Richard

Part 1 of 3 - Getting Around<BR> Two 50somethings leave RDU for LGW on AA - half full flight so we had plenty of room to stretch out in coach. Booked a round trip flight from Gatwick to Newcastle on BA thru Travelocity for $88 US. Same flights thru BA were $130 US. All of the car rental companies at Newcastle Airport quoted more than &pound;200/week for an economy manual without air. Travelocity quoted &pound;140/week (excluding taxes & fees) for an economy with Hertz. When I got to the Hertz counter, they had the reservation but had a rate of &pound;235 on the contract. When I showed my confirmation from Travelocity, they cheerfully changed the rate to &pound;140/week including taxes and fees. Got a new 4 door Ford Focus with air. First time driving on the left. Wasn't nearly as hard as I had imagined. I'm glad I didn't have anything larger than the Focus on the narrow rural roads. If you are thinking of driving in the UK, purchase the "Highway Guide" or download it for free. Sign posting and terminology are somewhat different than in the US. Speed limit signs are rare so you must know the "National Limit" for the type road you are on.

Richard

Part 2 of 3 - Northumberland Area<BR> Decided to spend a week here - what a pleasant surprise! Stayed 4 nights at the Old Vicarage House in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Room #6 was very spacious and breakfast was great. (&pound;48/night/2 persons) Excellent location on a quiet street with off street parking. City center is a 10 minute walk across the old bridge. Tried to see all the castles in the area - got to Alnwick, Lindsfarne, Bamburgh, Etal, Ford, Floors, Warkworth, Belsay, and some others. The new gardens and fountains at Alnwick are quite impressive. Did an easy day trip to Edinburgh from Berwick on the train. Drove back to Newcastle for 3 nights at Hadrian Lodge Hotel. (was OK, nothing special) We chose this location because there was an adjacent metro stop. Bought a couple of all day metro tickets and never had to show them once. Unlike London, there are no turnstiles to put the tickets in, just get on and off. Liked the castle (lots of steps) and the millennium bridge.<BR><BR>On the way to Durham, we planned an hour or so side trip to the Beamish Museum. Spent over 4 hours there and still didn't see it all. It was my favorite place of the entire trip - a 1913 community complete with homes, offices, shops, people, cars, buses, trolleys, a school, a church, a coal mine, and more, with everything as it was in 1913. Sort of like Williamsburg, VA in the US. Took the Sunday tour at Durham Castle. Can't believe college kids live there.<BR>

Richard

Part 3 of 3 - London<BR> Spent a week at the Willett Hotel (&pound;84/night) A 4 star with a great location in sight of Sloan Square and the tube stop. Except for one minor problem, we were well pleased with the Willett and it included a great breakfast each morning. The minor problem: While out for the evening, someone helped themselves to my wife's credit cards and some cash that were left in a purse in a closet in the room. (Our fault for not using the safe) The police came and did an actual investigation, taking down every detail, getting the names of all staff on duty, and following up by interviewing the staff. I was really impressed with their thoroughness. They said it was probably someone on staff as there was no evidence of forced entry and you have to be buzzed in the front door. I asked if there were other reports and the officers couldn't recall any recent ones for the Willett, however, both said there had been a dramatic increase of thefts in hotels in the Earl's Court area by thieves well dressed in business attire.<BR><BR> We were delighted to see that the V&A, Science, History, and Greenwich museums are all now free admission. If you go by train to Hampton Court Palace, you can purchase admission tickets in combination with your train ticket at Waterloo station and get a $2-3 discount off the Palace ticket, not to mention the time it saves you once you get to the palace. Spent a day at Windsor and saw many more rooms in the state apartment than were open on our last visit in January 1999. The changing of the guard is really much better at Windsor than what you see at Buckingham Palace.<BR><BR> Enjoyed "My Fair Lady", "Grease", "Full Monty" with half price tickets purchased at the TKTS booth in Leicester Square. Also saw "Breath of Life" with Judy Dench and Maggie Smith. My wife is a Judy Dench fan so she really enjoyed it. "Breath of Life" is pretty much sold out, but they do release the first row at 10am on the day of performance if you want to queue at the box office.<BR> The two weeks had flown by and my only regret was that I had already eaten the all the Leonidas fresh cream pralines that I was planning to take home with me. (Found two London locations selling Leonidas) I was told at Victoria Station that flight check-in for Gatwick is no longer allowed there. If you use the Gatwick Express, don't buy tickets in advance, just get on the train and the agent will take care of you at some point during the half hour trip.<BR><BR> Thanks to all of you who have posted helpful hints in the past. You have been a tremendous help to us in planning this trip. Time now to plan the next one.<BR><BR>

