Ideas for two unstructured days in Scottish Highlands and York-to-Windsor?
Mar 13th, 2012, 06:42 PM
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Did I hear my name being called?
Here are my two cents on what we did, why we did it, and what we thought about it:
After our time in London, we took the overnight train to Inverness, and we picked Inverness simply because it was as far as we could go on the train, and we didn't have to disembark at a ridiculously early hour when nothing was open.
Day 1 -- Inverness to Edinburgh
We ate breakfast in Edinburgh, picked up our rental car and drove to Culloden. Spent some time in the visitor center at Culloden and walking through the battle field. It was a beautiful morning, and felt good to be out of a moving vehicle and walking around! I don't know that the kids understood all the history of the site, but we found the area where my mother-in-law's ancestors were (unfortunately, on the English side....), and I appreciated the gravity of what happened there.
From Culloden, we intended to drive to Elgin to see the ruins of the cathedral, but along the way we passed a sign that pointed to Duffus Castle. With two children ages 9 and 10, how could we NOT stop at a Duffus sign and take pictures of each of us pointing to the other "Duffuses" in the picture (And yes, we now know it's pronounced duff-us, not Du-fuss.) and then go to the castle ruins. We had a great time here -- the ruins of the castle are on top of a hill in the middle of a field, and there was no one else there but us (and a few geese)! We had a fabulous time exploring the ruins!
And as an added bonus, the runways for RAF Lossiemouth air base end right near the castle. The Lossiemouth website says it is the largest and busiest fast-jet base in the RAF. My airplane-loving son was in heaven watching jets take off and land!
At this point, we were hungry and my husband decided that since we were this far north anyway, he wanted to see the North Sea. We drove to Lossiemouth, bought sandwiches from some bakery near the coast, and had a picnic lunch on the beach, which is beautiful, sandy, and lined with huge dunes. The water looked inviting, but was only (barely) warm enough to dip a toe in for a split second!
From Lossiemouth, we drove to the Glenfiddich Distillery and took the tour. As I recall, we got to the distillery for one of the last tours of the day.
From Glenfiddich, we had a long drive to Edinburgh, and we basically drove straight there, with one stop at a roadside pub for dinner. My husband tells me the scenery was beautiful, but in all honesty, the kids and I were worn out by this time, and slept through most of it.
We arrived in Edinburgh late in the evening. (But we had made reservations at a B&B before we left Texas, and had telephoned to let them know we would be late.)
While I don't know the exact roads we took, here's a google map with all the Day 1 stops: http://g.co/maps/ynep4
Here are my two cents on what we did, why we did it, and what we thought about it:
After our time in London, we took the overnight train to Inverness, and we picked Inverness simply because it was as far as we could go on the train, and we didn't have to disembark at a ridiculously early hour when nothing was open.
Day 1 -- Inverness to Edinburgh
We ate breakfast in Edinburgh, picked up our rental car and drove to Culloden. Spent some time in the visitor center at Culloden and walking through the battle field. It was a beautiful morning, and felt good to be out of a moving vehicle and walking around! I don't know that the kids understood all the history of the site, but we found the area where my mother-in-law's ancestors were (unfortunately, on the English side....), and I appreciated the gravity of what happened there.
From Culloden, we intended to drive to Elgin to see the ruins of the cathedral, but along the way we passed a sign that pointed to Duffus Castle. With two children ages 9 and 10, how could we NOT stop at a Duffus sign and take pictures of each of us pointing to the other "Duffuses" in the picture (And yes, we now know it's pronounced duff-us, not Du-fuss.) and then go to the castle ruins. We had a great time here -- the ruins of the castle are on top of a hill in the middle of a field, and there was no one else there but us (and a few geese)! We had a fabulous time exploring the ruins!
And as an added bonus, the runways for RAF Lossiemouth air base end right near the castle. The Lossiemouth website says it is the largest and busiest fast-jet base in the RAF. My airplane-loving son was in heaven watching jets take off and land!
At this point, we were hungry and my husband decided that since we were this far north anyway, he wanted to see the North Sea. We drove to Lossiemouth, bought sandwiches from some bakery near the coast, and had a picnic lunch on the beach, which is beautiful, sandy, and lined with huge dunes. The water looked inviting, but was only (barely) warm enough to dip a toe in for a split second!
From Lossiemouth, we drove to the Glenfiddich Distillery and took the tour. As I recall, we got to the distillery for one of the last tours of the day.
