Christmas is coming, and it’s time for Clan Aspidistra to once again indulge in our biennial UK trip to visit the olds. (Ok, this is only the second time ever for some of us - but the last time was two years ago…)
Last time we broke things up in the middle with a trip to Europe and did stunningly well on the weather front, with only about 3 or 4 days of rain in the whole month we were around (apparently it got perfectly lousy in Oxford the minute we left, and cleared up the day we got back )
So this time we’re going to push our luck and attempt a UK-based side trip. My current plan is something like a week or ten days, and a tentative itinerary (starting from Oxford) is
Oxford
-> York (for the Vikings)
-> Edinburgh (for loads of stuff, but ‘see where your mother spent four years of her life’ a key point)
-> ?somewhere? (really don’t want to try to do Edinburgh->Oxford in one hit)
-> Oxford.
The Taller Girl has a hankering for Skye as part of the itinerary, but having considered distances, I’m thinking that might possibly be stupid, for a winter trip.
Any suggestions for great winter activities for a family with pre-teen kids, travelling late December/early Jan? (Jorvik is happening, obviously. Ghost tours in Edinburgh, assuming they still do 'em. Still thinking about what else) And where should the ‘somewhere’ be? It seems lame just to go back to York on the way back down. I was reading a travel article which suggested that the Lake District, even in winter, is not at all bad, but I’m never quite sure how far to trust freeby-getting travel writers.
As one of you lived in Edinburgh for 4 years, I guess you know that sunset for late December/early January will be around a quarter to four in the afternoon in Edinburgh. And slightly earlier if you venture further north. (And sunrise will be about quarter to nine in the morning)
The major tourist sites will be open through the day but will probably close by five, leaving a long dark evening ahead. There are various ghost tours but I doubt that’ll take all your time. But there are loads of places to eat and drink although most cafe/coffee shops close early evening and children are often not allowed in bars after a certain time (varies too much to be specific)
I could meet you for a couple of drinks one evening but you probably want more excitement than that!
The zoo is very good, but it’s built on quite a steep hillside and in poor weather may not be much fun. And it shuts early (at four thirty) as it gets too dark to see much.
The Castle is pretty good too, but also quite exposed to the elements (and not cheap) but there should be plenty of other museums and art galleries open - including the Museum of Childhood, which might appeal to your kids more than, say, the Scottish Portrait Gallery!
If you figure some time at the start and the end of the trip with the old ones, Edinburgh and York will take up all of your free time. I suggest you try to do a few things well rather than hurry.
Oxford to York is a morning’s travel in a car. You definitely want to spend at least a whole day (read: two nights) in York, preferably more. York to Edinburgh is another half day. There’s lots to see and do in Edinburgh, so again figure at least two nights there. And it’s a day’s drive back to Oxford.
All times absent roadworks, of course. And England’s roads grind to a halt with even an inch of snow.
If you’re travelling by train, I can recommend Virgin Trains’ East Coast service.
Remember that Christmas and New Year can complicate things. Almost everything everywhere will be closed on Christmas Day and some attractions in Scotland may be closed on the morning of New Years Day. Some might regard Hogmanay in Edinburgh as a positive reason for a visit, but, then again, others would go to great lengths to avoid Edinburgh at that time.
If you plan to travel by train, you also need to remember that there can be lots of engineering work between Christmas and New Year.
It looks lovely - though actually in the zoo line we tend to go for the underfunded scruffy ones. Because - local animals! We went to one in germany last time and our hosts were all apologetic … oh, it’s only got the boring animals like squirrels, deer, wolves. Meanwhile the Small Folks eyes are lighting up. Squirrels! Wolves! Exotic things like that!
That’s a good one - I don’t think I’ve been to the Museum of Childhood myself. And it’s pretty close to a whole bunch of other things which are on The List too
We do have four weeks in total, so I was budgeting about 8 - 10 days for our side trip. So, yeah, no rushing Driving, I think. With five of us going, it looks like it would be cheaper, even including petrol, than five open returns on the train. I’m hoping if we stick to the main thoroughfares we have less to fear from bad weather than otherwise. Though my brother did once get stuck for about 24 hours on a motorway trying to get back to Oxford from Wales…well, anyway, it’s an adventure!
Google maps has a couple of warnings for me about roadworks on the A1, thanks for the heads-up.
I was actually thinking of braving Edinburgh for New Years, yes. Not thinking of being out on the streets anywhere after about 10 pm mind you, and I’m hoping that’s early enough that the serious party animals are still getting their makeup on. Hoping for, if nothing else, some pretty decent fireworks. I see they have the first set at the castle going off at about 9 in the evening - that sounds about our level.
If you’re here for Hogmanay, hotel accommodation is likely to be extortionate.
The main Princes Street Gardens event is by ticket only. Nearby streets are within the ticketed area but this year I think they’re trying to spread things out a bit so it’s not so concentrated - there should be other events on the Royal Mile at least.
And usually a few galleries or museums are open on New Year’s Day although not on the 2nd. The City Art Centre at the back of Waverley Station is one.
It’s years since we’ve been down at Princes Street to see the new year in so most of this has been from memory - check the details of any event to make sure it’s not sold out, or is free.
All sorts of road closures start mid-afternoon of the 31st, so don’t count on buses and trams keeping to timetable too much!
And, as an alternative to the zoo, there’s Gorgie City Farm, with goats, ponies, sheep, guinea-pigs, etc. It’s not very big but can be quite fun!
Or Five Sisters Zoo near West Calder, a few miles west of the city, but I’ve never been to it.
They’ve just closed the Forth Road Bridge to traffic for repairs the rest of the year. And they might well extend that. This means that driving north from Edinburgh is going to be a bit of an adventure - there are already queues over the Kincardine bridge, and heavy traffic on the roads leading to it, and Kincardine itself is a significant diversion. And there’s no ferry at Queensferry.
Skye is most likely going to be cold, dark, wet, and miserable, and the road trip will be a day each way from Edinburgh. Google says 6 hours from Edinburgh but that doesn’t count roadworks, ice, or bad weather. That said, if you get a forecast of three nice days, go for it.
I grew up near the Lake District; it can be lovely in Winter, though the weather can be terrible, and there aren’t that man greaty wet weather attractions, and it does look to be a very wet year; the parents said they’ve had the worst flooding in 25 years last month, and it looks to be starting up again now.
It can be very pretty if it snows, though this can mean a lot of the smaller (and more scenic) roads are blocked, and may be left blocked for some time, but unless you’re planning on staying somewhere remote, that shouldn’t be an issue. Avoid the Wrynose Pass in the snow and you should be fine (I actually tried that one year, before sanity got the better of me, and I turned round).
Most of the attractions do run all year round, though you’re likely to have the place to yourselves, and things do shut very early.
As for other places, if you do decide to head down the West coast, and you’re big on history, Chester has a lot of Roman history tours and musuems which I remember enjoying as a kid (plus the zoo, which is anything but low budget).
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