New Years' Eve in England/ Isle of Man - An Inquiry

In My Humble Opinion
1

(This is my first OP ever, and I don’t know where to post it, so feel free to move it, Mods)

Me and my bride (liberty3701) are going on a honeymoon trip to England. We are both American. We are flying into Manchester and out of Gatwick. We plan to see Bath, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Avebury, the South Downs Way (near Eastbourne - to see the Long Man of Wilmington), Canterbury, London, Leeds Castle, Colchester, Coggeshall, and maybe the Isle of Man. (If we can get a ferry from Liverpool).

Primarily, my question is: What do people in England/Man do on New Years’ Eve? What should us tourists do? If the ferry to Man doesn’t work out, we might be in Salisbury, or poking around the henges on the 31st. Maybe something paganerific? (I’m Christian, but am not other-religion-a-phobic)

Secondarily, of course, I’m interested in travel tips/ things we shouldn’t miss in the places I’ve mentioned.

Oh, and we are leaving tomorrow. Last minute I know, but what’s a poor boy to do?

2

Options for New Years Eve:

  • Pay several quid to get into some pub which is free for 364 days, for the priviledge of getting blind drunk with far too many other people

  • Quiet evening at home (obviously not a good option for you!)

  • Some nicer pubs & restaurants put on all-ticket all-evening entertainment. My local is doing a murder-mystery party. Not cheap, and without local recommendations you’re going to be a bit stuck trying to find one which is both good and not sold out.

  • If you’re staying in a hotel, this might prove the best option.

Unrelated comment - bloody hell, that’s a crowded itinerary!

3

Well, we do have 2 weeks, henges+Avebury is one day, and Colchester/Cogeshall and Cambridge are both day trips from London. Plus, like all good travellers, the itinerary is subject to change at a moment’s notice.

And thanks for the tips.

4

I emailed the IOM website once (www.isleofman.com) and they replied rather quickly. They might be able to give you some info on doing specific Manx stuff if you want to be there on New Year’s Eve.

5

Just a quick question. Why Coggeshall ? I know it’s small quaint village that used to be full of antique shops, but have you family connections there ?

BTW, I used to live a few miles from there.

6

My wife is related to John of Coggeshall. Also, she is a socio-linguist, and the abbey there is important in the study of the history of the English language, or so she says.

7

Rayne Man asked the direct question I was wondering :wink:

For me, Coggeshall is synonymous with “halfway to Stansted”, so it’s one of those places I presume to be not worth visiting!

8

Went to Avebury once on a normal weekend but even so there were quite a few people wandering around dressed as (I believe) Druids so I wouldn’t be surprised if they have some sort of pagan festival there for New Years Eve.

9

One point: all the destinations you’ve mentioned are in the south of England, whereas Liverpool is in the north. While these distances are negligible in US terms, driving in the UK is a lot more tiring than it is in the US (greater speeds, smaller roads, denser traffic) so make sure you give yourself enough time to make the trip. www.viamichelin.com is an excellent journey planner. Or if you’re going by train, www.nationalrail.co.uk is the prime resource.

Anyway, wherever you are in these isles, apart from hanging out with druids, whatever you end up doing will involve copious amounts of alcohol. Avebury has a nice wee local (pub) if you end up stuck there.

10

Day 1

Land at Manchester. Train to Bath Spa.

“Did you get tickets?” She says. “Yeah, there was this bloke asking where I’m going. He just types in Bath to this little hand machine, and out pops a perfectly formed three-legged itinerary to Bath. Gave him the card; tickets in no time.” Lonely Planet (LP) said there were a bunch of different companies, but apparently the ticketing/scheduling is awesomely coordinated. So far - UK:1, US:0 (just kidding, I love my country)

Stop in Birmingham for lunch. (Chez Jules)

Jet lagged after flying ORD to PHL to MAN with 4 hrs in PHL, we walk out of the train station and see huge lights which read, “HAPPY CHRISTMAS BIRMINGHAM” In the US, Dec 29 is NOT X-mas. In the UK, if you are a large city, expect big lights to offer you holiday joy.

Checked in at the YMCA in Bath, dinner at Walrus & Carpenter.
Day 2

Abbey, Baths, Circus, Crescent - Pretty!

Jane Austen Center.
Wonderful museum. Had tea and crumpets upstairs. Ironically, this is the last time we will be able to find loose-leaf in a tea-room. Crumpets are yummy! Here I start my slow decline to putting more and more milk in my tea. English tea is MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Assembly rooms, an excavated Georgian garden, inside the abbey.

Roman Baths Museum
Bill Bryson audio guide!

Walked over pulteny bridge, ate at Bar Chocolat, dinner at F-East (sucks), Pint at Saracen Head.
Cask ales also MMMMM!

Day 3 (New Years Eve)

Train to Salisbury, check into Griffin Cottage (B&B - These are not the luxury hotels they are in the US. They are the extra room in someone’s house, and you get local flavour- see Panto below)

Bus to and fro Stonehenge
Wet, cold, and wet. full of tourists, and can’t touch the stones. Audio guide says, “we don’t know anything about SH, want to hear what crazy people think?”

Walk around cathedral close. Fancy dinner at Haunch of Venison. Go to sleep before 10:30!

Day 4

B&B breakfast. I had breakfast Kedgeree, which was good. Since we were the only people in Salisbury who were not hung-over, we got a guide to ourselves in the cathedral. Saw one of the last 4 remaining Magna Cartas. Walked the close. Saw St. Thomas’ Church. Had Cornish Pasties for lunch (these, coincidentally, are also MMMMMMMM!). Siesta at B&B. Dinner at Thai Orchid.

Day 5

Bus to Old Sarum (Favorite place in all of trip), and Avebury.

