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i've travelled loads as you all know. but never in britain. i know very little of this nation of ours.
looking quite likely i'll be seeing a bit of the country towards the end of the week. touristy stuff. edinburgh for sure but have no idea where else... maybe bath... um... scenic train journeys... a seaside town...
you have four days of unlimited rail travel. where do you go?
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I'd definitely go to Bath. When I was on the train to visit Esmeralda, I passed through Bath and I remember thinking "god, I'd live to stop off here."
Visited with Esme in Bristol and I thought it was a pretty city. Took a boat ride, walked up the steps to the lookout tower thingy (can't remember the name now). I'd like to go back.
Cambridge was lovely. ChocBuns took me to Ely Cathedral and we stopped for tea and scones right beside the cathedral. Was extremely picturesque. We also walked around Cambridge, saw King's College and we ate in a terrific little vegan/veggie place. Couldn't tell you the name now though. Do you see a pattern? My memory is starting to go, lol.
Saw Stonehenge, was incredible. It looks huge driving up to it and then you get there and it's not quite as big as you thought it was. And for humor there's the sheep in the pastures surrounding Stonehenge...they all have painted bums. Never saw a painted sheep bum before!
There's loads of places and things I'd still like to see in the UK. And I know I've seen more than the three things listed here, but I've got to busy with homework. Will try to think of more things for you Vik.
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There's a chunk of the trip by train to Cornwall goes alongside the coast in the most spectacular fashion. Better even than the track along the coast on the way to Edinburgh. Not sure if it is worth the rest of the journey to get there though.
Dovedale is really pretty too and good walking, or the Yorkshire Dales. Take a trip to North Wales; there's some interesting castles.
You will note that I know nothing about exciting cities with touristy night activities.
[ 17.03.2007, 19:35: Message edited by: sam ]
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My girlfriend and brother live in Bath. It is quite pleasant to visit during the day, but woe betide the person who tries to go gently or drunken into the night. Brrr.
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I went to school in Zommerzett - Exmoor National Park was on the doorstep, and Devon was a short drive away. In four days you could probably take in the Quantocks, Exmoor, and much of North Devon. Avoid Bridgwater, though - it's a shithole.
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I think id vistit places with historical landmarks, especailly roman ones. York is a place iv never been so that would be on the list.
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York's cool - the river floods every now and then, and a lot of the bars on the river front have pictures of the water up to the bar and stuff like that. Bath's pretty, as are bits of Bristol.
I'd love to go up to Portmerion (not sure of spelling) by train, across North Wales. There are some great train routes up in scotland, across the west coast etc.
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quote:Originally posted by Benny the Ball: York's cool - the river floods every now and then, and a lot of the bars on the river front have pictures of the water up to the bar and stuff like that.
Do know any decent hotels/B&Bs in York, Benny? Mrs N and I have it on our to visit list for this summer.
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I was up there last about 9 years ago, and when there then I stayed at the Youth Hostel Association Hostel, which was actually okay, if a bit of a walk from the city centre.
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There's a few interesting ideas here. Hope to try a couple of them myself. There's no shortage of beautiful spots on this island anyway.
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I was down in Poole at the weekend, which I remember from the time I spent there (18 years or so, eleven years ago) as being generally pleasant, if slightly twee and isolated. So I got an unpleasant shock at the weekend to discover that someone had filled it with horrible shops and disgusting fat people. Everything seemed run-down, dated and grubby. The town centre was outright nasty. We headed down to the harbour, one of the largest natural harbours in the world - second only to Sydney, in fact. It was full of surly looking fat men and bikers revving there engines. Most of the old pubs had closed, and a poster announced the arrival of an Aussie sports pub - you know: the kind that look like conventions centres for date rapists.
So er, anyway. You can probably cross Poole off your list.
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When I was a kid I had one lot of grandparents who lived in Seaford in Sussex and another lot who lived in Ilfracombe in Devon. I remember both those places as so idyllic, especially Ilfracombe. There used to be a train line from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe which came round the side of a hill above the town and you suddenly saw the sea opening up before you. It was quite stunning.
