Planning a UK Walkabout

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

This is the deal: I am (and have been) unemployed, and I’ve got a pile o’ money in savings. I find myself in need of a real break from routine, reality, and even the US of A. I plan to go to the UK for an extended trip, and I’m looking for advice on a number of things.

It looks as if, for me, the BritRail Flexipass would be best, at least for trains. Does it work for buses, too, or is there another pass for them? What’s the difference between first & second class? I’m looking at the prices and thinking that second class can’t be so bad, right? Or would I be better of getting tickets as I go?

Am I better off buying British currency here, when I get there, getting travelers checks (ok, cheques), or just carrying a charge card (probably Visa)?

Obviously, I’m getting a passport. Should I also get an International Driver’s License, even if I don’t plan on driving anywhere?

Should I carry prescription bottles with me, so Customs knows they’re valid prescriptions, or just a copy of the script? If I need to, can a US script be filled in the UK?

I’m not going with a tour group, so I have to arrange my own lodgings. I don’t want to be tied to a schedule, though–how hard is it this time of year to walk into a hotel or B&B and get a room for the night, or for several nights? Are there recommendations for any in particular? I’m looking for clean, quiet, and inexpensive–I don’t need a bathroom in the room with me to be happy.

Right now the only electronics I plan to take with me are my Palm Pilot and my Digital Camera. I have a battery recharger for them, but I’m assuming I’d need to get an adapter plug and probably a transformer to use it. Would I be better off just buying AA & AAA batteries there? I’m already planning on picking up a toothbrush & toothpaste there instead of carting it over from here. Ideas on anything else I could pick up relatively inexpensively instead of carrying it there (or back) would be welcome.

There are a few places I know I want to go, these being
[ul]
[li]Stonehenge (but it must be a VERY foggy day)[/li][li]Brackley (I lived on an RAF base near there when I was little)[/li][li]Sutton Hoo[/li][li]Dover Castle[/li][li]Chillingham Castle (I’ve never seen a ghost, I don’t believe in them–but if they exist, this is supposed to be one of the best places to see them)[/li][li]Hadrian’s Wall[/li][li]London (the Tower, at least, and probably the changing of the Guard)[/li][li]Edinburgh (isn’t there a tour of these rooms/streets/etc that are all underground, where plague victims died? I can’t find information on it at the moment)[/li][li]Oxford (I’m an Inspector Morse/John Thaw fan)[/li][li]Tintagel Castle (I want to see Cornwall)[/li][li]Anglesey[/li][li]That village that was for sale a while back, where they film the Midsommer Murders, and I can’t remember its name[/li][li]Conwy (a real walled city! still!)[/li][li]Urquhart Castle & Loch Ness[/li][li]as many used book stores as I can find, starting in London[/li][li]One of The Jersey Isles, Isle of Mann or Isle of Wright[/li][li]There’s a real cream tea in my future, I think. Even though I don’t like tea.[/li][/ul]
Other places I think I’d like to go include
[ul]
[li]Durham Cathedral[/li][li]Canterbury Cathedral[/li][li]The Roman Baths[/li][li]Aberystwyth (for the National Library of Wales)[/li][li]Avebury[/li][li]Exeter Cathedral[/li][li]Wayland’s Smith and the Uffington White Horse[/li][li]Westminster Abbey[/li][li]Salisbury Cathedral[/li][li]Leeds Castle[/li][li]Bangor[/li][li]Alderley, in Cheshire[/li][li]Colchester Castle[/li][li]Viroconium/Wroxeter Roman City[/li][li]Mt. Snowdon[/li][li]Beddgelert[/li][li]Hermitage Castle[/li][li]Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland[/li][/ul]

Does anybody have ideas on other places I might like to see, or things I might like to do? I know the above is pretty heavy on the touristy type things (well, that’s what I am), but I’d like to get to some out of the way places, too. I’m not adverse to a bit of walking, but my pace is slow, and I plan to take my time anywhere I go so that I can savour the place and the experience. I expect to spend a minimum of a day at any place I go. I DID mention it was an extended tour, right? I’ve got an upper limit on how much I’m willing to spend, but it’s a pretty high one. I might even be able to wander around for a whole month.

