Hello All,

My friend and I have a very rigid travel window during which we were planning to visit England. However, unfortunately, Prince William and Kate's wedding will fall within this timeframe. Our impulse reaction was to cancel altogether, but now we are wondering if we can still salvage this trip.

We have 10 days to work with, April 22ish through May2ish. We also have a friend in Glasgow who we want to see either before or after we 'do' England. We are Jane Austen freaks, so we actually don't mind 'skipping' London this trip. We'd like to spend most of our time in Bath, and perhaps venture out to Lyme Regis or other Austen-esque locales.

So, my question(s) to you all is how much you think that our trip is still viable? Will Bath be greatly impacted by the Wedding, or will we still be able to find accomodation, transportation, etc? How about prices? We're university students, so budget is limited! Maybe do England and then be in Glasgow when the Wedding happens? Having never tried to travel during an event of this magnitude without actually wanting to be part of the event, I am not sure if we are over-thinking this or if we are overly-ambitious!

Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

"<i>Our impulse reaction was to cancel altogether,</i>"

Why would you even consider that. The only real impact will be there is an extra Holiday weekend. Kids will be out of school so popular resorts will be more crowded than usual.

"<i>Will Bath be greatly impacted by the Wedding</i>" Can't see how/why. The wedding is in London. And even in London except for around specific venues/neighborhoods there won't be huge impact. The British Museum for instance might even be <i>less</i> crowded than usual since so many visitors will be congregating around the Palace, Abbey, Trafalgar Sq.

"<i>how much you think that our trip is still viable?</i> Totally viable w/ or w/o the detour to Scotland.

I would book my rooms in London and Bath ASAP - London because of the wedding, and Bath because it is a holiday. But definitely go . . .

Definately still go! Checkout http://www.yha.org.uk/ for cheaper accommodation in both London & Bath. I haven't used them but friends have in both places and were very happy.

You might want to see original handwritten Jane Austen manuscripts (as well as Charlotte Bronte, etc.) at the British Library, which is not too far from the British Museum.

Definitely go!! It will probably be more crowded in and around London, but it's okay to skip London entirely. You could even consider flying into Glasgow instead of London and thus avoid the city entirely. Or, there are a number of trains daily that leave from London and go to Glasgow (and vice versa, of course). I went this past summer with my mother and the train ride from London to Scotland was quite lovely even with jet lag (about 4 1/2 to 5 hours with beautiful scenery). Trains are, in fact, a wonderful way to see England/Scotland--especially with a Britrail pass that allows you unlimited train travel in a certain timeframe. The pass saves you a TON of money if you plan to take more than one train journey. For more information, try the Rail Europe website. There are student/youth prices/discounts for passes and they can be bought in advance online in American Dollars (so no exchange rate/fees). Also, you can use the nationalrail.co.uk site to plan train trips and print off a timetable for any route. This site will also tell you the cost of tickets for any trip you plan and this will help you decide whether you want to get a rail pass or not.

I, too, am an extraordinary Austen freak. Definitely go to Bath--it was lovely and a wonderful place to stay! I loved the Georgian architecture and the abbey is simply phenomenal. Numerous trains leave daily from London Paddington Station for Bath and take about 1 1/2 hours. From Bath, you could rent a car or probably even take trains/buses to a number of sites and towns including Lyme Regis though it will take careful planning on your part. My advice is to spend as much time as possible, in advance, on the internet researching the places you want to go and how to get there. Try googling to find Jane Austen itineraries (lots of places have a connection with her or her books). You can also ask in the Bath Tourism office (near the abbey) about Jane Austen's connections to Bath. Or there's Winchester where Austen is buried. There are a number of towns too where many of the BBC movies have been filmed and those are great fun and usually very pretty (but require a car to visit). With a car, you could even visit the peak district like Elizabeth does or some of the great manor houses on your way up to Scotland. Renting a car, however, can be very expensive so I recommend the trains on a rail pass wherever possible.

