Clueless American seeks advice in visiting UK

If you want plenty to do in a cultural melting pot then London is the place.

Otherwise I'd head for Derbyshire - it's like Wales (lots of hills and sheep) only the locals are more friendly and the beer is better.

I camped in both several times last summer.


Regards,

Steve.

[This message was edited by Steven Toy on Fri 19 March 2004 at 4:49.]

Bob,
you are continuing to enforce the steriotyping of US residents, eg. U.K.
Satuday/Sunday, Europe monday etc. With all due respect, you would be hard pressed to see all of Brighton in 7 to 10 days let alone the rest of Sussex,which is only a tiny part of the U.K. I'm aware that compared to the USA the UK is tiny, but even 10 days in London wouldn't even scratch the surface, It might even take you that long to get from Victoria station to Salisbury on public transport
Anyway don't let me throw a wet damper on the events ,but just be aware that you will not see as much as you might have thought.
best of luck,
oldie

Patrick--

LOL! (About Normandy--hence the Chunnel...)

Oldie--Sorry about reinforcing stereotypes--I know I could spend a year in the UK and still only see a fraction of what is there. The reason I would try to pack as much in as possible is simply because I have limited time and funds--if I had unlimited quantities of both, I'd just move there for a while (When I win the lottery.....).

Denver is a moderately nice, but boring, city. Mountain views are terrific, the air is actually some of the dirtiest in the US, and relative to what I grew up with outside New York City, Denver is a cultural wasteland. So seeing a show, a symphony, a small jazz club, rock club, dance club, etc. is high on my list. And I'm not a beer drinker--and I'm not at all sure Coors even qualifies as "beer."

Best,

Bob

Bob,

I imagine a culturally interesting evening for Denver people being big burly white men and cookie-cutter blonde women guzzling beer, cheering for sports teams, and eating big cuts of meat. Is it so?

Also- where did you live in NY? My home prior to Seattle was Saratoga Springs.

Ludwig--

Unfortunately, you are closer than you know wrt to a culturally interesting evening for many Denverites. What is so funny to me is how virulent people can be in defending Denver as anything but a big cowtown--which is essentially what it is. Then again, there are pockets of civilization...

I grew up in northern NJ, but my grandfather taught piano in NYC and took me in quite often. My grandmother was also one of the first six Rockettes ever, so I've spent a ton of time in NYC. Still have relatives in Plattsburgh, Chazy, and Alexandria Bay.

Best,

Bob

Bob,

London is great, but nobody speaks english there anymore so bring an english-to-something-else phrasebook (Slavic languages, Russian, Polish, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese, Jamaican, Arabic, Hindi, to name a few of the most influential that you will encounter). If you can speak one or more of the abovementioned, all the better.

This might be the hardest thing to do, but sewing a Canadian flag patch on your knapsack or jacket, or a lapel pin, will give you instant welcome status.

London hotels are uber expensive and crap, small and rude. Unless you are willing to spend over 100 quid/night, keep your expectations very low.

I spend a lot of time in London, these are my observations not my opinions.

Bob,

You can SEE many of the TOURIST sites in London in a day. Consider Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, Covent Garden, St Paul's Cathedral, The Monument (Fire of London), The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, The Globe Theatre. And just walking around the "back streets" from one place to the next will give you a good idea of what London is like. Include a couple of the parks like Hyde Park and St James's Park (You can include lots more SEEING in a single day).

To VISIT places (say) the War Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, British Museum (half the Parthenon frieze), art galleries, Greenwich Observatory etc will need about half a day per visit.

London is best travelled by walking or by tube. Two or three-day travel cards are good value and let you jump on or off as often as you like. And the tube/suburban trains go to the outer suburbs including Richmond, Hampstead, Epping etc.

Out of London, and I would hire a car for a week. (sleep in it if you can't find a cheap B&B)

3 days (2 nights in cheap motels-but clean) would get you a visit via the Chunnel (pre-pay, but just turn up and go) to the Northern battlefields of the first World War including Ypres, Vimy Ridge (Canadian guides to the preserved underground tunnels and trenches), and the Somme. You could visit Arras, Paris and Rouen. (beautiful cathedral and Joan of Arc), or perhaps Versailles. Excellent food everywhere and cheap if you take care.

