Nottingham - I'm convinced it's a day trip only

[Mr. White]

Two years ago (!!) I posted asking about taking the family to Nottingham.
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=132319.msg1680477#msg1680477

Well, we didn't make it to Nottingham last summer, but found ourselves in Costa Rica then Japan. We learned a lot about how our family travels on those trips. So. we've shifted the scope of our trip to GB from 5 days to 10 (France and Central Europe will have to come later).

That said, based on the suggestions in the thread posted above, we're currently thinking that we'd fly into London and stay in London for three days. On one of those mornings, I'll train up to Warhammer World, then back to London that afternoon/evening. This was suggested by most of the posters and I think it's sound advice. From London, we'll take the overnight train to Edinburgh which we'll use as a home base for the rest of the trip. Do day trips from there before flying out from Edinburgh.

So, narrowed down to these two... I'd love suggestions on regions to stay in both London or Edinburgh. I don't think we're renting a car, so close to public transit and activities within walking distance would be great.

Thanks again all for the previous suggestions!

[Hobgoblin]

So, narrowed down to these two... I'd love suggestions on regions to stay in both London or Edinburgh. I don't think we're renting a car, so close to public transit and activities within walking distance would be great.

Edinburgh's very small, so if you're anywhere at all central, you're in walking distance of everywhere, pretty much. I often see tourists in Edinburgh waiting 20 minutes for a bus when they could walk to their destination in the same time!

There are lots of guesthouses/B&Bs on the South Side (Newington), where you'd be about two miles from Princes Street and maybe 20 or 25 minutes on foot from the very heart of the city (the Meadows/the Old Town, etc).

You could easily spend days in Edinburgh just walking between sights without bothering with public transport at all. For example, if you were staying on the South Side, you could walk to Holyrood Park, up Arthur's Seat (a must!), down to Holyrood Palace, up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle, down the Mound to Princes Street, along to the Scott Monument (and up!), and then up Calton Hill. And so on ...

[Mr. White]

Thanks!
What about staying in York over London? I think we’d appreciate the speed and sights of York more but seems a shame to not at least spend a day or two in London. :/

[Hobgoblin]

London is amazing, of course. But it can be exhausting in a way that the smaller British cities aren't: time spent on the underground, huge crowds, queues at museums, etc. If you're spending three days there, I'd plan them carefully with a lot of reference to Google Maps - perhaps clustering what you want to do into walkable chunks (so more time spent walking through parks or along the river than on the dreaded Tube!).

York is nice - very small (a third of the size of Edinburgh, perhaps) and entirely walkable. It is roughly midway between Edinburgh and London on the train, so you could take a morning train there, take it in over an afternoon and morning, and then take a train to Edinburgh after lunch the next day. You'd basically break a four-and-a-half-hour train journey in two with an overnight stop in York.

That would have the advantage of giving you an extra city and keeping your travel time down to manageable increments.

An alternative would be Newcastle, which is quite an interesting city - less obviously touristy than York and closer to Edinburgh. But if you want Viking history, York is the place.

Yet another alternative for a journey-breaking destination would be Leeds (I don't know it, but it does have the Royal Armouries Museum ...). Leeds isn't on the main London-Edinburgh line, but you can take direct trains to it from London and from it to Edinburgh (which together would make a slightly longer journey).

[Belligerentparrot]

When are you coming to Edinburgh? If August, you'll likely hit the Festival (actually a combination of multiple festivals). Somewhere in the region of 4k shows - comedy, theatre, dance, music, literature etc. - most of them running most nights. If that's your kind of thing, just do the festival. It's everywhere: I've seen shows in abandoned buildings, public toilets, hotel rooms, the top of Arthur's Seat, and a bouncy castle among other places.

If that isn't your thing, it is possible to avoid it while it is on, but you can't avoid Festival prices for food/accommodation etc.

[ithoriel]

I recently spent three days in London meeting up with my son and, while it was a great place to visit, I was kind of glad to go home and collapse for a day or so after!. We stayed just off Trafalgar Square (not cheap - memo to self: do NOT let son choose hotel in future!!  ) and "did" the  Imperial War Museum, the National Gallery, St James's Park, Horse Guards Parade, The Cabinet War Rooms, took in a show, ate far too much at various nice restaurants - special mention for "Mildred's" which we visited on the same night we went to see the show. So, not hard to pack things in. But the pace in London does feel frantic.

York is a favourite city, with plenty to do and see too. The Minster, of course, but also the Railway Museum, The Yorkshire Museum, The Castle Museum, Clifford's Tower, Holy Trinity Church in Goodramgate, The Shambles, walking the City Walls and last, but by no means least, Jorvik Viking Centre.  And that barely scratches the surface.


