What do you love about England/Scotland that everyone experience?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I want to hear from all Dopers who live in/have been to Great Britain about how wonderful it is over there and which part they especially enjoyed.

I am going to study in Oxford this summer, and like so many vacationers I am looking for some good spots to go to. I have two weeks before classes start to kick around England. I would like some help! I have never been, and I got a few guidebooks and have looked around the internet, but there is so much information available it is so hard to decide what to go and see.

Also, I would like something tailored to my interests. Can any Doper tell me anything I should really see in England or Scotland that fits these interests?

  1. I like sewing and stained glass (but not church glass)
  2. Mr Elysian likes the Napoleonic Wars
  3. We both love books
  4. We like hiking in pretty country
  5. We like boating (I know about the Thames and Tam!)
  6. We like tours of facilities, like factories and brewers (the stranger the better)
  7. We like strange museums
  8. I love tea, especially British Tea

However:

  1. I do not like shopping, unless it?s books
  2. I pretty much only want to eat in pubs
  3. I want to stay in B&Bs ? but we don?t have a lot of money so they have to be good but cheap
  4. I want to travel the railways
  5. I don?t want to bother with London much
  6. We don?t (actually can’t!) dance or drink to excess (much)
  7. We don?t want to spend all of our time in castles and mansions

Take this time to tell me what you love about Britain and also recommend whatever you think I might like.

2

My wife and I loved the north of England. We stayed with friends in Hexam (near Newcastle upon Tyne), went to Hadrian’s wall and general walking tours. You feel like you’ve just walked into a James Harriet novel. The people at the car rental place thought we were crazy renting a car from London and driving there. But to our North American perspective the distance isn’t so bad. We then drove down south, loved Salisbury , Stonehenge and Avebury. I wasn’t too crazy about Brighton (I like my England “quaint” :wink: ), but Dover Castle is pretty cool.

Only downside, I discovered I’m basically allergic to the whole country. If you have any sort of hayfever, better stock up on medication.

3

OK…

The best places for hiking are most of the National Parks. The easiest to access by train are the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors and the Peak District. The Broads are a wetland area, so that’s one option for boating. Another is to hire a canal boat, cetainly the most leisurely way to see the countryside: http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/

The best out-of-the-way museum is Pollocks Toy Museum, in London, just around the corner from the British Museum! Also suited to your comments is Bramah’s Tea and Coffee Museum. OK, so you don’t want to bother much with London, but they’re just suggestions :wink:

The best way to get cheap accomodation is in Youth Hostels - many are surprisingly well-equiped, if you book ahead you may be able to pay extra for a private room. They’re particularly useful and well-situated if you’re hiking, but city-centre ones can also be handy.

Eating in pubs is a good inexpensive option. Avoid the most commercial-looking ones, because they’re most likely to serve crappy meals. Equip yourself with the Good Pub Guide, which you should be able to get from just about any bookshop here.

Travelling by train is definately the best option. Hiring a car will be more expensive (fuel costs a LOT), and hardly ever quicker. Just use taxis when the train doesn’t get you to your destination. The two websites you need are www.nationalrail.co.uk for general information, and www.thetrainline.com for tickets, which are often cheaper bought in advance. If you’re age 25 or under, you can buy a Young Person’s Railcard from any large station, which gives you 1/3 off most tickets, and easily pays for itself within a few journeys. Tickets at some times of day can be far more expensive than others, so try a variety of schedules. If you’re heading as far as Scotland, flying may work out cheaper or more convenient - check with www.ryanair.com, www.easyjet.com, www.flybmi.com, www.ba.com.

If you’re serious about shopping for books, two places with masses of secondhand bookshops are Rochester, SE of London, and Hay-on-Wye on the English/Welsh border.

4

Don’t forget Great Britain includes another country, Wales. If you enjoy walking, there are long coastal walks and it is generally hillier than the south of England and with good views (just take an umbrella - it might rain :slight_smile: )

V

5

You want to take the train up to Inverness from Glasgow. Try and time it so that you’re doing it during the day and get a window seat. It’s three and a half hours, but you won’t get a more picturesque rail journey in the UK. Then hire a car and continue to Caithness and Sutherland.

There is nothing in England or Wales (sorry Vetch!) to compare to the North of Scotland.

Trust me.

Pretty Country. Gorgeous landscapes
Walking
Bed & Breakfast
Tours and tours and tours

If you are fortunate it’ll be sunny, in which case it will be glorious. Otherwise it’ll rain and still be beautiful. (Avoid John O’ Groats. It’s an ugly tourist trap and not even the northern-most point.) And be prepared for the midges.

