TrisPrefect

Hey guys! Next year, I'm planning a trip with my boyfriend and his family to the UK, and I would love some wisdom that you all seem to have an abundance of! This won't be my first trip to the UK, but it will be for my boyfriend and his family, so I'm trying to hit some interesting spots even if I've already been there.

Some notes about us if you have anything to suggest that we might like:
I love historical places, the boyfriend likes outdoorsy stuff like hiking, his sister is very into gardens and wildlife reserves, and his mom likes manor houses and castles and just basically pretty things. Me, boyfriend, and boyfriend's sister are all in our early to mid twenties and pretty spry, but we will be travelling with some elders, so I'm trying to keep it so that we're not moving at too much of a breakneck speed.

Day 1

Land at Heathrow in the AM
Rent car/drive up to Stafford (where our timeshare is)
Relax/take quick trip into the village to explore (Barton-under-Needlewood, if you're curious)

Day 2

Sudbury Hall
Tamworth Castle

Day 3

Llangollen, Wales to see:
Castell Dinas Bran
Valle Crucis Abbey

Day 4

Warwick Castle
Stratford-Upon-Avon

Day 5

Hiking in the Peak District

Those were all the ideas I had so far, I don't know if I should spread them out or add more to them. I was also considering a day trip to York, but it's kind of a long drive and I feel like we wouldn't be doing it justice in just one day. I wouldn't be opposed to it, though, because I love York.

We're then going to be spending a week in London, probably renting an apartment in South Kensington.

Day 1

Drop car off at Heathrow, take tube into London
Check into apartment, drop off luggage and get settled in
Amble through Kensington Gardens and briefly view Kensington Palace (probably will not end up going inside, I've heard it's a let down)
Head over to the Trafalgar Square/Piccadilly Circus/Leicester Square area at night

Day 2

Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace (not interested in seeing the Changing of the Guards)
Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms
Amble past/take pictures of Big Ben/Houses of Parliament

Day 3

Day trip to Canterbury

Day 4

Camden Market in AM
St Pauls Cathedral
Temple of Mithras
British Museum

Day 5

Day trip to Windsor Castle

Day 6

Tower of London
Geffrye Museum
West End show at Night

Day 7

Fly Home

Obviously this is a very loosely sketched out itinerary, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. If there's anything you think I'm missing out on that we would love, or if you think we'll be rushing around like chickens with our heads cut off, please let me know. Thanks!

jamikins

Hello there

Have you considered walking in the Cotswolds as opposed to the Peaks? It would make more sense given where you are...

ron

I presume this is Wychnor Park timeshare we are talking about? To suggest that Barton-under-Needwood is in the Peak District is stretching geography quite a bit - although the southern edge is less than an hour away.

First comment is that people on these boards generally disapprove of 2½ hour drives after an overnight flight (having done it a couple of times myself in my young and foolish days, I understand why). But perhaps you have enough people to constantly scream at the driver to keep him/her awake.

The day trips to Warwick/Stratford and Sudbury/Tamworth seem fine. I'd certainly spend a good part of day in Lichfield if I was that close. The drive to Llangollen seems a bit far,but perhaps those sights (which I don't know) are important enough to you to justify. I'd probably spend another day in the Peaks instead. I agree that York is too far - if you must do York, do it as a day trip by train from London.

TrisPrefect

You are right, the Wynchnor Park timeshare is (as I understand it) a little less than an hour away from the Peak District...I guess I was just calling it that in my head.

What would you recommend doing instead of driving after an overnight flight? We don't have a huge amount of time, and I was thinking that it would be better to get there and then relax, rather than staying in London until we got our bearings. I usually don't have a problem sleeping on planes, but maybe it is still a bad idea. What do people normally do in that situation?

From what I understand, Llangollen is about an hour and a half from where we're staying, which isn't too bad (from our point of view, anyway). I grew up in farm country so I'm used to driving forever to get places!

Thanks for the advice, especially the bit about the overnight flight...I didn't even think about that.

ron

I don't have a good answer to the driving after overnight flight issue. Fly a day early, stay near Heathrow, visit Windsor, pick up the car next day? Take a train someplace closer to your destination, rent a car there with a short drive to your lodgings? But no place obvious comes to mind. Both are awkward compromises.

Re the Llangollen trip, as a person who has done many long distance drives in Canada and the US, I get a bemused smile on my face when someone suggests that their driving experience in North America or Australia will serve them well in England. No, it won't. It is totally different.

I hope you are using the RAC or the AA journey planners rather than the unreliable google maps for your drive time estimates. And, given your UK driving inexperience, you should probably add about 25% to the estimated time.

Having said that, the drive to and back from Llangollen shouldn't be too bad. You're starting far enough north to miss the worst of the horrors of the Birmingham conurbation. But, if you take the main highways, there are still dangers of congestion. Taking back roads would be slower, but a lot more pleasant. I'd estimate 2 to 2½ hours each way.

indy_dad

We live somewhat nearby in Derby and have taken quite a few jaunts into the Peak District and surrounding areas. You can poke around my blog to get some ideas:

ukfrey.blogspot.com

It will be a bit of a drive, particularly to get up to the Northern bits. Chatsworth, Haddon Hall, Hardwick Hall and even Kedleston Hall offer some options to consider. Chatsworth is huge and you could make a day of it walking the grounds/woods nearby.

