camlec

Hello,

My husband and I will be travelling to northern England/Scotland in mid-August and I'm hoping for some feedback on our itinerary. We've been several times before (hubby lived there for a year in university) but never in high season. We like to play things by ear but I'm somewhat worried we'll end up sleeping in our car if we don't pre-book accommodations (or paying top rates!). Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Day 1: Arrive in Manchester, pick up car, drive to friend's house in Sheffield for sleep after overnight flight
Day 2: Travel to York, poke around there (pre-booked at St. Raphael's)
Day 3: York and area
Day 4: Travel to Whitby, stay overnight
Day 5: Travel to Windermere, stay overnight
Day 6: Tour Windermere area
Day 7: Travel to Keswick, tour area, stay overnight (this is a Friday - will we be able to get single night accommodation in the area?)
Day 8: Travel to Carlisle, visit Hadrians Wall (Again, will it be difficult to get single night accommodation in the area?)
Day 9: Head into Borders area - not sure where, stay overnight
Day 10: Go to Dundee to visit friends
Day 11: Spend day in St. Andrews, head to Glenrothes overnight (pre-booked hotel)
Day 12: Wedding in Glenrothes, stay overnight (pre-booked hotel)
Day 13: No idea - maybe spend night with friends in Dunfermline
Day 14: Head back down to Manchester, stay there overnight near airport
Day 15: Leave!

We've never been to the Lakes District so I'm open to suggestions if there are better places to stay. Actually, that entire period of Lakes District through to Dundee is open to suggestions. The only thing set in stone is day before/of the wedding we're attending. Thanks in advance!

Marsha

We just returned from Yorkshire, Northumberland and Scotland. Because we have two children, we reserved everything two months ahead of time. If I were you, I would reserve something now for Whitby and Hadrian's Wall. I noticed many B and B's in Whitby, but they may fill up quickly in August when everyone takes their vacations. (I hope the weather improves for you, because the first two weeks of July were cold and wet.) There aren't too many places to stay along Hadrian's Wall, but there may be more in Hexham, Haltwhistle and the other towns 2 or 3 miles from the Wall. We stayed at the Twice-Brewed Inn, near the Once-Brewed Tourist Information Center. Nothing fancy - toilets and showers down the hall. And although the rooms were over the bar, it was very quiet after 8:30 p.m.

Kayb95

Personally, I like to book things ahead, especially if I had a set initerary such as yours. Since you are traveling up to Scotland for the wedding, staying in one location for several nights is not an option. I would like to have places to stay pre-booked so I could spend my time touring rather than looking for a place to stay.

Morgana

Hi
I live in Northern England (North Yorkshire) although in the Dales and not the areas you are visiting.
A word of warning about the Lake (not Lakes) District. It is beautiful - but in mid-August very crowded in parts - and Windermere is one of those parts! In fact during hot summer weekends the local police have practically 'closed' the area by pleading for visitors to keep away, saying it is 'full'. I am not saying don't visit -but definitely book in advance and be prepared for full car parks and crowded beauty spots. Keswick is not such a tourist hot-spot and you should be able to find one night accommodation, especially if you search under bed and breakfasts.
Whitby is wonderfully atmospheric. Do try and visit the Sutcliffe Gallery in the town where they have wonderful Victorian photographs of the area, ideal for framing and they make great gifts. If you like fish I strongly recommend the Magpie Cafe for the freshest and tastiest fish and chips you will ever eat. www.magpiecafe.co.uk Another place in Whitby is The White Horse and Griffin - again great food but I don't know what the rooms are like to stay there.
M

almcd

If it were me, I would try to reduce the things you are trying to do. For example, I would omit going to Whitby. It is in the opposite direction from the Lake District and you might be better off doing another day around York. A visit to Castle Howard is well worth while. Also, Eden Camp, a second world war museum,is outstanding. It is on the edge of York on the Whitby Road, if my memory serves me correctly.
To my mind, the nicest town in the borders is Kelso, with Floors castle on the outskirts. Well worth a visit.
I would avoid Dundee like the plague. Why not go direct to St Andrews and have your friends meet you there. It is a short drive. If day 13 does not materialise, go to Edinburgh from Glenrothes and visit from there. Accomodation in Edinburgh will be impossible to obtain as it is in the Festival season. Drive back to Kelso for your overnight stay and go to Manchester from there.

camlec

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback. Morgana, you've hit my fears right on the head. I'm hoping that visiting Windermere Wed-Fri would resolve some of those crowd issues, and heading to Hadrian's Wall for the weekend would be better. How far is Windermere from Carlisle and Keswick? I find maps of the UK really hard to gauge as what looks far turns out to be less than an hour by car... would adding another night to Windermere allow us to tour these areas without having to find another place to stay?

Part of the problem is that my family is from Yorkshire, so I've been through the area many times but my husband hasn't. I want to go to York and Whitby with him as I love those towns. We added the Lake District so there was somewhere we both haven't been. We can't get out of Dundee as my husband wants to re-visit his old school haunts. I think my main problem is resolving the fact that this trip won't hold many new places but it will be great to visit old favourites with my husband. Almcd, I've been to most of the places you mentioned and they are all good ones!

