Is this a good 1 month England itinerary?
 

6 nights London

4 nights based in Canterbury for that city, Leeds Castle, Dover, Hastings, Rye, Sissinghurst

3 nights in Salisbury for that city, Stonehenge, Avebury, Corfe Castle, Durdle Door, Shaftesbury, Cerne Abbas

3 nights in Bath for that city, Glastonbury, Wells

3/2 nights in Chipping Campden for exploring Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick

4 nights in York for that city, the Moors, Whitby, Rievaulx Abbey

3/2 nights in Keswick for N. Lake District and Hadrian's Wall

then back to London for a night or two before flying home

Two 22 year olds by rail and bus next May/June.
Does this sound good?

Sound like something a 52-year-old would come up with so hats off to you for slowing it down and basing. And if you do all that by rail and or buses then by all means consider the bargain BritEngland Youth Railpass - for those under 26 - not the classic BritRail Pass since you are not going to either Scotland nor Wales. And you can hop on and off any train anytime and those type tickets are generally really expensive. There are cheaper online far in advance ducats but then you lock yourself in. www.nationalrail.co.uk is the schedule and fare site for all the few dozen independent rail franchise operators - the Brit England Pass is good on all of them, including airport expresses. It does not cover buses but nearly all the places you are going to you can get to by rail - nearly all and trains can take you close to places like Keswick.

For loads of info on British rail travel and passes and whatever i always spotlight these fantastic sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com. Passes are not sold at station in Britian as Brits cannot use them (well only on the local companion goes free scheme so if you know a Brit they can get a free pass to match yours)

pretty good, lala.

looks as if you are natural fodorites!

have a great trip.

Thanks lol.
I am planning on getting two BritRail England Youth Passes. And for seeing all the sights I'm getting a Great British Heritage pass.

It took loooootsss of narrowing down and research to get to this point. And constant mind-changing lol.

I've been desperate to get to the UK since my childhood and I want to get to know the place the best I possibly can for 1 month.

What an excellent plan, lala. You really have done your work and it's going to be a great trip!

Good plan! While you are in Yorkshire, check out Jervaulx and Fountains Abbey, as well - both are lovely in their own way. Fountains is very impressive, extensive, with lovely grounds and gardens. Jervaulx is smaller, more ruined, more relcaimed by nature, and covered in flowers :)

Whitby is one of my fave places - a lovely abbey, town, and location.

Are you hiring a car in Yorkshire? if not you will struggle big time to get to Rievualx, Jervaulx etc by public transport - both are very rural.

And get the Days' Out 2-for-1 offers for London and surrounds (the Heritage Pass is not overly useful in the capital) -- check my name on this site because I wrote up some long description of how to get this right about a year ago (get 7 day travelcard at national rail station ticket window, not oyster card, and just print out what you want from the days out guide). The Tower is a lot more accessible financially if it's 17 quid (or whatever youth discount you get) for two, not 17 quid each.

We did a very similar trip a couple of summers ago. You have a great plan. I agree with Morgana that Yorkshire will be your greatest public transportation challenge. It can be done but not as easily as the rest of your itinerary.

Hi lalalacheesejah (great name btw)

If you like castles then join the National Trust - it costs $55 from the USA (assume thats where you are from) but you get into everything free. Corfe and Leeds are both covered plus a whole lot more. I think you need The Royal Oak Foundation but follow this link: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits.htm

At Durdle Door if you get time then climb up Scratchy Bottom (Its a hanging valley).

When you do Warwick, if you get any time at all go to Kennilworth Castle as well. Warwick is the big show piece but Kennilworth is a ruin you can clamber all over - I prefer it!

If you would like to get a flavour of Britain, spend some time when you can listening to the national BBC radio stations and if you can you have to hear the shipping forecast.

Travelling by train is a great way to see the country. Ive seen so many reports from people who say we are snooty, but catch someone's eye, smile and you will have lots of people to talk to on your journeys and I guarantee you will get some great stories for when you get back home. If you are not sure what to say, just talk about the weather....