From Glenfiddich, we had a long drive to Edinburgh, and we basically drove straight there, with one stop at a roadside pub for dinner. My husband tells me the scenery was beautiful, but in all honesty, the kids and I were worn out by this time, and slept through most of it.
We arrived in Edinburgh late in the evening. (But we had made reservations at a B&B before we left Texas, and had telephoned to let them know we would be late.)
While I don't know the exact roads we took, here's a google map with all the Day 1 stops: http://g.co/maps/ynep4
Mar 13th, 2012, 07:47 PM
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Day 2 we spent in Edinburgh. We walked from our B&B (which was on Atholl Crescent Ln) up (and I mean literally up the enormous hill!) to Edinburgh Castle. We spent most of the day exploring the Castle.
Day 3 -- we drove from Edinburgh to York.
On this day, my priority was to stop at the ruins of Melrose Abby, and my husband's priority was to see Hadrian's Wall.
We didn't vary from this plan --
Drove from Edinburgh to Melrose Abbey, where we spent a good bit of time exploring.
From there to see to sites associated with Hadrian's Wall:
First -- Housesteads Roman Fort (spectacular views!)
Then -- Chester Roman Fort.
For us, these were spectacular, but not quick stops and not drive bys. Housesteads, in particular, was a long walk from the parking lot to the ruins of the fort and the remains of the wall.
After having our fill of these sites, we drove in to York, and arrived there in time to check in to our B&B (outside of the walls), and walk into the walled town for dinner.
Again, I don't know all the exact roads, but here's a map with the sites marked: http://g.co/maps/g48j4
Day 3 -- we drove from Edinburgh to York.
On this day, my priority was to stop at the ruins of Melrose Abby, and my husband's priority was to see Hadrian's Wall.
We didn't vary from this plan --
Drove from Edinburgh to Melrose Abbey, where we spent a good bit of time exploring.
From there to see to sites associated with Hadrian's Wall:
First -- Housesteads Roman Fort (spectacular views!)
Then -- Chester Roman Fort.
For us, these were spectacular, but not quick stops and not drive bys. Housesteads, in particular, was a long walk from the parking lot to the ruins of the fort and the remains of the wall.
After having our fill of these sites, we drove in to York, and arrived there in time to check in to our B&B (outside of the walls), and walk into the walled town for dinner.
Again, I don't know all the exact roads, but here's a map with the sites marked: http://g.co/maps/g48j4
Mar 13th, 2012, 08:02 PM
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Day 4 -- we spent in York -- exploring the Minster, walking on the walls, poking around the medieval streets, and climbing Clifford's Tower.
Day 5 -- we drove from York to our final destination before flying home (Teddington, where we had briefly lived and wanted to visit again).
This day's drive took us from York to Triangular Lodge near Rushton (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/d...angular-lodge/). I had read about this building that was built as a testament to the owner's fervent Catholicism, and was kind of intrigued by it. This isn't a major site in the UK by any stretch of the imagination, and it was off the main road from York to Oxford, but we had a fun time exploring it.
From Triangular Lodge, we drove to Oxford, and only spent a brief time. Out of our whole trip, this was the biggest disappointment -- probably because I wasn't very prepared for it. We went to Oxford without any pre-planning, and thought we could just park our car and walk around and see things. That was not the case for us, and if and when we go back, I'd do more research to figure out the best way to see Oxford.
Here's a map of the stops on this final day: http://g.co/maps/qrjn4
Day 5 -- we drove from York to our final destination before flying home (Teddington, where we had briefly lived and wanted to visit again).
This day's drive took us from York to Triangular Lodge near Rushton (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/d...angular-lodge/). I had read about this building that was built as a testament to the owner's fervent Catholicism, and was kind of intrigued by it. This isn't a major site in the UK by any stretch of the imagination, and it was off the main road from York to Oxford, but we had a fun time exploring it.
From Triangular Lodge, we drove to Oxford, and only spent a brief time. Out of our whole trip, this was the biggest disappointment -- probably because I wasn't very prepared for it. We went to Oxford without any pre-planning, and thought we could just park our car and walk around and see things. That was not the case for us, and if and when we go back, I'd do more research to figure out the best way to see Oxford.
Here's a map of the stops on this final day: http://g.co/maps/qrjn4
Mar 13th, 2012, 08:16 PM
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So, on the whole, we had a great time! (Although, to be fair, I was predisposed to have a great time. To me, a bad day traveling beats any day doing the laundry at home.)
