I will be traveling to England in March of next year with my father who will be a guest speaker at a conference at Oxford. I think we will probably be there for about two weeks. I want some advice as to what to do when I am there.
Some things that I have planned to do already are: visit Skipton Castle, Holme Lacy, Wilton House and the Globe Theatre. I also want to see the Royal Armoury at the Tower of London. And we will possibly be traveling north into Scotland.
Are there buses or trains which go to country areas like Holme Lacy and other noble estates, or do you have to rent a car and drive there? Are there any other sites I should visit to see exhibits of military history such as armories or naval museums?
Can a non-citizen of the UK join a hunting party to shoot small game like hares or birds? Is there somewhere to sign up and arrange for such an outing? Are there farmers or others out in the country who provide this service for tourists?
Is Mad Cow Disease still a concern in England? Should I refrain from eating the beef?
Are the bathroom facilities in England different from the ones in the US?
I’ve visited Great Britain three times, but not too recently. I’m a raging Anglophile. My favorite places were the Lake District, Devon and Cornwall, Stratford-on-Avon, Canterbury, and Oxford. Also went to the old family stomping ground of Stoke-on-Trent. There are lots of great old English country estates to visit (check IMDB for your favorite period Britflicks, and you can often see where they were filmed).
In London I went to and loved all the touristy stuff: the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, the Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Cabinet War Rooms, Whitehall, Imperial War Museum, Hyde Park, etc.
Plays on the London stage are excellent, less expensive than in NYC, and full of actors you’ll recognize from Masterpiece Theatre and the Harry Potter movies.
Mad Cow Disease is still an issue if you regularly give blood in the U.S. You’ll be prohibited from giving blood here if you spend more than a cumulative six months in your lifetime, I think it is, in the U.K. As a public-health issue over there, I think it’s pretty much resolved, but I may be wrong.
Visit Oxford, especially if your dad will be here anyway. Blenheim Palace is reachable by bus from Oxford and is well worth a visit. I second the Lake District, though a car is really necessary there. I’m not sure what there is in terms of military history for tourists here, but I think there must be some; Oxford was a major centre during the English Civil War.
The beef in the UK is absolutely fine; it is now more carefully regulated than the beef in the US.
The only major difference in bathroom facilities is that often there will be two faucets, one hot and one cold, which makes getting a good temp to wash hands or face a bit more difficult.
London has lots of awesome and mostly free museums. Based on what you said in the OP, it sounds like you’d be interested in the Imperial War Museum.
I liked Salisbury a lot, and it’s a pretty easy train ride from Oxford. The cathedral tours that take you up in the tower are definitely worth it (assuming you’re in reasonable shape and OK with a lot of climbing). It’s also within easy striking distance of Stonehenge.
Oxford, in my admittedly limited experience, is one of those places where it really helps to know someone who’s local and can take you around – it feels kind of closed off if you’re just a visitor, but I enjoyed it a lot more on my second visit when I had some graduate student friends to hang out with. So if you can, see if you can tag along with someone from your dad’s conference.
Oxford and London are linked by a 24 hour bus service. If you miss rush hour and include the trip to the rail station in the time, it is comparable in speed to the train and MUCH cheaper…
Oxford is a city to just walk around. Make sure you don’t stay in the center - get up to North Parade, for example.
Its full of wonderful historical pubs as a city - The Bear (near Merton, Oriel, Corpus and Christ Church) is the oldest pub in the city, The White Horse (by Trinity on Broad Street in the middle of Blackwells the bookstore) are two great examples (and I worked in both).
When in London, go to the Imperial War Museum, and also the Cabinet War Rooms. In Oxford, a hidden treasure is the Pitt Rivers Museum, full of shrunken heads and other cool stuff.
I lived in Oxford for 7 years or so. My information is a little out of date, but if you want to hear of any less traditional things to do in the City, feel free to send me a private message.
While in or near London, hie thee (by train or bus) to Windsor a few miles to the west and have a look around Windsor Castle to see a few centuries’ worth of architecture, art and Royal knick-knacks. There’s an open-topped bus tour of the town as well.
Don’t expect great things in the way of shooting sport over here. AIUI it’s either by word of mouth on a small local scale or it’s block-booked as corporate hospitality. I believe you’d find either hard to get into in the short term.
I just got back from the Lake District and I endorse Elendil’s Heir’s recommendation. It’s a good six-hour drive from London though. If you like hill-walking, get local advice and don’t take 'em lightly even though only four English peaks top 3000 feet.
On the subject of “bathroom facilities”, while you are over here it’s best to ask for the “toilet” instead of the “bathroom”, otherwise people will think you want to take a bath.
I want to thank you all for the advice. I hope to see many colourful sights and hopefully will get a chance to visit the armoury. I also want to see some of the old neighbourhoods of London and Oxford, and possibly a preserved air defence system from WWII. I want to have a very organised schedule so I am planning it far in advance. I realise I might not be able to see everything I want to. If I can just memorise all of this advice, I’ll be all set. I’m planning on renting an auto, so I hope I’ll be able to manoeuvre on the roads without losing a tyre.
I am of gode naturall parts but verie colerique. Out, ye jades - go spinne!
Our roads are often crowded, but in general well-made. Be advised tho’ that in the Lake District you will do well to average 30mph as the roads are steep, winding, narrow, and have many blind bends. You have to be very careful of oncoming traffic. There are parts of the Scottish Highlands where this is true too. Oh, and our gas prices will shock you. :eek:
Don’t sweat the language barrier. Most inhabitants will have seen enough American-made TV and movies that they will know what you mean if you’re obviously American, and although an “elevator” is part of an aircraft over here, you will be pointed in the direction of what we call a “lift”, and so on.
I came in to recommend this - for London, not Windsor, though that might be good as well. From my experience, the tour buses are excellent, and the one I was on gave you a twenty-four hour pass for your twenty pounds so you can get off at any of the points of interest and then catch the next bus. Just remember to take all your bags off the bus with you, though the next bus driver will be very helpful with catching up to let you get them back, in my experience.
Also worth a look is Avebury circle - near Stonehenge, and not as tall, but much bigger. Watch out for the sheep droppings though.
There is a great boat tour in London, from the embankment, goes down to Greenwich and back. You get a lot of London’s history, and then if you have any kind of maritime bent, Greenwich is excellent.
The one thing I regret most that I missed in London is the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. It’s the nightly ritual of locking the tower that the Beefeaters have been performing for the past 700 years or so. The waiting list is pretty long, so send in your request now.
Other than that, make sure to dine in some pubs to get the true flavor of British cuisine. Eat lunch on the grounds of St. Paul’s you can’t beat the atmosphere.
Stourhead and Blenheim Palace are, for my money, two of the most beautiful spots on earth. The Lake District is nice, too. I bet it would be amazing in sunlight, but I’ve managed it twice during massive downpours of rain. If you go, make sure to see Castlerigg Circle.
