6-days in the UK in May/June

My wife and I are taking a cruise that is scheduled for Southampton to Southampton aboard the Caribbean Princess, May 26 thru June 7. (btw: I work @ Princess) But we're planning to leave the cruise early in Edinburgh on Monday the 4th and then drive thru the country to London over the following 6 days, to catch our flight home on the 10th.

"Why?", you ask. To sightsee, of course! ...and besides, we'll only be missing Paris.

Some of you may know me from the 308 thread. I have a GT4 Dino. My wife and I are avid TopGear fans. And if that isn't enough, I'm sure Hans will vouch for me!

Or at least vouch for may ability to gasp as he races onto the freeway at heart-stopping speeds!

But seriously;

We've never been to England (or Paris either for that matter! ) and we're not quite sure where to go (or more importantly "where to avoid!"), or exactly what to do. We have no set plans yet, though I've been doing a lot of Google Earth'ing in preparation. We're both avid English history buffs - so there are a lot of places we'd "like" to see. But we only have 6-days, and I know (or at least suspect) getting 'round England is not quite the same as, zipping off to wine-country from here in sunny South'rn Californee'ahh!

My aunt is a genealogist, and has traced our family to several areas, and I'd like to see those if time permits. Among them, Spofforth in North Yorkshire and Huddersfield. My wife wants to see Alnwick, which is faintly related to Spofforth too, if you know the history. Stamford, Boswroth Field (what is a Tithe Barn anyway? 1/10th of a meal in straw filled stall? I dunno, maybe it's just the horse thing... ) If time permits, I'd like to try to make it to Powederham near Exeter too, although I fear it may be a too far - but I'd like to try to make it there anyway. I also have family roots at Trelowarren, in Cornwall - and I'd love to go see the Minac Theatre too, but I'm almost certain they are both too far. But if we can make it to a B&B I found near Kenton, Devon, then maybe it could be a day trip.

That's the ticket! We'll be Day Tripppers... WooHoo! and hopefully we can make t'see them rocks they got layin' out there in a sort'a circle, ya know? ...kind'a fancy like. I'm mean, they're just rocks, right? I know, but still... If ya can, ya gotta see 'em! Right?

Your clueless American friend,

David.

BTW: Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

 

June 4 & 5 is a special holiday in England due to Queen's Jubilee - not sure how much it will affect things

From Edinburgh drive down to Duns and the Jim Clark Museum then over to Alnwick as a base for a couple of days and visit the hotel whose state room came from the Titanic's sister ship plus ALnwick Castle and maybe some Roman stuff at Hadrians Wall - from there somewhere like the Devonshire Arms to explore Yorkshire including Sprofforth & get to Huddersfield - then across the Peaks (via Nick Cartwright and/or Chatsworth perhaps) to Bosworth and maybe East to Stamford (not sure whats there)

Exeter might just be possible (especially direct from Bosworth) but Cornwall is a long haul

 

After Jimmie's northan suggestions, if it's a car theme you fancy try the Donnington Collection at the race track. I think it's still the largest collection of racing cars in the world? (certainly UK).

The Costwolds are lovely. Head for Bourton-on-the-water. There's a lovely little motor museum there right in the middle of the village. Some great historic pieces.

Why not book up a day at Brands Hatch racing school too?

 

You will get a million suggestions on what to do and where to go. One tip regarding sight seeing and distance.

On the good side, Americans seem to drive longer at one sitting. You could drive from Edinburgh to London easy in one day. I have some UK friends who are amazed that we can drive 4-500 miles in a day. Don't think "too far" until you really measure it.

On the other hand, distance is not 4-lane interstates. Miles seem to go a bit slower with two lane roads, round-a-bouts, small villages along the route (and speed cameras). An accident will stop traffic or close a road completely. No gas stations and McDonald's at every exit, so gas and meals may require planning. Use a GPS since traveling/driving is a lot different. And make sure not too many people are looking when you open the wrong car door to drive.