Also, any advice or ideas on how to plan and execute this walkabout with the least hassle? Is there anything I’ve overlooked? I’m almost certain there has to be.

2

Good idea!!!

All of the special-deal passes for train travel are inaccessible to us residents, so I can’t answer directly. However, for long distance travel, there’s little reason to use anything other than rail. Although check ahead if your plans are over a weekend, as there’s often changes to the timetable for engineering etc.

Buying some sterling before you leave won’t hurt, but the most economical way to spend is by using ATMs (called ‘cash machines’) and paying by Visa, accepted almost everywhere.

No. If you’re not driving or flying, nobody will ask to see your ID.

Bring a copy of the US prescription with you for any drugs you need to carry, despite it being useless here, just to make customs painless. If you do need a new one, you can see a doctor no problem as a visitor, and they’ll write you a UK prescription - having your regular one will make the process easier.

If you’re away from the major tourist traps, then it shoudln’t be a problem. One thing to watch out for is being spotted as a tourist-without-room who gets charged far too much…

Electronics in general are overpriced here. Bring your own batteries and anything else if you can spare the luggage space.

[quote]
There are a few places I know I want to go, these being
[ul]
[li]Sutton Hoo[/li][/quote]

Over the river from me!!!

3

Do be aware that July and August are peak season. If you’re young, you might look into the Youth Hostel Association. Many homes also do Bed And Breakfast (B&B) which is often cheaper than a hotel.

You have a large number of places to visit - beware that the UK isn’t that small.

4

It looks as if I left out a very important piece of information–I plan to leave as soon as possible. I have to call a couple of airlines to find out whether they have open returns available, since, as I said, I don’t want to be tied to a schedule, and then I plan to use one of those turn-it-around-in-a-week passport expediting services. If I’m lucky, I may be able to fly out as early as the 14th of next month. blink Gotta arrange for a kitty sitter, too. And stop the mail.

Depending on expenses, I may be in the UK through mid-June, which will, I hope, give me plenty of time to see at least the places I want to, and probably quite a few of the places I’d like to.

GorrillaMan, the Europe On Rail site seems to be selling the BritRail passes to anyone who wants to buy them, and they’re priced in US dollars.

I don’t know how I’d be able to avoid being spotted as a tourist without a room, though, if I’m going into someplace to ask for one. I can’t imagine trying to look up prices ahead of time from here, either.

Sutton Hoo is across the river from you? Ah, then you can no doubt steer me to a good spot to sleep over and to eat. See? Native guides, how I love 'em.

qts, I am, sadly, way too old for the youth hostels, and not old enough for the Elder Hostels. That in-between time known as middle-age (I swear I’m still 16! in my head).

I’ve been feeling rather rootless and rudderless; I’m hoping a good soaking in history will help ground me again.

5

There’s a good selection here for Northumbria, and specifically for Hadrian’s Wall, there’s this site. I’m sure that there is similar information available on the web for most of the places you want to visit.

It would certainly be a good idea to book up ahead if you can, especially for later in your stay, when you’ll be heading into peak season.

6

Edinburgh local checking in, you’re probably thinking of Mary King’s Close for underground streets/plague victims and genral spookyness. Never done that myself.

There’s a ton of other historical stuff in and around Edinburgh.

I’m not sure how easy it would be to get around Scotland (to Loch Ness and such) on public transport, I’ve always done that with cars. No doubt you’ll be able to sort out trips from Edinburgh, local Tourist Information would be able to help. In fact there are decent Tourist Information offices all over the UK and they’ll normally be able to fix up somewhere to stay and such.

