UK trip in 2024 - input sought

[fred]

As you can see from the above there is no shortage of things to see in the UK!

My suggestion would be to pick 3 or 4 key locations to stay at each for 3-5 days, and travel out from these to visit local(ish) sights. This gives you some flexibility that if travel has been tiring you can potter locally rather than knowing you have to travel to the next location.

I think the key decision to make is hire car or public transport. And this answer could vary by location. In London public transport is the best option by far. And for the centre of most other cities public transport is a good option - but once you head out then a car can be very useful. But for many of the places given above then a car is pretty needed. Hadrians wall  feels very hard to do via public transport.

If you do choose hire car - it is worth using Google Maps to check travel times - UK motorways can be busy with roadworks so journey times can be much longer than the mileage suggests. And cities are always slow (but that’s not just a UK thing).

[v_lazy_dragon]

For Salisbury - there's also a regimental museum (can't remember which off the top of my head) and old sarum castle on the outskirts of town - https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/old-sarum/?utm_source=Bing%20Places&utm_campaign=Local%20Listings&utm_medium=Bing%20Places%20Profiles&utm_content=old%20sarum&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Affiliate&awc=5928_1688581324_45985cb8b593b1a712399088a469b596

I think the town museum has a good amount of early Saxon stuff, but most of the prehistoric/bronze age stuff ended up in the museum in Devizes (good if you're driving past and into prehistory).

If you do the Cotswolds, definitely stop in Cirencester. Lovely old town, with a really good museum (Corinium) full of iron age, roman and early Saxon stuff

[FifteensAway]

Well, wow.  I was hoping for a few replies and you have all given me much to digest. 

If a US trip, I would simply pick an itinerary, make appropriate reservations, and off we'd drive - or fly and then drive.

How about tips about which international airports to fly into and out of?  Best rental car (hire car) companies?  Best hotel chains to get good service and safe service?

On that front, places to avoid - especially in London and other larger cities - due to crime?

These questions are in case we opt for a do-it-yourself trip. 

One option is to string together a few smaller tours - south England, Scotland focused, etc. 

However it turns out, it is going to be a bit expensive but, " Frankly, we're worth it."  [from an old shampoo commercial quote].

Thoughts on making purchases and then shipping them 'home' along the way?  Wife Loves to shop.

Ah, and important, places to wash clothes along the way to reduce how much to pack.  Me, I can travel super light, wife, um, not so much!  Are there public self-serve laundry places?  They are ubiquitous here in California.

Oh, and on historical places to visit, I guess my preferences would line up - pike and shot era, medieval to renaissance (Robin Hood and Three Musketeers <I know, wrong country>), pre-history, ancient times, and then 20th century with WWI over WWII.  And despite what I said in the OP, Ireland is not off of the agenda, just lower in the priorities if too hard to fit in other things.

So, thanks for all the replies so far and hopefully will see more.  And I hope if I have other questions along the way, I can get additional information.

Hmm, maybe the most fun 'gaming' option would be a LAF meet-up but I think wrong time of year for that event.

[modelwarrior]

If your going to Stonehenge which is always a bit of a disappointment I would suggest going up to Avebury stone circle as that is very impressive. Check out the White horse which is near by as well. Also the REME museum is at Lyneham.

[jon_1066]

You'll find laundrets (laundromats) in almost every town to wash your clothes, used to be much more common but there is usually at least one tucked away somewhere.

I often stay at Premier Inn - they are sort of a cross between a hotel and a motel.  Usually very clean, very consistent, no real extras (so no room service or hotel bar say) but are usually reasonable value if you book ahead.  I would recommend trying at least one or two nights at a B&B. These used to be much more common (eg in Seaside towns) but you can still find them.  They can be as variable as you imagine but would give you a good chance to actually meet some fellow travelers or at least chat with your hosts.

Hire cars are the usual international lot.  Europcar are cheaper but have a tendency to try to charge you for any minor scratch or dent - even if you didn't do it.  I have found Enterprise pretty good in the past.  Hertz - expect to queue for at least an hour for your car at an airport.