How are you going to get around the countryside, from your bases of operation? Are you going to do any hiking, biking, whatever? I'm betting local buses can do something for you in the Lakes, Cotswolds and down to Glastonbury, but not sure.

I agree it sounds like a great itinerary, perhaps a little long in Canterbury, unless that's where you family's roots are. I'd take one day away from there and perhaps add one to the Lake District or Yorkshire.

If you would like to get a flavour of Britain, spend some time when you can listening to the national BBC radio stations and if you can you have to hear the shipping forecast.>>

specifically you need to listen to BBC Radio 4 on LONG WAVE at either 11.55 [am] or about midnight to get the shipping forecast. not sure why you'd want to though.

you'd get a much better idea of our culture if you tuned into Radio 4 on FM, and listened while you are travelling round. news, plays, current affairs, drama, comedy - it's all there.

and weather forecasts.

<<not sure why you'd want to though.>>

Because in my mind at least, being an island is integral to the British psyche. Our relationship with Europe would not be so strained if we were connected by land. Also because its hypnotic, romantic, poetic... Enough reasons?

If you don't get it, no matter. Its integral to my nationality and an oddity I though others may enjoy.

Whatever. Laters...

you'd get a much better idea of our culture if you tuned into Radio 4 on FM, and listened while you are travelling round. news, plays, current affairs, drama, comedy - it's all there>

and beforehand tune into Coronation Street - one of the most popular British TV shows and one of the longest running if not - that is why i get all my idea of British culture (no it is not an oxymoron to say that!)

I wonder why the OP is eschewing visiting Wales or Scotland - even just up to Edinburgh - a few hours from the Lake District and IMO Edinburgh is one of the very most beautiful, unique cities in the world!

And Scottish culture is so different from English culture - ditto for Wales, where you often even hear Welsh being spoken as a daily tongue

Though for English in both you may end up asking natives "Do you speak English?" when in fact they are!

<<< And Scottish culture is so different from English culture >>>

English culture is different from English culture - there are different English cultures depending on where in England you are

I agree that Scotland is breathtaking, but the OP has wisely chosen to limit the scope. If they had a car, perhaps I would say differently. I drove all over Scotland when I was that age, but it's a long way and the trains are difficult to plan I think.

<<<Though for English in both you may end up asking natives "Do you speak English?" when in fact they are!>>>

You should come to the Black Country - about as English as you can get, but utterly baffling if you don't have a translator. Alrityows, taraabit!

Im seriously worried that people rely on Corrie for an idea of the country. whew! Stick to The Archers.

lalala: Man alive --- you are a quick study :) This is soooooo much an improvement on where you started from. I can see how this evolved - you took lots of advice and created a really terrific plan

The pace/locations is a great mix. I do have some concerns about some transports issues. A few of the places you want to visit will either be impossible by public transport --or will take a lot of to-ing/fro-ing and bus/train changes. Some will eat up most of day getting to and back. Maybe it will be worth it a place or two (like in rural Yorkshire) to hire a driver guide for a day.

annhig: <sheepish font on> I actually DO listen to the shipping forecasts.

When I lived there I listened most mornings-laying there in the dark as the reader went through the list and when he got to Finisterre I knew it was about time to get out of bed :)

annhig: <sheepish font on> I actually DO listen to the shipping forecasts.>>

baaaaa. it's ok if you're actually going out in a boat, and may have a sort of quaint novelty value to visitors. but since the advent of FM I rarely hear it and never miss it.

and I much prefer the extra minutes of TMS I get on digital!

There is actually a book, a travelogue, based around the shipping forecast : http://tinyurl.com/32y2shf

If you would like to get a flavour of Britain, spend some time when you can listening to the national BBC radio stations >>>

Try to catch some of Test Match Special - again on radio 4 longwave - and boggle. It's a sports commentary on the programme on the cricket. However it is MUCH more than that. Expect to learn about buses, pigeons and cake.

I too am worried people may think life on corrie is indicative of the national....