English cities that I would consider include Cambridge (Duxford air museum is nearby), York (minster and walls), Durham (cathedral and castle on rock cliff, riverwalk), Chester (walls, lost harbour), Oxford and Bath (Roman Baths). And sites to consider .Windsor castle, Warwick Castle, Riveaux Abbey, Chatsworth House, Beamish Museum, Lindisfarne, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Avebury (stone circle) Stonehenge (stones throw from Salisbury and the army air museum is nearby), Dartmoor (settlements). A round-trip could snatch a glance at many of these in 5days in a comfortable car.

IF you wanted to visit Scotland (and it IS beautiful-even compared to the Canadian Rockies where we have a small place), then Newbury to Dunblaine takes me about 7 hours, but Durham to Edinburgh is only a couple of hours. Early morning flights by Ryan Air or Easy Jet from Stansted
can put in Glasgow/Edinburgh/Aberdeen or Inverness by 08.00hrs for only a few Pounds.

I would say that a well- planned, well-executed visit (up early, late to bed...) could include London, France and a whistle-stop tour of England.

Unfortunately you are going to get 101 biased views of what to do and where to go.

Ignore them....this is the REAL one.....

Cheers

Don

[This message was edited by Don Atkinson on Fri 19 March 2004 at 20:18.]

Bob, sorry I hijacked your thread a bit to pull the tails of the Londoners, they have to drive for hours to see any countryside (they confuse it with municipal parks) so tend not to get out much. Don's post above is full of good suggestions that I would endorse except to say that I'd maybe trim the city visits a little to give time to get out into the Scottish highlands, Yorkshire dales (my fave is Swaledale, it is so beautiful it may make you cry), and the Lake district (Cumbria).

You don't need to deny your identity either. Brits may be critical of USA foreign policy, but we like American people.

Bob,

I picked my suggestions, mainly to give you an idea of how far you might be able to travel and how much you might be able to fit in, rather than specifics of what to do. But I also "felt" that you had a slight incling towards cities, micro-culture and museums....but could be wrong by a mile.

Denver is some distance from the coast. England isn't. There are some very pretty and rugged little hamlets along the north (west) Cornish coast, and the sea has surf without the sharks....

My holiday of choice in the UK has always been mountain walking in the Scottish Highlands. And the lochs are very pretty as well.

Jez has also listed places with nice scenary and quiet pubs....all beautiful for walking (or driving). Note, you drive along motorways at 70/80mph (outside the ruch hours) ORRRR take little country roads over the Durham/Yorkshire/Derbyshire moors to get from (say) York to Durham to Chester.

Of course Cornwall has Tintagel (King Arthur, Merlin etc) and Nottingham has Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood's Oak Tree.

And many Canadians and Americans have some sort of historic family link to some part of the UK which they would like to visit.

Petrol costs about 80 pence a litre. (4.5 per UK gallon) and the average four-soor saloon like a Ford Mondeo gets about 30 miles to the UK gallon. Trains are expensive during the peak, but off-peak can be reasonable (hardly ever cheap)

Cheers

Don

Don's list

"You can SEE many of the TOURIST sites in London in a day. Consider Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, Covent Garden, St Paul's Cathedral, The Monument (Fire of London), The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, The Globe Theatre. And just walking around the "back streets" from one place to the next will give you a good idea of what London is like. Include a couple of the parks like Hyde Park and St James's Park (You can include lots more SEEING in a single day).

To VISIT places (say) the War Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, British Museum (half the Parthenon frieze), art galleries, Greenwich Observatory etc will need about half a day per visit.

London is best travelled by walking or by tube. Two or three-day travel cards are good value and let you jump on or off as often as you like. And the tube/suburban trains go to the outer suburbs including Richmond, Hampstead, Epping etc."

