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UK Itinerary (+Brussels)... how does it look?

UK Itinerary (+Brussels)... how does it look?

Old May 27th, 2013, 05:43 PM
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UK Itinerary (+Brussels)... how does it look?

Hello!

My DH and I are going to Scotland and England over June 13-29, 2013, with a full day layover in Brussels, Belgium on the way. I have our itinerary sketched out, but I wanted to know if I'm trying to do to much/missing something really big. So here it is, any and all suggestions would be appreciated!

June 13: Fly out

Brussels
June 14: Arrive in Brussels- have about 8 hrs on the town after factoring in getting off the plane, through all the lines and trains both ways. We are planning to see Grand Place no set plans here just going wherever we feel impelled to go (suggestions?) and hoping to squeeze in the EU Parliament building and St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, also think we should swing by Manneken Pis just to say we have, some chocolate, waffles and fries are also in order! Anything else that is a must see in a day?

Edinburgh
June 15: First of 3 full days in Edinburgh, Scotland. I figured we will be pretty tired/jet lagged so hoping to do the Princes St. Gardens/Royal Botanical Gardens and maybe the Scottish National Portrait Gallery or one of the other museums.

June 16: We originally though we would do a full highland tour up to Loch Ness and Glencoe, but decided we would rather do a shorter tour and spend more time off the bus as I understand the Loch Ness tour is pretty much snap and go so we are doing a Stirling Castle and Loch Lomond tour instead. We will get back to Edinburgh around 6:30 so maybe strolling around town and finding some out of the way treasures.

June 17: I would love to climb to Arthur's Seat on of the days and see the sunrise over Edinburgh (I know Sunrise is like 4:30am, but I'll only be doing this once right?). I'm trying to decide which day to do this but for now it seems like it will be this day. Then we will head down to Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyroodhouse, St Giles Cathedral and the Royal Mile.

Guildford
June 18: We are taking the train from Edinburgh to London and then on to Guildford where we will be staying for a week prior to returning to London for our last 3-4 days. This is pretty much going to take all day (10am-5:30pm with stops and train switching and everything). That evening we are meeting up with the MIL who will be joining us for the week in Guildford. I think we will probably stay close to home that day and just explore Guildford.

June 19: After a few busy days we are planning to site see around Guildford and relax a little bit (take a row on some pond/lake and maybe enjoy some tea?). We will be renting a car to do day trips over the next week so probably will be picking that up on this day so maybe a drive out to Box Hill and see what the view has to offer.

June 20: All of the day trips are flexible pending weather and how we feel, none are set in stone so we can adjust and change as needed. We are currently planning to do Stonehenge and Bath on this day. I'm wondering how much I should try to see Bath, I'm a Jane Austen fan, but we are also trying not to spend TOO much money on this trip and if it isn't terrible spectacular we might see Salisbury instead as it is closer and sounds like it has a lot to offer as well.

June 21: This will be another day to stick closer to home, we wanted some down time and time to go wherever the wind takes us incase we are inspired (any ideas?).

June 22: I thought it would be fun to head down to Brighton for a day and see the Royal Pavilion, the piers and the beaches (Anything fun to see/do in and around Brighton?).

June 23: Day trip to Dover (must see the white cliffs!) and then skip over to Canterbury to see the town and cathedral. (Anything good to see in either of these two places or along the road between?)

June 24: Not sure what this day will hold, possible a day trip up to Oxford, any thoughts?\

June 25: MIL flies home, we transfer to London were we will be staying with a friend (she lives near Heathrow airport). The afternoon we will probably just explore or try to shift some of what we are planning to do in the next three days to make for a lighter load.

London (I've been before when I was a kid but the DH has not). As with Edinburgh the days are interchangeable as weather permits etc.

June 26: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Pauls, Old Bailey, British Museum, Sherlock Holmes Museum.

June 27: Westminster Abbey, Parliament building and Big Ben, Churchill War Rooms, Trafalgar Square including National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery

June 28: St James Palance, changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, Royal Mews, Kensington Gardens and Palace, Victoria and Albert Museum.

June 29: Fly home.

Wow... that was much longer then I had meant it to be, hope that doesn't throw some people off. Anyway, I'm open to suggests and ideas please! Are we trying to do too much or is this reasonable?