6

Sorry, meant to point out that that first Tour was for Caithness Glass, world leader in art glass production.

7

Lovely! Keep them coming!

I love all of your ideas :slight_smile: I hadn’t even thought of Hadrian’s Wall, but it’s something I have been reading about in silly books and it would definitely be worth a visit. I really am serious about book shopping.

US Dopers – if you could go back, where would you go?

8

Which college? I spent the better part of last summer at Trinity College w/ the Georgetown MBA folks.

In Oxford… hmm… there’s a lot of pubs & clubs. King’s Arms is kind of lame, Chequers (on High St.) is ok. Turf Tavern is probably my favorite.

The locals go to The Goose, which is over near the bus station- it appeared to be quite the happening place last summer. Wish I’d realized that earlier!

The Pitt-Rivers museum is pretty bizarre- well worth going. It’s in the basement of the Natural History Museum on Parks Rd.

If you like books, go to the Blackwell’s bookstore- it’s one of the largest in the country, I think. On Broad Street @ Parks Rd (right next to Trinity College).

Outside of Oxford…

There’s always London- it’s only 7 pounds or so to go by bus, and it lets off on Marylebone Rd. across from Baker St. tube station, so you don’t have to go far to get on the Tube.

Bath is pretty cool, Avebury(giant megalithic ruin)is cool too. Stratford on Avon is right up the road from Oxford, and Stonehenge is south of there a little ways.

If you’re there in mid-summer (around July 4th), they’ll have the Henley regatta. That’s a spectacle- it’s a big social event for British society, and generally a zoo.

If you’ll make it as far afield as Scotland, Edinburgh is terrific- the Castle is really neat, and I hear that Stirling has some interesting stuff too. In the north central part, there are many distillieries on the Spey river- they give tours and are pretty interesting in their own right.

9

I’m heading over there myself this summer, and have never been there before either. These recommendations have been very helpful.

I was glad to see the recommendation for Hay-on-Wye, and I’d like to embellish it - it is near Brecon Beacons National Park, which is supposedly nice hiking country. Hay is right on the Welsh border, on the west edge of Hereford.

We’re hitting Oxford as well - my ancestral family owned Morrell’s of Oxford brewery and a bunch of pubs oround there, and was also very involved with the stewardship and legal affairs of the university in the 1800’s. The purpose of our trip is to go check out all the ancestors’ old haunts. My great-great-grandfather owned a nice place in Clyro, which is the next village over from Hay. If I get back before you go (I’ll be back June 15th) I can post findings.

10

I’m probably a bit biased because mouthbreather proposed to me there :slight_smile: , but Bath is a great place to tool around for a day or two. Besides the Roman baths, there are oodles of museums & galleries, including the Bath Aqua Theatre of Glass featuring the work of glass blowers and stained glass artists.

It’s only about 1.5 hours away from Oxford and there are probably lots of inexpensive travel options for getting there.

If you decide you want to go into London (which I recommend highly…it’s touristy but there’s always a pub to hide in) Mr. E might like spending some time in Trafalgar Square.

11

I’m going to be in St. Anne’s College. I will definitely visit The Goose.

I hope to go to both Scotland and Wales, as well as parts of England. I will be studying five weeks and vacationing two, and there’s no reason I can’t see a lot of country on the weekends.

The glass links rock! Thanks!

12

Don’t count London out completely – even the standard touristy stuff there is pretty amazing (british museum, theater, etc.). Suited to your stated interests in London: Afternoon tea at a small, posh hotel is great (personal rec: the Dukes hotel in St. James). Visit the Victoria & Albert museum of decorative arts for lots of fabric, stained glass and design stuff. There are several breweries that give tours in London – I toured the Fuller’s brewery there. For quirky museuems, the Cabinet War Rooms is good – it’s the bunker from which Churchill ran the country during the Blitz. Some great London pubs not in the guidebooks are the Chapel in Marylebone and the Grapes in Shepherd’s market.

In addition to eating at pubs, make sure you get Indian and Thai while there. Many pubs serve these in lieu of standard “pub fare.”

For a somewhat different outdoors experience, visit a stone circle (instead of or in addition to Stonehenge, which is worth visiting but is often crowded and you can’t get close enough to even touch the rocks). I visited the Castlerigg stone circle outside Keswick in the late district. I hiked up in the pre dawn darkness and watched the sun come up from inside the circle, with sheep wandering all around. It was absolutely amazing. There are several scattered throughout the UK.

See a footbal match, even if you’re not a sports fan.

For hiking, Scotland is incredible. I hiked from Kinlockbervie to Cape Wrath at the NW tip of Scotland. Wales is good too. If you’re a poetry fan, visit Tinturn Abbey on the Wales-England border.