Was it long enough? No vacation to the UK is long enough, as far as I'm concerned! But for us, it was a good mix of seeing big, major, "must see" attractions and smaller, quirky, fun, "interesting to us" places.
Was this a perfect trip for every traveler out there? Probably not. But, this was our 5th trip to London, and we knew it wouldn't be our last. With that in mind, we didn't pressure ourselves to explore every inch of the cities we stayed in.
We had, though, made reservations for every night, and knew what our final destination would be on the days we were driving. I don't think the trip would have been as fun if we had to focus each day on finding a place to sleep that night. And there aren't motels off the highway exits that you can just randomly pull in to like there are here in the states.
Almost 10 years later (yikes!) our kids still talk about how fun this trip was. And that, to me, is worth everything!
Was it long enough? No vacation to the UK is long enough, as far as I'm concerned! But for us, it was a good mix of seeing big, major, "must see" attractions and smaller, quirky, fun, "interesting to us" places.
Was this a perfect trip for every traveler out there? Probably not. But, this was our 5th trip to London, and we knew it wouldn't be our last. With that in mind, we didn't pressure ourselves to explore every inch of the cities we stayed in.
We had, though, made reservations for every night, and knew what our final destination would be on the days we were driving. I don't think the trip would have been as fun if we had to focus each day on finding a place to sleep that night. And there aren't motels off the highway exits that you can just randomly pull in to like there are here in the states.
Almost 10 years later (yikes!) our kids still talk about how fun this trip was. And that, to me, is worth everything!
Mar 14th, 2012, 02:03 AM
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<i>So, on the whole, we had a great time! (Although, to be fair, I was predisposed to have a great time. To me, a bad day traveling beats any day doing the laundry at home.) </i>
Same here! Perfect way of expressing it. It all has to do so much with our attitude.
Annette, thank you, thank you, thank you for taking time from your busy schedule and family to write this out for us. It truly is appreciated. Your description has given me a lot of confidence that things will be okay as we have even more time in some cases then you did (two days to get to Edinburgh, two days to get back to the London area from York.) Loved the details of what we might find beside the road - we also would likely end up climbing all around the deserted Castle. My brother is a pilot (might explain his fearlessness of any sort of driving condition too) and would love that RAF spot. We too have often found it is the unexpected that creates the most lasting and fun memories. Not surprised your children remember this trip fondly!
We do have B&Bs booked for all but two of the nights, which I have not booked intentionally as a compromise with my brother, who prefers the "lets see what we happen upon" way of traveling. However, it does make me nervous and I'm hoping I can find a place between Inverness and Edinburgh and between York and Windsor that satisfies his sense of adventure but that I can book ahead. I think he'd like to do a Castle or Farm B&B. I'm up for just about any experience, except as you mentioned, wandering around in the middle of the night looking for a place to sleep. Still, I could handle it for two nights of the ten if I had to.
I enjoyed hearing about Triangular Lodge. Very interesting. As Ron suggested above, we will be choosing a non-motorway route for the York to Windsor leg (unless we get in a hurry) and will consider the villages he mentioned. Are there any quaint towns between York and Windsor you would recommend as a drive through possibility? (I also need to go back to my original post and look there - some ideas were posted for East side villages that might compensate for not seeing the Cotswolds. )
I'm also waiting to hear back from my niece who is married to a Manchester England native. She is getting ideas from her inlaws (who she says are always shocked at what my niece considers a "day trip" when she and her husband go back to England to visit.
) I'll post what I find out from them too for the sake of future travelers.
As to getting back to the U.K. in the future- well - I hope so! But life doesn't always go as planned or hoped, so we hit the priorities the first time and then hope we'll get another chance. It worked out for Rome - went once then surprisingly had another shot at it 15 years later. I know I'll be sticking close to home for quite awhile after this trip though as an unexpected home repair ate up our next five years traveling money. Probably wouldn't be doing this one if the non-refundable tickets weren't already booked. Oh well, - at least I HAVE a home. Again, its all in the attitude.
Have a wonderful Texas day and thank you again - I've so enjoyed reading your posts - not just here but others. - Bitten
Same here! Perfect way of expressing it. It all has to do so much with our attitude.
