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

[Mr. White]

Must be a levelling up initiative. 

Now if for some reason you cannot make it to Nottingham, there's a kind of virtual mini tour. It shows some of the highlights of this beautiful city and gives a bit of a taste for the place.

Sleaford Mods, ha! Thanks for reminding me about this duo.
Don’t know why i didn’t come back to this thread sooner…

[SJWi]

Visited the Newark ECW  centre last week. A lot of the audio-visual kit including the mini-cinema were broken and the shop was pretty rubbish. Quite disappointing. However the Sconce in the park out of town centre was most impressive.

[Shahbahraz]

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.

Yep, what he said, also, Stirling Castle is usually a lot less crowded than Edinburgh, and the Bannockburn Centre well worth a visit. it's a short train ride from Edinburgh.

[Shahbahraz]

Honestly, (and at the risk of abuse from the hairy bunch north of the Wall) I’d say forget Edinburgh… as much as I love it as a city.

- Base yourself in London for the whole of your UK trip
- Day trip to Nottingham/Newark for your wargaming fix
- Day trip to York … it’s under 2 hours from London Kings Cross by train…unless you fly Edinburgh is a slog… if you REALLY wanted you could stay a night in York, and still be back in London before lunchtime the next day for more London touristy stuff.

York can offer you all of the “culture” you’ll get in Edinburgh, and more… and it’s doable in a day. York is older than Edinburgh…you’ve got the Romans, Vikings, City Walls, the Minster, the Shambles (v.Harry Potter), York Dungeons, the Ghost Tour, axe throwing…

Base yourself in a decent hotel in London, and you can do all the sightseeing while you are there, and spend less of your holiday checking in/checking out of hotels.

P.S. Lived in Newark, worked in Nottingham/Edinburgh/London, currently live just outside York and was a stones throw from the Tower of London today.   

Right, well, that's a load of bollocks. Edinburgh was a significant site when Eboracum was a small Roman outpost still to be burned by Vikings. Mind you, both still expensive and exploitative of tourists. And you can't see the UK from London. It's too far from 90% of the UK, being located in a corner. Of course, everyone that lives there will tell you that bit in the bottom right corner of the UK is the centre of the universe. It isn't. It has some great things to see, but it sucks as a centre to explore the UK.

[Mr. White]

ok, here's the current itinerary:

June 1st-16th...so a little over two weeks. We'd be staying 2-3 days at each of the following:

Fly into London (06.01) -> to the Cotswolds(06.03) -> to York (06.07 - I'll train over to Nottingham one day) -> to Edinburgh (06.10) -> to Isle of Skye (06.13) -> to Glasgow and fly out on 06.16.

This is a bit of a whirlwind, but that's ok. It seems like London -> York -> Edinburgh -> Skye -> Glasgow is a nice loop with the Cotswolds being a little out of the way. Is there a better way to traverse these?

Also, we're kicking around the idea of 2-3 days in Ireland too... I would guess we would cut out the Cotswolds and from Glasgow go to Belfast or Dublin (preferences there?) and fly home from one of those. If we added Ireland, would the Cotswolds be the place to cut or the Isle of Skye? Is Ireland worth stopping over?

Thanks!

[Hobgoblin]

I'd cut the Cotswolds over Skye; the Cotswolds are nice; Skye is spectacular.

(If you're looking for a do-able hill on Skye, I'd recommend Blaven. The Cuillins are superb, but they can be quite dangerous. So on a family trip, they're probably best seen from afar. But Blaven is a great, exhilarating hike - depending on ages and fitness levels, of course!)

I don't know Dublin; Belfast is surprisingly similar to Glasgow in many ways, though smaller. It's an interesting place (with very different accents and better beer!), but you'd probably get more contrast with Glasgow in either Dublin or the Cotswolds.

[tikitang]

Chipping in a little late here, but I approve of all the choices except for Glasgow.

Avoid Glasgow at all costs.

Also, this:

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.

This is true.

[Hobgoblin]

Avoid Glasgow at all costs.

A bit harsh, I'd say! 

I would also say, though, that Glasgow is an easy daytrip from Edinburgh (the train only takes about 45 minutes, centre to centre, these days, and it's a pleasant journey: one you can break with a stop in Linlithgow, too, if you want to see the old royal palace). I'd be disinclined to lug your all stuff from one city to the other when you could just pop through for the day or even an afternoon. The trains are at least every half-hour until late, and it's about £12 for an adult off-peak day return.

[tikitang]

A bit harsh, I'd say! 

