I've recently won a trip for 2 to Ireland with round trip tickets to Dublin. While I'm grateful for the prize, and there's always plenty to explore, this will be my third time in Ireland in three years! I've spent more than 3 weeks there already! We were planning on taking a quick flight to England for about 5-7 days flying in from Dublin as an add on to our trip. We have never been to England but would like to explore London for a day or two and then head to the countryside. The world feels like our oyster, and we aren't sure how to narrow this down. Where should we go? We know we generally enjoy the countryside more in the areas we visit so a quick visit to any big city is more than enough. Help! I'll take any suggestions.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
8095 posts
Wow, congratulations! In Ireland, did you drive a rental car, or use public transport? In England, head to York. You can get there easily from London (we went by train), and can also explore the Yorkshire countryside.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8883 posts
A good compromise between city and country may be to fly to Newcastle on Tyne. Visit the city then head out into Northumberland- either Hadrian's Wall or coastal Northumberland (including Lindisfarne)
Posted by
Preston UK
1348 posts
Whilst you could fly to any number of airports in Great Britain, like Stuart’s suggestion above, I would suggest taking the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead in North Wales. Then, either pick up a car and drive around for a while or use the train network. Either way, start by exploring North Wales and Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park - lots of castles and mountain scenery. Then to Chester (Roman walled city) and Liverpool and/or Manchester. Then you could carry across to York and the surrounding national parks or take a train south to London. Bear in mind that it’s not compulsory to go to London - you could easily do that on another trip.
Posted by
Freedonia
16783 posts
Have you ruled out Scotland? It's a good mix of city and amazing countryside (the Highlands, the Islands).