janis

Nice report about an area not enough Americans get to. Over the years I have spent a total of 6+weeks in N'umberland and have still not seen it all.<BR><BR>(The robbery is another strong reminder to use a money belt.)<BR><BR>

Janice

Richard<BR><BR>We too are thinking about driving for the first time in the UK. Where can I get the Highway Guide? Any particular terms that you had trouble with? Thanks.

Richard

Janice,<BR> It's actually called the "Highway Code" and is available for less than &pound;2 in the UK. You can download it at:<BR><BR>http://www.roads.dft.gov.uk/roadsafety/hc/<BR><BR>Click on the "signs & markings" for pictures of the road markers. Most of the terms you will figure out. "Give Way" instead of "Yield", "No Overtaking" instead of "No Passing", "Carriageway" instead of "Interstate". <BR><BR>As I mentioned earlier, you rarely see speed limit signs, but rather a plain circular sign with a diagonal black slash through it which means the National Limit applies for that road. Also, be alert for a blue circular sign with white arrows in a circle indicating a mini-roundabout (traffic circle). There are thousands of roundabouts and they take a little getting use to if you live in an area like I do that doesn't have any.<BR><BR>Overall, I really didn't have any trouble driving, even having to shift with my left hand became natural after an hour or so.

Tracey

We're planning to use the Gatwick Express and I was wondering if I need to find an ATM for cash before getting on the train or will they take plastic? Also, can you buy a round-trip ticket once on the train and does it save you any to purchase a round-trip ticket?

Richard

Tracey,<BR><BR>Credit cards are accepted by the ticket agent on the train. I even saw one lady pay with a check of some sort. For round-trip tickets, ask for a "return" ticket which is &pound;21 (express class). The one-way price is &pound;11 so you do save one &pound; by buying the return ticket. Express class is the economy class vs first class which is about 60% more expensive and not worth it for the 30 minute journey. First class gives you a wider seat and a free newspaper.

Barbara

Richard,<BR><BR>We would love to see Breath Of Life on our trip in November, but were told that it was sold out for the dates we wanted. Are the first row seats held back for every performance? I wouldn't mind getting a sore neck to see Judy Dench up close.

Richard

Barbara,<BR><BR>I was told at the box office that the first row (13 seats) is released each day of performance at 10am. We got in line at 9:45am and there were about 8 people in front of us (some of them turned down the first row seats). If you get there early and there are not more than a few in line, you probably have a good chance for the front row. Good luck.<BR><BR>Richard

TC_Rider

Glad you had a good trip. We leave from RDU on 11/15 for two weeks in the UK.<BR><BR>We were supposed to come back on the direct flight on Thanksgiving Day, but AA canceled that flight and the one on Friday. I guess the flight was much less than half full. (A co-worker told me it was because Glaxo was closed those days)<BR><BR>They wanted to send us home through Dallas. We opted to stay the two extra days and return on Saturday. Luckily we had not yet booked most of our rail and were able to shuffle our itenerary around. <BR><BR>Glad to hear the details of the Gatwick Express, one less thing to worry about.<BR><BR>Were the ATMs easy to find at Gatwick? We planned on picking up some cash there.

MikeHolly

Durham is special...the castle is part of the university and with the cathedral next door well its perfect