Hi Everyone! First off I’d like to Thank Everyone on this site. All the tips and suggestions I received helped me IMMENSELY! I’m so happy I found Fodors. I am now obsessed, like many others. It especially helped me convince my fiancé to fly Easyjet from Scotland back to Luton, instead of taking a 7 hour train ride !

Here is some background on us.
Myself/Haydee: I’m in my mid twenties. I’ve been to Europe once before on a month long tour, where we visited London for about 3 days. I love English and Scottish history, well I really love all Western History. And I’m a huge Harry Potter fan.
My Fiance/Tim: Tim is in his late twenties. Tim lived in England for 2 years. Stationed in Mildenhall. While he was here he owned a MG maestro, which he loved.

A note about Packing: I took a 24 inch Eddie Bauer suitcase, that was expandable. As well as a small Le Sport Sac duffel bag. And a small Eddie Bauer day/messenger bag. Actually my jacket was Eddie Bauer as well, so I was a walking Eddie Bauer ad. Tim took a 22inch carryon, that expanded. It was overflowing by the end of the trip, and I had to take some of his stuff in my bag. Overall, I think I may have taken a little too much then I actually ended up needing. But 2 things I didn’t get a chance to do.
1) Laundry – We just never had time. So luckily I brought just enough socks and underwear for the whole trip.
2) Drug-Store shopping – We never wanted to take time out of our sight-seeing to stop in. Although we probably could have. I had taken everything we would have needed.
Things I didn’t need
Hairdryer: Everywhere had one, plus mine exploded the first day anyway.
Too many books: I had 2 books to read. And we hardly had any time to read, only on the plane did I get a chance to open them. And we had 3 tour books! We should have only copied pages we would need. It got tiresome lugging them around.

I will describe what we did each day, and at the end add a note separately about the Hotel. I’m a bit of a Hotel snob, so my ratings might be a bit harsh on some places. As far as food, I only noted when a meal was particularly good. We ate a few more fast-food meals then we normally would have. But with the exchange rate, we were trying to eat on the cheap. We also had a lot of pub meals. Which were nice at first, but then I got really tired of pub food. Haha……So here we go.

Day 1: Sat, April 28th – Arrival

We’ve arrived! We flew LAX direct to Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. (It would have been smarter if we had done an open jaw ticket, but since we bought them on a whim, we were stuck flying in and out of London). It was an overnight flight. The flight was uneventful; I was lucky enough to sleep a few hours of it. The seats were really uncomfortable, but overall the flight didn’t seem as long as it really was. We landed at 1pm, and after customs and the handy Heathrow express got to our hotel at about 3pm.
We were really tired but determined to stay up a few hours so our bodies could adjust to the time. So we headed out right away, and walked 10 min along the river to Parliament (Our Hotel was in a great location). The weather was great, sunny and a warm 75ish degrees. That’s probably why there were so many people out; it was really crowded all along the river. We walked along and snapped many pictures of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We grabbed something to eat at a bagel shop.
We then took a boat ride down the Thames from Westminster to Tower Bridge and back. This was a great way to unwind and get a view of the city. London architecture is really so interesting. It’s this strongly contrasting mix of the incredibly old, and the brand new……We were going to take a ride on the Eye, but it was too crowded so we decided to skip it. We couldn’t stay up any longer, so we ended up crashing at 7pm…..Next day, we head to Cambridge.

Almost forgot!
Hotel In London: The City Inn Westminster – B+
This Hotel was in a great location. The room was decent and had all the amenities. The bathroom was nice, but small. A very hard bed though. The breakfast was good but overpriced.

Oh - good - I was wondering how your trip turned out. Looking forward to more . . . .

