Judyrem

Finally made the plunge and got my ff miles tkts for 2 weeks mid Sept.in and out of Manchester. How would you plot this tentative itinerary. North Wales near Snowden and Castles, York and the shires, Lake District plus Hadrian's Wall, maybe Whitby, and Durham or Lincoln. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Judy

KS452

<How would you plot this tentative itinerary?>

I would sit down with the Ordnance Survey motoring atlas of Britain, an excellent travel guide like DK Eyewitness and a pencil & paper.

The Eyewitness book is divided into geographic areas making it convenient to find places you want to see. First, read it and jot down the places/sites you would like to see, by region. Next, study the maps and chart the route which works for you, using care to make the entire journey as circuitous as feasible ( to avoid backtracking). Use internet searches as needed for supplemental help.

m_kingdom

Where to start!

Perhaps pick up a hire car in Manchester, or stay there for a couple of nights at the fabulous Lowry hotel. Then tour Yorkshire, making sure you have at least one experience of Betty's Tearooms! Work your way down through the lake district, and perhaps stop off in Newcastle for a few nights.

All this sounds rather vague, but for this kind of holiday I'd base myself in perhaps three cities - Newcastle, Manchester, York and drive out daily from there touring the local countryside and villages. Maybe introduce a couple of nights at the Sharrow Bay Hotel in the Lake District which has an excellent restaurant. Wales - I'm not so sure I would bother with it, the luxury properties are not located in a scenic part and there are only b&b style places in between!

If you'd like to get back to me with some more ideas - such as a drive from Newcastle to Scotland (Edinburgh way rather than Inverness) for a few days perhaps? Obviously just getting in a car and driving without a reservation can be costly, but it depends on what type of holiday you are really looking for.

janis

Yes - do get a good map atlas. But in general for the places you list a circular route would be very easy. Lincoln is sort of out of the loop but still doable.

This route could be done either clockwise or anti-clockwise:

Manchester > Lincoln > York > Whitby > Durham > Northumberland/Hadrian's Wall > Cumbria/the Lakes > North Wales > Manchester.

Both Lincoln and Durham have terrific cathedrals - but for your route I'd think about dropping Lincoln and giving you an extra day to play with.

For 2 weeks I probably do 4 days in/around York. This could be a base for all of N Yorkshire including the moors and Whitby; visit Durham enroute to Northumberland; 2 days along the Wall; 2 or 3 days in the lake district; and 3 or 4 days in N Wales (you could visit Chester enroute from the Lakes) Add in the travel day to Manchester that totals 14 days. if you have 14 days actually "on the ground, you could use that day for Lincoln or add it to Yorkshire.

Judyrem

KS, I wll get an ordinance map for the roads. I have a Lonely Planet England book, but it does not have a very detailed road map. M Kingdom: We will have a car, and thanks for the info about the Sharrow Bay hotel in the Lakes. Yes, I will do York and go to Betty's tea room. York is a MUST see for me. Janis: I kind of pictured a circular route too. I was thinking Chester for one night after landing, Wales for 4 nights at Conwy or Betys. 2 nights Lake district, 2 nights near Hadrians wall, 4 nights York, 1 night Manchester then fly out. This is all pretty flexible still. How is that sounding to all of you?

m_kingdom

Wales you could get away with fewer nights if. Manchester would be good with maybe two even three nights - it's really changed over the past decade to a much more high tech, and visually appealing city. Near Hadrian's wall, whereabouts did you have in mind? Four nights based in York sounds very reasonable. More time could be devoted to the lakes which are wonderful, if you are fortunate with sunny weather!

janis

judyrem: Your thoughts are really the same as my suggestion - except you routed it clockwise. That is a very reasonable route. I would not cut anything from Wales - it is simply fabulous. (My Fav place on earth is Scotland but North Wales is close by way of its scenery).

Most days your driving distances are quites short - so you will have lots of time in all the areas you visit.

One suggestion - You might look at staying somewhere out in the countryside instead of in York itself. North or NE of the city would be good. York is terrific and you will want to spend a whole day there - but there is so much to see elsewhere (Dales, Moors, Castle Howard, steam railways, Fountains/Riveaulx/Bylands Abbeys, Whitby, Robin hood's Bay, etc that being out of the city might be more convenient. And if you stay somewhere like near Thirsk, you could catch a quick train into the center of York.

As for staying the last night in M'ter -- I'd only do that if you are on an early morning flight. If your flight is 11AM or after I'd stay somewhere out in the Peak District Nat'l Park area. That would be a quick drive to the airport and AMAZING scenery.

andy

Judyrem= for Chester, stay at the Chester Grosvner Hotel ...it is small, elegant and in the MIDDLE of the city..Fabulous hotel, great high tea and the rooms are to die for!! Fairly expensive but we LOVED it and did NOT want to leave...

In the Lake District, we stayed in Grasmere at Michael's Nook-- it has a Michelin Starred restaurant that is to die for...and the owners raise Great Danes..we had a HUGE room overlooking the front gardens with a huge bath.and 4 poster bed..and sitting area..You could have full breakfast delivered to you room..FABULOUS! Could have moved right in!

Judyrem

Finalized my plans have most of rooms picked out. Chester 1 night at Blossoms Hotel, Betws-Y-Coed/ Heally's Courthouse for 4 nights. Then onto Windemere, where I am not sure, any suggestions? I was the thinking of the Fig tree B&B? Then onto Hexhan at the WHERE? Then onto York for 4 nights staying at LeMerdien(got a fabulous rate on Orbitz 77lbs a nite per room, Then onto somewhere near Manchester, the Peak District, Janis, for one night, then fly out. How does this sound? judy

Patrick

And if you stay at the Chester Grosvenor Hotel, splurge for dinner at Arkle. It stands out as one of the finest dinners we've had anywhere, if not strictly for the food, for the atmosphere and service particularly.

janis

That is a very reasonable itinerary. Manchester airport is south of the city so staying in the Peak District will not be a bad drive w/o having to go through city center traffic.

I can't recommend a B&B since I have only self-catered in that area. But you should not have any problem finding a good place in/near Bakewell or possibly Buxton. It is an absolutely gorgeous area. Bakewell is only 3 or 4 miles from Chatsworth.

xxxx

We flew into Manchester and drove a short distance to just outside of Chester. We stayed at a placed called the Chesire Cat in Christleton. This gave us an opportunity to "get our feet wet" with left-side driving without having to drive far being tired and jet-lagged. It was easy to get out of the airport and nice to not have to traverse the narrow streets of Chester right away. We then took a short, cheap taxi ride into the center of Chester. The next morning, after a night's sleep and a little experience driving, we headed into North Wales.

Judyrem

FYI, in Windemere it will be Applegarth Hotel, and in Hexham, it will be the Hexham Royal Hotel. They both look decent and are centrally located. I wanted to to do the Langley Castle Hotel, but it was WAY too pricey IMO. TYrying to keep rates at about 75#s per room per night. Andy, looked up the Grovesnor Hotel and it was way over budget for us. But it looked lovely BTW. Patrick, I read about Arkles in quite a few places, maybe we can budget that in somehow. Judy

UKUKUK

i would ignore mr kingdom and his advice to spend less time in wales - the area u are going to is beautiful.

he only seems to dislike it as there are no fancy hotels.