Ironbridge might be an option for another day as well.

Ironbridge
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/ironbridge.html

Chatsworth
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11...hatsworth.html

Bakewell
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06...thers-day.html

Sudbury Hall
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09...shire-day.html

Hartington (favorite walk so far)
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06...-district.html

Dove Dale / Thorpe Cloud
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/thorpe-cloud.html
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06...ainy-days.html

quite a few other walks if you poke around on the blog

We really enjoyed North Wales, but not as a day trip
http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/north-wales.html

Carolfoasia

Sounds like you have a fantastic schedule! I agree with a previous poster that the Cotswolds are a good choice and closer to the area you are going to already be in. Rick Steve's has a very nice video about day hiking in the Cotswolds too! I am sure you can get it at your library. I just watched it tonight as I am planning a trip there in 2013!

texasbookworm

I think that Ron may have hit on a very good alternative for you--stay around LHR the first night, take trip to Windsor from there. That keeps you off the streets (HA!) in your jet-lagged condition and lets you get bearings.

OR since this seems to be quite a ways in the future, is there a reason not to switch your weeks? Spend first week in London, then rent car and do your other touring?

You seem to be not planning too much, which is so smart, and planning way ahead, which is also good.

Your Day 4 of London week seems a bit much. I'd allow at least 2 hours for St. Paul's, more if anybody wants to climb to the dome which is well worth the effort (if day is halfway decent weather-wise) and then I'd "never" go to the British Museum with less than 4-5 hours. So...Camden Market is an interesting area (not so much for the "elders" maybe! but I did enjoy it and I have children your age so I guess I'm an elder!) but maybe you could schedule that differently. I'd definitely have your group at Westminster Abbey and the Tower before opening times on the days you include those.

Not sure what current status of the Temple of Mithras is--seems to be in midst of moving (again--what we saw in 2008 was its reconstructed display, having been moved from original site. And now, it seems, it is being moved back? http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/ja...temple-mithras ) Maybe a London resident can enlighten if this is a real priority. And of course, your trip isn't until next year.

nana5

Wow!!!!great schedule but it does feel a little packed.My favorite hikes have been in the lake district where Beatrice Potter lived and it is a nice change from busy London. When in London,I find that all ages and tastes can find something to do at night by taking advantage of the great theater that is offered in this city. Head over to the half-price booth near Picadilly,get a coffee from Starbucks and make the line!!!This is also a great city for Indian food!!!The Red Fort,off Dean STreet is great but a bit pricey. Taste in art varies. Have you done the Tate Modern? The British Museum is amazing but for something different head out to the Victoria and Albert (The V/A).Hope this helps

TrisPrefect

Thanks guys!

The rationale behind doing London second was because I thought it would be a good idea to do our crazy London schedule after we're over the jetlag and have caught our breath a little bit.

The only other thing I can think of in terms of that first day is taking a train north and then renting a car up there, but IDK if that would really work either. Maybe renting a hotel the first day in London would be the best way to do it.

We're not crazy into art, so I think if we were going to miss out anything on our schedule it would be the art museums, especially when there's so much else we really want to see.

In terms of the whole "elder" thing, my boyfriend's mom is in her 50s, but his stepdad is like 70, so that's more of what I meant. There probably will be days (like the hiking ones) where we leave them to relax by the pool while we go do something strenuous, but I don't think that can really be helped.

Thanks for all the tips and links guys, I will definitely be checking them out. This trip is still so far away and has the potential to totally change, so we'll see where it goes!

Oh, one more question: the whole driving in England thing? I've been to England before, but it was with my parents, and my dad's an old pro at driving on the opposite side of the road. Is this something I should be worried about? I know that we have to book way ahead of time to reserve an automatic car, but am I being too optimistic that at least one of us will be able to wrap our heads around the different driving conditions? Hopefully not.

ron

Hi, Tris, glad to see you got some useful respnses overnight. Before adding a few more of mine, I'd like to do a little rant. Two people have tried to make the case that you should consider staying in the Cotswolds instead of the place you have chosen. They should be reminded that our job here is to help people do what it is they want to do, not convince them to do what we think they should want to do. Tris and her family have picked a satisfactory location - let's help her make the most of it. And save our Cotswold pumping for the folks that come along saying, "I am going to England, I don't know why I am going there, I don't know what I want to do. Please help." Rant over.

A couple of places to add to Indy_dad's excellent list. Kenilworth Castle and Coventry (both of which I believe he has blogged on) and Baddesley Clinton and Packwood House, two historic National Trust properties in the same area.

As I mentioned before about the idea of taking the train and renting a car nearby, no obvious place comes to mind. You would want one with direct trains from London. Birmingham airport would be good if it wasn't on the wrong side of Birmingham. I have returned a car at Derby, that could work. There are fast trains to Coventry, so also a possibility.

Finally, your driving question. Everyone is different. Some people take to it easily, others struggle. I know on my first driving holiday in the UK, the first couple of days I was seriously considering returning the car and totally revamping the plans. On the 4th day, everything snapped into place and I have been fine ever since.

indy_dad

<i>A couple of places to add to Indy_dad's excellent list. Kenilworth Castle and Coventry (both of which I believe he has blogged on)</i>

Yep.

http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04...-coventry.html