Day 2: Sun, April 29th – Ah, Jet Lag

Today we were hit hard by Jet Lag. Tim woke up at 1:30am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I woke up at 4am, and was wide-awake. We tried to sleep longer, but out bodies were telling us it was time to get up. So we had an early start today. My “travel hairdryer”, that cost $35.00, literally blew up in my hands (How annoying – I shouldn’t have bought one, every place had one).
We caught a train from Liverpool station to Cambridge. Where we were going to meet Caroline, who is an old friend of Tim’s. They met while he was stationed in Milldenhall. Caroline and her boyfriend Justin were kind enough to show us around today, and let us stay at their home in Nassington….Caroline met us at the Train Station and we went off to tour Cambridge. It was another sunny day.
Most of the colleges were closed (exams going on), so we were only able to tour Trinity College. It had some very nice grounds, but we were only allowed to see one hall. We then had lunch at ‘The Eagle’, which is famous for having writing on the ceiling, left by American WWII soldiers, who were stationed near there during the war. Fish and Chips were good. Then Tim had to drop by his favorite pub in Newmarket (where he met Caroline), ‘The Waggon and Horses’ for a pint.
Afterwards we went to Caroline’s home in Nassington. I had no idea where Nassington was, but it's in some really charming countryside. I had told Carolyn I was into History and had recently been reading about Mary Queen of Scots, so she told me there was an area near her I’d really like. They drove us over to Fothering Hay, where there had once been a castle, which is where poor Mary lost her head. We walked all along the site of the castle (there were great views here of the countryside), and then walked over to the local abbey, that was really nice. There was even a rude Gargoyle, that is mooning you from up above, haha. It was so nice to see this charming town, we hadn’t expected to see. It was like discovering this great little gem!
We then had dinner at The Black Horse in Nassington, it had some very good lasagna…..Next Day, Edinburgh!

I'm so glad you're posting a trip report, haydeedoll! It's so fun to watch someone plan their trip and then see how it worked out. So far, it sounds like you are keeping busy and doing a LOT. Which is pretty much what you planned!

Looking forward to reading more.

book marking

Thanks for the report!!

Day 3: Mon, April 30th – The City of JK Rowling

Tim is still being hit by Jet Lag, poor guy woke up at 2am and couldn’t go back to sleep.

Caroline drove us to Peterborough where we had train tickets booked for Edinburgh, for a 7:45am train. There was some confusion after getting our tickets, and we almost missed the train. Those machines print out several different tickets that you all need. But, Tim hadn’t realized at first he would need them all.
The train ride was really nice. There were some great views, especially when we go along the coast. And the seats were decent, actually comfier than the one’s on the Virgin flight. We got to Edinburgh in a few short hours, and checked into our Hotel (The Jury’s Inn). It was such a nice day out. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. Even though it was chilly enough for me to keep my jacket on, the locals were in t-shirts and shorts.
We decided to first hike up Arthur’s Seat, because it was so nice out. We started at the bottom of the Royal Mile near Hollyroad Palace. OMG, it was so high! Every tour book says the hike up takes 45min, yeah right, try 2 hours. But the views from the top are amazing. The sky was so clear and you could see the whole city and the bay.

After this we walked over to find the Greyfriar’s Cemetery. We got a little lost on the way, so we stopped at a pub and had a pint to relax. We needed it after our strenuous hike. Afterwards we did finally find the cemetery and the Statue of “Greyfriars Bobby”. We walked around the cemetery and then headed back to our Hotel to rest a little.

Later that evening we headed out to find the building which housed the café, that JK Rowling wrote much of the first HP book. It currently houses a Chinese restaurant, but there are a few plaques outside that mention she used to write there. It was a very bad idea to eat there! We couldn’t stomach the food after a few bites, and had to leave and have another dinner somewhere else. I did like seeing the little signs, and sitting in the building my idol sat in.


Day 4: Tues, May 1st – Garde Loo

We tried to fix our Jet lag by taking some sleeping pills last night. Oops, we ended up sleeping till noon! We headed to the castle first thing, missed the 1pm gun .
I enjoyed the castle. We saw the crown jewels first. I really liked the display about them. Very well done I thought; educational and easy to follow for those not familiar with Scottish history. I especially liked seeing The Stone of Scone. We then saw the prisoners quarters, this was fascinating, especially the doors on display. The doors have graffiti from prisoners that were once kept there, and one of the doors has an early carving of the American Flag. We also saw St. Margarette’s Chapel, and the tomb of the unknown soldier...Great views from up at the castle.

