I'd love to know what flanneruk thinks of Blenheim. We were terribly disappointed by our visit. The grounds are lovely but we felt the Palace was over priced and expensive for what was on offer.

In my trip report http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...b-may-2007.cfm
I commented that the dictionary must have a picture of Blenheim next to the word "ostentatious." The grounds are beautiful, but the house goes on and on and on and on...

Lee Ann

Another vote for York and Yorkshire, indeed it is a most friendly place (the locals that is). Cornwall is a beautiful county especially if the sun shines (but some luck needed here).

Don't leave me! Yesterday was a lost day with must-dos. I am now setting about following up on all your great sites and suggestions. I will be back later today.....

Still on "hold". Need time to research your suggestions and don't have it now. When I come back, will this thread still be here or do I need to start a new one? I haven't done this for a very long time. How do I best get back here? It wasn't easy this evening.

I believe if you sign in you can click on your user name and it will bring up posts you have made and/ or commented on. Sometimes I " bump" my thread by commenting in order to bring it back to the top for notice/ help. I hope that is not a Fodor's faux pas. That way you don't have to start a new thread.

Thanks for the tip.

The train system will get you anywhere you seem to want to go and buses go weverywhere trains do not. For lots of great info on British trains check www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

And you may want to check out the BritEngland Pass which lets you hop on any train anytime - such fully flexible fares can cost a ton but it's nice to just roll out of bed, hop to the station and jump on the next of many many trains running on most routes.

For lots more comfy go first class - really a world of difference - especially maybe for older folks who want much bigger seats and often many empty seats vs an oft chock full standard (2nd) class IME - lots easier for luggage - I always put my luggage on an adjoining empty seat and with the BritEngland Pass seniors 60 and over get a special discounted rate.

It's a dream of mine to spend a month (or more) in England/Scotland: I'll be watching to see what you come up with!

"Cornwall is a poverty striken area in a wealthy island"

while it may not be as prosperous as parts of the south east I wouldn't describe Cornwall as poverty stricken (the water's safe to drink and the locals have indoor sanitation)>>

lol, just lol. It was just as well that I wasn't drinking anything when I read this else I might have had to spit it out! It's right of course that there are a lot of poor people in Cornwall [as there are in most of the UK] but as you say, we do have basic facilities like running water and indoor sanitation [and our local town was the site of the first gas lighting, introduced by one William Murdoch].

Anyway what we lack in riches we make up for in the beauty of the countryside, and you could easily have a terrific week here without a car, though it might be difficult to get to one or two places without a car - the Minack, for example, is in a pretty isolated spot, about an hour from Truro, right down towards Land's End. You could get a train either all the way to Penzance [the end of the line] and use that as a base for touring by bus, or to Falmouth, where you could tour round on a combination of buses and boats - there are plenty going every day from here. You could even do a combination of both, though you'd have to go back to Truro to get between the two on the train.

The most scenic part of the railway line is the bit between Exeter and Plymouth - the parts where it runs right next to the sea and over the Tamar bridge are the most spectacular.

once here there is plenty to do - lovely gardens, coastal walks, the Eden project, the mining heritage - quite enough to fill a week or more. The Rabbies tour that others have mentioned might be a good option too; you can choose your accommodation I believe which makes it very flexible.

, now you know not to be drinking when you read my comments.

Interestingly it would be defined by the EU as an area of poverty (and so up for grants) if it were not for the high car ownership. The high car ownership is required because the public transport is so bad. The public transport is so bad because of the landscape and the lack of employment opportunities, which leads to poverty.

"Do you see what I'm painting yet" as a notorious man used to say.

bilbo - I'm only too well aware that parts of Cornwall are areas of dire poverty, in fact I live not too far away from one of those areas. Mainly the problem is the ending of the mining industry [which happened the year we arrived in Cornwall], and the knock-on effect that that has had on heavy engineering, though the downturn in fishing and farming doesn't help.

Strangely, the public transport is actually loads better than where we used to live in Kent, and I could, in theory, get to nearly everywhere I want to go by bus or train, but not necessarily when I want to go there or to come back, so you're right, a car is more or less essential, for those of us who work, anyway.

But for tourists, public transport, perhaps supplemented by a few taxis, is a very good option.

agreed