Need some ideas for trip to England, NE of London
 

We just came back from the Lake District, Yorkshire Moors, Yorkshire Dales. We had amazing weather, probably only 5-6 hours of open umbrellas, and many sunny days. All areas were absolutely stunning, thanks to all who helped me!

One area of England that we have not been to is NE of London. Once we would arrive at Heathrow, thinking of taking a flight to York City, staying for several days, then renting a car and driving south in a circular route, but I have no idea what the special places are to see and visit.

Can you give me some of your ideas to get started researching? Love National Trust properties, gardens, houses, castles, history, and charming villages/towns. We would probably be there 2 weeks (not counting "fly days") at the end of March.

THANKS!

the North Yorkshire Moors are worth a drive through for sure - go thru them to Whitby and the coastal drive to Scarborough - whitby having a neat old ruined castle seaside and called the home of Dracula or at least its author - Fountains Abbey in a neat sprawling park of Studley royal near Ripon - Harrogate - the Bronte family home in Haworth bordering the famous desolate Moors there - Whitby and the coastal drive to Scarborough - all nice days out from York that I have done by train and bus but a drive would have been much much nicer and even Leeds has some stellar Victoria architecture.

<<thinking of taking a flight to York City,>>

er.. York doesn't have an airport so not sure what you mean

and just to clarify by NE of London do you mean Norfolk, Suffolk area?

or NE England, which is Northumberland and Durham???

a southern loop could include Cambridge, Ely (famous cathedral) and Lavenham - the latter a really neat town that does not get much ink on Fodor's but I loved it - smallish town great for a stroll.

Yes -- your post is a little confusing. NE would mean to me East Anglia/Norfolk/Suffolk/Cambs.

York is north (and actually sort of NNW) of London, and doesn't have an airport.

If you have been to Yorkshire and the Moors and really do mean NE of London -- then you are better of flying into LHR and taking a coach to East Anglia, basing somewhere like Norwich or Cambridge or Kings Lynn.

If you do mean as far north as Durham/Northumberland, there is plenty to see that would fit your list of interests. But it might make more sense to get to Newcastle and tour from there.
http://www.visitbritain.com/en/North...-Travel-Guide/
http://www.visitengland.com/things-t...h-east-england

Sorry all to confuse you

We did go to the Moors, but never made it to the City of York. Would like to spend some time there, but I see now that the airport (Leeds) is an hour away. How easy is it to take a train from Heathrow to York?

I did mean NE of London ~~ not the NE of England. I was looking at the area of the following counties, not knowing which are the more interesting to investigate, which are less interesting.
Essex
Suffolk
Norfolk
Lincolnshire
Nottinghamshire
Leicestershire
Northamptonshire
Cambridgeshire
Bedfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Hertfordshire

As above in original post, historic properties, abbeys and churches, gardens, small towns, countryside, large old trees interest us most.

The north Norfolk coast is lovely - plenty of creeks, sandy beaches, windmills, decent cafes and pubs (Wells Next The Sea, Blakeney, Cley etc).

In Suffolk you might like Lavenham for the beautiful timbered buildings, and further out toward the coast the Stour Valley is lovely - scene of several Constable paintings - you can do a riverside walk and finish in the tearooms.

Cambridge and Ely are worth a look for the colleges and cathederal respectively.

Duxford is a great air and flight museum (they have a Concorde!) and a lot of older commercial and military planes like the Comet, russian fighter jets etc etc. Unfortunately you just missed an air show (last weekend I think).

RM67 ~ amazing I was just looking at Lavenham, thought it looked lovely!

And is Flatford Mill in East Bergholt the area of the Stour Valley you are talking about?

But you won't get me in a air and flight museum when on vacation….we live 60-90 minutes from Washington DC, and when people come to visit we always have to go to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles! It's great, but my attention span wanders after I've seen the Concorde, Blackbird and Shuttle!

Another vote for Norfolk and that coastal area, too.

Here are some photos of Norfolk and Suffolk.
https://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]

I think that my photo of Willy Lott's cottage is taken from the same place Where Constable painted it

There are no trains from Heathrow to <i>anywhere</i> except Paddington.

So if you want to go to East Anglia the best bet is likely a coach from LHR to Cambridge and then collect a car after a good night's sleep.

Otherwise if you want a train you have to go to Paddington, cross London by cab/taxi/bus to Kings Cross (same for York -- Paddington to KC). Or you can take the tube from LHR to KC.

You have a long list of counties - several of which are not NE of London. W/ 2 weeks it would be possible to start up in York (a couple of days in the city) and then wander down through Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire then back to LHR to fly home.

Or book a car service from LHR. Plan on about an hour to get to Kings Cross for train to York. Not the cheapest way to get to K.C., but the easiest. I think the fare runs about £ 37.

You can get to Cambridge from York without going into London - there are trains from York to Peterborough and then you connect from Peterborough to Cambridge - its an easy journey and avoids the tube.

I did try posting a link to my Stour Valley pix on Flick earlier but for some reason the post did not go through. Had a similar thing on the painkiller thread yesterday - maybe work has some sort of helpful blocker now....will try again when I get home.

>>You can get to Cambridge from York without going into London<<

I don't think anyone suggested going into London to get from York to Cambridge . . . The comments were how to get from <i>LHR to York (or LHR to Cambridge)</i>.

Have given up on York, too far

Maybe we spend a few days in London (been there before) and then take a train to ???

Thinking Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, back down through Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire depending upon sights to see.

Question……..DH just said he has to be back by March 24 (work) that has us leaving around March 6, earlier than we ever have before. I wonder if even the Daffodils will be out, that's pretty early!

In Norfolk I recommend moated Oxburgh Hall near Swaffham http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/oxburgh-hall , and the Old Vicarage gardens at East Ruston http://www.e-ruston-oldvicaragegardens.co.uk although not sure if they'll be open that early in the year.

You can easily do East Anglia (based in Cambridge, ideally with a car to get you around) for a few days, then go onto York for a couple of days using the route I have outlined without going back into London. Cambridge to Peterborough is 50 mins and Peterborough to York is 1hr 15 on nice modern trains. Or keep the car and drive north.

PS I live in Hertfordshire and I don't recommend it as a tourist hotspot. :-P