sherm_p

Greetings.

I am traveling to the UK in July on my own, and I'm trying to decide what I should actually do. I was wondering if I could have some assistance in coming up with a tentative itnerary.

I have 20 days in the UK (Not long enough I know!) in total. I will be spending 2-3 days with some family friends at the beginning of my trip. They basically live in the London area and will probably show me around a bit and take me to a few places.

I'm also hoping to see some distant relatives, although I haven't sorted anything out with them yet.

So that will leave me with 12-16 days "free".. and I have no real idea where to go.

I had a look at some tours today, but they seem very busy, so I'm leaning towards doing my own thing instead.


I would rather take my time and see things properly, as opposed to cramming in as much as possible. The thought is to travel by rail.


So with this information, could somebody with more knowledge than I assist with helping me choose some destinations? I would like to stop by Wales and/or Scotland if at all possible.

I do realise there's a lot I won't be able to see, and I won't even try.


Thank you very much

sparkchaser

Will you be renting a car or relying on public transportation?

What are your interests?

Are you an outdoors type person or are you more at home in an urban landscape?

What's your budget?

bilboburgler

I'd look at a loop using trains and buses, you need https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=na...ient=firefox-a and http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2...epeatingloop=Y this second site is great for mixed bus and train travel

I'd look at a
Cambridge, York, Newcastle (and Hadrians Wall), Manchester or Chester, Bath or Oxford, Salisbury and London.

This gives you a fine selection of small and large cities. I'd also get hold of the Rough Guide to Britain (or UK) to get a better view of places to visit, especially as the list I've offered is England rather than the UK and you may prefer some of the places in the other Nations.

sherm_p

Hi Sparkchaser

I will be relying on public transport. Don't have the desire or confidence to drive in the UK.

I am interested in Science/Technology. Interesting historical locations. I live in New Zealand, so general countryside scenery I'm not that interested in, but spectacular locations/scenery could be nice to see. Not interested in gardens. My father's an aviation buff, so I'm staying well away from aviation thank you very much! Historical rail could be interesting. I don't drink alcohol so no pubs, wineries etc.
Just a few thoughts there.

I'm more of an urban person, but I can do outdoors as well. I have some physical disabilities that makes strenuous outdoor activities difficult, but I'm fine with doing walks etc.

Budget wise, I want to stay under 5000GBP (or 10,000NZD), which would cover transport, accommodation, food and attractions within the UK. I'm not looking at staying at hostels, but nor am I looking at swanky 5-star hotels. Am leaning towards B&B where possible for accommodation.


Thank you for your reply.

sherm_p

Thank you bilboburgler. I will look into those options.

sparkchaser

You can easily spend a full day at the British Museum and I highly suggest that you do so. Ditto for the other museums. That should eat up at least 4 days of your time.

Near the Tower of London, on the opposite bank on Tooley Street there is some "Britain at War" exhibition or something that looked interesting but I did not check out.

bilboburgler

There is a good steam train operation just north of York in the York Moor's National Park, while the city has both medieval walls and the country's railway museum.

flanneruk

Britain's key gift to the world is either real accountable democracy, the English language or the emergence on a mass scale of science and technology in the 18th/19th century. Of them, the early history of science is overwhelmingly the one best suited to tourism

London's Science Museum and Manchester's Museum of Science and Technology are more history-oriented than their US near-clones. Oxford's Museum of the History of Science unapologetically concentrates on what happened before the 19th century revolutions in technology and science, though its University Museum (NOT the better known Ashmolean) is dominated by displays relating to the evolution of the theory of evolution and its consequences (including the actual dodo that inspired Lewis Carroll 300 years after its death marked the species' extinction).

The British Museum's Enlightenment Gallery on the ground floor is an an amazing insight into an educated man's world view at the point just before science and technology started getting beyond everyone's grasp: it mixes 18th c interest in anthropology, art and what we'd now call science in an extraordinary way. Any gallery with an exhibition of Turner on (lots do, lots of the time) will display, if the works are about England, an artist's view of how industry was affecting the English landscape (infinitely more interesting for someone relatively uninterested in basic countryside than yet another old plonker's set of imagined pastoral idylls)

The Museum of Liverpool Life is really about how technology transformed a sleepy ferry port, and by consequence the world whose trade it dominated. Railway museums at York, Swindon and Didcot begin to make you think all British technology ended up in a museum

Outside museums, the sites around Ironbridge mark the start of the Industrial Revolution, and Britain is awash with industrial heritage sites: the largest physically is the network of heritage railways (http://www.heritage-railways.com/) but places like the Beamish Museum, in Stanley, nearish Newcastle are all over the place.

