# My First Trip to England - what are the 'must-sees'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424 "2003-06-17T11:43:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/21 "2003-06-30T11:36:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ninevah \* > \*\*Whereabouts is this castle then? \*\* Alnwick is in the county of Northumberland, north of Newcastle. [Here’s a zoomable map](http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=418692&Y=613238&A=Y&Z=5). That whole area is really pretty, dotted with other castles, and and not crowded with tourists, but it’s a long way north. You might not have time to fit it in with all the suggestions people have made in the south. I presume your family have got trips lined up to Manchester and Liverpool? The Albert Dock waterfront in Liverpool is worth a trip – get your picture taken in front of the Liver Building and see the Beatles exhibition. Chester is nearby too and is a very pretty black-and-white half-timbered town founded by the Romans. I’d recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Necromancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@Necromancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Necromancer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/22 "2003-06-30T11:39:06Z")
I think Highgate Cemetery is well worth checking out. If you’re a fan of The Beatles, get your pic taken walking across Abbey Road to the EMI studios, and go to Liverpool and do a Beatles tour. ---
**Author:** ![ghostrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58f4c7/32.png) [@ghostrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ghostrider)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/23 "2003-06-30T18:59:26Z")
If you’re into scenic landscapes & hiking or bicycling, the Lake District, as someone mentioned above, is a must. I gather it’s become more touristed than when I was there several times in the 1970s, so this may not be the best time of year for the area. And if you go up to the Lakes & you’re into things neolithic, don’t miss a visit to Castlerigg Stone Circle outside of Keswick, near the northern end of the Lake District. 30 years ago I could have recommended some great pubs - I was a big fan of Real Ale - but my online friends in the UK tell me that so much has changed since then, you’re better off buying the latest CAMRA guide (assuming that you like beer). ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/24 "2003-06-30T19:05:41Z")
You MUST have lunch at the famous pub “YE OLDE CHESHIRE CHEESE” (built ca 1298, "renovated " in 1662. Ask to sit in Dr. Samuel Johnson’s chair (they will let you, if you ask nicely). It’s on Fleet street, a short jaunt from Tower Bridge. The food is rather bland, but a good assortment of mild and bitter ales. I also liked the IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM-good exhibits! For you LONDON Dopers…what’s the big deal about the crypts in the church of st. Clement’s Dane? Spooky place! ---
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/25 "2003-06-30T19:49:45Z")
Imperial War Museum is well worth a visit, yes. They have a Holocaust Exhibition at the moment which is well worth seeing. Things to avoid: Madame Tussauds, paying to get into Royal Palaces where they let you see into a couple of rooms, bus tours. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/26 "2003-06-30T20:18:52Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by ralph124c_ > You MUST have lunch at the famous pub “YE OLDE CHESHIRE CHEESE” (built ca 1298, "renovated " in 1662.) Yes, there are several pubs called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, so make sure you get the right one. To look inside you’d think 1662 was the date it was last cleaned, but it’s certainly an atmospheric place, as lots of the pubs in that part of town are. Actually it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666. I can’t say much about the crypt of St Clement Dane church, but it has a statue of Dr Johnson outside and if you recall the nursery rhyme: _“Oranges and lemons” Say the bells of St. Clement’s…_ that’s the church it was talking about, and the church bells still play that tune. While I’m here, I ought to emphasise that the Abbey Road studios **Necromancer** mentioned are in London. I’m always getting tourists in Liverpool asking me where they can get their picture taken on the zebra crossing and they’re disappointed to discover it’s not there, especially if they were in London the previous week. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/27 "2003-06-30T23:19:23Z")
Plenty of good suggestions on where to visit. I’d just like to say that nobody on earth can say what our weather is going to be like from one minute to the next, let alone in the next month. BUT, rain will be involved. V ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/28 "2003-07-01T02:30:10Z")
I’ll definitely be going by the Pitt Rivers museum- it appears to be within walking distance of where I’ll be! Same for the Ashmolean Museum as well. Thanks a bunch, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/29 "2003-07-01T03:44:35Z")
To get to Alnwick Castle, you can take the train to Alnmouth (terminus=Edinburgh). we tried, but _the doors wouldn’t open at Alnmouth,_ which we took as a sign that magic was afoot. ---
**Author:** ![ninevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@ninevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninevah)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424/30 "2003-07-01T11:25:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vetch \* > \*\* I’d just like to say that nobody on earth can say what our weather is going to be like from one minute to the next, let alone in the next month. BUT, rain will be involved. > \*\* Well, I’m from Melbourne, the city of “four seasons in one day” (thankyou Crowded House) so I’m used to unpredictable weather!. Anyway, I’d just like to say thankyou to everyone who has posted - I’ve certainly got a lot more places to think about visiting! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-trip-to-england-what-are-the-must-sees/182424.md?page=1)