Airports are much of a muchness.  Coming from the US your options are limited anyway.  Most likely Heathrow but there are direct flights to Gatwick and a few to Edinburgh and Glasgow if you want to try flying into London and out of Scotland.

Rough areas you won't be going anyway as they will be off the tourist route but nowhere in the UK is comparable to somewhere like Compton or the projects in the US.  You are not going to get car jacked because you took the wrong exit on a motorway (interstate).

I would say Pike and Shot era stuff is not massively represented in the UK other than in everyday sort of places, eg timber framed houses are common in many historic towns but actual museums or attractions that focus on that period are few and far between.  Someone has already suggested the National Civil War Center in Newark.  It's like history stops with the Tudors then starts up again with the Napoleon and no one paid much mind to what happened between or bothered to preserve it.

[Hobgoblin]

Have you considered renting a flat through Airbnb or equivalent for the longer stretches of your stay? The idea of staying in a hotel for more than a night or two is a little alien to me: when we go abroad (or on holiday in the UK), we always rent a cottage or flat, which means an escape from having to eat out all the time and more comfortable relaxation all round.

I'd very much underscore Fred's advice about not jumping around too much: given the relatively small size of the UK, basing yourself in two or three place and exploring from there makes a lot of sense. That way, if you want a day of gentle relaxation, you're not beholden to any schedule.

If I were you, I'd be looking at at least a week in both London and Edinburgh, using those as bases to explore from. That allows you to vary the pace, so that you're not spending half your time on roads or railways. It also means that you'll feel less rushed all round. And it takes care of your washing! In my experience, staying in a flat with a washing machine is a huge advantage over a hotel: who wants to spend a chunk of a holiday having to worry about emptying out washing, running dryer cycles and laundrette closing times?

You might be able to fly into London and out of Edinburgh (or at least just have an hour-long hop from Edinburgh to London), which would save you time. And if a week in each were the bookends of your trip, you'd have a bit of space to explore at a comfortable pace. You could use London as a base for anything south of York and Edinburgh as a base for the north of England and all of Scotland.

As an example, if you had seven days in Edinburgh (whether in a hotel or a rented flat), you could do something like this:

Day one: walk around central Edinburgh: climb Arthur's Seat and then take in the National Museum (or vice versa). Perhaps add in one or both of the castle and Holyrood Palace if you feel so inclined.

Day two: take a tour bus to Northumbria to see Hadrian's Wall/and or castles - this kind of thing (there are lots of others).

Day three: do more central-Edinburgh things: one or two of the big art galleries; the castle or the palace if you didn't visit them on day one; the Botanic Gardens; and a wander through the Old and New Towns in the process.

Day four: do something involving the sea: a train and bus to the East Neuk of Fife and the Elie Chain Walk if you're feeling agile and adventurous; a train down the coast to North Berwick (and perhaps a taxi on to Tantallon Castle); or a boat trip out to Inchcolm Island, etc. Perhaps do a ghost tour or a history tour in the evening if you're feeling lively.

Day five: take the train to Stirling and visit the castle. You can see Bannockburn from it; you could visit the site easily enough if you want to. If you start early, you could stop off in Linlithgow to see the old palace on the way back.

Day six: visit Glasgow (50 minutes by train and lots to see - plus better shopping than Edinburgh, or so I'm told); mount another raid on Northumberland via a tour (castles if you did Hadrian's Wall before); take a tour to the Highlands; or just explore Edinburgh some more: there are dozens of museums and other things to see and do.

Day seven: relax! But if you have an evening or afternoon flight, you could stroll around the Meadows, walk up Blackford Hill (great views!), walk up Calton Hill (ditto) or visit a few more museums or galleries.

The point about all this is that there are few fixed points: you'd probably have to book the Hadrian's Wall excursion in advance, but if you did that and then fancied another tour later in the week, you'd be able to book one up with a day or two's notice (in May, certainly). So you could take things at your own pace. I'd recommend a similar approach to London and the south: have the odd fixed point, but otherwise go at the pace that suits you at the time.