Also, from Bath, there are a number of other incredible places to visit as day trips or even on guided tours that leave from Bath. I recommend Avebury and Salisbury cathedral and, of course, there's Stonehenge which is definitely worth at least one visit if you're at all interested. You also might like Oxford or Cambridge which are fun and full of history (but not day trips from Bath) or York which has a beautiful cathedral.

In London, consider B&B's in Bloomsbury near the British Library/King's Cross/Russell Square. We stayed at the Crescent Hotel which is on a quiet, tree-lined street full of other small hotels and B&B's. These are pretty reasonably priced for London, close to several tube and train stations, and not in the heart of the tourist-y areas nor right next to the wedding venues and so may be better/less crowded during the days surrounding the wedding.

Find and book your places to stay ASAP. Since you're on a budget, consider youth hostels. There are a number of lovely, safe, and clean ones in most major cities (including Bath, I believe). Read reviews and make reservations for these before you go. Look at hostels.com for suggestions and ratings. You might also consider a twin room (room with two twin beds) at a bed and breakfast which can be quite reasonably priced, especially at non-peak times like April. The weekend of the Royal Wedding with its added holiday will be the most expensive and most booked time, of course, but other days should be much better. The best way to find places to stay, I think, is to read reviews on tripadvisor and to use suggestions from a guidebook. Rick Steves is especially good at finding places to stay that aren't that expensive and are usually clean and nice. Look at the B&B's websites and email the owners directly for the best fares. For Bath, consider B&B's in and around Pulteney Gardens (we stayed at Apple Tree Guest House). These are less expensive than the ones near the abbey/main attractions and are an easy 10-15 minute leisurely walk (even with luggage) from the train station and from the main attractions. They are also generally quiet and lovely.

Also, consider purchasing an international student ID (about $25 from a website, just google it) and also remember to bring your student ID from your university. A lot of museums and other sites offer reduced admission to students and those under 26. You can check the websites before you go for places you might want to visit so you can budget your money. Also, read reviews in guidebooks/trip advisor/etc--some places aren't worth your money or time.

Also, if you get the chance, you should try to see more of Scotland while you're in Glasgow. Scotland is absolutely lovely--well worth spending some time there if you want to avoid the crowds in London for the royal wedding. Again, book accommodation NOW because places will fill up with Londoners wanting to get way from the craziness surrounding the wedding.

Also, remember that, in general, it is better to pay in cash everywhere in Britain and Europe. A lot of small hotels/B&B's will charge a service charge if you pay with a card.

In conclusion, go on your trip! Enjoy and embrace the craziness of the royal wedding. I traveled all over Germany during the 2006 world cup (an event even bigger than this wedding). Yes it's slightly more difficult than at another time--but with some careful planning, I think it will still be unforgettable. Don't miss your chance to take an incredible trip!

There are two questions here:

1. Why on earth can anyone believe that four hours of processioning and nuptials in London will have any impact at all in Bath? Were tourists in Los Angeles remotely affected by Obama being inaugurated in Washington?

2. What impact will the day of wedding have on London?
<b> It'll be emptier </b>
At most a million people might, just, gather round the processional route. In London, that's a tiny number. Far, far, fewer than the number who won't be coming into London to work, since it's a holiday. The relatively few Londoners who want to watch this (even at the depths of the lunacy surrounding the death of Dians, less than half London's adult population watched her funeral on TV) will do so at home. Since the wedding virtually coincides with the Easter and Mayday holidays, an enormous slug of Londoners will go off to Florida and the Med anyway.

Even around the processional routes: you might be surprised at the few hundred sleeping overnight beforehand to get a decent view. But you'll be even more surprised to see how fast the "crowds" disappear, and how oue transport system just swallows them up.

It's intriguing to you that your holiday coincides with a pretty routine event. But Royal extravaganzas are ten a penny (or to be precise: at least a dozen a lifetime) If you're in London during it, you'll be struck by three things:
- the absurd saturation coverage it'll get in the media, and
- its complete lack of impact anywhere in London more than 200 yards from the processional routes.
- if you've been to London before, how empty the tubes are and how easy it'll be to get a table in a decent restaurant compared to a normal week.