If your definition of history moves beyond the history of science and technology, our problem - just like Italy and France - is that the past 1500 years here are so well documented you just can't get away from the bloody stuff. You need to be a great deal more specific about "historical locations": on any randomly selected patch of English earth, something noticeable happened (and is documented) within 100 yards, which may matter a lot to some but is geekiness personified for others

I wouldn't hold my breath looking for "spectacular locations" We do nice scenery jolly well: spectacular stuff we leave to the foreigners - and the Celtic fringe of the British Isles.

sparkchaser

Wonderful post, flanneruk.

sherm_p

Thank you flanneruk.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what I will be interested in seeing and doing. This will be my first solo "Tourist" holiday. Previous holidays were spent tagging along behind the parents – one didn't have to think so hard then

I guess it will be a case of getting a shortlist I can use to narrow down and pick the most interesting sounding (to me).

latedaytraveler

"Wonderful post, flanneruk." I'll second that!

janisj

Ditto

Sherm_p:: you say the friends are in the 'London area'. Where specifically? That could make quite a difference re if you will need more time IN London proper. If they live in the general 'commuter belt' it could still mean an hour or more each way into the city. Or if they live in a close-in suburb they might be less than 20 minutes to the British museum or Tower of London

bilboburgler

one of your best flanner

ChgoGal

Hi, sherm.

In London, there's a theatrical production which is going to be intriguing. The first ticket I bought after my airfare.

The Drowned Man at the NAtional, by Punchdrunk Theater. It's a Play you wander through, a bit free-form, I think, if there past production is anything to go by. A huge hit in New York and Boston.

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/sh...ollywood-fable

For an idea of what it may be like, here's the site for their New York show...
http://sleepnomorenyc.com/

Have a lovely time in England! Sounds like a good amount of time. Flanneruk, Jamikins, PatrickLondon and Janisj give solid advice on these boards.

ChgoGal

Forgive me. My "shiftless" typing, spelling and grammar mistakes above are shameful. I really do know better, even with my American, public school education. Working late and my brain's a bit foggy.

semiramis

I highly recommend Ironbridge for anyone interested in the development of technology and the beginnings of the industrial revolution. There are several excellent museums and other sites there. It's a World Heritage Site for good reason.

http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/our-attractions/

semiramis

If you are interested in castles (something you won't get much of in NZ), I highly recommend Northern Wales

http://www.castlewales.com/

PalenQ

. The thought is to travel by rail.>

British trains run very frequent services going just about anywhere - Wales, Scotland too. If traveling around to various parts of the UK by train enough investigate the various BritRail Passes that allow hop on at will travel on all British trains - no restrictions like many of the discounted tickets have.

A circular rail loop may be nice - going out to say Bath, to me along with York Britain's most exquisite larger city and then head to North Wales and up via the Lake District to Scotland and back down the East Coast line via York back to London.

For lots of great info on British trains I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sources - www.seat61.com (click on this site's commercial link to RailEurope for current railpass prices) and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id11.html and www.ricksteves.com. Check www.nationalrail.co.uk for schedules and sample fares and to book discounted tickets if you do not desire complete flexibility.

sherm_p

Thank you all for the suggestions so far. You are giving me some great ideas.

PalenQ

http://www.mosi.org.uk/

I second flanneruk's endorsement of Manchester's science museum - and I think Manchester it self was very very interesting - nothing romantic but exciting - the world's oldest train station for example on what was the world's first rail line, linking Manchester and Liverpool.

Also check out Iron Bridge Gorge - the birthplace of the industrial revolution with the first real use on iron - in the bridge over a gorge here and in London you may want to trek out to the Thames Barrier to see how London is protected from high tides and floods.

Tower Bridge is also a technological marvel inside.