brendonb29

Hey everyone, it's Brendon again!

5 years ago I took my first trip to Europe and I was in London for 5 days and loved it. I would love to go back to the UK and see where my family is from. My dad's family is from Cornwall so that is a must, but I know it is a big region of England so was wondering if you guys can recommend some towns in Cornwall to see. I looked at St. Ive's, Lizard, Plymouth and Land's End. I would also love to see the cotswolds but do not know how long if a good amount of time to see these little towns. Are there many differences between each town? Which ones are the hilights? Also would love to see some Castles in Wales, so can you all recommend some of the best? Also would love to see Bath and York and head into the Lakes District and then head into Scotland. Would love to see Edinburgh and the Highlands. My Grandma was born in Applecross near Iverness and is 100% Scottish so that makes me 25%. I do have a reddish beard but dark brown hair. I love the looks of Glencoe and was wondering what are some of the most gorgeous little towns in the Highlands where I can see the rolling hills and lakes and beautful scenery. I know that is going to be a long trip since I will be driving all the way from Cornwall into Northen Scotland. Any other places in these countries you would recommend. How long should I go far, I will be going in the summer to get the best weather. Might go to Ireland someother time. Thanks!!!

bilboburgler

Have a look at what Flanneruk says about the Cotswalds, for me the great thing is walking between the towns, seeing the rolling hills and stopping in warm pubs/sitting outside dependent on the time of year. I tend to think Tolkein (who never go to New Zealand) and the Shire.

Now I guess another issue are you coming en-familie or just yourself?

Cornwall, some great gardens, seaside coves, surfing, art galleries, wineries, cideries, ancient houses sunk in wooded hollows, search on Annhig for great advice.

Wales, some good walking, climbing, pot-holing you might even do an adventure trip here, before finding all the castles used by the English (well Normans acually) to "passify" (think "liberate" and Vietnam villages) the Welsh. Go to a choir concert and discover the language and the singing (so much of the culture).

Scotland has heaps of hills where men killed other men, two very interesting cities in the Midland belt. Great distilleries, long very slow roads with sheep scattered along them, wonderful views, jansij offer great ideas on Scotland. Then there are the Isles, which for me are even better, sometimes these look like glorious moors in a sea of blue crowned by a 1960s housing estate, sometimes the houses are ancient sunken into the turf with views over a wild sea.

Length of visit

Cornwall 7 days
Cotwalds 3 days
Wales 5 days
Scotland 15 days

Good to here about the beard.

England; let others speak.

bilboburgler

"hear", must be sleepy.

annhig

My dad's family is from Cornwall so that is a must, but I know it is a big region of England so was wondering if you guys can recommend some towns in Cornwall to see. I looked at St. Ive's, Lizard, Plymouth and Land's End.>>

Brendon - i have good news for you - Cornwall is not a big region of England [though there is lots to see and do] and if you pick two good bases, you can see quite a lot of it in a week, though we have visitors who have spent 2 weeks or more and not seen everything they want to.

Next thing - Plymouth is in Devon not in Cornwall, so though it makes a reasonable base for seeing the west of Devon and east of Cornwall, it's not perhaps what you are looking for, though if it's cities you're after, it is the biggest city west of Exeter.

for Cornish towns to stay in, my favourites would be Penzance for seeing the far west [though St Ives is also good so long as you avoid school holidays], Falmouth for seeing the middle and Fowey for seeing the east.

if you want a what you will think of as a town, I suggest Truro, which is in fact Cornwall's only cit - with a population of 20,000+ it's the biggest place here. It makes a pretty good base for touring the whole of Cornwall and has restaurants, a theatre and a cinema, plus a main line station.

However, you don't mention where in Cornwall your folks are from - you might like to stay there!

And you don't have to drive from Cornwall to Scotland - you can fly from Newquay. Assuming you will be arriving at Heathrow I suggest getting the train from Paddington to Truro or Penzance [the stretch of line from Exeter onwards is one of the world's iconic rail journeys] and then flying to Scotland.

Keep the questions coming!

janisj

bilboburgler's loose itinerary would be a good division of time.

a week for Devon/Cornwall, 3 or 4 days in the Cotsw<B><red>o</B></red>lds, 3 to 5 days in north Wales and 10-14 days in Scotland would be a lovely holiday.

ElendilPickle

I talk about some of the north Wales castles in my trip reports.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...yjune-2014.cfm
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...b-may-2007.cfm

Sounds like a great trip!

Lee Ann