Thanks!!
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Old May 27th, 2013, 05:45 PM
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BTW: We are planning to buy the 3 day London Pass for free/faster access to most of the locations, also we will be getting Oyster cards for the tube.
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Old May 27th, 2013, 05:58 PM
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Haven't waded through the whole thread yet but just re your 2nd post: DO NOT buy the London Pass. It is hugely expensive - the 2for1 Days Out discounts are much MUCH better. To get those you need to buy paper travelcards in a train station instead of an Oyster.

The only place a queue is a big issue is at the Tower of London - and you avoid that by getting there early - just before opening time. The London Pass is a complete rip-off.

now I'll get back to the rest of your posts . . .
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Old May 27th, 2013, 06:12 PM
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Another couple of quick comments: Your Dover/Canterbury day will be VERY long. The drive alone is over 200 miles and easily 5 hours w/o a single stop. Dover Castle is a half day by itself. Then out to the viewpoints for the cliffs, then to Canterbury. You'll have 8+ hours of 'sites' and 5 hours of driving . . .

With such a short time in Edinburgh I'd probably skip the out of town tour.
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Old May 27th, 2013, 06:47 PM
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Janisj: Thanks for the comments about the 2for1 days out! It looks so much cheaper!!
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Old May 27th, 2013, 08:11 PM
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In Brussels Place du Grand Sablon is a pretty area near the centre of the city that has numerous chocolate shops around it. Worth a few minutes of your time!

For the EU buildings, catch the metro to Schuman and the buildings are all collected around there. IF you have time, two mini-excursions from that metro stop are as follows:

1. Rue Archimède runs from Rond-Point Schuman. Proceed to the end of the street and you will come out at Square Ambiorix. No 11 is the Maison Saint-Cyr, an ornate example of Art Nouveau, which is an important architectural style in Brussels. Unfortunately you can't go in but it is a photo opportunity.

2. From Schuman again, nearby is the park Cinquantenaire. Nice enough in itself for a visit, but what is most interesting is the triumphal arch, which has museums in both wings. One is a car museum and one is a military museum. From there a short walk to Mérode (Rue des Tongres), which is the next convenient metro station so you can get back.

If you wanted to skip this section you might consider taking a cab to the Horta Museum - Victor Horta was one of the leading exponents of Art Nouveau here and his house, now a museum, is a triumph. No detail was left out. This might take some time, though, so I would probably not combine this with the other activities - it depends what you personally prioritise.

Have a lovely time in Brussels!

Lavandula
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Old May 27th, 2013, 09:20 PM
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Your London days seem a bit (too) full. For instance, the Tower of London is 3-5 hrs and then St. Pauls. That's a nice day. The British Museum would be too much IMO unless you just stick your head in to see the Rosetta Stone.

Likewise with Westminster Abbey + Churchill War Rooms. The galleries would just be quicker walk throughs. That's fine to have options, but don't try to rush through to see everything.

Have a look at some of my trip reports and blog if that helps.

London
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...andparents.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-with-kids.cfm

Bath
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ay-weekend.cfm

Dover/Canterbury
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nd-in-kent.cfm

Brussels (at beginning)
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-with-kids.cfm

Edinburgh
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-with-kids.cfm
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Old May 27th, 2013, 09:21 PM
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Brighton : if the weather is halfway decent at the weekends in summer there are long queues to get into Brighton as the morning goes on, ditto getting back out. Car parking isn't easy and will cost you £20 for the day. If you are driving, try to get there early. Otherwise it is about an hour and a half by train from Guildford.

http://www.brightonwheel.com/tickets/ the Brighton Wheel is a fairly new attraction right by the pier.

Most people enjoy pottering around the Lanes http://www.visitbrighton.com/
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Old May 27th, 2013, 09:45 PM
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You are staying an hour outside London. Maybe not a full hour, but near LHR is basically 45 mins to an hour from most major sites. Longer if you have to take a bus to the nearest tube station.

June 26 and 27 are too full - even more so when you factor in the travel time.

June 28 is more doable -- especially if you bag the Changing of the Guard which basically involves 2.5 to 3 hours just standing in one place waiting then watching.
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Old May 28th, 2013, 04:00 AM
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We really enjoyed the Horta museum in Brussels mentioned in another post. It has limited open hours and is at a distance from the Grand Place and Mannekin Pis so might not work well with your time constraints.

The Musée royaux des Beaux-Arts has an excellent collection of Flemish paintings.
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