We then walked along Princes Street, and then back towards the Royal Mile. We then went searching for the Hot Chocolate place we’ve heard so many rave about. We never found it. Finally we gave up and just stopped at an Italian Coffee shop for their mocha, which was pretty good. At 6:30 we went over to the meeting place for our Tour of Mary King’s Close. This was great! So fascinating to be down there in these dark tunnels where people once had their homes, and where many people died from the plague. And apparently those that lived higher up, would throw their waste out the windows and yell “Garde Loo” as a warning to those below. What a lovely thought…Yuk!

Hotel: Jury’s Inn – C+
Not a great Hotel. The + is for the location. Right off the Royal Mile, and a short walk from the train station. But the décor is outdated, and the bed was uncomfortable. The water goes everywhere in the bathroom when the shower is on too.

Day 5: Wed, May 2nd – A Cow called Hamish

Today we checked out of Edinburgh. We picked up our Rental Car from hertz, which was a short walk from the Hotel. But, we couldn’t find our way out of the city. We just drove around in circles for an hour, haha.

A quick note here. Although Tim did refuse to ask for directions as we rambled around Edinburgh. He did ease back into driving on the left effortlessly. He especially likes the roundabouts. He thinks they are brilliant for keeping traffic moving. Where as, they just scare me, hehe. But, I didn’t get a chance to drive the whole trip. A shame, because I did want to try it.

Anyways, finally found our way out, via the A720 and stopped at a Little Chef for breakfast (ewww). Then we noticed a sign that said 3 miles to Rosalyn Chapel, so we decided to go. I didn’t know we would be so close to it, and it wasn’t on our to-do list. But I’m REALLY glad we went. It’s such an interesting chapel. It’s unlike any chapel/abbey I’ve ever seen. That’s probably why there is so much mysticism attached to it. All the carvings are amazing.

After Rosalyn we continued our way north towards Glencoe. Parts of this drive reminded me of California. At one point we stopped at this shop, where they have a Coo named Hamish that you can feed. He was so cute!….We reached Glencoe at about 3pm. The visitor’s center has a very poignant display about the massacre that happened here, along with lots of info about the scenery and wildlife in the area.

At this point we needed to find a place to stay for the night. I had printed information about various places. The first place we called (The Princes Hotel in Glenfinnan) had a front view room available. So, we took it. It was pricey but I didn’t feel like calling around and finding somewhere else.

We then took the road from Ft. William to Glenfinnan. In Glenfinnan we walked over to the Visitor’s Center (it was closed). Here you can see the Viaduct that passes the area (The one featured in the HP films, with the Hogwarts express going over it). We then walked down to the Jacobite monument. It was so peaceful here. We just sat near the monument looking out over the loch, it was great. We then walked back, and had dinner in the bar at the Hotel.

Before going to bed, we called ahead to book a room on Skye for the next night. The first 3 places I called had no availability. Finally the Royal Hotel in Portree had a room available, a pricier front view again, but we took it.

Hotel: The Princes Hotel: B+
Very Nice. The hosts were very welcoming. The room is comfortable. The Fish and Chips in the bar were the best we had the whole trip!

Day 6: Thurs, May 3rd – Over the Water to Skye

After breakfast we checked out and hit the road again. We drove ‘The Road to the Isles’ to Mallaig. It was really pretty, especially when it went along the coast. At Malliag we took the 11am ferry over to The Isle of Skye….As soon as we got to Skye I was taken with it. The landscape is so unchanged and dramatic. We drove the road on the sleat peninsula through Broadford on to Portree. We got to Portree at about noon, and walked around the town a little bit and had lunch, and checked into our Hotel.

Soon, after we jumped back in our car to explore the island. First stop was Dunvegan Castle. It’s been the home to the clan MacLeod for 8 centuries. It’s a really cool Castle. They have some neat staircases. ‘The Fairy Flag’ is a really interesting relic too. From here we drove to Uig, up the west coast, and from Uig we took the road across the island to Staffin, which crosses the Quiraing.