The tabloids always try to whip these things up, but I think that most people are looking forward to it mainly for the four day weekend. As Flanner says, many will be flying off for a short break.

Agree with Flanner, London is always crowded, this event won't have much impact aside the areas around the procession itself on the day. The biggest thing is to make sure you book your accommodation in advance, wherever you visit, as Bank Holidays are always peak time for hotels.

Wow! What a wealth of info. Sounds like you're good to go!

I have planned a trip to Cornwall for those same dates, and since Easter Monday and May 2 already created two holiday weekends at each end even before the wedding was scheduled, I looked for accommodations early. All I have to add is that occasionally airfares have dropped a bit since I booked my flights from Dulles to Heathrow on Virgin Air at about $950, so flights apparently aren't full. BMI just had a good sale. And I've been told wherever you are on April 29 - in my case a good six hours' drive from London - it will be very fun seeing how remote villages celebrate the wedding. I plan to be as close to a pub as I can get to watch on TV and hear the local commentary.

>>>And I've been told wherever you are on April 29 - in my case a good six hours' drive from London - it will be very fun seeing how remote villages celebrate the wedding.<<<

Don't get your hopes up. If you're expecting street parties brimming with celebrating villagers and bunting, you're probably in for an anti-climax. Apart from the saturation coverage on the telly, I really doubt you'll actually notice anything different from any other bank holiday weekend if you're outside London.

Thank you for all of your spectacular replies! You have helped immensely. I have never been to England before, and so the thought of going somewhere new in the midst of the Royal festivities was daunting. I'm in Canada, and the media's anticipation of this event likely rivals that of England at times! However, these replies have definitely helped me put this back in a proper perspective! This trip is ON!

I was in England in 1981 during the Charles/Diana wedding. It had no effect on my trip. I was staying near Gatwick for the day before thru the day after before flying home. I had thought of taking the train into London to see the fireworks the night before. I'm glad I didn't - When I turned the TV on at 2:00 Am, they were still showing people leaving the show.

After watching the procession, I went out to get something to eat at the KFC. A train passed and I saw not one passenger in the train. At the KFC, everyone was in the back room watching the ceremony on TV and couldn't believe that anyone would be out buying Kentucky Fried Chicken then.

The day before the wedding, I went to the movies and saw Airplane! There is a big difference in American and British humor. I was laughing my head off while none of the British were. Several looked around at me with a 'What was funny' expression on their faces.

"The day before the wedding, I went to the movies and saw Airplane! There is a big difference in American and British humor. I was laughing my head off while none of the British were. Several looked around at me with a 'What was funny' expression on their faces."

Utter tosh.

we were house hunting on the day of Diana's funeral. the roads in Cornwall were completely empty.

i would not be surprised if the nuptials of her son had the same effect. it will be a great day to be out and about!

Our 25th anniversary trip to the UK included a few Austen sites. If you like, you can read my trip report and see pictures by clicking my screen name; scroll down and you'll see the link.

We stayed at the YHA hostel in Bath. It's an old Italianate mansion, and is quite nice. The bunk bed wasn't that comfortable, but they may have improved since 2007. I can't recommend the private hostel we used in London, but there are several YHA properties there.

If you go to Winchester, take some time to visit Chawton, where you can tour Jane Austen's house and see where she wrote and revised several of her novels. It was a highlight of our time in England.

Lee Ann

where is CW when you need him?

his expertise on Jane Austen was unsurpassed.

Oh Annhig. You scamp!

I was in London during the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002. We didn't have any problems getting around or visiting various sites.

As a guide to what the Queen thinks people will be doing, she has told her staff at her Scottish estates (Holyrood and Sandringham) that they have to work the day of the weeding - much to their dismay - as she expects an uptick in visitors that day due to the holiday.

That should be wedding, not weeding!

No need to cancel anything. The whole country isn;t going to shut down. Just avoid London around the date of the wedding. the rest of the country should be fine the whole time.