As mentioned trains are definitely the way to get around.

Don’t forget that Ireland, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are within a couple of hours on a plane/train.

sniff, sniff… this is about 25 yards from where I lived on Chiltern St in London. Man do I miss it.

13

By all means go down to Portsmouth and see the Victory, Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar. It is maybe an hour or hour and a half by train from London and a five minute walk from the station at Portsmouth to the ship and museum. Go to Greenwich and see the Maritime Museum and the Cutty Stark. You can get there by river boat from the docks at the Tower of London. Go by boat the other way to Hampton Court. For Pete’s sake ride the big Ferris wheel for the grandest view of central London you can imagine.

Go to Stirling to seem where Scotland had its birth at Bannockburn and Inverness where it died at Culloden. See the Highland and the Lowlands. (Ye Highland and ye Lowland, Oh wha’ ha’ ye done) See the Lake District, and the Fens, and the Yorkshire Hills, and the standing stones. See everything! Skip the changing of the guard at that great post office building the Brits insist is where the Queen lives, but do see the Horse Guards’ Parade.

Offer a carrot to the cavalry horse at the gate to White Hall. The trooper will not talk to you but the horse will take the carrot. This may not be true today but it was true during more trusting times.

Have a great time.

14

Oi! Scotland’s not dead yet! :slight_smile:

SOunfs to me that the OP could quite reasonably skip London *for her 2 week vacation" period, given that it should be a matter of very little trouble to pop down to Lodon any free weekend. Even so, time will be limited. In Scotland, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and, as mentioned, Stirling, can be easily reached - - note that Edinburgh will be fiendishly busy in August, so you might want to be sure not to be there then.

If hitting the hiking trail in Scotland, you could hide from the A) rain, or B) midges :):):slight_smile: by taking the chance to visit a whisky distillery, of which, unsurprisingly, there are many. I’m mainly joking about the rain - the thing is to be prepared for changeable weather, which, if you are uosed to hiking, I imagine you will know already.

St. Andrews is a very nice small town, ruined castle, abbey, oldest university, that sort of thing. And the sea, of course. (I am biased in making that recommendation)

Whoever mentioned Castlerigg stone circle was quite wise - truly, Stonehengemight just end up being a bit of a disappoitment. Disclaimer, I have not seen it for a long time, not since it go all fenced off. Callanish stone circle would be worth visiting, but I think you might not have time to get to the Isle of Lewis.

However, Inverness has been mentioned, yes? In that case you could try to visit the wonderful Clava Cairns.

As with a lot of my posts, I have to sign off with an apology fr jsut sort of thinking out loud, and having to hit “send” in a panic, before, a bit like Cleopatra, I get bitten by my ISP. :slight_smile:

I am sure you are going to have a terrific time, wherever you go.

Ah, in the north of England, York, and Durham might be of great interest. And as an former resident of Aberystwyth, I am also biased in favour of your trip including a visit to Wales.

15

Oh! I had a post but the hamsters ate it.

Bah!
Seems to me that the OP could do with omitting London, at least for her vacation period, on the grounds of London being easily reached from Oxford at any free weekend.

In Scotland, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling could be easily visited in the pre-study vacation. St. Andrews, I think, is adorable, but I admit to a certain bias. RUined castle, abbery, old university - that sort of thing.

Inverness has been mentioned, yes? If near there, try to see the wonderful Clava Ciarns. I do rather suspect you might find Stonehenge a bit of a disappointment, tho’ I admit I have not seen it for a long time, not since it got all fenced off. :frowning:

In the north of England, York and Durham might be of interest. And you should visit Wales, too, although I suppose my old stomping ground of Aberystwyth might seem a bit far.

Sorry, but I am going to have to hit send before the hamsters get hungry again, and I hope to be able to return to this.

On a site named http://www.scotland.com, you will find myself, and others more knowledgable :slight_smile: if you post in the “Travel” forum.

16

Oops - hamsters did not eat it - they only pretended to - little merry rodenty pranksters that they are. Soory - my comp claimed to have lst connection with SDMB, and I foolishly beleived it.

17

Yes, Celyn, that’s what I planned to do. I was planning on going to London while I’m in school. Seems like every source I read says that you can’t just spend one or two days there to see it all. I don’t want my vacation time eaten up my London when it’s such a short trip from Oxford that I can go every weekend, while the other places I might want to go can’t really be reached in that time.

That’s muddled, sorry. Some of these links are very informative. I think I can see a lot of plans forming. I really like the glass places and the distilleries, and I think I will plan the vacation around them. This has really helped.

