United Kingdom Travel Forum

OK dokey. Firstly I am a teacher. YES I KNOW August is busy, expensive etc but I have to take holidays when the school does. Plus landlord needs to redecorate and would prefer me and hubby to vacation at this time (Early August, for two weeks.) I am wondering whether to drive round the UK (places coming) or to take the train and ferries. I've thought about the bus but I usually need to pee every two or three hours and I'm not sure about coach toilets!!
Two people. Living in so London is our starting point but we DON'T want to go London to point A and back London to point B and back etc! We want to go:
London to Bath (to see the Roman baths)
Bath to Cambridge. (to "punt" on the river and see Kings College)
Cambridge to Stamford (lovely old English town is a history house there and nice river)
Stamford to York (Perhaps spend three days there: York Minster, The Shambles and MAYBE Jorvick Viking Centre but not sure)
York to Giant's Causeway on the Antrim Coast (probably via Belfast but not sight-seeing in Belfast) We can't go through Dublin as he has a UK visa but NOT a schengen (for Europe)
Giant's Causeway/Belfast to Orkney via somewhere in Scotland probably.
I know with or without car we would need to ferry to Belfast and to Scotland and probably to Orkney too.
In Orkney we want to see Skara Brae.
And then to go back to London.
We have satnav in our car. Don't know whether to drive or take public transport?
We drove to Wales once and got from London to Cardiff then Tenbeigh then on to Pembrokeshire then home again.
But we are still not sure.
And we don't want to spend a fortune.
We have two weeks - (he has to work) but we COULD make it say 17 days if we had to.
Any tips MUCH appreciated!

The cost of trains and buses can vary hugely, by working out an itinerary, you already have the basis, and spending some time on these two sites you could work out a good trip.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/pj/jp

http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/?abandon=true

Don't forget air travel can be cheap - these two are good.

http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Book/

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/


Car is a very flexible option but bear in mind two important points. Fuel is very expensive here £1.08 per litre and seemingly rising all the time. Also distances on a map are very deceiving, Motorways and main roads are quick but traffic can be truly awful on any minor road adding hours to a journey.

Your best bet is the most work, as I said shop round for transport deals on the sites and maybe hire a car for a day or two if you can.

While you are working out your travel plan, have a look at Northumberland. You will miss a lot if you don't see some of it, eg Holy Island, the Castles and the beaches.

london to bath and then bath to cambridge is a strange way to go. london cambridge stamford? (lincoln is better for me?) york, northumberland (agree with that suggestion) then maybe lake district, liverpool, chester, ironbridge, bath... makes sense as a kinda driving route.

I might try to fit in warwick and or stratford? perhaps down to the coast, via avesbury/stonehenge after bath, for somewhere like corfe? portsmouth? brighton?

I would agree with the northumberland idea as well :) Durham is nice to spend a day in too, good train connections from York :)

Wouldn't advise York to Northern Ireland, your better seeing parts of Scotland first and getting the stranrah ferry over to Belfast.

To get up to Port Rush (near the Giants causeway) takes a good couple of hours so you need a full day really (a half day won't get you there)

I would suggest the mournes and the glens of Antrim in Northern Ireland as well if you have time.

If you want to do the mournes you are best having a car as transport to Newcastle there is a bit rubbish! You can get a train up to Port Rush though, and tours run for the glens of Antrim

If you really You want to see it all in one go, then you need to bear in mind a couple of points. First, although the British Isles are not large, given the population and the number of cars they own, the roads are going to be packed! Second, trains and feries tend to be fairly expensive in our experience: national express coaches and cheapie flights are better value.

We have used National Express (www;nationalexpress.com) on several of our UK trips. They are modern, comfortable, with clean loos - and your seats are booked. Best of all, they're cheap!

I agree with a previous post, that Bath to Cambridge is odd. Cross-country travel in the UK is difficult (most raods still tend to centre on London and North/South routes). But, short of trekking all the way down from York to Bath, you could try what national Express can offer to help.

In Cambridge you simply must not miss seeing King's College (there are several others worth a look, but this is the prize. We thought Lincoln better than Stamford, for all the latter's film-set status (it's regularly used for period films).

In York, we found Jorvik a disappointment. Far better was the Castle Museum, with its recreated living rooms through the centuries, and Victorian street scenes. Also, you must have lunch or tea at "Betty's" - an institution (plus some fascinating original interiors). I agree, that if in the area, Northumberland is worth a visit - beautiful coutryside and seaside (and the best fish and chips in England!).