Lots to see, so enjoy the places you do see and don't try to see it all. If you want to see Stonehenge, Bath is a good place out that way to make a day of it.

 

I think you slightly underestimate us over here. Yes, Edinburgh to London in a day is easily done and I do it quite regularly. In fact depending on how often you want to stop, Edinburgh to London in 7 hours is easily doable. And in case the OP gets the wrong idea you can do all that on motorways (interstates) although some sections can be very crowded and require a lot of concentration.

You are of course right that if you get off the motorways then it can be relatively slow, what with the ridiculous speed limits we have nowadays, but it is still pretty easy to get around quickly.

 

Also depends what time of the day/night you travel. Did Manchester airport to Glasgow in just over 2 and a half hours last year leaving Manchester at midnight.

 

I don't think he meant to "underestimate" anyone but rather "just saying".... As an ex-pat Brit, I've got to agree with him too - For a lot of people, an, eg, London -> Edinburgh trip requires months of planning, two hotels and emergency contingencies etc etc - OK, I'm exaggerating a little, but you get my point.

7 hours! - I suspect that's only doable in the middle of the night. (?)

This also popped out at me in the OP;

CA is roughly three times the size of England. (~150K Sq miles -v- 50K - Throw in Scotland and Wales and it's still only ~100K) So, if you think nothing of San Diego to Sonoma you'll eat England in a day or so..... Traffic is heavy, but (generally) goes a lot faster than here and the motorway network is pretty good for getting around - You won't see a lot, but, eg, London to the depths of Cornwall is ~6 hours - Even if you divert to Stonehenge it's still an easy day trip (one way!)

I didn't know about the Queens jubilee - Unless you're a big time "Royal Fan" I think I'd be inclined to be well away from London for at least those couple of days (?)

FWIW, I *love* Cornwall - Well worth the trip IMO. B&B's are generally pretty easy to find on the fly - Or at least used to be (?)

With all due respect, Huddersfield is a dump - Sorry, please don't shout at me, just my humble opinion.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Thank you all for the great responses. I'm glad to learn that getting around might not be as difficult as I feared. I guess I need to find out about renting a car one-way from Edinburgh to London though. ...and insurance, and any permits I might need. Does anyone have any experience with what might be required? Or where I might find out?

So preliminarlily, I'm thinking;

We should probably spend the first day looking around Edinburgh, and then travel South and find a place to stay that would make Alnwick, Hadrian's Wall, Bosworth and Spofforth all accessible over the next two days. Then travel South, stopping at Stonehenge along the way, to Kenton, Devon and (Powderham, since I have a genealogist to see there), which will give us a chance to see some of Cornwall, Trelowarren and maybe the Minack Theatre over the following 2-3 days. Then finally Corfe (just out of morbid curiosity) on our way back to London to catch our flight home.

Sound good? It might make it a quick "look/see". But it sounds doable.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks a bunch!

 

Not my intent. Just most of my time there, the people I knew were not much distance drivers. When I was in Newmarket, my friend said, "You drove all the way back from Edinburgh in one day?" Of course, he had a very old Mondeo estate.

 

260 pounds/night ???? Gaaak!!!

I just paid that same amount (oh, actually less. it was $260 USD) for a room at the Sheraton in Oldtown, San Juan, PR a few weeks ago and was disappointed. Maybe it's not so bad. Very close to Alnwick though. It is pretty old though! LOL!!!

BTW: IT is the dining room that is trimmed with items salvaged from the sistership of the Titanic.

Thanks for the lead though. We may just do it.

