Help request for my UK trip planning
May 18th, 2011, 03:17 PM
#21
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After all the other responses, have you decided NOT to use the Big Bus? If not, figure it out -- the fares are preposterous and those buses will NOT go anywhere that a regular double-decker won't. If time is a factor, hop on the Tube instead. Seriously, the idea of using a HOHO bus for nearly $100 when the 9, 11, 15 and 136 (I think) go wherever you'd want to see is simply stupid.
And why would you wake up to catch a bus that could take 45(?) minutes to get from Victoria to Oxford Circus (seems long) when you could jump on the Victoria line from Pimlico and be there in less than 10 minutes on the Tube? If your time is so valuable that you're setting up itineraries by the minute, why would you waste so much on an overpriced bus ride?
Three other things: (1) do NOT forget to use 2for1 at Hampton Court instead of booking tickets online. The 2for1 is far less expensive.
(2) Check with Vauxhall personnel to see if they sell vouchers for Windsor Castle at the station. If not, same question for Waterloo -- we took the train directly from Waterloo and bought our train tickets and Windsor Castle tickets from a manned ticket booth -- they give a slight discount (was 12 quid each instead of 15.50) and we jumped the LONG line at the Castle. And with you set to go on a Saturday, it will be a long line.
(3) You need to check closing times. There is NO way you can see the Castle, Palace and Royal Mile in Edinburgh between 3 pm and 6 pm when the Palace closes if you expect to go into the Castle and Palace and "explore". The last admission at the Palace is at 5 pm. Similarly, there's no chance you'll be able to do your 27 June itinerary with Stirling Castle as your last stop -- it closes at 6 pm. That whole day sounds like a LOT of driving for a pair of children -- rethink it.
And why would you wake up to catch a bus that could take 45(?) minutes to get from Victoria to Oxford Circus (seems long) when you could jump on the Victoria line from Pimlico and be there in less than 10 minutes on the Tube? If your time is so valuable that you're setting up itineraries by the minute, why would you waste so much on an overpriced bus ride?
Three other things: (1) do NOT forget to use 2for1 at Hampton Court instead of booking tickets online. The 2for1 is far less expensive.
(2) Check with Vauxhall personnel to see if they sell vouchers for Windsor Castle at the station. If not, same question for Waterloo -- we took the train directly from Waterloo and bought our train tickets and Windsor Castle tickets from a manned ticket booth -- they give a slight discount (was 12 quid each instead of 15.50) and we jumped the LONG line at the Castle. And with you set to go on a Saturday, it will be a long line.
(3) You need to check closing times. There is NO way you can see the Castle, Palace and Royal Mile in Edinburgh between 3 pm and 6 pm when the Palace closes if you expect to go into the Castle and Palace and "explore". The last admission at the Palace is at 5 pm. Similarly, there's no chance you'll be able to do your 27 June itinerary with Stirling Castle as your last stop -- it closes at 6 pm. That whole day sounds like a LOT of driving for a pair of children -- rethink it.
May 18th, 2011, 04:21 PM
#24
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As others have said you have to factor in more time for waiting on line especially at key venues.
We went to London for the first time last year with a 10 year old and we had a pretty aggressive schedule too. We must have waited about 45 min to an hour just to get into Windsor once we arrived from the train station. I imagine you want to also wait on the other line for the dollhouse too especially with two girls. I don't think you will be able to get to Legoland by 1:30. When will you eat lunch?
We did do Hampton Court and Kew on the same day and we were warned not to do that but we did it anyway because I wanted to squeeze it in during our visit. Take it from experience it is difficult to accomplish on the same day and really get to see both thoroughly.
We arrived at Hampton Court prior to opening. We went on a day they were doing the live kitchen demonstrations (which I highly recommend by the way) and my son loved it. He got to light the tinder box and turn the meat on the spigot. We were in the kitchens for a long time.
Then of course there are the rooms to visit each with its own spectacular paintings etc. Not to mention the absolutely fabulous gardens that we wandered around. Plus we saw the folks all dressed up in costume on their way to mini performances. We didn't even catch any but we saw them parading around the grounds.
Be sure to also visit the maze while at Hampton Court. All that and I think we left at around 3:30 or 4:00 because there is so much to cover at Hampton Court. They have a really good cafeteria for lunch by the way.
We then took the bus right outside the Palace over to Kew Retail Park and walked over to Kew Gardens which was closing at 7:30 that evening. However, the green houses close at 5:30 and we had just arrived at 5PM. We got to see one greenhouse before it closed and wandered around the property until closing and then took the train back to Central London. We were very tired and a little disappointed we did not get to fully appreciate Kew but at least we got to see a glimpse of it. Now if you wanted to take the boat that would take even longer.
