As posters here say over and over, don't pay attention the the times on Rick Steves' map or even the AA. It will take twice as long as you think to get places, and we never got stuck behind a slow lorry!
- Speaking of the AA Route Planner, it was a life saver several times!
- You can't pull over to take pictures in most of the places where you would really like to do so.
- Get to your chosen attraction when it opens in the morning. This is absolutely the best way to see things. We were about the only folks at the Tower of London for the first 30 minutes, but when we were leaving there were huge lines to get in the various buildings.
- Get the verger tour of Westminster Abbey! I think we may have lucked out, but we were in the first group to enter and got on the first tour with no reservations. It was incredibly full of information.
- Buy the guide book rather than using the audio tour. This may just be me, but the audio tour seemed a very passive method of learning about a museum/castle/stone circle/church. If you have some background (read up on what you are going to see) then you can read the guide book and figure out most of the details. We had a great deal of fun trying to recreate Conwy Castle with the guide book and signs. Again, this is a more time consuming method, but I felt I understood how everything worked.
- Some of the sights are interpreted better than others. Conwy was better than Caernarfon, for example. Old Sarum was very difficult to "read". Stonehenge had interpreters standing around. We learned about the latest research into the from one of them.
- Use the Oyster pay-as-you-go card in London! The bus and Tube system is easy to negotiate. The only problem was trying to get our deposit back. We were in a long line with only one window open, finally gave up. Never figured out the VAT refund either. We decided these were the main way the UK balances its budget!
-You don't need a converter, you just need an adaptor. It plugs into the three pronged socket and has a universal receptor. (P.S. Don't bring hair dryers, irons, etc. Everyplace will have them.)
- Free, fast wi-fi was the rule in B &Bs all over.In fact, only the overpriced Heathrow Hilton charged for it!!!
- The Tourist Information spots worked great in Scotland, not so hot in England. Again, maybe this was just me. Because of this forum, we were careful to stop somewhere before 4:30. In Scotland, they offered to make reservations anywhere in the country, but we never knew where we would be the next day.
- The Museum of Scotland was terrific for ancient history, but is laid out in a strange way. Very helpful docents!
- They speak Welsh in Caernarfon,but not Conwy. I did get my Grand Slam Welsh Rugby shirt- Diolch!
- The BBC's History of the World in 100 Objects podcast was wonderful background for the British Museum as well as history in general.
Just a couple of other observations: We loved Speyside and all of North Wales. (To Indy Dad- Portmeirion was terrific for this Prisoner fan!) Loved the Clava Cairn, Avebury and Stonehenge. Drove all over looking for the Tomnaverie stone circle and never found it. We did stumble on the Culsh Souterrain and the Pictish stones at Inveravon. These were highlights for me! Next time, I will go to Kilmartin Glen.
Again, thanks to all the "regulars" here!
Just returned from UK
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Thanks for posting thanks. Sounds like a generally terrific trip and your tips are very accurate.
Easten, thanks for such practical tips. Glad you had such a great time.
Thank you for taking the time to post these hints. Many will find this very helpful!
Excellent summary, very helpful. Thanks for posting. Can you give us more details about individual sites?
Tentek: Do you mean the cities or the sites we visited?
Both. I have tremendous respect for people to take the time to distill important information for others who plan to travel to the same destinations. I haven't followed your posts, so I am a bit unclear on your precise itinerary, but if you would like to share what you would recommend visiting in Scotland, Wales, England, and what one could skip in your opinion, it would be helpful. Thanks!
eastenderusvi -- glad you had a good time, even in Portmeirion. Glad you stuck to your guns!
Glad you had a great time!!!
Just what people need to know -- and well-written to boot. Maybe I liked it so much because I agree with it so much: driving times and being the early bird in particular.
Great report!
We started in London for 4 nights. Each day picked "one big thing" (Museums, Westminster Abbey and Tower of London)and then had secondary sights near by. I was very happy to find the remnants of the Roman city wall on the day we finished at the Tower of London tucked away behind the Museum of London. That was one of the kismet moments.
We took the train to Edinburgh. I forgot to thank everyone for the Seat 61 and thetrainline websites. By booking ahead, we were able to get first class seats, which were very comfortable for a 4 hour trip. Great sightseeing along the way.
Three nights in Edinburgh. Castle, museum (I am a museum junky!), Royal Mile. Would have liked to see the Botanical Gardens and the Britannia, but it was cold and windy and I was pressing my luck getting my traveling partner to go outside!
Then we rented a car for the rest of the time. Drove as far as Inverness and realized how far everything was apart, so turned around and went through Grantown to Aberlour, Glenfiddich tour, Ballater, through Perth to Callander. Then through Loch Lomond (to make up for missing Loch Ness, which you cannot see at Inverness)and a long drive to Carlisle (side trip to Hadrian's Wall), Chester.
Then four nights in Conwy- Conwy Castle, Caernarfon Castle and Portmeirion.
Then we drove down to Salisbury to see Avebury (on the way), the Cathedral and Stonehenge.
I don't know if my opinion about what to see and what to miss counts. I was very focused on early history- stone and iron age, Roman and early medieval times, which may not be everyone's cup on tea. It was very neat seeing some of the Lewis chess set in the British Museum, then seeing the rest of them in the Museum of Scotland. I would not have known to look if it hadn't been for the History of the World podcast. Scotland was so dreary and cold that it drove us indoors or just driving, but I would love to go back to the Craigellachie, Aberlour and Dufftown area. With all that cold, we spent time studying whisky! Absolutely loved Wales- the food, the cask ales, the people, the mist and the sea, etc.
I think we saw as much as we could in the time we had, with the parameters I had. It was kind of like taking a survey course in college- getting an overview of what is out there. I think everyone's advice about taking the train for long distances was good, but I didn't want to give up that good old American desire for freedom. For a first time trip, I was pleased. As I said, the biggest thing is to know what you want, and to be able to give up some things. I could not fit Skye into my itinerary, no matter how many people told me "You must see Skye, it is incredible." Besides, I'm not sure how incredible it is in the freezing rain!
Lovely trip report, eastenderusvi! Thanks for posting.
Lee Ann
yes, thanks for posting. I'm glad the advice you got came in handy - I sometimes think that people who reject advice about how long it'll take to get from one place to another think that we are making it up!
and nothing is that good in the freezing rain.
sounds like you had fun
Great trip report, and I agree completely with your recommendations! I took a similar trip a few years ago; loved Conwy as you did and wished for more time in North Wales. And the suggestion that you can't stop to take pictures when you might want to is so true -- roads are appallingly narrow in some places and there are no shoulders on which to pull off!
Lovely report. Next time you come, I'll TAKE you to Tomnaverie
Thanks eastenderusvi! I'm headed to London for the first time in about 25 days. Just made a note of your tips.
Glad to hear you had a good trip.