London and England in May
 

I just got back from the trip to the UK - I'm putting the itinerary here so people can get a sense of what is realistic if perhaps a bit of a grueling paced trip. I didn't feel that any particular place was rushed.

Cost was around $9000 for 1 person, which I think was reasonable all things considered

I had major car trouble one day which raised the costs and decreased what I was able to see.

Weather was great this time of year. Just x1 day of sustained rain in 14 days. Comfortable weather.

Others were correct that Coventry/Stratford upon Avon were not feasible, and that many/most colleges at Cambridge/Oxford were closed for term exams although I did get a pretty good viewing despite this. On the other hand, I randomly got to see the Henry IV Requiem at King's college evensong which was very interesting and only done twice a year.

I thought the London Go City pass was a fantastic deal and could not recommend highly enough.
https://gocity.com/en/london?gad_sou...RoCxfIQAvD_BwE

In retrospect I regret not buying an English Heritage annual membership which would have cut costs mostly outside of London. Easily would have recouped costs despite just being 9 days in the outside of London given the focus on historical sites.

The Stonehenge up close tour was amazing, well worth it.

Touring the spire of Salisbury cathedral was amazing, recommend buying tickets ahead of time.

UK parliament tickets were not hard to get even though I bought them just 3-4 days before. Highly recommend travelers try this. The Big Ben tour I think is way harder to get.

Buckingham Palace closed for tours except over summer, so plan accordingly.

Day 1
Flew into London/LHR in early AM
Imperial College (outside)
Prince Albert Monument
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Palace and tour
British Museum
Zaika Indian food - highly recommended

Day 2
Marble arch (closed/renovated)
Hyde park
Grosvenor square
Royal academy of arts (outside)
Piccadilly Circus
St. James' Square
Trafalgar Square
Whitehall (outside)
Palace of Westminster and Elizabeth tower (outside)
London Eye (outside)
Horse guards parade
Waterloo place
National Gallery of Art
St. Martin in the Fields Church
Westminster Abbey
Natural History Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum (partly)
British Library (Treasures Exhibit)
Covent Garden
Royal Opera (outside)

Day 3
St. Paul's Cathedral and dome tour
Monument to the Great Fire, climbed
London Bridge
Borough Market
Southwark Cathedral
Winchester Palace (ruins)
Tate Modern Museum
Royal Albert Hall tour
Victoria and Albert Museum (completed)
Somerset House (open but under construction in the courtyard)
Accidentally saw King Charles as he was being driven from Buckingham Palace to St. James' in a maroon Rolls Royce
Buckingham Palace (outside)
Original Harrods location
Mayfair Chippy fish and chips dinner - highly recommended

Day 4
Tower Bridge crossed, then did the complete tour
Globe Theater tour
Millennium bridge crossed
Tower of London, viewed Crown Jewels
Train to Greenwich
Greenwich Royal Observatory, prime meridian marker
Cutty Sark (outside)
Train to Canary Wharf, viewed
Canada Square

Day 5
Kew Gardens, pagoda climb
Kew Palace
Windsor Castle
St. George's Chapel
Long walk of Windsor Castle
Runnymede site of the signing of the Magna Carta, viewed memorial

Day 6
Tour of the Palace of Westminster/House of Lords and House of Commons
Long walk of Buckingham Palace
Wellington arch
Went to LHR for rental car pickup
Drove to Cambridge
Kings College chapel Requiem for Henry IV
The Wrestlers Thai food dinner - highly recommended

Day 7
Cambridge Round church
Viewed Cambridge colleges including St. John's, Magdalen
St. Giles' church
Bridges over the Cam
Great St. Mary's church
Trinity College
Fitzwilliam Museum
Pembroke college
Corpus Christi college
King's College and Chapel, meadow tour
Great St. Mary's church tower
Drove to Oxford
The Perch dinner fish and chips - highly recommended