Another point as others have said, you don't need the hop on hop off bus. Go to the TFL website and type in the journey planner how to get from point A to point B. Choose your method via bus, tube etc. and it gives you directions and even a map showing you how to walk from the station. It is simple to use. I did this because we had a senior with us and we took the bus everywhere so she wouldn't have to deal with escalators and stairs in case the escalators weren't working. I think I had a map and plan for a dozen bus routes.
We went to London for the first time last year with a 10 year old and we had a pretty aggressive schedule too. We must have waited about 45 min to an hour just to get into Windsor once we arrived from the train station. I imagine you want to also wait on the other line for the dollhouse too especially with two girls. I don't think you will be able to get to Legoland by 1:30. When will you eat lunch?
We did do Hampton Court and Kew on the same day and we were warned not to do that but we did it anyway because I wanted to squeeze it in during our visit. Take it from experience it is difficult to accomplish on the same day and really get to see both thoroughly.
We arrived at Hampton Court prior to opening. We went on a day they were doing the live kitchen demonstrations (which I highly recommend by the way) and my son loved it. He got to light the tinder box and turn the meat on the spigot. We were in the kitchens for a long time.
Then of course there are the rooms to visit each with its own spectacular paintings etc. Not to mention the absolutely fabulous gardens that we wandered around. Plus we saw the folks all dressed up in costume on their way to mini performances. We didn't even catch any but we saw them parading around the grounds.
Be sure to also visit the maze while at Hampton Court. All that and I think we left at around 3:30 or 4:00 because there is so much to cover at Hampton Court. They have a really good cafeteria for lunch by the way.
We then took the bus right outside the Palace over to Kew Retail Park and walked over to Kew Gardens which was closing at 7:30 that evening. However, the green houses close at 5:30 and we had just arrived at 5PM. We got to see one greenhouse before it closed and wandered around the property until closing and then took the train back to Central London. We were very tired and a little disappointed we did not get to fully appreciate Kew but at least we got to see a glimpse of it. Now if you wanted to take the boat that would take even longer.
Another point as others have said, you don't need the hop on hop off bus. Go to the TFL website and type in the journey planner how to get from point A to point B. Choose your method via bus, tube etc. and it gives you directions and even a map showing you how to walk from the station. It is simple to use. I did this because we had a senior with us and we took the bus everywhere so she wouldn't have to deal with escalators and stairs in case the escalators weren't working. I think I had a map and plan for a dozen bus routes.
May 18th, 2011, 04:26 PM
#25
Oh -- I didn't even look at the Edinburgh day until BigRuss mentioned it. Nope - nada - not possible.
The last admission at the Palace of Holyroodhouse is 5PM -- and you will be <u>lucky</u> to be done at the Castle by then.
Your plan for the driving tour on Monday is doable <u>without</u> heading up into the Highlands. Driving through the Trossachs, visiting Stirling, and back to Edinburgh is a doable day trip -- the Highlands are farther north.
Consider a boat trip out to Inchmahome Priory -- take a picnic lunch and enjoy a break in a beautiful setting and let the kids run/unwind a bit
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ory/index.html
The last admission at the Palace of Holyroodhouse is 5PM -- and you will be <u>lucky</u> to be done at the Castle by then.
Your plan for the driving tour on Monday is doable <u>without</u> heading up into the Highlands. Driving through the Trossachs, visiting Stirling, and back to Edinburgh is a doable day trip -- the Highlands are farther north.
Consider a boat trip out to Inchmahome Priory -- take a picnic lunch and enjoy a break in a beautiful setting and let the kids run/unwind a bit
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.u...ory/index.html
May 18th, 2011, 10:47 PM
#26
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Thanks a lot guyz for your critical review of my itinerary and pointing out the flaws. I'm now reworking it out trimming the earlier ambitious plan.
@janisj, could you please tell me if my drive from Edinburgh as per the plan below is feasible or not.
Start from Edinburgh Airport- Doune (skipping Stirling) - Callander - Lake of Menteith and boat-trip to Inchmahome Priory as suggested by you - Back to Edinburgh
Google map is showing 176km and 2 1/2 drive time. So if I start at 8-ish am and return by 9 pm (is it true the sun sets at 10 in June?, I think we'll get enought tiem to do the picnic at two or three spots.
@BigRuss, BigBus HoHo ride is cancelled and will opt for tube instead. Will spent the money in soemthing else, matbe the Duck Tour?