You should come to the Black Country - about as English as you can get, but utterly baffling if you don't have a translator. Alrityows, taraabit!>

well yeh on Corrie even i often think i need subtitles and put them on. And no i jest when i say Coronation Street is my prime lense for British culture - satire - but in many ways for a foreigner it does show typical British things - like 'put the kettle' on constantly - the little shops run by Asian Indians - the pub as a community social centre - the Kebab shop and Roy's Rollce a typical English cafe, etc and that's why i like it - it's like being in England for me - the England outside of London's tourist centre.

I know that in Yorkshire I am going to have some problems with public transport. Gotta figure out what to do with that up there. I plan on taking a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to Whitby. I've heard that the train goes through some of the highlights of the moors.

But alas, that is only one thing solved. I'm just going to have to do more research about transportation in the more rural areas.

I did the North Yorkshire Moors Railway as a day trip from York - took a bus to some station then a bus up to where the Moors Railway starts - at the other end we took a train to Whitby - another neat town with Dracula's (i think) castle brooding over the North Sea

From Whitby there is a scenic bus ride along the coast to Scarborough for trains back to York.

A full day but you seem to like to travel around a lot - as i do.

But there are not transit problems doing the Moors train.

since you are saving so much on other transport, you can probably splurge a day or two by hiring driver guides. The tourist offices in York and other towns/cities along your route can hook you up w/ a local to drive you places where public transport is inconvenient to non-existent.

Instead of seeing one rural site and juggling trains/buses - in the same amount of time a driver could probably get you to 3 or 4 sites or more and time for a meal too.

You can manage by public transport lots of places --but there are areas where it just isn't feasible/practical.

I think PQ's memory is a bit foggy - the ruin in Whitby is an abbey http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/d.../whitby-abbey/

Slains Castle in NE Scotland is usually mentioned as Bram Stoker's inspiration for 'Dracula's Castle'. But that is probably just romantic license . . . .

castle - abbey - what's the difference - i think i got seaside right, right.

And my dear how much would a car and driver cost for a whole day - few hundred bucks i'd say - very few places where there is anything of tourist interest cannot easily be reached by train and or bus.

But if you got a few hundred bucks plus tip to throw away... well i would not even do it then - being carted around IMO is something i would never ever do - part of travel to me is making my own way - yup taking several bus and train rides a day is part of the trip - in a private car you are so isolated from the locals - on trains and buses talking to the locals, etc. is often the most memorable part of the day.

Oh well different strokes for different (very different IMO) folks!

a few hundred bucks? nope . . . . Lots of folks hire local drivers - it isn't like hiring a limo in the States.

Well janis how much would it cost - since you recommend it you must know - to hire a local driver for a whole day and if they drive all around the petro cost would be on top of that

You say local driver - what does that mean - mini cab - it cannot mean a real local who takes you around in their car as that would require insurance, etc.

How much for such a guided tour by a local driver - any such advice should include the expected price so the OP can plan on it in their budget or not

And where in York would you hire a local driver?

when I rented a local driver/tour in Salisbury area, it was about $100 for the whole day. He picked us up at Salisbury train station, drove us around to Avebury, West kennet longbarrow, Silbury hill, Old Sarum, Salisbury, Stonehenge, and back to the train. He was fun :)

And yes, Pal, this was a local who hired his services and his car out on a regular basis. He had several cars and ran a small taxi and tour service with his sons. www.vicstaxi.com.

<<<Try to catch some of Test Match Special >>>

I /LOVE/ TMS.

Unfortunately every time I hoover we loose a wicket so I have banned self from housework for the duration of all test matches.

$100 split 2 or 3 or 4 ways could i guess be as cheap as transit at times - sounds like a bargain to me.

Unfortunately every time I hoover we loose a wicket so I have banned self from housework for the duration of all test matches.>>

fashionista - have you thought of ironing? that's pretty quiet. or do what I do - listen while I'm gardening. I just have to avoid mowing the lawn!

Unfortunately every time I hoover we loose a wicket so I have banned self from housework for the duration of all test matches.>>
OK - lose a wicket - is this cricket y'all talking about?

speak English please!