This is exactly what I was wanting to see in Scotland!!! It was a tiny one-lane road with sheep crossing everywhere. There were so many baby lambs ! We parked on a hill-top, from where you can hike to the Quiraing. OMG, is all I can say. OMG, the scenery was so majestic here. Mountains covered in every shade of green. We hiked up to the Quiraing. Not too strenuous, but scary at parts, cause you are right on a ledge of the mountain a lot of it. But the views were worth it. We just sat there taking in this amazing view.
Afterwards we drove from Staffin back to Portree. Another amazing drive. The land is so unchanged. You can easily imagine the Norsemen or the Vikings coming along the shores here.

Later that evening we had dinner at The Isles Inn in Portree. The steak was sooo good here. I tried to put the local Talisker in my Coke here, and was told quite flatly I COULD NOT do that, haha. I don’t know much about whiskey, so I didn’t know that would be a problem . I did try the Talisker alone. I liked it, but it’s very strong.

Hotel: The Royal Hotel – B+
This Hotel was actually very comfortable. And the shower was good. And we had a great, front view of the bay...Still overpriced. That may become a theme.

Day 7: Fri, May 4th – There can be Only One!

I was sad to leave Skye , but we had to keep moving. We ended up doing a lot today! We drove off Skye via the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh and stopped at Eilean Donan Castle. We didn’t tour the castle, because I heard it wasn’t worth it. But, we did take lots of photos. We then headed towards Loch Ness. This was an amazing drive, and in my opinion more majestic then The Road to the Isles drive.

We reached Loch Ness at about noon. That’s one big lake! It’s also a really pretty lake. The water is so dark and the current flows each way. We toured Urquhart Castle. I really liked this Castle!! It’s a ruin now, but that also made it feel more genuine and old. And it still has a whole tower that is intact, with stairwells and floors. We then continued on to Inverness. Inverness didn’t seem like anything special. If I had known the airport was so far away I’d have stayed in the countryside near the airport.

Anyways, after checking into out hotel in Inverness we decided to drive out to see where the airport was because we were flying out earl the next day. After finding the airport we drove over to Cawdor Castle. This castle wasn’t as interesting as I’d thought it would be. It had some cool dungeons and stairwells, but that’s about it. And there was suppose to be a maze. But, the so called ‘maze’, isn’t really a maze at all, just some short rows of hedges. After that we drove over to Culloden Battlefield. We spent about an hour here. We then drove over to the Clava Cairns. These are burial chambers from the Bronze Age. I like this kind of stuff. The early people of Britain are fascinating to me….Afterwards, it was a pizza dinner and bed.

Hotel: Columba Hotel – B-
This hotel was ok. Uncomfortable bed, and the shower was weak.

Great! I'm reminiscing about our trip to Scotland 3 years ago...esp. Edinburgh. Wish I would have done trip reports from the 3 we've taken to the UK. Anyway, keep it going!

haydeedoll:

Interesting to read your trip report and how you covered a lot of ground in a very short time which I understand was your plan. Looking back would you have changed where you went and how long you stayed in each place?

Glad you got to visit with Tim's old friend Caroline. Did you enjoy staying at her home?

Always a treat to read about places you know and love. Looking forward to more.

Sandy

Keep it coming. You've covered a lot of the same ground that we'll be covering in a few weeks.

I wish I could have been your tour guide. I'm glad you liked it, but, grrrrr, the things you missed!

you'll just have to come back!!

You stopped at a Little Chef? Aaaarch!!
Little Chefs are 100 times worse than Aberdeen Steak Houses and that's saying something.

&quot;<i>Little Chefs are 100 times worse than Aberdeen Steak Houses and that's saying something.</i>&quot;

Amen to that

Just curious about why your hair dryer exploded. Did you have an adapter plug AND a converter, or just an adapter?