Cheers
@janisj, could you please tell me if my drive from Edinburgh as per the plan below is feasible or not.
Start from Edinburgh Airport- Doune (skipping Stirling) - Callander - Lake of Menteith and boat-trip to Inchmahome Priory as suggested by you - Back to Edinburgh
Google map is showing 176km and 2 1/2 drive time. So if I start at 8-ish am and return by 9 pm (is it true the sun sets at 10 in June?, I think we'll get enought tiem to do the picnic at two or three spots.
@BigRuss, BigBus HoHo ride is cancelled and will opt for tube instead. Will spent the money in soemthing else, matbe the Duck Tour?
Cheers
May 19th, 2011, 02:19 AM
#27
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I would think that jetlag might get in the way of all those 8am starts....for your children, but probably for the grownups too...
In fact all your days sound terribly long, especially for children...
In fact all your days sound terribly long, especially for children...
May 19th, 2011, 05:45 AM
#28
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@julia_t & sassy_cat, I managed to reschedule my trip to Windsor + legoland to Friday. Though the tickets were purchased, Legoland management was willing to change the date. That saves me a lot of trouble.
May 19th, 2011, 07:56 AM
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navas_am, that's good as it will help reduce the lines/ wait times at Windsor Castle and Legoland. It's still a very full day though!
You might want to check the train timetable again and return to London earlier... or relax on the following morning!
Overall your whole itinerary is very busy and as you're traveling with young children I still think you need to skip some things and be flexible.
You might want to check the train timetable again and return to London earlier... or relax on the following morning!
Overall your whole itinerary is very busy and as you're traveling with young children I still think you need to skip some things and be flexible.
May 19th, 2011, 08:34 AM
#30
"<i>Start from Edinburgh Airport- Doune (skipping Stirling) - Callander - Lake of Menteith and boat-trip to Inchmahome Priory as suggested by you - Back to Edinburgh
Google map is showing 176km and 2 1/2 drive time. So if I start at 8-ish am and return by 9 pm (is it true the sun sets at 10 in June?, I think we'll get enought tiem to do the picnic at two or three spots.</i>"
That is totally doable. You might even have time to visit Stirling Castle on your way back to EDI. And you'll be back in the city before 9:00 unless you just want to stay out late.
The drive alone will be about 3.5 hours give or take including a couple of diversions. After Doune, on to Callander. There you can pick up picnic food/drinks. Just up the road outside of Callander, you can walk to the Falls of Leny. There are lots of waterfalls in the area but this one is the easiest/shortest walk.
Then you could go to the Scottish Wool Centre in Aberfoyle http://www.scottishwoolcentre.co.uk/
A semi-tourist trap -- but they often have sheepdog exhibitions that the kids would enjoy. Seeing the dogs herding sheep and even duck is lots of fun. Plus there are crafts demonstrations.
Then on to the Lake of Menteith for the boat ride/picnic.
Whether you do Inchmahome or Aberfoyle first really doesn't matter -- mainly depends on the time. If you want to relax and have lunch - head to Inchmahome from Callander. If you are still going strong - hit Aberfoyle first.
Then - if there is time you can go to Stirling castle (and there is a cafe at the Castle if you need snacks)
Google map is showing 176km and 2 1/2 drive time. So if I start at 8-ish am and return by 9 pm (is it true the sun sets at 10 in June?, I think we'll get enought tiem to do the picnic at two or three spots.</i>"
That is totally doable. You might even have time to visit Stirling Castle on your way back to EDI. And you'll be back in the city before 9:00 unless you just want to stay out late.
The drive alone will be about 3.5 hours give or take including a couple of diversions. After Doune, on to Callander. There you can pick up picnic food/drinks. Just up the road outside of Callander, you can walk to the Falls of Leny. There are lots of waterfalls in the area but this one is the easiest/shortest walk.
Then you could go to the Scottish Wool Centre in Aberfoyle http://www.scottishwoolcentre.co.uk/
A semi-tourist trap -- but they often have sheepdog exhibitions that the kids would enjoy. Seeing the dogs herding sheep and even duck is lots of fun. Plus there are crafts demonstrations.
Then on to the Lake of Menteith for the boat ride/picnic.
Whether you do Inchmahome or Aberfoyle first really doesn't matter -- mainly depends on the time. If you want to relax and have lunch - head to Inchmahome from Callander. If you are still going strong - hit Aberfoyle first.
Then - if there is time you can go to Stirling castle (and there is a cafe at the Castle if you need snacks)
