Where to go in Great Britain and Ireland?
Apr 7th, 2004, 01:54 PM
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Where to go in Great Britain and Ireland?
Hello! I have been studying in Toulouse this past year and my boyfriend will be visiting me in June. We are trying to figure out where to go after the first couple of nights in London. We have 10 days, are interested in Britain, Ireland, and Scotland but are not sure whether to do all three nor where exactly to go. We love countryside, biking (within reason), and any cheap lodging!
Apr 7th, 2004, 02:20 PM
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Look at the western part of Ireland to find cheap lodging, peaceful settings, and outdoor activities.
Counties Kerry, Cork, and Clare has beautiful scenery, cycling, hiking, horseback riding, and many cheap b&b's. You can obtain a lodging guide from the Irish tourist board and it's has hundreds of lodging listings in all price ranges. It's very useful!
You might consider the towns of Dingle, Doolin, Caherciveen, or Kinsale for overnight stops. All have decent pubs and the best people in the world.
The ring of Kerry is not to be missed and take the boat to the Skelligs. You catch a boat from Valentia Island and see the amazing former homes of Monks. The weather and sea can be rough but it is an nice little sidetrip.
Must see's are Cliffs of Moher, Rock of Cashel, Bunratty Castle. Avoid Blarney Castle, as it's a letdown. I went to kiss the stone as everyone else and what a waste of time. Much to see and do in Ireland. It's a great place and the folks are really nice.
Have a nice trip. David
Counties Kerry, Cork, and Clare has beautiful scenery, cycling, hiking, horseback riding, and many cheap b&b's. You can obtain a lodging guide from the Irish tourist board and it's has hundreds of lodging listings in all price ranges. It's very useful!
You might consider the towns of Dingle, Doolin, Caherciveen, or Kinsale for overnight stops. All have decent pubs and the best people in the world.
The ring of Kerry is not to be missed and take the boat to the Skelligs. You catch a boat from Valentia Island and see the amazing former homes of Monks. The weather and sea can be rough but it is an nice little sidetrip.
Must see's are Cliffs of Moher, Rock of Cashel, Bunratty Castle. Avoid Blarney Castle, as it's a letdown. I went to kiss the stone as everyone else and what a waste of time. Much to see and do in Ireland. It's a great place and the folks are really nice.
Have a nice trip. David
Apr 7th, 2004, 02:30 PM
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I'm taking my own trip to England and Scotland in May. My friend from London has suggested "the Cumbrian mountains in the Lake District which is one of the best tourist spots in my opinion." I'm not sure where this is, exactly, but I trust her opinion, so I thought I'd pass it on.
Apr 8th, 2004, 01:21 AM
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There are a few adventure centres in Ireland that offer hostel type lodging and food along with activities. I went to Tiglin (Its a centre) in Co. Wicklow a few years ago and we went biking, climbing there was horse riding etc. It was in the countryside near Glendolough. There is another in Lenane, Galway that is more sailing focused and Delphi in Mayo offers everything to surfing and horse riding.
Apr 9th, 2004, 02:26 AM
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The black houses were the houses of the crofters in the Outer Isles, so called because they didn't have chimneys and the smoke just stayed inside. When they started to use chimneys they became known (oddly) as white houses.
I nicked the following from someone else's web site and editted it down.
"The walls are built without cement, and are usually very thick. Very often they consist of two drystane dykes, which are placed a little apart at the base, but which converge and lean against one another at the top, so as to strengthen the structure. As the walls must be wind-proof, the spaces between the dykes, are filled in with rubble and pebbles and earth, or with sand.
One or two layers of turf are usually placed on the tops of the walls, so as to make them more or less water-tight, and to keep the materials between the interstices from being washed out. This turf further produces a regular surface on which the ends of the rafters or cabers rest, and into which they are inserted. There are neither gables nor eaves in a regular ?black house,? so that the wind is given a minimum of purchase. Over the rafters are placed large sods, which in turn are covered with thatch of barley straws.
Most of the more primitive dwellings had no real windows; and, so, the light is admitted by one or more panes of glass that are let into the thatch of the roof.
The interior is divided into three apartments. The first apartment, which you enter directly by the door, is styled the bathach, or byre. The division in the centre is the living-room; and it is partitioned off from the byre, though not necessarily up to the roof. (You must bear in mind that there are no ceilings in these primitive dwellings.) In Gaelic the living-room is called aig an teine, meaning, literally ?at the fire.? The last apartment leads off the living-room, and consists of a row of box beds. It is termed the culaist; and its floor, instead of being of hardened soil, is always of timber. The floor of the byre is invariably excavated so that it may lie about a couple of feet below the level of the floors of the other two apartments. This arrangement is followed in order that the manure may accumulate there, and may not lose its nitrogenous properties, which it would certainly do, were it left outside in the continual rains.