However, if time presses, from York, the best way to get to Northern Ireland is via Leeds/Bradford airport, not far away. Not sure who flies there, but I would add to the list already given:

www.jet2.com
www.flybe.com
www.flybmi.com

If you want to, or have to use ferries to Scotland and the Isles, then try

www.directferries.co.uk, and
www.calmac.co.uk

From my recollections of past journeys, and visits to the places already on your list, you'll be hard-pressed to get it all and for it to be worthwhile. Best of luck - hope you enjoy it all (wil be watching VT for a report ....!)

You can use bus/train but can't stop for a while at interesting places you on the way.

Or you can use the car and have total freedom to take as much time as you want from point to point, stop wherever you fancy and explore interesting routes (get a good roadmap book if you haven't already got one, for work-arounds and scenic routes......your satnav won't work those out for you).

Although petrol is expensive, you will probably find that travelling by car still works out cheaper as there will be 2 of you (unless you have a huge fuel-hungry monster). If you do decide against, book all your train tickets well ahead so you get the cheaper advance fares (when they exist).

If you travel by coach, the loos re just bog-standard (sorry!) chemical ones. Most of your journeys will be reasonably short, so I'm sure you can hold your breath & cope.

Northumberland (Lindisfarne, Hadrian's Wall, empty miles of sands, birds, moors.....)is wonderful. Lincoln is much more interesting than Stamford, as is Ely (don't miss either if your route take you that way). Avoid Jorvik; it's ok, but a tourist trap really..don't miss York though.

I'd forget Ireland for now, and travel up one side of England and down the other, with lots of trips inland to see places such as Warwick (castle is touristy, yes, but still well worth seing) etc.

Have a look at the Vt pages on some of the places mentioned to get some idea of what's around.

I'd advise you to plan your itinerary soon and book the appropriate accommodation asap: places do get very booked up in August, especially the better-value ones.

fuel may be expensive in the UK but then again so is public transport. Take the car, you'll never make half your itinerary using train and bus

Defo the car. NationalExpress buses are not bad but way too slow, as I'm sure you're aware of. Trains, well, if you don't book well in advance and plan every move with the minutiae of an entomologist, you've had it basically, it'll cost you a fortune. Unless your hobbies include queuing, give the Yorvik a miss, although their little train inside is a hoot I must admit.
Definitely spend 3 days in York, try a B&B in the Bootham area (Bootham Terrace -shortcut into York via Yorkshire Museum Gardens), Bootham Crescent and Grosvenor Terrace in particular). Have a drink at the amazing Evil Eye on Stonegate, fantastic cocktails, on a good day the staff there (choose a month when the boss is away in Spain...) are more than generous with their measurements... Eat at El Piano on Grape Lane, fantastic place.
If you dont want to spend a fortune, don't bother with Dublin. Ditto Belfast. Explore North and South Wales. And the Lakes of course, if that's your sort of thing, you can't beat a walk around Tarn Hows or round Keswick.

Evil Eye...........El Piano ........entirely agree. Lots of other places too (York has been a major part of my life for many years now). Have a look at the York VT pages for more ideas/info etc.

You must not miss York, but do miss Yorvik (and I speak as an archaeologist-in-my-spare-time).

The car is small, not a gas guzzler, no. Am leaning towards the car. Found out yesterday we'd be looking at about £1000 for the train!!! Just to get around! Another option is fly to Belfast for Giant's Causeway OR to Scotland for Orkney, seems cheaper than ferry or train! and do the rest by car. I want to go Bath to Cambridge BECAUSE they are two of the places I/we haven't seen in the UK that we want to. I really want to see: Bath, Cambridge, Stamford, York, Giant's Causeway and Orkney. I will look into those other places suggested here though. I had been wondering if Jorvick might be a tourist trap, looks like I might have been right and we don't have kids either.

P.S. When you say Ireland is expensive do you mean just getting there or do you mean say accomodation, food etc? Would going to Orkney instead possibly be cheaper?

It's more expensive than the UK in Ireland (for almost everything), and not least because they use the euro.

Orkney is entirely and absolutely wonderful (see my pages)........but you do need a car once you are there. There are buses, and you can hire bikes, but there is too much to see really. Mainland is a big island. I always hire a car from Peace's in Kirkwall and have been very happy with them.

As with all islands, prices are generally higher than on the mainland but Orkney is cheaper than Ireland, imo (especially if you want to rent a cottage, although you've left it a bit late for the best choice).