I would add;

Westminster Abbey
The British Library, near Euston Station; for its collection of old literary works.
National Gallery, a must for Art Lovers.

Of Don's Choices, the British Museum is one you definitely should go to. One of the best museums in Europe.

Menilmontant1948......

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the relative proximity of Stonehenge to Salisbury... or was that just too obvious?

obviously not.....

......but only THREE posts above yours you can read.....

Avebury (stone circle) Stonehenge (stones throw from Salisbury and the army air museum is nearby),

but at least Bob now knows TWO poeple think these are worth a visit....

Cheers

Don

"where as the further North you go (or West) the more relaxed and civilised it becomes"

You've not been to Salford then I take it Tom.

Matthew"

Mathew,

I presume you have not been to Salford then either or are living with an impression of the place substantially removed from reality?

So, that would be Salford then? 50% green land; Salford Quays; The Lowry (name any successful Millenium projects in London then can we folks?); a thriving arts quarter; a strong commitment to live music. I could go on but it's bad enough coming into this thread to find people who think Wales is in England!!!

Sure Salford has its' bad points but it took the IRA to sort Manchester city centre out!!!

Mike.

This is the Tourist London Guide PDF Document from the London Evening Standard.

http://images.thisislondon.co.uk/v2/tourist_london_livePDF/tourist_london.pdf

Other places to visit :

Scottish Highlands, visit a Whisky Distillery like Glenfiddich or GlenTurret
Lake district, Ullswater asnd Buttermere
Snowdonia,
Salisbury : go in the Cathedral
Winchester : The Cathedral and for a picturesque village Cheriton about 9 miles away.
Cotswolds, i.e. Burford, Bourton
Lincoln

"I presume you have not been to Salford then either or are living with an impression of the place substantially removed from reality?"

I was born there.

Matthew

I would be inclined to keep quiet about that.

Oxford is worth a visit, the Randolph Hotel does quite a decent lunch. I would avoid Saturday evenings during the college season as the students do tend to become drunk and over lively.

Also Blenhiem Palace is just up the road. Blenhiem is one of the finest houses in the UK and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

Regards

Mick

quote:

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Originally posted by Mick Parry:
I would avoid Saturday evenings during the college season as the students do tend to become drunk and over lively.

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Surely nothing a long prison sentence wouldn't sort out.

Davie

quote:

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Originally posted by Mike Hughes:
Sure Salford has its' bad points but it took the IRA to sort Manchester city centre out!!!
Mike.

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Ouch - tastless alert, tasteless alert

"I presume you have not been to Salford then either or are living with an impression of the place substantially removed from reality?"

I was born there.

Matthew

Mick Parry

I would be inclined to keep quiet about that.

Ah, it all comes out in the end!!! Pride and prejudice get very confused.

Mathew,

I have lived in Salford for the best part of 12 years. It's now making an effort to shed the old prejudices and doing it with a bit of style too. The only reason I have recently moved west is that Salford can't yet provide affordable four bed houses with decent size gardens - but it's working on it. It's actually a great place to live and/or work. The best move I ever made. Then again, how old are you? I have seen pictures of what my Salford flat used to be and it wasn't pretty so I can sympathise.

To the rest of you (Mr. Parry) why not pay Salford a visit sometime? You only have your prejudices to lose!!!

PS: The IRA and Manchester. I stand by that. Fundamentally, what you have now is one of the most vibrant and good looking city centres in the country. It wouldn't have happened if it hadn't have been for 1996 and all that.

quote:

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Originally posted by Bhoyo:

Surely nothing a long prison sentence wouldn't sort out.

Davie

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Whips, Davie, whips.

Or soap.

Regards

Mike

My name is Mike and I am a Floydaholic

Hey Mike, you're describing my idea of a perfect date!

quote:

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Originally posted by mike lacey:

quote:

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Originally posted by Bhoyo:

Surely nothing a long prison sentence wouldn't sort out.

Davie

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Whips, Davie, whips.

Or soap.

Regards

Mike

My name is Mike and I am a Floydaholic

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