Annette, thank you, thank you, thank you for taking time from your busy schedule and family to write this out for us. It truly is appreciated. Your description has given me a lot of confidence that things will be okay as we have even more time in some cases then you did (two days to get to Edinburgh, two days to get back to the London area from York.) Loved the details of what we might find beside the road - we also would likely end up climbing all around the deserted Castle. My brother is a pilot (might explain his fearlessness of any sort of driving condition too) and would love that RAF spot. We too have often found it is the unexpected that creates the most lasting and fun memories. Not surprised your children remember this trip fondly!
We do have B&Bs booked for all but two of the nights, which I have not booked intentionally as a compromise with my brother, who prefers the "lets see what we happen upon" way of traveling. However, it does make me nervous and I'm hoping I can find a place between Inverness and Edinburgh and between York and Windsor that satisfies his sense of adventure but that I can book ahead. I think he'd like to do a Castle or Farm B&B. I'm up for just about any experience, except as you mentioned, wandering around in the middle of the night looking for a place to sleep. Still, I could handle it for two nights of the ten if I had to.
I enjoyed hearing about Triangular Lodge. Very interesting. As Ron suggested above, we will be choosing a non-motorway route for the York to Windsor leg (unless we get in a hurry) and will consider the villages he mentioned. Are there any quaint towns between York and Windsor you would recommend as a drive through possibility? (I also need to go back to my original post and look there - some ideas were posted for East side villages that might compensate for not seeing the Cotswolds. )
I'm also waiting to hear back from my niece who is married to a Manchester England native. She is getting ideas from her inlaws (who she says are always shocked at what my niece considers a "day trip" when she and her husband go back to England to visit.
) I'll post what I find out from them too for the sake of future travelers.As to getting back to the U.K. in the future- well - I hope so! But life doesn't always go as planned or hoped, so we hit the priorities the first time and then hope we'll get another chance. It worked out for Rome - went once then surprisingly had another shot at it 15 years later. I know I'll be sticking close to home for quite awhile after this trip though as an unexpected home repair ate up our next five years traveling money. Probably wouldn't be doing this one if the non-refundable tickets weren't already booked. Oh well, - at least I HAVE a home. Again, its all in the attitude.
Have a wonderful Texas day and thank you again - I've so enjoyed reading your posts - not just here but others. - Bitten
Mar 14th, 2012, 06:07 AM
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Thanks for those kind words, Bitten! You've given me a great start to my day!
My husband wants his two cents thrown is as well - he says getting out of the car and exploring one or two sites of Hadrian's wall is a must-see!
My husband wants his two cents thrown is as well - he says getting out of the car and exploring one or two sites of Hadrian's wall is a must-see!
Mar 14th, 2012, 04:24 PM
#27
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You may assure him it is on the list! Its actually written in the itinerary that we are using but I didn't mention it here. I was already scaring folks with my packed itinerary - thought I better keep that one under our belt. But now the cat is out of the bag - yes - we have the visitor center planned en route to York from Edinburgh.
Mar 18th, 2012, 12:16 PM
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I won't say anything about what you're trying to do; but, on the Inverness to Edinburgh thing; I will suggest
Culloden; Clava Cairns, then back to the A9 at Tomatin
Aviemore, Kingussie, Newtonmore, Blair Atholl- Blair Castle
Pitlochry- Edradour distillery
Aberfeldy, Kenmore. Stay the night.
Aberfeldy, Dunkeld- walk round the square
Perth- Scone Palace
Kinross- Loch Leven
Edinburgh
Culloden; Clava Cairns, then back to the A9 at Tomatin
Aviemore, Kingussie, Newtonmore, Blair Atholl- Blair Castle
Pitlochry- Edradour distillery
Aberfeldy, Kenmore. Stay the night.
Aberfeldy, Dunkeld- walk round the square
Perth- Scone Palace
Kinross- Loch Leven
Edinburgh
Mar 19th, 2012, 01:55 AM
#29
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Sheila, thank you so much for weighing in on this. Certainly, you know Scotland! I'm going to look up places to stay near Aberfeldy as soon as I get home from work tonight and see if I can find one that meets my brother's sense of adventure.
I'll also be putting all your suggestions in with the others and printing them out. I see us looking over all these great ideas in the lounge car the evening we are on the Caledonia sleeper and deciding what our adventures will be the following two days.