Morgana

Hi
Impossible really to estimate driving times. But have a look at the AA route planner www.theaa.com It's very good for distances and times. Windermere will certainly be emptier mid week and probably worth going. Grasmere is lovely - do try the gingerbread. Windermere would certainly be a good base to explore the area (Keswick and Carlise are within easy reach) and it's sometimes nice to stay 2 nights in one area - much less upheaval. But there are countless bed and breakfast places in the Lake District and it's really geared up for visitors as far as restaurants and pubs are concerned.
In Yorkshire I assume you have visited Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal in the past?

camlec

We've decided to skip Whitby and instead stay in Windermere for three nights. I haven't been to Foutains Abbey - I looked at their website and it looks beautiful - perhaps we can hit it on our way from York to Windermere. Thanks!

bettyk

In May, we stayed 2 nights at the Best Western Burn How Garden Hotel in Bowness on Windermere which is just a mile or so from Windermere proper. We really enjoyed it there. The hotel is comprised of several separate buildings (some designed to look like chalets) that are set in a lovely garden. It was a quiet location but only a short 5 minute walk to the Lake, restaurants and shops. And the staff were all so nice! Here's their website: http://www.burnhow.co.uk/

Some of the prettiest scenery of our entire trip was the drive from Windermere to Stirling, Scotland.

camlec

That hotel does look lovely. Unfortunately, it's out of our price range. The Canadian dollar has gotten stronger but still pales in comparison to the pound!

We're looking at the Westbury or Dunvegan House or Lindisfarne House in Windermere.

don76

message; camlec
I posted a thread yesterday making reference to a web site listing B&B's in the lake district.
We stayed a week in Bowness in 2002 and it is an excellent location but the lodging is expensive.
I would opt for Keswick which is beautiful and loaded with B&B's
We will spend 4 days there in early October.
Enter- don76- under"Search this Forum' at the top of fodors page and you wiill find the web reference and should be able to find rooms even in high season.
Don

taggie

Camlec when we go to the Lake District we stay in Grasmere. Last time we stayed at the Moss Grove Hotel... it was pretty good, in a great location. Lots of stairs up to our room!! But a good size room, large bathroom, good full breakfast.... the staff was mostly students from Australia and S. Africa... they were really helpful and even did some laundry for us.
Runs about £42 per person per night B&B but if you stay 3 or more nights you get a 10% discount (we are Cdn too so find all the US folks complaining about the US$/UK pound exchange rate kind of funny).
http://www.mossgrove.co.uk/hotel/

Ani

If you are for sure going to York (which will be our first stop when we go back to the UK) run, don't walk, to Fountains Abbey. I'm serious! Don't miss it.

ealing_calling

IMO, if you're Canadian, you will find the Lake District scenery to be underwhelming -- and the summer crowds totally oppressive.

I'm from Northern California and after 4 visits to the Lakes, never again. Boring, gentle rolling scenery . . . . give me the Moors, and Northumbrian coast.

Lindisfarne, Bamburgh Castle (and all of Alnwick), and Durham Cathedral are all worth long, lingering visits. Easy to head up to Dundee from there, too. (I faintly seem to remember that the pubs and clubs of Dundee were great fun, too) . . . .

You'll have a great trip, but get cracking if you're talking about August '04.
HTH

ealing_calling

Just found these!

http://www.bamburghcastle.com/

http://www.alnwickcastle.com/

http://www.seahouses.org/

http://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/

have fun planning . .. . .

Morgana

Hi
I am sure you will love the Lake District, and Windermere is an ideal base to explore. I have never been to Canada and can't comment on the scenery there, but I can assure you that the Lake District is far more than pretty lakes and hills. For instance it is a very popular destination for literary and art reasons. You can visit Beatrix Potter's house, Wordsworth's cottage, Ruskin's house etc etc. It's an area full of quaint villages, centuries old pubs serving great food and drink, and Castlerigg has an amazing stone circle which, although not quite in the Stonehenge bracket, is amazingly atmospheric.
Having said all that, my deepest love is for the Yorkshire Dales, being lucky enough to live there, but I don't want to advertise them too much do I?
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal (not in the Dales) is a World Heritage Site. Avoid weekends if you can, or visit early. The visitor centre is excellent - informative and with a great range of gifts.
M

bettyk

Look, I've been lucky enough to travel to many countries and I've seen lots of beautiful places, but the area around and north of the Lake District is still awesome. The layers of greens and golds on the hillsides make you feel like you are in another world. I can't describe it. I'd "settle" for that view anyday.

I'm also certain that it will be much more crowded in August than in Mid May when we were there.

taggie

I look at Canadian mountains every day of my life. But I still love the Lake District, even though I'd hestitate to call the mountains there mountains. Perhaps they're not as awe-inspiring as the Rockies. It's a gentle kind of scenery, softer, with the most intense greens on the rolling hills.... hard to explain, but it's one of my favourite places.
If one manages to find the Mason's Arms pub in the tangle of stone-wall banked lanes at the top of Carmel Fell - well, it's magic.
Yorkshire Dales has a different kind of appeal, no less wonderful to be sure. One can truly only make up one's mind about a place until it's been seen in person.

camlec

LOL - I live in the flattest, most underwhelming part of southern Ontario directly across from Detroit Michigan. The biggest landform in town is the municipal dump - I am not joking. The brochures for the Lake District look beautiful and we're looking forward to seeing them, even if we are surrounded by 1000 of our soon-to-be-closest friends!

Fountain Abbey has been added to the itinerary for a mid-week morning en route to Windermere!

Thank you all for your help!

Morgana

Hi. So glad you are going to Fountains Abbey. Don't miss the landscaped water gardens at Studley Royal next to the Abbey - it's all included in the price of your entry to the Abbey. I live a few miles away, and I love this place in the autumn when the nights are dark. TheY floodlight the abbey and play Gregorian chant music, and you practically have the place to yourself.
I don't know if you are readers, or like reading ready for a trip abroad, but a good novel set in the Lake District is The Maid of Buttermere by Melvyn Bragg. Butteremere is in the Northern lakes and very beautiful. The Fish Inn still exists too.
Have a lovely trip.
M