Day 8
Oxford Old Tower
St. Michael at the North Gate church
Christ church meadow
Magdalen college and chapel tour
Botanical garden
Merton college and chapel tour
University church of St. Mary and tower
Bridge of Sighs
Edmund Haley house
Radcliffe Square (cannot enter Camera without a special tour)
Sheldonian Theater and cupola
Jesus college (outside) - no entry
Covered Market
Oxford Castle mound
University college
Queens college
Balliol college
St. John's college
Black Friars prior
Balliol college evensong

Day 9
Carfax tower climb
Bodleian Library tour
Ashmolean museum (partly)
Christ's church (college) tour
All Souls college and chapel
Drove through the Cotswolds to Bath

Day 10
Car trouble delayed me several hours
Drove to Gloucester
Gloucester cathedral
Gloucester quay
Drove to Wells
Wells cathedral
Wells Bishop's palace and garden
Drove to Glastonbury
Hiked Glastonbury Tor
Unfortunately I arrived just too late to see the abbey same day, which would have saved time later

Day 11
Bath The Royal Crescent
The Circus
Royal Victoria park and obelisk
Queen square and obelisk
Pieroni's fountain
Parade gardens
Pulteney bridge
Henrietta park
The Roman Baths
The Pump Room
Bath abbey
Drove to Glastonbury
Glastonbury abbey and Arthur's reputed tomb
Drove to Exeter
Exeter cathedral
Exeter castle
Drove to South Cadbury
Hiked Cadbury Castle - ancient settlement reportedly the inspiration for Arthur's Camelot

Day 12
Stonehenge up close AM tour
Woodhenge
Drove to Amesbury
Amesbury abbey church
Drove to Old Sarum
Old Sarum
Drove to Salisbury
Salisbury cathedral, charter house and Magna Carta - toured the spire
St. Thomas' church, fresco of the Last Judgment
Drove to Southampton
Viewed Tudor house (outside)
Southampton castle
Medieval merchants' house (outside)
St. Michael's church
Bargate tower
Mayflower park, memorial for where the Mayflower set out
Salisbury Anokaa Indian food - highly recommended

Day 13
Drove to Winchester
Winchester cathedral
Wolvesey castle
River Itchen and old town
Drove to Chichester
Chichester cathedral
Drove to Brighton
Brighton pier
Royal Pavilion (outside)
Victoria gardens
Drove to Folkestone

Day 14
Drove to Canterbury
Canterbury cathedral, crypt
St. Augustine's abbey
St. Martin's church
St. George's tower
Canterbury castle (closed/renovated)
Westgate towers (closed for climbing)
Drove to Dover
Dover castle, including Saxon church and Roman pharos
Drove to White Cliffs of Dover site
Hiked along the white cliffs of Dover
South Foreland lighthouse tour, tea at the tea shop
Drove to Folkestone, viewed beach
Sandy's dinner fish and chips - highly recommended

Day 15
Drove from Folkestone to LHR, dropped off rental car, flew out

Overall I was very happy with the trip tempo, variety, and costs. Some things would have been cheaper with English Heritage pass. If wanting to see Buckingham Palace, St. James' palace, Elizabeth Tower/Big Ben, Radcliffe Camera, that would require a lot more planning to schedule/book these. Great time of year to visit. Costs not bad.

I do want to thank all who posted/contributed and provided advice. It was invaluable and helped me make the most of this trip. Thank you!

Thanks so much for reporting back. It has been interesting seeing your photos as well.

The pedant in me suggests Magdalene (e) college Is in Cambridge.

Moved to create a Trip Report

Thank you for your trip report! WOW! You had quite the itinerary. Where did you stay in London?

Actually there is a Magdalen College at both, interestingly.

Thank you. It was really great, if a bit exhausting. I wish some of these places were open later i.e. closing at 6 or 7 as that would allow for more to be done/seen, but I think I got a reasonably good view of the south of England, obviously would be lovely to see Cornwall and the coast a bit more.

I stayed in Kensington at an Airbnb on Gloucester Rd.

Wow Trebizond - You packed a lot into your trip. We just got back from England. Glad you had good weather. We had a fair amount of rain. It's a fantastic country to see and you did it well!