I'm glad you guys are enjoying the report.
SandyBrit - There were a few things I would have changed. Even though the trip wasn't meant to be relaxing, when we got to the Cotswolds, it sort of has that relaxing effect on you. And I ended up wishing I had more time there. I also would have stayed in Bath, rather than Salisbury.
Sheila, I want to go back, NOW, hehe. I want a lot more time in Scotland. I really want to see Orkney.
Amelie, the hairdryer I bought (at a travel store) was suppose to have the converter built in. That's why I bought it, because the only thing I needed a converter for, was a hairdryer. It came with it's own adapter...I should have known I wouldn't need one.

Day 8: Sat, May 5th – Back to the land of the Americans…so soon?

Today we left Scotland. We flew Easyjet from Inverness to Luton.
(Many will remember it was like pulling teeth to convince Tim to fly back. He actually bought a train ticket, from Inverness to Peterborough. But afterwards we realized that all the car rental places would already be closed after we got there. We had to eat the price of the train tickets. But, flying was a much better option.)

Today we set aside to visit our friends that are currently stationed in Mildenhall. We hadn’t seen them in a few years, so we really wanted to stop by and catch up with them.

When we got to Luton, we picked up another rental car. This time we got a Vauxhall Vectra, which is bigger than we wanted. But it had navigation, so that sort of helped. From Luton we drove back towards the East Anglia area. There isn’t much in the Mildenhall area as far as sight-seeing, but we did stop very quickly in Bury St. Edmunds. We walked all around the abbey. It seemed like a very nice town, but we didn’t get too much time there. We then headed over to Mildenhall.We hung out at their place, had dinner and caught up. Later they took us for a ride around the base, and Tim pointed out where he lived and worked to me. For the most part, it looked just like every other base I’ve seen, with dorms, and commissaries. We stayed at our friend’s home tonight.

Day 9: Sun, May 6th – A real life Hedge Maze!

Today we headed away from the East Anglia area, towards the west side, for our 2 days in the Cotswolds.

From Mildenhall, it was kind of a long drive. It felt like the longest we’ve had so far.
Our first stop was Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock. We didn’t pay to tour the Palace, because it’s way too-overpriced, and I just wanted to see the gardens. There was an exhibit about Winston Churchill in the courtyard that we were able to go to, which was very interesting. One of my main reasons for going to the Palace was because they have a really life hedge maze. I’ve always wanted to see one of these. And it didn’t disappoint. We were total geeks, running around like kids trying to find our way out.

After the palace, we drove down the road to Bladon church, where Sir Winston is buried.

We then drove to Broadway, where we will be staying for 2 nights. This really is the cutest little town. Only a few shops, a couple places to eat. But, lots of rolling green hills all around. We checked into our B&amp;B, The Olive House. We walked along the streets, and eventually had dinner at The Swan, which was pretty good.

Day 10: Mon, May 7th – Cotswold State of Mind

After the fantastic breakfast at our great B&amp;B, we jumped in our car to drive the short distance to Stow-on-the-Wold. But today was a Bank Holiday, and there was some kind of Equestrian thing going on. So, Stow was sooo crowded! We couldn’t find anyplace to park, and the streets were jammed full of cars and people. So, we just drove back to Broadway.

We then walked, out of Broadway, about a mile of “The Cotswold Way.” It did start to sprinkle a little (first day of rain). The scenery was great, all green fields over gently rolling hills, and fields full of sheep. After walking back into Broadway, we shopped around the local farmers market. I bought some amazing fudge, omg, sooo good!
We then went back to our B&amp;B and crashed for a nap.

Later in the evening we went for a scenic drive through the Cotswolds. We drove through Cheltenham and Winchcombe. I had plans to stop in Chipping Campden, but Tim was tired from driving and just wanted to go back and relax at our B&amp;B. Seems like our first busy week was catching up with us. Or the B&amp;B was just so damn comfy, we wanted to get back there..........Next day Bath &amp; Stonehenge!

Hotel: The Olive Branch – A+
Best Place we stayed! The hosts are so nice and helpful. The bed was actually soft and comfortable! And the bathroom was so clean and spacious.