I don't think so; the only thing Glasgow does well is serve as a train hub to get to nicer parts! And the pleasantness of the journey really depends on who else boards the train!

York is, of course, the best place on the list, and should be considered the primary base of operations when visiting the UK! 

[Panzer21]

ok, here's the current itinerary:

June 1st-16th...so a little over two weeks. We'd be staying 2-3 days at each of the following:

Fly into London (06.01) -> to the Cotswolds(06.03) -> to York (06.07 - I'll train over to Nottingham one day) -> to Edinburgh (06.10) -> to Isle of Skye (06.13) -> to Glasgow and fly out on 06.16.

This is a bit of a whirlwind, but that's ok. It seems like London -> York -> Edinburgh -> Skye -> Glasgow is a nice loop with the Cotswolds being a little out of the way. Is there a better way to traverse these?

Also, we're kicking around the idea of 2-3 days in Ireland too... I would guess we would cut out the Cotswolds and from Glasgow go to Belfast or Dublin (preferences there?) and fly home from one of those. If we added Ireland, would the Cotswolds be the place to cut or the Isle of Skye? Is Ireland worth stopping over?

Thanks!

Re: York to Nottingham. If going via train, it's likely you will have to change; you may need to factor this in. It's probably a 2 hour journey each way.
York is on the north coast line which runs through Newark.
Nottingham. There's not a lot wargaming wise in the city centre; GW World, Warlord and Caliver are all outside the city centre, Caliver being the furthest away. North Star may need an appointment.
If going via Newark be aware there are two stations which are a 15-20 minute walk apart and you would need to get between them to change trains. Foundry are in a village outside Newark - taxi would be most convenient although there's an infrequent bus service.
Other train changes would probably be Sheffield - it does have Wargames Emporium.

Neil

[Citizen Sade]

If visiting Wargames Foundry outside Newark’s on your to-do list, I’d strongly recommend contacting them first. Reason being that they’re moving premises though I don’t know when.

[carlos marighela]

Avoid Glasgow at all costs.

And thus forsake a fish supper, deep fried confectionary and some of Europe's best heroin? For shame!

[tikitang]

Also, I'm not sure about this comment:

I'd cut the Cotswolds over Skye; the Cotswolds are nice; Skye is spectacular.

Skye may be spectacular, but it is also rugged. The Cotswolds have that quaint rural English "olde worlde" charm, which I'd take over Skye's ruggedness any time.

When faced with the same choice, an American man I once knew told me he didn't understand my point of view at all, describing Skye as 'otherworldly'. I've been there twice (albeit with work, and quite some time ago), but I don't rate it at all compared with England's pleasant pastures and mountains green.

[Hobgoblin]

Skye may be spectacular, but it is also rugged.

Well, quite! They go hand in hand.

When faced with the same choice, an American man I once knew told me he didn't understand my point of view at all, describing Skye as 'otherworldly'.

Well said, that man!

Actually, if you want a taste of the islands, one good alternative to Skye is Arran. It's much quicker to get to, and it has a great mountain (Goat Fell) with amazing views from the top: the famous "Scotland in miniature thing". It's eminently doable with kids on a good day (my daughter climbed it without complaint when she was five).

You can - just about - do Arran as a day trip from Edinburgh (early rise, train to Glasgow, train to Ardrossan, ferry, lunch, up Goat Fell, etc.), but it's a very comfortable overnight trip in a way that Skye probably isn't. One great thing about Arran is that the mountain and the castle are right by Brodick, the main town to which the ferry sails. And there's lots of stuff to do and eat there.

As ever on this sort of thread, I'd recommend basing yourself in just a few places and working out what you can do as day trips/overnight trips from there - the UK is quite small and manageable in that way.

[Belligerentparrot]

Avoid Glasgow at all costs.

I normally find myself nodding in agreement with Tikitang's posts, but not this one!

Glasgow is great if you know what you're getting yourself into. It isn't picturesque like Edinburgh (no massive castle right in the middle; no park that compares to Arthur's Seat etc.) and as a general rule the best official cultural things (National Museum; art galleries; botanic gardens etc) are in Edinburgh. Glasgow has much better bars, better food, much cheaper taxis, a vibrant creative and cultural scene, and is remarkably friendly for a city its size. There are some rough parts, but a little bit of research will tell you where not to go.

I wouldn't recommend a lot of time in Glasgow if you're just hanging around the city - you can probably do it in a day from Edinburgh if you want to. But it is a great base for e.g. a trip up into the western highlands, and then you go out for a good meal and drink once you're back.