Thank you too for being understanding of our busy itinerary. I talked this over with my niece I refer to above who has a wonderful husband from Manchester England. Her evaluation, after several years and several trips to England, is that it is a cultural thing, especially for those of us from what are commonly called the "flyover states" where she herself grew up. The east or west coasts of the United States are in many areas densely populated and have good public transport options more like Europe. On the other hand, the "flyover states" generally have few public transportation options outside the big cities and destinations are often far apart. If we didn't spend alot of time in our cars, we would hardly be able to go anywhere, so it becomes second nature to us. I feel when we look at it that way it all becomes as interesting as other cultural differences we see when traveling!
I'll also be putting all your suggestions in with the others and printing them out. I see us looking over all these great ideas in the lounge car the evening we are on the Caledonia sleeper and deciding what our adventures will be the following two days.
Thank you too for being understanding of our busy itinerary. I talked this over with my niece I refer to above who has a wonderful husband from Manchester England. Her evaluation, after several years and several trips to England, is that it is a cultural thing, especially for those of us from what are commonly called the "flyover states" where she herself grew up. The east or west coasts of the United States are in many areas densely populated and have good public transport options more like Europe. On the other hand, the "flyover states" generally have few public transportation options outside the big cities and destinations are often far apart. If we didn't spend alot of time in our cars, we would hardly be able to go anywhere, so it becomes second nature to us. I feel when we look at it that way it all becomes as interesting as other cultural differences we see when traveling!
Mar 19th, 2012, 02:05 AM
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With regard to journey times especially for your York to Windsor leg, I would add my experience of on Friday driving from Harrogate to Hebden Bridge, just over 40 miles on A-roads (not motorways) and it took just under 2 hours. Traffic during the day, and not just at rush hours, can be busy. Watch out for 'white van drivers' who are capable of breaking every traffic regulation going (often all of them simultaneously). Taxi drivers are also pretty bad drivers and will overtake you on blind corners and cut in front of you with no warning. Little old ladies (or men) out for a leisurely trip doing 40mph on a 60mph road. Then there's the school run - women in huge 4x4s who will stop suddenly to let their child out of the car and will block the road while doing it. Such are some of the joys of driving in parts of England, which are much more densely inhabited than Scotland, where most people have cars and use them as public transport isn't that great, where everyone is in a hurry and knows where they're going, and will have no patience with a tourist who is ambling along and not used to driving on our side of the road.
Being used to long distance driving in empty parts of the US won't prepare you for that. I'm starting to hate driving in England and I've done it all my adult life.
Being used to long distance driving in empty parts of the US won't prepare you for that. I'm starting to hate driving in England and I've done it all my adult life.
Mar 19th, 2012, 02:08 AM
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Oh, and at the moment in our area the main road (Halifax-Hebden Bridge-Todmorden) has roadworks every few miles with single-lane traffic controlled by lights which can make for some long tail-backs. I think it's because local councils need to use their road repair budget before the end of April.
Mar 19th, 2012, 02:13 AM
#32
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Thanks mjdh! Appreciate the warnings. I think I'll leave the bulk of the England driving to my brother the pilot who has experience driving there and in other challenging situations (forgot to mention he was also a paramedic and drove ambulances through New Orleans for several years - no wonder he is fearless.) Nothing seems to phase him, which is both a blessing and a curse!
I'm sure try as we might not to, we'll probably tick off a few folks and hope they have a forgiving nature. Sounds like we may need to do some forgiving ourselves. We'll just view it all as part of the adventure!
I'm sure try as we might not to, we'll probably tick off a few folks and hope they have a forgiving nature. Sounds like we may need to do some forgiving ourselves. We'll just view it all as part of the adventure!
Mar 19th, 2012, 02:16 AM
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...also, were it up to me alone, I think I would leave the car in York and do a train to some quaint town on Sunday, then a train to Windsor on Monday, but its not up to me, so we'll see what adventure we can make of that - ahem - lovely trip between York and Windsor!
Mar 19th, 2012, 03:32 AM
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BittenByTheTBug -- I find that taking a GPS with me (I use a Garmin) is a *huge* help, especially in finding off-the-beaten track attractions and lodging and in driving through towns/villages with complicated one-way systems. It also makes me more willing to go explore places on the spur of the moment. You may be able to rent a GPS (aka satnav) with your car, but you'd need to check on that, and I like the security of taking one I already know how to use.
Mar 19th, 2012, 03:41 AM
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Yep - all (painfully) budgeted for.