There are tons of hotels, B&Bs and hostels in and around Edinburgh you’re early enough in tourist season so you shouldn’t have too much bother.

Let me know if you want any more info on anything,

SD

7

Your tour of Wales is a pretty full one - You’ll do well if you complete it in a few days! Knowing the train lines, I’d suggest you start from Liverpool (Beatles etc.) or Chester (Roman Deva) and go[ul][li]Day one: Chester []Conwy []Bangor[]Anglesey (Llanfairpwyllgwyn…siliogogogoch), stay in B&B[]Day Two: Beddgelert (B&B) [] Climb Snowden []Day Three: Portmerion (remember The Prisoner?)[] Aberystwyth (Library)[]Cardiff (Hi! Fancy a beer?)[/ul] From Cardiff you can access Alderley (Worcestershire actually), Avebury, Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge in a straight line. From there, Oxford or Exeter/Cornwall are in opposite directions. [/li]
Useful sites are Multimap and qjump.

8

A train from Edinburgh to Inverness is easy (and has great scenery, including crossing the Forth Rail Bridge, a humungous Victorian cantilever bridge) but you’d have to take a bus, or a coach trip, to see Loch Ness. If you don’t see the monster, there’s always dolphin-watching in the nearby Moray Firth. :wink:
As Spacedog says, there’s a very good system of Tourist Offices around the UK; the Edinburgh one is dead central and will find you somewhere to stay at an agreed price and reserve the place, so you don’t have to rush there immediately.
And there’s a fair number of s/h bookshops, although they’re a bit spread out. A daily or maybe a weekly bus pass would be a good idea.

Hadrians Wall is neat, but, personally, I find Carlisle (near the Western end) very dull.

If there’s any chance that you’ll want to hire a car, bring an IDP; your American licence won’t be enough.

If you don’t get sidetracked by the rest of Britain, I’ll buy you a pint here one evening…

9

Visa and Mastercard are accepted just about everywhere, even small corner shops (although the minimum purchase there is normally £5). As GorillaMan said, getting cash from ATMs is probably easiest, and it usually works out cheapest, at least it has in my travels outside the UK. Personally I would get an International Driver’s Licence - it at least gives you the option of hiring a car if you want to explore somewhere more thoroughly.

Unless your recharger works off 220V you’d need a transformer. Any large town will have a Maplins or Tandy electronics store where you can buy 30-packs of AA and AAA alkaline batteries for about £9 last time I looked, so I’ll leave it to you to do the math(s). Don’t buy them in airports or stations, where you’ll pay through the nose. I wouldn’t bother bringing too much stuff like toothpaste - you can get all that cheaply enough in supermarkets like Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s. They might also be good for batteries.

10

Just a couple of corrections about the islands. The actual spellings are *Isle of Man * and Isle of Wight. There are no such group as the Jersey Isles. The actual name is the Channel Isles . It is made up of Jersey , Guernsey , Alderney and Sark and some smaller islands.

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For accomodation, just stop into the Tourist Information Office in whatever town you are in. They can find you a place locally, and if you know where you are going next, they can ‘book a bed ahead’ for you. There is usually a small charge for this service. A site I use alot is Smoothhound for finding B&Bs.

12

Northumbria is my part of the world - you should definately check out Hadrian’s Wall and Durham (it’s a beautiful city), and it’s worth spending a day or two in Newcastle. It’s less touristy, but it’s a fantastic, vibrant city which is undergoing something of a cultural renaissance at the moment (yes, I’m biased - it’s my home town, but you should still check it out!).

Nowadays, though, I live in Plymouth, so if you want to get in touch while you’re in the area (Cornwall or Exteter - Plymouth’s in the middle), I’d be happy to show you around.

13

For hotels at short notice the Tourist Information Office is your friend. These are government run offices in tourist areas that offer information on local attractions and offer a hotel booking service.

The service is free to you (the hotel pay a small commission).