There are no real chimneys in a ?black house?; and the smoke finds an exit either by the door, when it is left open, or by a hole in the roof, over which a box or a bottomless barrel may, or may not, be placed.
As the peat-fire is seldom permitted to go out, the turf-covered rafters and the thatch become black and saturated with smoke; and all the gases given off by the fire are absorbed by them. This is why the thatch, which is stripped off at regular intervals, is looked upon as so important an addition to the supply of manure, because ammonia is a great plant stimulant."
There are a number of photographs on the web.
You might want to look at
http://phototravels.net/scotland/sc01/scotland-22.html
and, for a modern rendition
http://www.borvemor.zetnet.co.uk/blackhouse.html
There are cycling holidays listed on visitthehebrides.com
I nicked the following from someone else's web site and editted it down.
"The walls are built without cement, and are usually very thick. Very often they consist of two drystane dykes, which are placed a little apart at the base, but which converge and lean against one another at the top, so as to strengthen the structure. As the walls must be wind-proof, the spaces between the dykes, are filled in with rubble and pebbles and earth, or with sand.
One or two layers of turf are usually placed on the tops of the walls, so as to make them more or less water-tight, and to keep the materials between the interstices from being washed out. This turf further produces a regular surface on which the ends of the rafters or cabers rest, and into which they are inserted. There are neither gables nor eaves in a regular ?black house,? so that the wind is given a minimum of purchase. Over the rafters are placed large sods, which in turn are covered with thatch of barley straws.
Most of the more primitive dwellings had no real windows; and, so, the light is admitted by one or more panes of glass that are let into the thatch of the roof.
The interior is divided into three apartments. The first apartment, which you enter directly by the door, is styled the bathach, or byre. The division in the centre is the living-room; and it is partitioned off from the byre, though not necessarily up to the roof. (You must bear in mind that there are no ceilings in these primitive dwellings.) In Gaelic the living-room is called aig an teine, meaning, literally ?at the fire.? The last apartment leads off the living-room, and consists of a row of box beds. It is termed the culaist; and its floor, instead of being of hardened soil, is always of timber. The floor of the byre is invariably excavated so that it may lie about a couple of feet below the level of the floors of the other two apartments. This arrangement is followed in order that the manure may accumulate there, and may not lose its nitrogenous properties, which it would certainly do, were it left outside in the continual rains.
There are no real chimneys in a ?black house?; and the smoke finds an exit either by the door, when it is left open, or by a hole in the roof, over which a box or a bottomless barrel may, or may not, be placed.
As the peat-fire is seldom permitted to go out, the turf-covered rafters and the thatch become black and saturated with smoke; and all the gases given off by the fire are absorbed by them. This is why the thatch, which is stripped off at regular intervals, is looked upon as so important an addition to the supply of manure, because ammonia is a great plant stimulant."
There are a number of photographs on the web.
You might want to look at
http://phototravels.net/scotland/sc01/scotland-22.html
and, for a modern rendition
http://www.borvemor.zetnet.co.uk/blackhouse.html
There are cycling holidays listed on visitthehebrides.com
Apr 12th, 2004, 07:10 PM
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Another vote for the English Lake District, my favorite part of England. Check the web for farmhouses in the area. These are great accommodations, huge breakfasts, and much more reasonable than hotels ('though not as cheap as hostels). A car would be a necessity for most farmhouses.
Apr 12th, 2004, 08:05 PM
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England out in the country (thank you for not mentioning city names, just because we've heard of them), Lake Ditrict is good, Cotswolds are amazing (Stratford and Shakespeare contry), Bath and it's surroundings west of London is great. Scotland; Edinburgh (I know it's a city, but not like any other) the western Isles of Scotland - easy reach Arran and Bute. A little further afield is Skye. The whole West Coast of Scotland is amazing. Don;t forget Loch Lomond (mid-west) and Loch Ness (north east) for scenery. If along Loch Ness head a little north to Glen Lyon. Or check into 'The road to the Isles' from the town of Fort William to Mallaig on the west coast.
Ireland, sorry, not any help there.
Ireland, sorry, not any help there.
Apr 13th, 2004, 02:21 PM
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At the risk of being beaten up by the 10 countries in 3 days clan, my choice would be, with 10 days, to pick one country (look out .... incoming). Since you have an interest in biking then you probably won't be in the car as much so it seems reasonable to try to do just one country.
If you want, you could get a brief taste of each. All of the trip suggestions here are great, but you would have a difficult time getting them all in in 10 days.
Bill
If you want, you could get a brief taste of each. All of the trip suggestions here are great, but you would have a difficult time getting them all in in 10 days.
Bill