Either get the train to Inverness and then the coach to Orkney: wonderful journey up the coast to John )'Groats, then passenger ferry across the Pentland firth, then coach through the islands to Kirkwall. www.jogferry.com

Or fly with BA, changing somwwhere like Aberdeen/Edinburgh to a 40-ish-seater twin-prop (!) for the flight to Kirkwall: brilliant experience, but not cheap (book now if you intend to do this).

Or drive up (a heck of a long way though: think cost of petrol) and take the car over on the Scrabster-Stromness farry (again, best book now for school hol travel).

"lake district, liverpool, chester, ironbridge, bath... makes sense as a kinda driving route.

I might try to fit in warwick and or stratford? perhaps down to the coast, via avesbury/stonehenge after bath, for somewhere like corfe? portsmouth? brighton?"

Have already been to: Warwick, Stratford, Avebury and Brighton but thank you anyway. The other places, well maybe thank you!

lake district, liverpool, chester, ironbridge, bath... makes sense as a kinda driving route. I might try to fit in warwick and or stratford? perhaps down to the coast, via avesbury/stonehenge after bath, for somewhere like corfe? portsmouth? brighton?" Have already been to: Warwick, Stratford, Avebury and Brighton but thank you anyway. The...

If you are driving from Ironbridge to Bath may I suggest you stop off in Ludlow one of the finest towns in England.

http://www.ludlow.org.uk/

Agree. Ludlow is lovely.

You could drive down to Bath via th Welsh Marches...and/or take in Worcester (lovely cathedral) and the Malverns.......

It is simply not correct to suggest that it is dangerous to travel by train or bus. I have done so in all the countries I have visited (and in the UK, of course): one must offset the very few events which have occurred against the many, many, many thousands of journeys undertaken every day with no problems whatsoever (exactly the same as with flying).

One is at (very, very minimal) risk of terrorist attack/personal crime at any time, anywhere, in very many parts of the world. Bombs have been placed in airports, on planes, in cars parked on the street, in shops....in the UK, in Spain, in Turkey.....the list goes on..........

The risk taken when crossing a road is far, far higher than any risk associated with travelling by train or bus (or plane)

Whilst I sympathise with the very unpleasant experience you may have undergone, I feel you are greatly exaggerating the (extremely minimal) potential risks.

My reply above was in response to a post which has now been (rightly, imo) deleted.

OK, you're committed to a car - best of luck! We were last in UK with our French friends about two years ago. Lake District was horrendous - narrow lanes, queues everywhere (and it was raining, too - but that's the Lake District!). NB I was driver in the lakes but elsewhere our friends were delighted that national express visited en-route towns they didn't know of, and, both they and I could see over the hedges into delightful countryside between the towns.

IF Chester is on your list (as it should be), then you'll need an overnight stop. We've stayed at the Chester Town House twice - and would go again. It's the only B&B right within the city walls, in an old merchant's house (beams, etc) - delightful owners and super breakfasts. See visitchester.com for details of this B&B and things to see/do in Chester.

Love Worcester - but touristy (and tacky in places) now. Lived in Malvern, so love there, too. Wonderful views from the top of the hill, if you can manage it (it's a 1-in-5 climb, park in town)! Bath, fantastic; Stonehenge will need time but will be worth it - the hand-held audio-guides (several langages) are really useful. Then, why not Salisbury - super cathedral, interesting streets(plus accommodation)? And, for another good cathedral - Winchester.

Brighton is a hellish cross-country trek (see my earlier post re cross-England travel). There are plenty of inland gems to discover.

hi matey, glad to see you're still interested in the Giants Causeway :) (which is in Northern Ireland not Ireland, you will not need Euros!)

I went up the coast at the weekend there and would suggest you getting a hire car from the airport so you can drive up the coastal road from Belfast. It was really beautiful, will take you through some villages where ther are places to eat (expensive places, but ok), and you get to see some of the glens of antrim which were really bonny :)

Northern Ireland is about the same price as any other british place when ever I have come over here and needed accommodation. Although Britain in itself aint the cheapest!

Hope thats a bit of help (or maybe more of a confusion, who knows) :D

I agree on the coastal trip up N Ireland to the Giant's Causeway: superb sea-side views (whereas the interior can be a bit - shall we say - dull), plus some delightful little towns en-route. Don't know if the Causeway Hotel is still worthwhile/affordable but we had a fabulous stay there (you can walk from the hotel to the Causeway). Our stay was quite a while ago - and the detail is lost in a fog of too much real (but I mean real) Guinness - the barrels were upstairs and fed the pumps by gravity! It took about five minutes to get a pint from the pump. Bet it's all changed. Enjoy the causeway walk, anyway.