A senior's trip to england

Gprkr,

You don't say how you are planning to transport yourself while in the UK but I'll assume you plan to take public transport rather than hire a car. (Car rental and driving is really expensive and a hassle in MHO.)

I would begin by mapping out an itinerary using Google Maps. You can specify public transport as the transportation option in order to get a good idea of travel times. You can then consult the train & bus company web sites for cost estimates.

I would plan on staying in B&Bs throughout. There are plenty of good B&B resources online (just Google) or you can go to the tourist web site for each town you plan to visit for links.

One thing you might want to do is to take a look at Rick's UK tours to get an idea of where they go. You might even incorporate one or more of his tours with your own travel time before, in-between, and after the tour(s).

I would not discount London so easily. Although London is a huge metropolis, its more a collection of distinct villages than a large homogenous city. It's extremely easy to get around and it has a HUGE amount of things to do. The royal residences, the museums (most of which are free), the churches, the gardens (Kew is incredible while in season), and the history. I've spent a total of 15 days in the city and I feel I've only scratched the surface.

Good luck.

Todd

If you like the Georgian and Regency eras of Jane Austen, by all means do plan to stay in Bath for at least 3 nights so you have 2 full days there. I suggest a walking tour there (perhaps one of the paid ones instead of the free Mayor's one which can have dozens of people) and make sure you see #1 Royal Crescent which is a restored and furnished Georgian townhouse. Bath is easy to get to by train and there are some really nice B&Bs. Plan your stay during the week as prices go way up on the weekends. The Holburne Museum there is very good. Saw a special exhibit on Canaletto last Fall which was amazing.

I also enjoy Salisbury, particularly the Cathedral and the Close around the cathedral. The Salisbury Museum is quite enjoyable. I saw a special exhibit there last year of Turner's Wessex and this year plan to see a special exhibit in Sept on Constable.

Thirty days seems like a lot when you are planning, but you are still going to have to distill your list of destinations. I would probably not go overboard and include Ireland on this trip. Remember also when you are planning that 2 nights is just 1 full day.

I would also get either Rick's Great Britain or England guidebooks plus at least one more (DK is good but too hard to travel with) to help you refine your list.

Fly into London and fly out of Edinburgh to avoid backtracking (do note that Edinburgh is in Scotland - never England).

With 30 days you could head down to the West Country,then up through the Cotswolds, across to Wales, over to Yorkshire, cross the Pennines into the Lake District, Northumberland then Edinburgh.

Now that's a vague itinerary so you have to do your homework and decide exactly what you want to see. Car or train - well car is great for visiting the countryside, but of course with a mix of trains and buses you can still get around.

From London ...
Train to Salisbury - 2nts
Train to Bath - 3nts
Train to Cheltenham/Cotswolds - 3nts
Train to York - 3nts
Train to Edinburgh - 3nts
Train to Pitlochry/Highlands - 1nt
Train to Inverness - 1nt
Train to Kyle of Lochalsh/Skye - 2nts
Bus to Fort William - 1nt
Train to Glasgow - 1nt
Train to Oxenholme/Lake Dist - 3nts
Train to Manchester - 2nts
Train to Chester - 3nts
Train to London - 2nts

How fun to have this "dream" trip becoming a reality. I would definitely look at some of the online videos from some of the shows that have been done in those areas and start researching transportation options.

I'm about your age, so my suggestions are vintage-sensitive. I am an architect and my comments will be biased toward visits to “built” environments. My wife and I have visited England on two occasions and we’re planning a visit to Scotland next year). Contrary to some other comments made earlier, we rented a car in London on one visit and drove northwest to Oxford, then did a serendipitous crisscrossing of towns and villages in a southwest direction through the Cotswolds, ending our western route at Bath and Wells Cathedral. My wife and I thought the towns and villages of the Cotswolds were made even more interesting and pleasurable by the drive through the countryside, the approach to, moving within, and exiting the towns and back to the countryside; only possible with a car—a bicycle would be even better. Wells Cathedral was close by and well worth the visit. While in Bath we did as much walking as we could so the scale of the city could be better appreciated. We had lunch in the Pump Room and would definitely say this is a “must do” experience (a swig of the water is optional). Get a reservation when you first arrive in Bath.

