I have planned a three week itinerary in Ireland, England, and Holland. We have three unplanned days in the middle and never having been to England, outside of London, I don't know what to do. We are starting in London, going to Bristol to stay with friends and see the sites around there. Then we fly to Ireland. Ferry back to Holleyhead and from there are the three unplanned days. We go to London before our Holland leg. I thought of going to York for three days or Oxford or, I don't know???We are not going to be driving on this trip. any ideas? I would kind of like to go to one place and stay for three days.
Posted by
Hayden, Idaho, USA
143 posts
Three days in York wld allow you to see quite a bit. There's fast train service from London. The Minster, the Shambles, the rail museum, walking along the city walls, Jorvik Viking Museum, Yorkshire Museum are all interesting. Check out details in the RS England book.
Oxford is an easy day trip, but since you have three days, I'd vote for York.
Posted by
2424 posts
Being as you are coming back from Ireland into Holyhead, I would spend the 3 days in NW Wales. (It would take most of the day to reach York). Consider Caernarfon as a base - so, it would be train from Holyhead to Bangor & then a short bus ride. Alternatively, take the train direct from Holyhead to Conwy (or Llandudno Junction - which is 1 mile east and has a connecting service to Llandudno). Note that Virgin trains do not stop at Conwy but they do stop at Llandudno Junction. Arriva Trains Wales also stop at Llandudno Junction but Conwy is a request stop (tell the guard) on most of their services. So, you could stay in either Conwy or Llandudno.
http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/SailRail/RouteMap/
http://www.visitchester.com
http://www.visitwales.com/explore/north-wales/llandudno-colwyn-bay/must-do-in-conwy
http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/home
www.festrail.co.uk
http://www.greatorme.org.uk
On leaving Wales for London, I would stop off at Chester for 2 hours (or a bit longer). Pre-book the longer distance train trip to London (Euston) in advance to get cheapest fares. If you are going to York, you may find it cheaper to purchase split tickets with the split being at Manchester.
Someone else is doing a similar trip, See my response here (it was in the Wales forum) :>
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/wales/best-home-base-to-tour-north-wales-july-2016
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
Oxford and York work best with a car, as they are both c 4.5 hours by train from Holyhead (note spelling!) and both involve 2 changes of train - a recipe for disaster in my book!
I would stay in Chester (direct rail service in c 1.5 hours) and do a day trip to north Wales and another to Liverpool. Chester is charming and gets bypassed in favour of York far too often.
Posted by
OP
72 posts
Thank you everyone who has replied with your very excellent suggestions.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6527 posts
Chester is indeed charming and would be a good base for North Wales and/or Liverpool if you can manage the train and bus connections. North Wales is a lot easier to visit by car though.
York is out of your way but a wonderful destination and three days would be plenty of time. You might find a tour to see the moors or Whitby or some of the other nearby sights. Likewise Oxford, perhaps easier because closer, though I don't know the train connections. You really can't go wrong with either, so read up and see which interests you more.