Edinburgh is my home town so naturally my favourite of the three. Hobgoblin has already given a fairly full itinerary but I'd add in Gladstone's Land and the Camera Obscura both near the castle, the Botanic Gardens in Inverleith and Dynamic Earth near both Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament building.

My favourite Festival related items were a couple of t-shirts I saw people wearing while grumping their way through the throngs of people trying to hand them flyers for festival events. On the front of the first it said,"If all the world's a stage ..." and on the back,"why are all the clowns in Edinburgh?" The front of the second read,"Let me wish you a traditional Edinburgh welcome!" and on the back it said,"F*** Off Home!" Who says Edinburghers aren't welcoming? 

[SJWi]

Hi, do you and your family have any particular periods of history that you want to explore or other interests? Although I hate travelling round London I would go there if only for the British Museum (free) and maybe the National Army Museum and IWM. If on the train to Edinburgh I'd definitely stop over in York for all the reasons others have mentioned. Newcastle has some interesting Roman sites and is close to Hadrian's Wall but not sure how accessible without a car.

[levied troop]

Completely agree with Hobgoblin about the ease (and the interest) of walking around Edinburgh - and with Ithoriel about the crowds and hotel prices in August (but the festival period is utterly fantastic and I’ve already got my first 20 shows booked ).

There’s plenty of organised walking tours around the city but I’d recommend this as relevant to our sort of interests
https://www.hettyshistorywalks.co.uk/tours

No connection with Hetty other than I’ve been a satisfied customer.

[Belligerentparrot]

Some further Edinburgh advice from another local (sort of, been living here since 08 but originally from New Zealand).

There are a lot of nice airbnbs in the Bruntsfield/Viewforth area, good bus lines (or a 20 min walk into the very centre of town), pretty good cafes etc, and walking distance to Haymarket station (and the canal, if canal boats are your thing). Avoid the drab bed-and-breakfasts on Gilmore Place though

If you fancy a day trip, I'd recommend Tantallon castle out by Nth Berwick. If you're not driving you'll need to organise a taxi from Nth Berwick station but that is easy enough. The castle makes very good use of a sheer sea-cliff.

Enjoy your trip!

[zemjw]

A short day trip from Edinburgh will get you to places like Stirling Castle and Culloden (although I not sure how easy Culloden is to get to by public transport

You're also at the very edges of the Roman Empire, and there are bits of the Antonine Wall to be found if you look.

For more modern things, the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies are worth considering

If you're into the festival, then August is great. If you're a commuter trying to get back to the train station after work, less so (ask me how I know )

However, Claymore is on the 5th August, so that's one reason to go to Edinburgh in August

[Hobgoblin]

Very good points from everyone above. I'd add one more thing (I may have said the same on the previous thread): if you have some time in Edinburgh, you can do some great trips south of the border from there. There's loads to see in Northumbria, and you can get history-focused minibus tours from Edinburgh, or just do a daytrip by train/bus/local taxi. Some of the best castles in Britain are on the English side of the border: Norham, Warkworth, Dunstanburgh (outside a village with the very ASoIaF name of Craster), etc.

You could, for example, take a train to Berwick-upon-Tweed (45 minutes from Edinburgh and itself worth seeing - the walk round the walls is great) and then take a taxi to Norham Castle. But you can also get a minibus tour from Edinburgh that will take you round a few of the castles.

[TWD]

A short day trip from Edinburgh will get you to places like ... Culloden (although I not sure how easy Culloden is to get to by public transport

Culloden is 150 miles and over three hours drive from Edinburgh...
Three hours through some of Britain's most beautiful scenery to be fair, but I'm not sure I'd call a seven hour round trip "short".

If you are wanting to stay in Edinburgh then avoid August - unless you *want* to go to the Festival. The Festival is amazing, but it completely skyrockets accommodation prices and the town is filled with crowds.If you want to explore the beautiful ancient city nay other month of the year is better and cheaper.

[zemjw]

Culloden is 150 miles and over three hours drive from Edinburgh...
Three hours through some of Britain's most beautiful scenery to be fair, but I'm not sure I'd call a seven hour round trip "short".

I would love to blame autocorrect for that, but "Monday" is more accurate

I meant Bannockburn, given the Stirling adjacent nature of it

[zemjw]

I don't know if Foundry still does it (and I think they've moved), but the last time I was in Nottingham (probably a decade ago now), you could knock on their door and they'd let you wander around the picking floor. You did have to pay for what you picked, but it saved p&p

I had a fun (and expensive) afternoon visiting Warhammer World and Foundry, and bought way more at Foundry than GW (whose on-site shop was incredibly disappointing)

[Mr. White]

These are all fantastic suggestions, Cheers!

Beyond historical sites, any suggestions for experiences to be actively involved in? What I mean is things like horse back riding, atv driving, amusement park, etc. The family likes to break up "looking at things" with "doing things"... if that makes any sense.