You mentioned
I am not interested in the big cities (London)

I would suggest you reconsider this, London is magnificent city, and one which you can quickly and easily move great distances on the tube and busses. The British Museum, a noon ensemble performance at St. Martin in the Fields, experiencing the different worlds of Pimlico and Camden in the same day, and a spin on the eye can all be done in a leisurely way in just few days in London. The only long lines would be at the eye, but pre-purchase a ticket and avoid the line. Just getting on the tube and popping up at random locations is an experience in itself.

Two closing thoughts on an itinerary. You didn’t mention Durham; if you’re heading north, it would be a stop worth considering. Also, if you’re in Scotland (Edinburg) you might want to visit the Isle of Skye and the Trotternish Peninsula and a walk the Quirang—about as far away as you could get from big urban areas—at least on this planet.

If you go to York, while you are somewhat in the area, I would suggest the Yorkshire Dales National Park or more specifically, Grassington. This is a lovely village in the middle of the park. Their are lovely walks between hamlets from Grassington. Relax and spend at least 3 nights there so you can have a couple of rambles and enjoy the little village as well. http://www.grassington.uk.com

If you are interested in interior design, you will want to make a stop in Glasgow to see the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Look at the National Trust UK online site. It shows all their properties which are open to view available with their membership pass. This pass would be well worth it if you are traveling for a month...it would save plenty of money on admissions. If there are 2 of you you can get a partner pass; 3 or more a family pass. There are separate passes for Scotland. Most Churches ask for a donation. I believe that you can get a senior pass for trains. Look up Britrail online. There is a book on Britrail routes with travel descriptions...I read a library copy. You should be able to get to most places by train and bus connections. Sometimes there is a shuttle bus timed with the train: I did this for Stonehenge. In some places you can join a small van tour. In England it is pretty easy to travel. The further north like Scotland there are fewer train lines; but it is easy to get to Edinburgh. It would eat up too much time and transport money to go to Ireland. There is more than several lifetimes of things to see in England. Bon voyage

I loved the Pavilion in Brighton. I thought it had an excellent audio guide and it was impressive to see all the settings I'd read about in Regency fiction. It was very easy to get to by train. Once you arrive in Brighton, it's just a short walk down the hill.

We also visited Hampton Court this last trip and that was a stunner. I think we spent over 4 hours here and still didn't get to it all. It was easy to get to from London by train and it's another place that is an easy walk from the train station. My husband loved both of these, once we got there.

You are likely to find that the Britrail pass is expensive. Local rail trips - you can pay on the day but for longer journeys, you will get lower prices by pre-booking Advance fares for specific trains. (These low fares appear on the system about 11 weeks ahead). For all rail journeys see:> www.nationalrail.co.uk
You can also get a third off the fares by paying £30 for the senior railcard:>http://www.senior-railcard.co.uk

GPRKR
Please tell us you'll be renting a car. I'm also a healthy, not overly athletic senior (ouchie) age 72. One thing I hate is hauling cases onto and off of trains. We rent a car and I have been known to do all the driving. It's fun. Get an automatic, a GPS and a Motoring Atlas. One to see where you want to go and the other to get you there. From London I'd take the train to York and rent my car there. You can drop it in Brighton and take the train back to London. Please give London a couple of days, it's my favourite city in the world. There's a lot of good stuff between York and Edinburgh and if you're staying in B&B's, there are a lot you can get to without having to go into town. You can drive from York along the coast to Robin Hoods Bay and Whitby or go thru the Dales.

Your wish list includes many of my favourite places The best advice I can offer is that you get a big map and plot out the places you want to see. Find some books like England's cutest villages, that sort of thing and see what speaks to you.

I have spent whole days at Fountains Abbey. I love Cornwall. Mevagissey is where we stay there...don't try driving thru downtown the streets are just too narrow. The Lost Gardens of Heligen is also in Cornwall is on my list of places to go back to and Tintagel. My friend robinz and I walked the Cotswold way in 2014 and one of our favourite villages was Painswick. Two or three pubs and a corner shop. Lovely churchyard.

You will fall in love with England. I had a crush on it starting when I was a teenager and fell in love in 1989 when I went there for the first time.