Hey guys,
I'm planning a 11 day trip in and around London in late September. So far I know I am spending 6 nights in London and I'm looking for 2 more places to check out. Preferably not too far from London. I've been reading up on the guide books and really can't decide where I should go.
I'd love to hear your experiences and recommendations.
Cheers :)
So how can we help you when you have not mentioned anything you would like to do or what you would like to see. And places from the guide book you might have found interesting.
In 4 hours from London you can pretty much reach anywhere in the rest of England.
Cambridge, Oxford, Blenheim, Cotswolds, Bath, Stratford, Avebury, Stonehenge, Winchester, and my favourite, Salisbury Cathedral.
But #1 is right ... do you prefer exemplar Mediaeval ecclesiastic architecture, or strip clubs and a Tuesday Night curry & beer special down at a Wetherspoons?
Yes,your interests are the most important thing here..its a small country and not that hard to get to any reasonable sized place by train.
Thanks guys. Sorry I wasn't being very clear. I'm very interested in history and architecture, perhaps to visit some castles and to recap on some of the histories.
My last trip to the Uk was almost 15 years ago and I spent most my time in London and in Scotland. Castles always fascinate me. Totally not flying all that way to party. Lol I could do that easily back home.
The things is. I can only pick two places with 2 nights each before I fly out. I'm still doing more research but so far Bath, Cambridge and oxford sounds interesting. Stonehenge I'm not so sure as I've heard polarised opinions about it. I guess ( I could be totally wrong) it's a bit like the waves rock back home. Do I wanna travel the miles to see those rocks. Lol
Thanks in advance. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Cheers.
Bath and Cambridge are both wonderful, you'll have a great time in both cities. Wales has a fantastic array of fascinating and well-preserved castles, I love Conwy Castle and Beaumaris especially.
Stonehenge is not very interesting IMHO.....though I was there many years ago,when you could still walk among the stones.Now its all fenced off.Some rocks in the middle of a motorway intersection ;-)
As above,I think Bath is an interesting place,Cambridge too.Oxford is nothing special away from the university buildings,Cambridge is (for me) a much calmer and prettier town to wander around in.
None of these is great for castles.North Wales is certainly a good option,with Conwy and Caernarvon.
Stonehenge can be a little underwhelming I agree ... unless you're seriously devoted to the cosmic nature of Neolithic life in Ancient Britain ... in which case it's marvelous. We liked it.
There is a great circuit to be done - Oxford > Blenheim > Bath > Cotswolds > Avebury > Stonehenge > Salisbury > Winchester. One of the great four or five day journeys in Western Civilisation, I suggest.
You could head to Chester which has the best preserved roman walls in the UK and is a lovely city, from there head to north Wales, which has some great castles, Conway is very good.
This is a good suggestion! Chester is charming, you can walk along the Roman walls and the area by the river is lovely. It's not a big city and easily walkable, and you can get to it in just over two hours by train from London Euston. From Chester, you can access North Wales by train (although, if you can, I'd rent a car to explore North Wales). North Wales has a high concentration of castles, even a lot of small villages and towns have castle ruins but definitely recommend Conwy (well preserved, surrounds a charming town by the bay), Beaumaris (unusual design, charming town by the sea), Caernarfon and Harlech (stunningly located).