I can’t wait to get there :slight_smile:

18

I have to refute Balduran’s assertion about Brighton not being great. I lived there five years and loved it. Okay, it is actually known for shopping and late drinking, but there’s plenty to do and see beside it. If you’re in the neighbourhood the Royal Palace is a must. Not a stuffy mansion but a massive 18th (I think) century second home that looks like a tourist’s idea of the middle east, or something like it and on the inside is crammed full of tacky but fun faux-exotic “arts”, a lot of them let’s-pretent Oriental. It’s a scream. If it all gets too much there’s busses and trains to nearby Lewes, which is much sedate. See if you can find the house where Virginia Woolf lived and, easier, the river in which she drowned. It’s in the middle of the South Downes, which are lovely and very English rolling hills and white cliffs, and usually a good pub can be found for a lunchtime snack.

Oh, and if you’re into your literature Charleston House is a must. Virginia Woolf’s sister Vanessa Bell lived there with her husband painter Duncan Grant. It’s a great non-stuffy house. Both hubby and wife painted over half the furniture and it has a great Bohemian atmosphere. The tour guides are very knowledgable and you can almost see all the writers sitting around the kitchen table discussing “art”. I highly recommend this one.

I also want to echo Celyn about York. It’s a beautiful town. Not much of a nightlife, but stunning to look at and well worth a trip.

19

London stuff:

Don’t miss going into Magg’s in Berkely Square: rare books and manuscripts, with a staff of somewhat eccentric types. Pick up that handwritten note from Benjamin Franklin you’ve always wanted!

An often-overlooked museum is The Clink, on the south bank of the Thames; once a prison for prostitutes and debtors. Nice place to while away an hour or so.

The Museum of London is very, very cool: full of stuff they dug up while building the Underground (like Roman temples!), Elizabethan jeweler’s hoards, and of course the Great Fire. Lots of focus on the daily life of the everyday Londoner over the last 2000 years.

But the very, very best thing to do in London are the London Walks. These are brilliant: guided walks by people who love their subject, everything from “The Beatles London” to “Jack The Ripper” to evening pub walks! The best company I’ve found is called, surprisingly, London Walks; I’ve done about 20 of their walks over the last 10 years or so, and never been disappointed. Did the “Ripper” walk with Donald Rumbelow (an ex-City of London Policeman) last June–excellent! Can’t recommend it highly enough: best value going (I think it was 4 pounds per adult).

Oh, one last London thing: if you like “facilities”, why not see the last, biggest Victorian steam beam engine in the world? Kew Bridge Steam Museum runs the “Grand Junction 90” (as well as other old beam engines and railway steam engines).

20

Some tips on Oxford from an undergrad there:

  • Go to Blenheim Palace with a picnic lunch. It’s a short bus-ride north of Oxford,
    it’s where Churchill grew up and it’s a generally gorgeous place set in lovely gardens.
  • Go punting! Silly boats, lovely river, and Pimms.
  • Look around Magdalen: loath though I am as a Johnian to say it, it’s by far
    the prettiest college in the University. And they’ve got deer.
  • Though the Pitt-Rivers is definitely surreal enough for a visit, don’t underestimate the more staid Ashmolean. As long as you’re willing to walk rapidly through a few long galleries full of pots, there are some real treasures in it: a Stradivarius and Powhatan’s cloak, amongst others.
  • Pubs: the Goose, while undoubtedly busy, is the standard-bearer of the soul-lless chain pubs. Very little spirit to it. Go there for cheap food if you must, but for interesting pubs you’ll be better off looking around Jericho in North Oxford. Two of particular note are the Radcliffe Arms (even cheaper food than the Goose) and the Bookbinders’ arms (extremely surreal, but fun). Jericho is a better option for you anyway based out of St. Anne’s; it’s a good 5-10 minutes walk north of the city center.
  • Have a look around Cambridge. My compatriots here will stone me for saying it, but it’s a prettier city; there’s a reasonable bus called the X5 that’ll take you there through some lovely Cotswold countryside… as well as, unfortunately, Milton Keynes.
  • The redeeming feature of Milton Keynes is that it’s close to Bletchley Park, where the Enigma code was broken.

Outside of Oxford and environs, I’d strongly second the recommendations for Hay-on-Wye and St. Andrews. Don’t plan on more than a day or so in St. Andrews itself, though - it’s a small town. Using it as a base for walks is a much better plan. Around Wales, the Pembrokeshire coast path is supposed to be quite good.

In London, I’d recommend the museums; in one of the nicer moves the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has made, most of them are now free, so you don’t have to trudge round them just to get your money’s worth. Dip in to the British Museum particularly to see the proceeds of 200 years of colonial looting… er, that is, cultural conservation.