They closed the train line years ago of course, and when I last went back to Ilfracombe it had expanded beyond belief; houses stretching up all the hills which we'd walked on when I was a kid. A hideous dump it is.
Seaford was looking well rough last time I visited too, although that was a few years ago and it might have changed now, I dunno.
Probably best to generally cross anywhere by the sea off your list I think. Anywhere with buildings anyway.
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quote:Originally posted by Benny the Ball: York's cool - the river floods every now and then, and a lot of the bars on the river front have pictures of the water up to the bar and stuff like that.
Do know any decent hotels/B&Bs in York, Benny? Mrs N and I have it on our to visit list for this summer.
York is crawling with decent B & Bs. Not necessarily cheap and for good ones and plenty of choice in season you must book ahead. It also has a very cool free museum which could take you all day to see properly, but I am sad like that and enjoy museums and art galleries. You don't have to plan York as there is lots to do and see.
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quote:Originally posted by vikram: does anyone know if the rail trip from Carlisle down to Crewe via Penrith is scenic like the Carlisle-Settle one?
Not as scenic as Settle-Carlisle, no, but that would be pretty difficult to achieve anyway. Not unpleasant though.
Stonehenge is good if you're passing by that way, but perhaps not worth a major detour unless you're going to spend a day in the area and check out Salisbury and Avebury as well. Stonehenge is a fortified English Heritage money spinning site these days, so take plenty of readies if you do go there.
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Louche
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quote:Originally posted by vikram: does anyone know if the rail trip from Carlisle down to Crewe via Penrith is scenic like the Carlisle-Settle one?
The first half of it is; all sheeps and mountains and the glorious barren and gorgeous Shap. Then after you hit Preston it all gets a bit meh, because you're on the edge of the spread of the Manchester Liverpool connurbation. You then go through Wigan and Warrington, which are, quite frankly, about as stunning as a decomposing kestral. I've done the Carlisle Settle journey and it's much more impressive. And there's a viaduct. You can't fault a good viaduct, I've found.
This time next week I will be in Dorset. Woo!
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Stonehenge is one of the most disappointing sites in the world - mainly because it's surrounded by roads and you can't get that close to it rather than because of the monument itself. Salisbury's quite nice though.
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I went on a walking holiday from Plymouth to St. Austell in Cornwall - it was ace! We walked along the clifftop, climbed down a low part to sit on a rock and eat packed lunches, enjoyed the warmth of the sun, had a few pints...
Maybe it's not everyone's idea of the perfect holiday but the pair of us loved every second of it!
On the third day of walking, we had a B&B as good as a hotel to stop off in. We were both knackered. We were shown to our room which was well plush, with the biggest fuck-off bed I've ever seen - massive, white, embroidered and soft as a cloud. Bliss to sleep in.
Mike told me the next day that I always sleep on the edge of the bed and I'd done the same there, too. I could have slept like a starfish, but apparently I did what I do at home and teetered on the edge like some kind of sleeping white-knuckle loon.
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quote:Originally posted by Benny the Ball: Stonehenge is one of the most disappointing sites in the world - mainly because it's surrounded by roads and you can't get that close to it rather than because of the monument itself.
The only worthwhile time to visit Stonehenge is the Summer Solstice, when it's free of charge and surrounded by a 'mystical' fog that smells suspiciously like marijuana smoke.
Also: overpriced vegan slop, a real live owl and hundreds of long-haired, tie-dye freaks humming as they touch the stones.
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quote:Originally posted by MiscellaneousFiles: The only worthwhile time to visit Stonehenge is the Summer Solstice, when it's free of charge and surrounded by a 'mystical' fog that smells suspiciously like marijuana smoke.
Also: overpriced vegan slop, a real live owl and hundreds of long-haired, tie-dye freaks humming as they touch the stones.
quote:Originally posted by Lickapaw#2: I went on a walking holiday from Plymouth to St. Austell in Cornwall - it was ace! We walked along the clifftop, climbed down a low part to sit on a rock and eat packed lunches, enjoyed the warmth of the sun, had a few pints...