14

I used to do this kind of thing all over the UK in the '80’s and early '90’s, often with no idea where I would end up at the end of the day. Unless things have changed radically since then, B&B’s are usually much nicer, more comfortable, and give you a better breakfast than hotels in the same price range (I used to find them as inexpensive as 8 pounds a night; around 20 is probably going to be the cheap end these days). As has been mentioned, the Tourist Information Office will be very helpful in finding you a place to stay; they charge 10% of a night’s stay when they book your room, but that’s taken off your final bill. If the Tourist Info is closed, they may have a sheet listing local accomodations posted in the front window, and you can make phone calls to find a place.

If your going to do some real hiking during your walkabout, I have two recommendations of hikes I still remember fondly more than 10 years after the fact:

The Cotswolds. Lovely, especially in spring. If you’re going to Oxford, you’ll already be in the neighborhood. Look into countryside around the Slaughters, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Bourton-on-the-Water.

The cliff path along the Yorkshire coast. I walked from Filey to Scarborough to Whitby in about 3 days, mostly along the cliff top or along beaches (except when going through the towns).

Oh, and cream teas are best in Devonshire or Cornwall. In the eastern or northern part of England, you may get something that’s more like RediWhip than a proper clotted cream.

15

the patent garius tour of London is available on request - with optional paulberserker organised Drinking.

We come very highly rated… :smiley:

16

IDL, IDP, same difference, says I.
Back when I used to issue them over here, they were called International Driving Permits. And you’d have to get one before you left, you couldn’t get one here.

17

Oxford’s on your list, huh?

You want a guided tour, it’s available …

18

There’s a list of local accomodation here, and the one that looks best both by price and accessibility is this, but you’ll need to book ahead. The two hotels in town are the Bull and the Crown - no idea what they’re like.

You can get to Woodbridge by train (changing at Ipswich - the journey from London runs through Colchester, so you could build that into the trip). The station is close to the centre of town, but getting around elsewhere without a car is a problem. Sutton Hoo is probably about £5 in a taxi, much easier than the infrequent bus service.

Other things to do that don’t require a car: Woodbridge itself is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon, with a variety of interesting shops. There’s a good riverside walk, described here, although prepare for muddy ground if you follow the full route. Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich (regular bus service) has a large collection of Constables and Gainsbroughs, if fine art’s your thing.

Places to eat (again thinking of accessibility): my recommendations would be the Spice Bar (on the main high street - cracking Malaysian food - book a table, it’s small and popular) and the Cherry Tree (good honest pub grub). The latter also serves the best beer, Adnams being a local brew that tastes wonderful when served well.

Other general info about the town here.
A few other thoughts on your plans and questions:

Re. trains - first class gives you larger seats, perhaps free coffee and newspapers, and normally less crowded. Standard class (it’s not been called ‘second’ for a long time) is the ‘normal’ one - on a busy journey, you may struggle to get a seat, particularly as many pre-booked tickets reserve a seat, leaving few free. Other than that, it’s perfectly OK, and you’re more likely to meet interesting people to talk to compared to the businessmen of first class. Also, once you get off the mainline services (which will probably be the case for much of your itinerary), there’s no first class service anyway.

Secondhand books: THE place to go is Hay-on-Wye, a whole town virtually devoted to books.

Ireland - excellent idea, although problematic outside the cities without a car. Most flights to Dublin are with Ryanair, a no-frills airline. They also fly from London to Derry (highly recommended) and various other places. Belfast is served by a variety of airlines - there’s a list of no-frills ones here (also useful for the Channel Islands and Isle of Man), and also there’s British Airways and BMI. With all of these, you’ll need to book in advance - easily done online.

19

Oh and yeah, what Meurglys said.

I’m afraid I’ve not done touristy stuff around here for years but I’ve seen the inside of a good few pubs in various parts of the city.

20

I am so green right now! :stuck_out_tongue: Have a great time, take lots of pictures and post lots of updates.