My husband and I will visit England in late July. We have exactly two weeks, not counting the arrival and departure days at Heathrow. The plan is to spend a week in London and three to four days in the Cotswolds; however, we're pretty indecisive about choosing Conwy or Keswick as a base for the remaining days. We'll mainly rely on public transportation, and we both enjoy nature and history.
Any advice in building the itinerary will be highly appreciated.
Julie
Hi, they are both great areas to see. As people will know I am not a fan of public transport in the UK it is well documented that especially rural services are not as good as they were. I don't know your personal circumstances but I would always recommend you book a hire car just not in London where you don't need a hire car.
As for choice of Wales or the lakes it's a personal choice but I live near (less than an hour) from Keswick so can certainly help if you chose this area.
Haven't been to the Lake District (yet) but have based myself in Llandudno to take trains and buses to visit places like Conwy Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Portmeiron and Bodnant Gardens. http://www.visitwales.com/
Both are great areas. For local bus service, I'd give the edge to Keswick. You can get buses to other parts of the Lake District, and there's a loop that's especially scenic around Derwentwater. I took the bus to a trailhead, walked several miles, and caught another one (I think the same route but not sure) back to Keswick. There are local buses in north Wales but I don't think service is as frequent or convenient. North Wales, however, has some fine train rides through beautiful scenery.
Exactly what John said about car vs public transportation.
If you're going by the RS idea of the two areas, it'd be the Lake District. If you're willing to drive, there's a heck of a lot more to northern Wales than he describes.
North Wales and South Wales are unofficial, loosely defined, or historical boundaries that neglect what's in the middle.
The definition of North Wales even varies among regional authorities.
Northern/north Wales are adjectives that more accurately depict areas of the Principality.
The case may be made that northern encompasses more than North.
Northern, southern, and central are terms commonly used in both print and broadcast media to describe something as simple as weather conditions.
More information exists than is contained in guidebooks.
North is gogledd in Welsh.
No sweat. I'm a geographer, we get picky about terms.
No family anywhere would claim me, but I finally finished walking the whole dang perimeter last fall.
Yes I agree with the comments on here. I love wales and did much of my mountaineering qualifications there. There are some brilliant walks, and specialy built kayaking areas for all abilities and pot region I love port merino and the castles...and lots more ands...
However, in keswicks defence. Keswick has king Arthur's round table! It has access to Scotland and is about an hour from Gretna green the most famous romantic place in the UK... The Yorkshire dales are less than an hour from Keswick and Northumberland national park...the roman wall lots of castles, a great coastline. Keswick has a ship that sails on deer went water which can help with transportation. Beatrix Potters house is here as well as William wordsworths...
So wales or the lakes...which will you chose ...let us know!
Yes, John makes a good point about the boat that shuttles around Derwentwater so you can get on and off and hike and on and off and hike some more and on etc. It wasn't running when we were there in high winds a few springs ago. Another transit score for the Lake Dist. Don't know about Arthur's Roundtable, they didn't tell me about that, but Castlerigg Stone Circle is wonderful and, we know, a particular favorite of Ed's.
But if I were driving (and I'm not sure I will, it's harder for me in the UK than it should be) I think I'd go for North (or northern? above southern? whatever) Wales because of the variety and history. Note that John's last description of the joys of the Lake Dist mostly discussed the things it's near, not what's there. Great scenery, some history, Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter, OK. With Wales you get castles, seacoast, mountains (not just "fells"), scenic railways, interesting food, music, lots of history, and a whole different culture. But not, imho, great public transit.
Thank you all so much for the excellent ideas. Yes, I know that renting a car should be the ideal way to travel in these areas, but my hubby is pretty adamant about how he'll be more relaxed simply riding trains and buses.
Right now I'm leaning more toward North Wales as it is a brand new region to me. Honestly, my only knowledge of the area comes from the few pages of RS Great Britain guide book. But I'm curious about its people and the land. So I obviously need to do more research. The website mentioned by Lee is where I'll start with, and I wonder if Llandudno Junction is a better base than Conwy. Any information about sights and transportation in North Wales is more than welcome. I'll also keep in mind of Emma's suggestion about hiring a mini cab.
If you are looking at Wales, then you might wish to post on the Wales forum rather than here - under 'England'.
If going by train to Wales from the Cotswolds, I would buy a ticket from Moreton-in-Marsh (if staying nearby) to Hereford. Then Hereford to Ludlow (hop off & take a look at this old town for an hour or 2) http://www.ludlow.org.uk. Next go to Shrewsbury - which is also worth a look before finally heading into Wales. http://www.shrewsburyguide.info
(You might like to make Aberdyfi (Aberdovey) or Barmouth an overnight stop).
http://www.aberdovey.com
http://www.barmouth.org.uk
Next day, continue by train to Porthmadog and make that a base. I would not rave about Porthmadog - take a look at the main street on Google Street view, but it makes a good base http://www.porthmadog.com.
http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/home
http://www.festrail.co.uk
//www.portmeirion-village.com
//www.visitwales.com
www.nationalrail.co.uk (For getting times & fares - split tickets en route can sometimes be cheaper. Advance pre booking is cheaper for longer journeys on specific trains).
www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk
Please note that late July is the start of the school holidays and prices will be at their highest.
Sounds like you've got enough to think about. Happy planning!
