England

by beksbks 25 Replies latest jw friends

  • cognizant dissident
    cognizant dissident

    If you like Art, the the London Gallery in Trafalgar square is worth seeing, IMO . I haven't been to the museum of London, but would definitely go on the next trip. The village of Oxfordshire was worth a look and seeing fragments of the dead sea scrolls in the library at Oxford university was cool. (Not sure if they are even still there). I'm kind of a nerd though, not everyone may like that stuff.

    Touring an old castle is always interesting, there are so many to choose from. I went to the one in Warwickshire and Buckingham Palace of course..

    Stonehedge was interesting but when I went you could still go up and walk amongst and touch the stones. You can't do that anymore.

    I did manage to get to Wales and the countryside is so beautiful. I went in early September and saw all the purple fields of heather of poetic fame. Gorgeous!

    I was only there for two weeks and made it from Wales to Brighton and several trips to London. However, there was still tons to see that there was no time for. I don't think I saw anything that wasn't interesting and that I would say "skip it". It's all good. I really loved England and would go again and again, if I could afford it.

    I truly do not remember any memorable food there. It all seemed mediocre to me but we ate at cheap places. I hear there are world class restaurants in London, but you pay through the nose for them. But I am from Vancouver and that city is know to have some of the best food in the world and the most ethnic restaurants from all over the world, so I may be a bit fussy in that regard.

    I think HS lived in London for years. He could probably tell you some good places to go.

    Cog

  • quietlyleaving
    quietlyleaving

    Hi beks

    there's lots to see and do in London

    Camden NW London has lots to offer. Camden Market, Hampstead Heath (if you visit Spaniards Inn you may see the ghost they have there http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spaniards_Inn) and Primrose hill within easy reach. Buckingham Palace not far away.

    Another good pub is in primrose hill, and is close to Regents Park http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/london/view/80541/Engineer. and http://www.london-eating.co.uk/23.htm. On a sunday buses and walking are good for travelling and sight seeing in this area and for visiting historical sights in central London. Buy an Oyster card for bus and underground train travel for London. Underground train travel is very useful for when central London is snarled up with tourists but travelling by bus is much nicer now that people have to pay to travel by car in central London.

    I also enjoyed visitng Leeds Castle in Kent

    http://www.leeds-castle.com/goto.php?ref=y&sess=u0|p0|n0|c0|s0|g1|d0

    September is a good time to visit. This summer is rainy but spring was much nicer.

    ql

  • llbh
    llbh

    You must do London allow 4 days minimum . Central London is great. Do the London eye , boat trip on the Thames. Food is good too and very diverse.

    Oxford and Oxfordshire is lovely . Camebridge too..

    Devon and Cornwall are beautiful as well. Avoid late July and August due to peek tourist time .

    As for the rest of the rest of the time, our weather is very unpredictable

    Regards David

    .

  • Peppermint
    Peppermint

    England is a great place, we all moan about it and despair about it going to the dogs but that's our way of trying to protect this great country.

    I would recommend Devon& Cornwall I lived there not so long ago and would move back if I could - its beautiful. Where in Devon? Dartmoor, a place of mystery, beauty and intrigue. Other places to visit there are Clovelly in north Devon - a bit of a tourist trap but breathtaking. Torquay- The English Riviera & home to Agnatha Christie, A little past its heyday but plenty to do there. I Don't know Cornwall quite so well, it has a rugged beauty of its own and is at its best along its coastline. One place I am personally keen to visit is the Scilly isles of the coast of Cornwall. England's sub-tropical paradise.

    I would recommend London - Simply one of the best cities in the world.

    There are plenty of other places throughout the UK to recommend, it all depends on what you want and what your interests are

  • Crumpet
    Crumpet

    Sweetpea's recommendations are very good.

    Our food is fantastic. Its the same as America - if you want to spend $10 on a meal well you get what you pay for basically so don't expect it to be amazing. If on the other hand you are prepared to spend considerably extra (remember everything costs pretty much double here - glass of wine $8-10, house wine $35 etc etc) you can't eat better. I loved being in the States but I still havent eaten anything over there (swith the exception of some of the Mexican places I went to) where it is nearly half as good as here. That said - half our chefs are French and other European so we can't take all the credit. But it just totally gets my goat when people say our food is bad - do your research for the exact area you are going to - Trip Advisor is a good place to start.

    I would pick visiting Scotland (Highlands and Edinburgh) or Cornwall over any other part of England to visit and also South Wales for the beautiful beaches, but if you have only two weeks I'd focus on London. But it is very very expensive. I'd come out of season to save money - you can halve your air fare to come in October over June to September for instance and you don't have so many tourists to battle through. You can easily spend two weeks in London and not have seen everything.

    If you can hire a car then the National Trust homes all over England are beautiful, but these close for the winter at the end of October so bear that in mind. If you have particular interests in terms of members of royalty, sections of history then you can visit those that appeal most.

    If I were coming here and had just two weeks and didnt have any family that I needed to see en route then I would probably spend a few nights in London, do the Millenium Wheel, dinner at the Langham Hilton (bear in mind last time I ate there it was just 3 people and it came to $600 but you have a view over Buckingham Palace and the food is pretty damn good, but its a bit formal). The Cinamon Club is a gourmet Indian restaurant set in an old library and a bit less pricey and serves the best house belinis, but you need to book these places - the waiting list is long. For a very fine burger and informal atmosphere try Giraffe (restaurant chain and you can eat here for under $20 per person and be well satsfied) on the Thames Embankment not far from the Tate Modern Gallery which is worth a visit if only to laugh at what passes at art and for the curiosity factor - plus it is FREE. British Museum - especially the Greek and Roman and Egyptian areas are awesome. And of course i'd say book a matinee show in the West End - i went to see Spamalot from the Monty Python team which was fun and you can get tickets to that for under $40 if you go for an early show and book in advance. Its slap bang in the middle of Picadilly Circus another famous landmark and of course Soho - the seedy sex area, which really isnt that seedy at all.

