Vacation tips for England
- Thread starter Saregon
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If you think about it... our trains are not that bad. The seats are comfy enough, there is enough room, there are a lot of them and they get you to where you want to go.karloss01 said:Woah! Really? Considering we never shut up about how bad they are, I'd think international-tourists would think the same. guess notRobert B. Marks said:
The thing we don't like about them is that we have a low tollerance of other people. I am the same as you... if I got a train to the next town I would hate the whole journey... annoying kids, loud teens and drunk football supporters... but to someone from aborad that is all tollerable. It's new... it's fascinating. Also.. it's a good way of seeing swathes of British countryside without having to get cold or wet or having to stop!
Always nice to see some shire folk, moved to the Bradford-on-Avon when I was very little and spent most of my childhood there.Elementary - Dear Watson said:
Currently living in Stroud though, not much going on there except a decent Fringe Festival and farmers market. But some pretty serene countryside around here.
Yeah after 20 lean years things at Bath are picking up again. Jeremy Guscott used to live 5 doors along from me and Richard Hill is about 100 yards away. You do know that Po Na Na's is known as bog island to Bathonians?Elementary - Dear Watson said:
Yeah I used to work down one of the holes at Corsham and in the Winter I never saw the sun, it got very depressing. Don't talk to me about bloody fire drills, the boss had them cut another exit into the Box workings because it was taking 3 hours to get back to work after a fire drill.
Suggested route North would be London -> Cambridge -> Lincoln -> York -> Durham -> Edinburgh. Stopping along the way to check-out Hadrian's Wall. These are all relatively easily accessible by train, and are some of the prettier cities we have to offer.
I really recommend Durham, and it's a great place to spend a couple of days, especially in the summer, and its Cathedral is really quite a lovely example of pre-Gothic architecture (though perhaps less grand than York Minster)
More generally, try to find smaller Bed & Breakfasts rather than big Hotels, you'll usually save money and get a more personal service. I hope you both enjoy your visit!
I really recommend Durham, and it's a great place to spend a couple of days, especially in the summer, and its Cathedral is really quite a lovely example of pre-Gothic architecture (though perhaps less grand than York Minster)
More generally, try to find smaller Bed & Breakfasts rather than big Hotels, you'll usually save money and get a more personal service. I hope you both enjoy your visit!
This is the most useful post Ive spotted so far, it's stuff us locals don't think about.Robert B. Marks said:
You should definitely book train tickets early. Once you work out which cities you want to visit, then look for cheap tickets, there are a number of sites that deal in reduced rate train tickets and the prices vary from hour to hour, so you can save a load of cash if you're a little flexible about what time you want to leave and arrive in various places. Also make sure, if you have to change stations, that the tickets you book leave you enough time between the train arriving at the station and the next train leaving, as there are often delays. (This might be obvious stuff but I don't know how much traveling you do.)
- Mar 31, 2010
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Yes, born and bred, as far as the records go back! I always forget about you guys up in Wilts, seems a nice part of the country from what I've seen though, I'm envious you have Stonehenge. If we ever get independence down here, you'll be welcome to a visaElementary - Dear Watson said:
Let me put it this way - Canadian trains are expensive (I priced out a trip to the East Coast once, and it would cost less to fly - and this was with booking the train tickets months in advance), and don't run everywhere. When we visited England, we never felt the need for a car. If only Canada had such a good transit system...karloss01 said:Woah! Really? Considering we never shut up about how bad they are, I'd think international-tourists would think the same. guess notRobert B. Marks said:
It rather depends on what time of day you get on the train. An off peak fare , ie after 9.30 am , to London from where I live is £43 the same fare before 9.30 is £93. Uk trains are ok to get around if you don't have to rely on them to get to work.Robert B. Marks said:
Woo! Another Escapist in Cambridge!Mister Eff said:
I'd second the recommendation for Cambridge, we're about 45 minutes from King's Cross (although the train station is about a mile from the historic centre) which makes us a fairly popular tourist destination for good reason (most of our city centre is at least 200 years old).
I'd definitely recommend coming in Summer sometime after June. Most of the students have gone by then and the colleges open up to visitors. Also the weather's better and you don't get flocks of cyclists going to and from lectures on the hour.
While there are a lot of punt touts out there (a punt is a small, shallow-bottomed boat not entirely unlike a gondola) I'd recommend heading to the Quayside [https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/11,+Cambridge,+Cambridgeshire+CB2+1SD/@52.2015224,0.1160153,18z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!1m2!2m1!1sMill+Lane,+Cambridge!3m1!1s0x47d870a335cd2787:0xfa9c17337a0b6926?hl=en] by Magdalene College to get a punt tour, they'll take you through all the interesting bits of the river, which in pleasant weather is wonderful.