 

Just for reference: Glasgow to Berkshire can also be done in about 8 hours (with an hour stop for lunch) if there are no roadworks on the route. The last two times, this journey has taken me about 10 hours though as some repairs were being undertaken.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

'Visit the hotel' is not the same as stay !!! I just had a beer

 

If your history buff and also appreciate beautiful countryside I thoroughly reccomend Blenheim Palace - its the family home of the Churchills as in Sir Winston the wartime PM but is steeped in History going back centries.

www.blenheimpalace.com

 

My mother-in-law grew up in Blenheim Palace. She actually knows more about the secret passages in there than most of the tour guides.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

I think as someone from the US you need to do a castle as well - Warwick is as good as any other:

http://www.warwick-castle.com/plan-your-day/history.aspx

On a motoring theme:

Beaulieu national motor museum which is also a stately home too - got a collection of James Bond Cars

http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/attractions/bond-in-motion

 

Wow... visit both Corfe and Woodstock? Thank you. It's along the way isin't it. Sounds like a great idea. It's also looks like Leicester is along the way, so we could see where Simon de Montfort lived, then travel to Stratfor-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare (or is it Clifford Chambers?), then to Evesham, and on to Benheim.

Fantastic! Thank you for all the suggestions.

I knew posting on F-Chat would be my rescue!

Having a number of places to go, will make the traveling seem much quicker than here in California. Even if we're in the car 10-14hrs per day. After all, it's not at all like California! I mean, there's really just not that much to see on Highway 5, between Los Angeles and Sacramento. ...and we do that very boring drive (a little further to Grass Valley actually) a couple of times a year!

Now... If I could only find a way to accomplish this in a GT4! Although, since mine is LHD - RHD might seem a little overly-disturbing in that car though! LOL!!!

 

Warwick! Home of the king-maker. My wife would certainly like to go there. And it's in the same area too.

Thank you!

 

I think that is near Stratford-upon-Avon, too. And that is near Bob's Model Shop:

http://www.minichamps.co.uk/minichamps_index.htm

 

Oh my!

Maybe I should do this too!

http://www.highlandtitles.com/

 

Tell me something, when was the last time you went to Huddersfield? Must be very recently for you to speak so definitely and pass such a derogatory conclusion? My guess is you haven't been then in a very long time and this is just another example of your spectacular ignorance.

 

If you want any help with Huddersfield at all then please just let me know. I grew up there and my folks still live there. The countryside is absolutely stunning and the centre of town went through a major development a few years ago but they were careful to keep all the beautiful Victorian architecture unspoilt. The train station is grade 1 listed and John Betjeman described it as 'the most splendid station facade in England' second only to St Pancras, London. It won some European architectural award too.

Rugby League was invented here (but you won't know much about that) and Prime Minister Harold Wilson was from here.

You probably don't have time for this, but it's great fun. This 'real ale' train pub crawl goes through Huddersfield Station at around 3 mins 20 in.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhpgJ6r3PZo[/ame]

 

Hi 360stimo,

That series was pretty good. It went to Ireland's Dublin and my wife's home village of Graiguenamanagh in Co. Kilkenny where by pure chance James May was filmed trying to hook my son with a shepards crook in a 'traditional pub' which of course sell everything from shepards crooks to Guinness and everything in between. Don't ask why my 14YO (at the time) was in a pub at midday ...... Nothing to do with his alcoholic father .... Honest !!!

 

Fascinating - If it's not beyond the pale, perhaps a thread on that subject would be of interest.

BTW - Stateside, a woman just returned to work after 6 weeks. She named her baby Andrew. I told her I would let you know.

 

It would be a very short thread. lol I've yet to go to the palace with her - but it is something I really must make time for at some point. She has told me a little about it, but I'm afraid I can't remember the specifics of the building.

The reason she grew up there was because her father was the head gardener/landscaper for many years. The children of all the staff were encouraged to play in the palace as a safe place after school while their parents were finishing their work shifts.

What a noble name!

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Never met James May but i often see the other guy Oz Clarke as he lives near (in) a pub i go to quite a lot called the White Horse in Parsons Green, London. Really nice guy.

For me you just can't beat old school, traditional British and Irish pubs, especially if you are drinking real ale.