England (page 3)

four candles

I live in Wales in some really spectacular scenery. We have a victorian spa town near us with some semi decent hotels or there is plenty of pubs that do cheap(in money terms)bed and breakfast,then you can enjoy proper british ale,not that watered down fizzy pop you have over there!!!

Aberystwyth is a good seaside resort which includes one of the great little trains of Wales,narrow gauge steam railways which show you the country side without having to concentrate on driving.

York has been mentioned,and is well worth a visit.It dates way back even beyond viking times and in my opinion is a better city to see than London,which is too crowded and smelly.

But I am sure you will enjoy your visit over here,we are a friendly lot,and if you come to Wales anywhere near us then I will buy you one of the aforementioned pints!!

cognizant dissident

Personally, I am looking for as much authenticity as I can find.

That reminded me of a funny story from my trip. My stepmother was on a search for the quintessential authentic British fish and chips when we were in England. We would be starving for lunch and dinner and she would drag us around from shop to shop asking if the fish and chips were "authentic". The shop keepers would just stare at her! She was looking for the kind rolled up in newspaper, which they weren't allowed to do anymore because newspaper is toxic and unhygenic.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. Tired, hot and hungry, I yelled at her in the middle of the street, "We are in England for God's sake! They are ALL authentic English fish and chips!"

sweet pea

When planning a trip a great place of inspiration is the book "1000 Places To See Before You Die". They have good sections on England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

A couple of posters have mentioned York and Bath - I would agree that if you can make these part of your trip you won't be disappointed - they are very special, quintessentially English cities.

If you are in London, some of my favourite restaurants are The Bleeding Heart (Hatton Garden, Jewellery Centre of London) and Home (Hoxton). Chez Bruce comes highly recommended, even though I've never eaten there and The Ivy is on my list of must eat at places before I die - you need to book about a year in advance....

If you decide to stay in Richmond, The Petersham Hotel is very special and does great food. They do special weekend packages that are very good value.

I'm getting excited for you.....

ninja

I stay in scotland....its pish.....if you want to visit....visit in autumn when it rains a lot.....it masks the smell of body odour on the natives.....ninja.....working closely (loosely) with the scottish tourist board...

beksbks

Ninja!!! Well if nothing else, this brought you out of the woodwork! I'll put Scotland right on the list.

Thanks again everyone.

Crumpet

Beksbeks - to get tio scotland you have a tr\in which takes about 7 hours from London Kings Cross or you can fly low budget with easyjet for about £40 return. The festival kicks off in August and there sre so many plays and story book redings for children to get into, very lively.

England