Maybe it's not everyone's idea of the perfect holiday but the pair of us loved every second of it![/i]
Mmmn. Sounds great. I love Cornwall.
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If your birthday is close to midsummer, be sure to keep the fact under your hat or risk being picked up, held aloft and paraded around by a crowd of weirds, repeatedly chanting "son of the sun" (a bit like when C3P0 was heralded as a god by the Ewoks). I don't think the scrotal groping was part of any ancient ritual though...
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I went to Bath for a weekend last Autumn, and had a really good time. We spent a day driving round Avebury, West Kennet and Stonehenge, all of which I'd been to on school trips. West Kennet Long Barrow was the most special- it was a stormy day, so we had the place to ourselves. You approach it up a gradually sloping field, and suddenly the barrow appears on the horizon- really impressive. Stonehenge must single-handedly bankroll every other English Heritage site, but I still reckon it's worth it. A monsoon blew up while we there, so we got loads of dramatic pics of the stones against a glowering grey/purple sky, with stray bits of sun fighting through. And we got soaked down to our underwear.
I want to go to Whitby, and to the East Coast of England. Instead I'm going to Cornwall and New Zealand.
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Louche
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The north east is beautiful. And empty. Well, empty when you get past Yorkshire, anyway. I've always thought Whitby was one of the better seaside twons. It's sort of got other things going on as well as being a seaside town, what with the medieval abby and all the Dracula fans trailing round the streets in black and purple. And it likes having a heritage, so it's not been forced to invest everything in silly seaside shops or tacky souvenirs. There's a pleasant fading elegance to the place, as well as some goth based silliness. More people should go to Whitby.
I just tried to write something about Northumberland but I sounded like their tourist board.
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quote:Originally posted by Vogon Poetess: Instead I'm going to Cornwall and New Zealand.
That's what happened to the life I am supposed to be having. You stole it.
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Louche
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I am going to St. Petersburg in May. This is easily the most exciting holiday I have yet planned. I am half assedly learning Russian in honour of this. Spaseba.
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quote:Originally posted by Louche: I am going to St. Petersburg in May. This is easily the most exciting holiday I have yet planned. I am half assedly learning Russian in honour of this. Spaseba.
Dasvadanya, or something. There was a great article in the Economist about a month ago, talking about the condition of Russian airports - sound like great fun!
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quote:Originally posted by Louche: I am going to St. Petersburg in May. This is easily the most exciting holiday I have yet planned. I am half assedly learning Russian in honour of this. Spaseba.
Whatever you do, learn your alphabet otherwise you will spend the entire time completely fucking lost.
Other essentials
Moschna eta - I want that one
Sto eta? - what the fuck's that? (particularly useful in restaurants)
quote:Originally posted by vikram: Am kinda considering Ludlow / Hereford - anyone been?
I have friends in Hereford, and have been a few times. It has a pleasant centre, a very nice cathedral, and - according to the literature at least - the oldest inhabited building in Britain, the Bishop's Palace. It was first used sometime in the early thirteenth century. Also worth a look is the Old House, a timberframed building slap-bang in the middle of town, which to some might come across as slightly odd. The house has a small museum of interesting curios.
There's also a very pleasant Cider Museum, if Scrumpy is your thing.
I've never been to Ludlow, but nearby Leominster (pronounced Lemm-ster) is famous for its large number of antique stores.
quote:Originally posted by vikram: FRI lunch somewhere good in Leeds
If you're well off you should go to Anthony's Restaurant, which is supposed to be, like, the best restaurant in the world, or something. I really want to go but can't afford it (though the lunch menu seems fairly reasonable, if you've got cash to flash). You will probably have to book in advance.
whitby does look great actually, but not gonna have time. ad lucnh in leeds is looking unlikely, but thanks. hereford etc is not doable - 4 days are so few! it's such a pity - before researching this trip i don't think i realised how much cool stuff was in britain.
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