One point on trains: others have quite rightly pointed out the costs and hassle of train journeys: that certainly applies to big trips (London-Edinburgh or London-York, for example). For those, you're best booking online, which probably entails a fixed departure and return. For more local trips, though - Edinburgh-Glasgow or Edinburgh-Stirling or London-Salisbury, for example - you can just turn up at the station and buy a day return. Those kinds of local trains tend to be fairly regular and reliable. If I want to go to Glasgow, for example, I just roll down to the station and buy a ticket a few minutes before the train leaves (and there will be one every half-hour at least).

Distances by train are worth considering. Here are a few top-of-the-head/recent-memory examples:

London-Edinburgh: 4.5-5 hours (York is roughly the mid-point; Newcastle is three-quarters of the way north)
London-Salisbury: 2 hours
London-Oxford: 1 hour
Edinburgh-Glasgow: 50 minutes
Edinburgh-Newcastle: 1.5 hours
Edinburgh-Durham: 1.75 hours
Edinburgh-Falkirk: half an hour
Edinburgh-Linlithgow: 20 minutes
Edinburgh-Berwick-upon-Tweed: 1 hour (Berwick's an interesting and historic point in its own right; great castles a short taxi or bus ride away).

Hope that's some help, even if just conceptually!

[Rickf]

I'm going to throw something in the mix. You are going to get a million suggestions of 'my town is the best' You're probably better off, on a first visit, of doing the classic tourist thing. A few days in London, following a typical tourist itinerary. A couple of days in Lincoln or York, looking at cathedrals, castles and museums. A few days in Scotland, doing the tourist thing. These can all be done on the central rail line and main airports. Then get home, think about what you liked and what you wished you'd seen,. Then the next visit can be more focussed on certain interests.

[FifteensAway]

Here in the states we have Extended Stay American hotels - rent for a week for reasonable nightly rates.  These have a kitchen, etc. (not sure about laundry but probably on site).  Does the UK have such beasts?

Sometimes they are working men/trucker type hotels but other times more family oriented.  Thoughts?

The base for a week idea has been considered before posting, just not sure since it so far "over the horizon".   Not sure about vacation rentals/AirBnBs - those tend to be absurdly pricey here.  Rather stay at a well known and reputable hotel like Premiere than a "who knows what you really get" place, pretty pictures on the internet, foul closet through the door.  Far too many horror stories - some of them true horror stories, not just 'bad' experiences.  Googled a place in London that was about $380 a night!  For that price, a 4 star hotel minimum - and that provides services. 

Please keep the ideas flowing.  They are truly appreciated and helpful.

[SJWi]

Not so sure about "extended stay hotels" in UK. In my experience truckers/other workers tend to stay in places such as Premier Inn, Holiday Inn Express or the IBIS chain. They are pretty basic but fine for 1-2 nights.  Unfortunately the centre of London itself is ridiculously expensive. You might want to base yourself outside London and take the train in. For instance I live in Stevenage about 20 miles north of London. It is 30 minutes by rail into the N London terminal but the Premier Inn in Stevenage can sometimes be found for around £100 per night. You might also want to check out the Eurail or BritRail pass. These are a rail passes where you buy so many days rail travel in UK/Europe for use in 1-2 months. From what I can see they have to be bought before you enter the EU or UK. 10 days travel might be say $500 per person. Maybe not worth it for short journeys but if you plan a series of long journeys between cities probably a cost effective way of going by train.         

[Harry Faversham]

Please keep the ideas flowing.  They are truly appreciated and helpful.

We have a saying here in Blighty...

"Don't air yer dirty washing in public!"

Bring a great pile of mucky clobber (that's clothes, where we come from) to our pokey little seaside resort. The ladies can do the washing and drying, while me and thee play toy sowjers!

 

[FifteensAway]

Sounds fun Harry!  . (been away a few days at a convention in Clovis, CA (near Fresno, California).  Reports in proper threads later.

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

It has now been some time since we were last in the UK (the last time I was there either side of going to the 200th anniversary of Waterloo).   There is just so much to do in a small area - no holiday will be long enough to do everything you want.  I have listed a few things I particularly enjoyed. 

