An English Vacation

[Curval]

Hendon.

Imperial War Museum.

Winsor Castle.

All "must sees".

[xbrit]

A "must see" is the BoB Museum at Hendon.

[texasmom]

*sigh* I'm jealous. 

[Dowding]

10 days isn't a huge amount of time - I've been here since birth and in 30 years still have not seen all of Britain - never been to Edinburgh, Bath. Only been to London a handful of times. But you should see some of the big stuff.

I think you must see Yorkshire. It's like Texas but the people are tougher, with a stronger sense of independence.

[Angus]

Forgot Hendon....and...PORTSMOUTH

[Bruv119]

he can have a pint from wurzel and I. 

if your into navy history its the place to go. 

Driving around in the summer is pretty dismal took me 4 hours to get from portsmouth to the river Dart (170miles) this week.

[RTHolmes]

yup, the Royal Navy has been central to UK history for over 500 years and made the British Empire possible so I'd say a visit to see HMS Victory would have to be near the top of the list.

As for royal palaces and stately homes, a trip to Windsor castle will cover it and St George's Chapel at Windsor is just stunning.

Medieval town and cathedral - Ely (Oliver Cromwell's house is also nearby and worth a look) Cambridge is also close and a good opportunity to try punting if the weather's good, great for a picnic too.

Medieval castle - Warwick.

Industrial revolution stuff is spread around but mostly in the midlands, first steam engine, railway, iron bridge, suspension bridge, iron hulled ship etc etc, take your pick.

Stonehenge is pretty cool but access isnt great (and theres a really busy road right next to it which kills the bronze-age vibe a bit) I'd recommend Avebury if you want to get close to really ancient earthworks and standing stones (nice medieval village too and great cream teas )

[RTHolmes]

OT I just remembered a BBC interview I saw with some Royal Marines in Um-Qasr (Iraq) just after the invasion:

Reporter: So Geoff Hoon, the Defense secretary, described Um-Qasr as a port much like Southampton, what do you think of that?

Sgt: Well Mr Hoon has obviously never visited Um-Qasr.

Marine: Yeah theres hardly any beer or prostitutes and theres people shooting at us all the time - I'd say its more like Portsmouth.

 

[Dowding]

The historic dockyard at Portsmouth is amazing.

[Stoliman]

Wow, you all have really come through for us.  This is great information.  It sounds like we are really going to have to scale back our driving expectations.  Your input is much appreciated!

[68Wooley]

Re - driving: Its really not that difficult to drive on the other side of the road. You'll be used to it before you know it. Just remember you pass driver to driver. Forget about driving in London though - that would be an expensive waste of time. Get yourselves Oyster cards and use public transport in London.

When renting, remember that unless you specifically ask for an auto, you'll get a manual shift car. Also be careful if the rental car is a diesel (which it may very well be). In the UK, diesel pumps are black while gas is green. That's the complete opposite from here in the US.

Oh and don't mentally calculate the dollar equivalent cost of gas when filling up - you'll ruin your holiday. 

Be careful with your timing if you do decide to go to Edinburgh. If you get there while the festival is on, accommodation might be hard to come by. On the other hand, the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle is pretty spectacular if you can get tickets.

[Stoliman]

Ok folks, thanks for you input.  The bride will have a proposed itinerary shortly, I will run it by you for thoughts!

[Stoliman]

Ok, here is a proposed itinerary.  Thoughts?  Remember this is our first trip with a limited time, so we had to delete things like Scotland (even though the Military Tattoo will be going on while we are in-country). 

Day 1, Fri
Arrive at Heathrow 9:30
Rent car at Heathrow, 2 hrs transit, arrive at approx 1:30 PM
Salisbury (cathedral, 1 hr)
Drive to Stonehenge, 20 min transit.  ½ hour
Optional:  Drive to Stourhead Gardens, 40 min transit, 1 hr.
Drive to Bath, 1 hr from Amesbury; 45 min from Stourhead
Arrive

Day 2, Sat
4-5 hours in Bath
Drive to Avebury, 1 hr.  See stone circle, 1 hr
Drive to Turville (Vicar of Dibley) 1 ½ hr transit, 1 hr
Drive to Oxford, 30 min transit, 1 hr
Spend the night in Oxford

Optional route, skipping Oxford:
Drive from Turville through the Cotswolds, via Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden, 1 ½ hr transit
Drive to Stratford-on-Avon, 30 min transit
Spend the night in Stratford-on-Avon

Day 3, Sun
2 hrs in Stratford
Drive to Warwick Castle, 30 min transit, 1 ½-2 hrs
Drive to Liverpool, 2 ½  hrs transit
Tour Liverpool, 4 hrs (I am a Beatles fan, but is it worth spending some of our limited time here?)
Spend the night in Liverpool

Day 4, Mon
Drive to Windermere, So. Lake district, 2 hrs transit
Hill Top Farm & Hawkshead (Beatrix Potter) 1 hr
To Keswick, No. Lake District, 30 min
Hike / Cruise Derwentwater Lake 2 hrs
Circle Drive 1 hr
Castlerigg Stone Circle. 45 min
Spend the night in Keswick

Day 5, Tue
Drive to Hadrian’s Wall, 1 ½ hr transit, 1 hr
Drive to Durham, 1 hr transit.  Cathedral (HP scene, the daughters are big fans of Harry Potter) 1 hr
To York, 1 ½ hrs transit
York walking tour, Wall Walk, York Minster, Yorkshire Museum, Castle Museum, Cliffords Tower
Spend the night

Day 6, Wed (three days here)
Train to London, 3 hrs transit

[Dowding]

That sounds exhausting - but you'll see a hell of alot of the country. I'll comment on what I know.

I personally love Hadrian's wall, but an hour is not alot of time. The forts at Vindalanda and Housesteads (spelling?) have to be seen to be believed. I find the whole area fascinating and spent 3-4 hours at each fort and much time walking on the wall last year. It really sets the imagination racing to think of the lonely outpost at the end of the Empire, with Assyrian archers manning some windswept posting. You can still see the defenses in the landscape and the amazingly straight service roads leading to the wall. The wax tablets found at Vindolanda are regarded as the most precious and valuable archaeological finds in Britain and maybe in Europe. They tell of the everyday life of Romans living in the fort.

An hour will give you a glimpse of the place. You might even spot the tree and wall section used in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The bit where he saves the boy from the Sheriff of Nottingham's men... practically in Scotland.

The Vindolanda wax tablets originals are in the British Museum in London, which is something I would recommend visiting if history and achaeology is your thing. I was there last September to see the First Emperor exhibition of the Terracotta Army which has now ended sadly, but the other exhibits are world class. It is on a par with the Berlin, New York and Cairo museums in terms of importance of Egyptian finds for instance - the Rosetta Stone is there for example.

York and Durham are my favourite cities in England (although there are many places I haven't been). You will love York and I think you have the right balance in terms of time spent there. Durham isn't a big city - an hour will allow you to see the cathedral and castle which is perhaps what you are most interested in.

[68Wooley]

I'd skip Liverpool. Your time will be tight and its nothing special even for a Beatles fan.