In Avebury:
Saw shitty museums, cool church, lots of stones (Here you can just go right up and pee on them, should you so desire), too muddy to walk to Silbury Hill. Had good ale & food at the pub (jjimm was right) bus back to Salisbury.

PANTO!
The night before, our host at Salisbury explained Pantomime to us. So we went. It is the most fun thing ever. Sleeping Beauty.

Train to London via Basingstoke (this is where the Pantomime Dame got banished to, when she got kicked out of Old Sarum)

Day 6

12:30 AM Checked into Hotel between Victoria and Pimlico tube stops.

Slept late, went to British Museum. After seeing the Greek sculptures, I now understand why they were seen as the pinnacle of artistic civilisation for so many centuries. Just beautiful. Clock room cool, too.

Dinner at Gay Hussar (Hungarian food in SoHo - see my username)

Saw Avenue Q (it’s a Broadway musical, not a street), the had take-away curry, for a late-night snack.

Day 7

Tower of London (not one indigenous visitor), Monument, St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Lunch, check out of hotel, Tea.

Train to Colchester.

Continued below

11

Balti for dinner.

Day 8

Rented car and drove to Coggeshall. Realised could have taken the bus; slapped self. Wife enjoyed her name-sake. Nice tea-shop with fresh scones. Really pretty village. Walked to the abbey.

Back to Colchester. Oggy Oggy Pasties.

PANTO again. Jack and the Beanstalk. (Salisbury’s was better) (Oh no it wasn’t!)(Oh yes it was!)

Ate Thai at Na Ree

Day 9

Walked Dutch Quarter, Castle and Museum. Strolled around town. Pretty!

Train to Canterbury. (via London)

Check in at Tudor House. Dinner at Goods House, pint at Simple Simon’s. All good.

Day 10

Sung Eucharist at Canterbury Cathedral.

Day trip to Dover Castle.

Back at C-bury, walked city walls, dinner at Azouma (marvelous).

Day 11

perused Cathedral and close (paid to get in this time), Walked to St. Augustine Abbey, and St Mark’s church (both closed). Roman museum. Chaucer Books. Canterbury museum. More pasties.

Train to London. Hotel near Goodge Street Tube Station.

Dinner at Italiano Coffee Company (ICCo).

Day 12

Kew Gardens.
If it was this amazing in January…

lunch at ICCo. Siesta. Poori for dinner on Indian restaurant depository near Euston station.

Day 13

bus to and fro Leeds Castle. Nice place. Hedge maze. Pretty grounds, castle, and birds.

Pint at Elephant & Castle. Dinner at About Thai (near Leicester Sq?) saw Black Legion (Bogie as a clansman) at National Film Theatre. Walked over fancy foot bridge (Millenium?)

Day 14

Woke late. Lunch at ICCo.
Walked down Whitehall. Saw Westminster Abbey. Between the tombs and the tourists, this was the creepiest place on our trip, and yes, I realise we were tourists, too.

Sir John Soane Museum. Dinner at Wagamama.

Saw Royal Shakespeare’s production of Antony & Cleopatra. Patrick Stewart as Antony! Opening night. Worst seats in the theatre! Brilliant performance!

Last Day
Train to Gatwick. Ciao, England.

12

Thanks for the trip report, Jamaika a jamaikaiaké – it sounds as though you and your lovely bride had a wonderful honeymoon. Lots of walking around and interacting with locals in a wide range of settings from fancy-pants to spare-bedroom B&B, plus just the right percentage of the can’t-miss touristy things. IMHO you were wise to miss the Liverpool / Isle of Man detour; save that for a later trip. I wish you many happy years of memories from this adventure!

You also seem to have a good appreciation of pubs, and a clear grasp of the essence of pantomime. [Oh, no he doesn’t!] [Oh, yes he does!!]

Next trip, be sure to catch a real Punch & Judy show…

13

On the subject of Punch and Judy shows, I once saw a TV programme where an American mother had taken her children to watch one, and was shocked by the level of violence portrayed in the performance. She kept telling her children " it’s only a puppet show, it’s not real life"!

Thanks for the report Jamaika a jamaikaiaké. I am pleased you enjoyed our country and was glad you managed to get off the beaten track a few times to see beyond the usual tourist sights.

14

Ditto! And I admire your youthful, colonial stamina :smiley:

15

[continuing hijack]
Back when I lived in the UK, I once “assisted” in a Punch & Judy show. They’re traditionally single-operator (the “Professor”), with only two characters on the stage at a time (one puppet on each hand) but for a one-off show my Professor-friend wanted both Punch and Toby the Dog onstage while the crocodile was stealing the “squassages” , so I had the rare honor of a non-speaking (and non-swazzling!) assistant role as the reptilian robber: not too much skill required, just a snap of the jaws in the right places.

However, violent as most of the P & J characters are (Punch himself is an unredeemed psychopath), they had nothing on our audience, who were a group of about 50 boys and girls (up to age 14) at a charity event where it was understood that the volunteer performers would mingle with the kids after the show, and were fair game for a bit of good-natured “horseplay”. The girls especially got quite vicious, probably out of transferred revenge because Judy never got to hit back at Punch…
[/hijack]

16

Sorry to continue the hijack, but I phrased that last bit very badly. Judy definitely hits back at Punch with her rolling pin, but in traditional performances it’s Punch that wins the fight. Terrible stuff indeed!

17

The American mother I mentioned above kept covering her youngest child’s eyes every time the violence started.

I grew up with these, and many happy hours were spent on the beach watching these puppets knock nine bells out of each other. I don’t thinks it effected me too much.

18

I’m glad you had a great trip. Come back in the early autumn when the weather’s nice!