Sounds like an epic trip. If you want to find out more about historic sites then check out both English Heritage and the National Trust websites, they both have maps to help figure out whats near where you're going.
If you want to avoid crowds & queues then you might want to give Stonehenge a miss. The road leading up to it is notoriously busy and congested. The site is usually very busy and I don't know if you know but you can't get close to the stones themselves. But then if thats something you particularly want to tick off on the list then go for it.
If you want to stay in a characterful old property, I suggest you look up The Landmark Trust rather than the National Trust (few of which I think have accommodation) - though some are very isolated so a car would make this much easier. Old English Inns is another option for characterful lodgings usually with good food. Bath is a beautiful city with lots of excellent architecture as well.
If you try to work around going to Partizan as others have mentioned, be aware the train service from Newark is (or at least was, some years ago) very poor on a Sunday. It looks like the air museum has been spruced up a bit in the last few years - which is good as it was looking a bit tired last time I was there. On the subject of air museums, the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton is superb, as is Cosford.
Agree with almost all of the other recommendations but no-one's mentioned the Tank Museum (also within short range of Stonehenge and Salisbury), and Lawrence of Arabia's house just down the road from it (Clouds Hill) is a lovely stop.
Vindolanda is one of the finest Roman sites in the country and well worth the stop on the way to Scotland - new discoveries are being made there all the time, and the guided tours are included in the price of entry.
Lawrence of Arabia's house just down the road from it (Clouds Hill) is a lovely stop.
Please keep the ideas flowing. They are truly appreciated and helpful.
Don’t bother with Wales. Too far out of the way, mostly post industrial decline in the South and tourist walking focus in the north.
Taffys are also very thin skinned, and will bitchslap anyone criticising their valleys. Wasn't a big fan of the Brecon Beacons myself, they kind of make yer back ache and yer feet sore!;D
Yeah, I'm currently sitting here, enduring the view of the 'post-industrial decline' of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and in the distance across the bay I can see the Blade-Runneresque hell-hole that is the Gower Peninsula. Turning around I can see the awful, grim Preseli Hills, where the Stonehenge Bluestones were dragged from (I imagine they couldn't wait to get away) and away to the east, across miles and miles of truly dire, green, hedgerowed 'Bocage Country' are the carbuncles of the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons.
Simply awful.
So much so, I'm going to have to drown my sorrows later in the Carew Inn. The mill-pond, castle and Celtic Cross across the road are of unsurpassed ugliness...
::)
Little England doesn’t count!Oh indeed. It was the bit about 'post-industrial decline' that made me laugh. It'll take a few decades of development to get us to reach 'pre-industrial'... ;)
If you only had two weeks would you go all the way to Pembrokeshire? Especially if you aren’t outdoors/walking focussed? My family is from Cardigan and have visited many times but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone for their only ever trip to the UK.
I think I need to remind that the itinerary I listed is for an organized group tour, not a personal itinerary developed by me. And on entry to sites, that is included in the cost of the tour. And I do understand that doing such a whirlwind tour will have its inherent hazards and likely some disappointments. But, as said, compromise is an essential part of life. And saving that money likely means a photo safari to Africa will be the next trip - and I expect that trip to Africa will be the most expensive one we will ever take. But, again, there is that whole Bucket List thing.Aha! I missed that essential nugget of information! lol
Not surprised the store in Cardiff closes early on the given day but with so much advance notice, there may be a way to make something happen. Once we solidify our plans a bit more, might be worth getting a poll of who would want to attend and then approach the shop about hosting a late game. And if it all works out in the end, I'd want to know if there is a nearby pub where I could stand a round of stout, or whatever the pleasure is, for the participants. I'll still be doing a soda - and happily be the butt of 'light weight' jokes. My shoulders are broad enough to handle it! :D lol
Oh, wait, did I just extend an invitation to every lush on LAF in range!?!?!? :o
Just a word of caution,Britain has a national sport of ripping off 'Rebel Colonists'.
You might also want to look into the Caledonian Sleeper. Whether or not it works for you will depend on what you want to do, but an overnight train is a very effective way of travel. it looks expensive, but once you realise you don't have to pay for accommodation that night, it works out OK. The train actually spends most of the night on a railway siding somewhere near the Sco/Eng border: it doesn't actually take 8 hours to get from London to Edinburgh.
I would honestly suggest ditching the tour, and using the train. In my experience the train rides are much, much more scenic. Stuck in a bus you're liable to spend a good portion of your travel time looking at noise-reducing walls or thick lines of trees along the side of motorways. From the train you actually see the countryside! You can also get up and move around during the journey.
I’d just avoid cash and use ApplePay on your phone. Since covid everywhere takes contactless payment now.
Does your wife like atmospheric small churches? St Brides in Fleet street is a tiny treat . An early Cristopher Wren church, St. Bride was the patron saint of medieval printers. What is special about this little church is that it took a German bomb in 1940 revealing a forgotten crypt underneath the floor which turned out to be a 2000 year old Roman temple ! :o When visiting London I have often gone in there for a bit of peace and quiet. You can go down in the temple/crypt it is very atmospheric and spooky but restful thinking of those early Romano-British Londoners . Fleet Street is on the end of the Strand, so if you have been to Somerset House it is only 2 minutes walk up an alley in Fleet Street to an almost silent courtyard and garden.And also the superb St Clement Danes (church of the Royal Air Force) just down the Strand (and then one of my favourite London pubs - the Seven Stars, round the back of the RCJ) :).
https://www.stbrides.com/
Victoria & Albert Museum ('the V&A') is probably a contender for London Museums. Natural History Museum too. Science Museum is also interesting.
...
St. Clement might be a possibility.
Here is a partial list of things to try and see while in London:
Tower of London
Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
Parliament
British Museum
Buckingham Palace
Kew Gardens
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Palace
Imperial War Museum
London Zoo
Obviously, some of it is 'touristy' but we will be tourists after all! :o
What I'd like to know is if any of the items on the list too closely duplicate something else on the list and, if so, which should be a higher priority? We will probably to the Thames cruise to the Kew Gardens - and maybe back if workable. Also like to know what is glaringly absent from the list - if anything? And anything on the list that might be best just left off - if anything.
As always, thanks for all the input.