I was thinking as I was getting ready for work that you obviosly know this neck of the woods well - the good, bad and ugly. May as well tap into your knowledge of it! Sooooo - lets just say that you were told you HAD to travel from York to Windsor by car. That you would be leaving York around 8:00 am on Sunday morning, and if possible they would like for you to arrive in Windsor around 1:00 pm Monday. You've also been asked to view this trip through the eyes of a tourist. What route would YOU take to make your trip as stress free as possible?
I was thinking as I was getting ready for work that you obviosly know this neck of the woods well - the good, bad and ugly. May as well tap into your knowledge of it! Sooooo - lets just say that you were told you HAD to travel from York to Windsor by car. That you would be leaving York around 8:00 am on Sunday morning, and if possible they would like for you to arrive in Windsor around 1:00 pm Monday. You've also been asked to view this trip through the eyes of a tourist. What route would YOU take to make your trip as stress free as possible?
Mar 19th, 2012, 04:03 AM
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There really is too much to choose from, the route could cover half of middle England.
I'd probably aim for somewhere like Cambridge or Ely down the A1, or Cirencester or Stroud down the M5, or maybe Woodstock down the M40. If I fancied more of a detour eastwards I might pick Lavenham in Suffolk, or perhaps stay a bit further north around Rutland Water.
I would never choose to stay in Windsor though. I don't understand why they would build a castle so close to a major airport.
I'd probably aim for somewhere like Cambridge or Ely down the A1, or Cirencester or Stroud down the M5, or maybe Woodstock down the M40. If I fancied more of a detour eastwards I might pick Lavenham in Suffolk, or perhaps stay a bit further north around Rutland Water.
I would never choose to stay in Windsor though. I don't understand why they would build a castle so close to a major airport.
Mar 19th, 2012, 07:12 AM
#38
the old ones are the best,,,
A1 allows Lincoln, Ely, Cambridge
M1 allows Leeds (armouries museum) WYSPark as discussed, Turn off at Jnct 15 or 15a (sorry look at a map) to Oxford them M40 down to Windsor
A1 allows Lincoln, Ely, Cambridge
M1 allows Leeds (armouries museum) WYSPark as discussed, Turn off at Jnct 15 or 15a (sorry look at a map) to Oxford them M40 down to Windsor
Mar 19th, 2012, 02:31 PM
#39
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Hey - thanks for the excellent suggestions! I so appreciate having ideas for this part of the trip. I will follow up on your input and get it all printed up for the family. We may not actually decide until the day we leave York though, since I've promised to leave this part of the trip "spontaneous".
<i>"I don't understand why they would build a castle so close to a major airport." </i>
Yes, it was rather rude of them to build an airport in the Queen's backyard (I know you really meant "why would they build an airport so close to a castle") but I guess we can focus on it being a sign of progress that she doesn't have the authority to chop the Heathrow Planner's heads off. Five hundred years ago they would have been off to the tower for being so brash! Besides, I hear she has a few other nice places she can go if the airplanes really bother her.
The reason we are staying in Windsor is because we take off from Heathrow the following morning. Right now we have a B&B reserved for that last night a mile from Ascot race track. Of course, if someone has a suggestion for a better place to stay that would still allow plenty of time to get to the Airport no later than 10:00 am, I'm open. I wouldn't want to bail on the reservations too late in the game - not a nice thing to do to the owners. But, we still have quite a bit of time before we go and I have free cancellation.
<i>"I don't understand why they would build a castle so close to a major airport." </i>
Yes, it was rather rude of them to build an airport in the Queen's backyard (I know you really meant "why would they build an airport so close to a castle") but I guess we can focus on it being a sign of progress that she doesn't have the authority to chop the Heathrow Planner's heads off. Five hundred years ago they would have been off to the tower for being so brash! Besides, I hear she has a few other nice places she can go if the airplanes really bother her.
The reason we are staying in Windsor is because we take off from Heathrow the following morning. Right now we have a B&B reserved for that last night a mile from Ascot race track. Of course, if someone has a suggestion for a better place to stay that would still allow plenty of time to get to the Airport no later than 10:00 am, I'm open. I wouldn't want to bail on the reservations too late in the game - not a nice thing to do to the owners. But, we still have quite a bit of time before we go and I have free cancellation.
Mar 19th, 2012, 02:55 PM
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"I don't understand why they would build a castle so close to a major airport."
It's actually attributed as a quote from either Ronnie Reagan or Dubya. Probably apocryphal, though with Dubya you never quite know...
It's actually attributed as a quote from either Ronnie Reagan or Dubya. Probably apocryphal, though with Dubya you never quite know...