A few fun London things:
Foyles book shop in Charring Cross.  Five floors of books, plenty of places to sit and read and a café to help keep your strength up.
The British Museum is my favourite museum in London.  “Two million years of human history and culture”.
For some culture, check out what is on at the Globe.  When I was last in London they also offered a pre-performance lecture, discussing both the play and its historical context.
A day in Greenwich is nice and you can always go to the Imperial War Museum.

I saw Stone Henge in 1993, back when you could get up close.  Avoiding it now seems good advice.  If you want standing stones, I have always enjoyed Avebury.  Plenty there to keep you busy for a day and it has a slightly spooky atmosphere (to be fair, both times I was there in winter and it was foggy).

Bath has already been mentioned.  For lunch book in for the Pump Room – dine in Georgian splendour.  Last time I was there it was looking a little shabby, but the food was good.  Lunch is accompanied by a live trio or pianist.  It might not be of interest to an American, but for we antipodeans it is worth going to Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House – the real Sally Lunn is very different from what we have in New Zealand and Australia.

I see you mention you are fit but not so young any more.  Why not get some e-bikes and cycle alongside Hadrian’s Wall?  We are doing just that in about five weeks time.

How about Chester?  Plenty of parks and gardens and you wife might like shopping in the Chester Rows.   You can walk the walls, go on a ghost tour.

I can't tell you much about Ireland - too much Guinness and Bush Mills.  I do remember watching Michael Collins and coming out of the theatre to see the GPO, which was being shelled at the start of the movie, across from me.   

Have fun planning your holiday.
I will try to post something about Hadrians Wall when we get back.

[fastolfrus]

For Hadrian's Wall, apart from the main sites (such as Vindolanda or Housesteads) there's a place at South Shields called Arbeia that might be of interest:
https://arbeiaromanfort.org.uk/

If you find yourself in Scarborough (seaside resort in North Yorkshire) we have a gaming club meets Mondays and Thursdays. We also have a reasonable castle (besieged a couple of times in the 1640s) and some small provincial museums.
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/scarborough-castle/
If you are into Harry Potter, the filming site for Hogsmead station isn't far away (and the same steam rail line was used in the latest Mission Impossible film too).
https://www.nymr.co.uk/Pages/Category/media

If you are keen on Dracula, his stomping ground is 20 miles north of here
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/whitby-abbey/

If you are concerned about luggage allowance and clothing, there are lots of charity shops (thrift stores) where you can usually find reasonable clothes to bulk out your luggage if you don't find a launderette.

As for the earlier comment about Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, it has HMS Victory and the Mary Rose, but also the Victorian HMS Warrior, and the naval museum
https://historicdockyard.co.uk/
Portsmouth has a castle nearby, Portchester (started out as a Roman site), https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/portchester-castle/
and also Southsea Castle (a Tudor site) https://southseacastle.co.uk/
 

[vodkafan]

Hotels have gotten hugely expensive. I would agree strongly with the AirBnB route. Any place you rent will have a washing machine so you can do laundry as you go for no extra expense.
Nobody seems to have mentioned so far.....eat at Wetherspoons! Food there is good and cheap. I have had steaks in my local good old Spoons as fine as any in a fancy restaurant at three times the price. The Jack Daniels Honeyglaze sauce is an option.
Driving in UK is going to be frustrating perhaps if you have never been. In USA people seem to actually load the kids in the car and go out on long drives for PLEASURE. UK is smaller and the roads are almost continually congested with traffic, stop-start stop start. And PARKING the car is a major headache in any town, which will cost you money, which it is best to have in actual coinage. Don't even THINK about driving a car through London.

[Cerdic]

Just a quick point about pubs.

You mentioned being not really drinkers and not being particularly bothered about visiting a pub. Thing is, pubs are great places to eat at a good value price. You needn’t feel pressured to drink alcohol, especially with a meal. They will serve soft drinks and coffee and so on.

Maybe avoid the sort of pubs that have a big banner outside about their massive TV showing football…!