    A Saturday afternoon at Covent Garden - look for the Cornish Pastie shop (they are worth a try too - very very filling and will only set you back a mere $6) is also fun. There are lots of boutiques and market stalls selling all kinds of curios and jewellery and hand made stuff to browse around. Above the Pastie shop is a tiny oak beamed bar which has a roof terrace from which you can enjoy a pint of cider and watch the street performers below.

    If you have kids with you - take them to the National Science Museum - i think its still free and lots of fun and learning to be had there. if you are into war stuff - then the Imperial War Museum is also excellent as are the fairly new Churchill Cabinet War Rooms and Museum.

    If its sunny - then a stroll around Hyde Park, which is huge and the Serpentine Gallery within the grounds is lovely.

    Then after London I'd take a train to York, beautiful city - much smaller, cobbled streets, bags of history, much friendlier and personal than London.

    And then continue on up to Edinburgh by train - but thats for another trip....

  • jookbeard
    jookbeard

    Crumpet, The Hilton Park Lane overlooks Buck House not The Langham Hilton which is in the middle of a big refurb, also an excellent restaurant there,

  • Crumpet
    Crumpet

    Jookbeard - how remiss of me - you are of course correct - it was the Park Lane Hilton.

  • jookbeard
    jookbeard

    First and foremost England/London is very expensive so depending on your budget can effect the quality of your trip,I'd go for a 5 day stay in London and get a good package in a 3/4 star hotel in the centre, Mayfair is good location with some decent hotels, The Hilton Green Park, The Chesterfield, The Washington The Flemings, The Holiday Inn Berkley St, The Cumberland, The Mount Royal, those 2 being on Oxford St for good shopping,check out the Art galleries, The White Cube, Hoxton, The National Gallery, The Tate Gallery and The Tate Modern, do Big Ben,Parliament Sq and Westminster Abbey(all close to each other) and then walk up to Trafalgar Sq , where you can walk up to Convent Garden. For shopping check out Oxford St,(for Selfridges , John Lewis etc)Bond St, Regent St, and Knights bridge for Harrods, taxis are also very expensive so if there are 3 of you or more the cost is not as painful, this is very important if you want to travel by bus ,and tube" buy a daily travel card" (zone 1 approx £5/day) because single cash journeys on bus and tube are ludicrously over priced! For eating London has the best top end fine dining places in the World there are more Michelin starred places here than you can shake a stick at , but again very expensive, Gordon Ramsey has a fine portfolio of places , The Maze Grill being the hot place at the moment, his place in Royal Hospital Road will make your eyes water at the prices, but there are good Italian ,(Zafferano,Assagi,Senor Sassi,Tutu's,Scalini's,Location Locatelli,Cicconis expensive, Riva, etc) Chinese (Hakkasan and Yauatcha)with cheaper places in Chinatown and even British places (Seashell ,Fish and Chips on Lisson Grove a good choice), Then if time permitting head up to York, Edinburgh, Bath ( for the Roman Spa) , Cornwall is great for a beach , good surfing there but you need good weather and the water is freezing!! Enjoy! (edit!) how could I forget the Museums, The British Museum, The Science Museum, The Natural History Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum and finally High Tea at the Ritz book up for that though!

  • beksbks
    beksbks

    Thank you people!! Keep the ideas coming, I have a year to plan It will actually be our honeymoon trip.

    Personally, I am looking for as much authenticity as I can find. I don't want to finally get my trip to England, and end up spending it with American tourists!! I would rather eat simple local, rather than 4star or French. If that means bangers and mash, or star gazey pie, then that's what I want. I'm sure the time in London will be more upscale, but that is not my main interest.

    Thank you all so much, I enjoy just reading your thoughts on the best of your country!

  • Princess Daisy Boo
    Princess Daisy Boo

    Hi Beks

    I am not a Brit, but I have family there and we visited them December three years ago... It was a fantastic holiday and I loved every minute (except that I was on crutches most of the time - that was not cool!)

    So here was what we did...

    We went in December and although it was f'ing cold, I loved it, as I am from Africa and it rarely gets very cold here so it was novel! Plus the christmas shop windows were amazing! Christmas felt really authentic there. Where I come from we braai (bbq) our turkey and gammon!

    We spent a good few days wondering around London - did a red bus tour of the city to get an overview. Did some of the galleries and museums - the Tate Modern was a fave of mine, as was the Dali Exhibition which was on at the time. I explored some of the stores while Mr PDB went to his favourite football team stadium. The London Eye was awesome, but the queues were not!

    We went to Windsor castle - quite interesting.

    We took a day trip down to Brighton - totally different to the seaside resorts I am used to! We also took a few days and drove through the Cotswolds, Oxford, Bath, Glastonbury and Chedder - I loved The Cotswolds! So gorgeous!

    As for eating - the pastie shop Crumpet mentioned - The West Cornwall Pastie Co... their pies were delish. Also great was a Thai Restaurant called the Blue Elephant.

    Ahhh - I wish I could go back!!!

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