As I read Rick's book we have settled on a tentative itinerary following his recommendation for a 3-week trip starting May 14 utilizing public transportation. There will be a few deviations, mostly in Glasgow, possibly Edinburgh and Chester, England. Do we need to be making lodging reservations now for Bath and on from there? Or are we ok with waiting until closer to the date to make them? I was thinking we would be able to arrive in Bath, and then make follow on reservations for our next destination as we go. Is this not a good idea? That is how we do it here, keeping in mind if something is going on that we need to work around, but not sure about the UK. Will things start to get very busy mid-May? We are looking at B&Bs but not against larger places. Our budget is roughly $120-150 or so a night.
Posted by
San Diego, California
4865 posts
Europe experienced unprecedented travel last year, and that's expected to continue. Shoulder season is disappearing in many areas. Those masses are sleeping somewhere. I'd suggest securing cancelable lodging asap.
Do you research on booking.com, and then book directly for the best price.
Good luck and have a great trip!
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
405 posts
Also be aware that last weekend in May is a bank holiday weekend. Similar travel crowds as Memorial Day weekend in US. And the last week of May is typically a school holiday (what they call "half term") with the entire week off. This year the bank holiday is May 27. So would have set lodging plans in advance at least for that weekend.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5560 posts
Our budget is roughly $120-150 or so a night.
That is only about 95 GBP to 120 GBP which will be tight, particularly in Edinburgh. I’d start looking for accommodations now as the nicer budget places will book up as you get closer to the date.
While it is possible to book as you go, you need to be willing to be flexible with both with location and budget.
Posted by
Preston UK
911 posts
That’s a very low budget for the UK. This will make a plan to book as you go, which would anyway be a challenge, extremely challenging. To have any chance of getting a 3 week holiday at that time of year you really need to be booking all your accommodation now in my view. Maybe you could get away with it in February or March but not in my view in May.
Posted by
Missouri, USA and Essex, UK.
996 posts
There is a Bank Holiday on May 27th and many schools will be off that week just keep that in mind.
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3792 posts
It has been my experience that hotel rooms get more expensive as you get closer to the date.
Book now for everything you want in May.
You may get some good prices starting this far out.
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1034 posts
English schools are off the last week in May. Scottish holidays are different.
Definitely book as soon as possible. You’ll pay more trying to book at the last minute and lots of options will be full. Your budget is very low as others have said.
Posted by
Bend, OR
816 posts
Last year we waited til mid February to start booking accommodations in England and Ireland for June. We had a difficult time finding decent places to stay that weren’t outrageous, especially in London and we were lucky to find anything at all in Dingle. I would definitely have already been looking by now especially with your price point. And as for booking as you go, I know I’m too old to take chances on whether or not I have a place to stay for the night in a crowded foreign country.
Posted by
OP
Desert Southwest
11 posts
Next question. We realize our budget is way too small for lodging, and that's ok, we are obviously willing to go higher.
The first 3 nights are in Bath. Opinions about Harington Hotel? It looks promising. My husband has back issues and is really concerned about beds in B&Bs. As much as we would like to stay at B&Bs he almost would prefer a mainstream hotel, but when I look at those prices they are considerably higher. Or we are open to other recommendations! Throw them at me, I'm working furiously on this over the next day or two so we can lock down reservations.
Our next stop will be Chester, as my husband wants to do some genealogy work there. I realize looking at our schedule, we would be there over a weekend, so we would likely go to Liverpool and maybe Conwy if there is a train/bus that will get us there on Saturday/Sunday. Of course, this depends on whether or not we can arrange to talk to someone in Chester at a Family History Center if they are even open when we are there - that's another topic for research. Gahhh. I suppose that should be first, then we can schedule from there with that in mind.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14041 posts
"that's ok, we are obviously willing to go higher."
This is good because many people are not willing or able to up their budget.
The Bath hotel you are considering is in a great location. I've stayed nearby on Queen Square and that area is so central but no actual experience with your choice. It's a 4* (which is a bit different in Europe than the US) so it should be good. It gets really good reviews on Trip Advisor.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
1884 posts
Do get accommodation booked as soon as possible. Many places will already be fully booked for May. The days of booking a few nights ahead are long gone. Have you tried looking at Premier Inn. They have places all oiver the country and you can often pick up good deals with them. Their beds are comfortable and they also have a good night sleep guarantee.
Posted by
Lake District, England
5972 posts
With a tight budget the Premier Inns in Bristol are often dramatically cheaper than in Bath. I have just checked for mid May and that is certainly so then.
Chester Archives is currently closed until 2025 or 2026 for very long overdue rebuilding.
I don't know if Chester Library has a local studies collection (not mentioned on their website) but they are open Monday - Saturday: 8.30am - 7pm and Sunday: 9.30am - 6pm.
Cheshire Family History Society may be able to help you. They have a research centre at Mobberley and a help desk at Crewe Library on Monday, Tuesday and normally the 3rd Saturday morning of each month.
With the archives being closed I would make CFHS your first point of contact, and pay a one year subscription.
Posted by
Lake District, England
5972 posts
PS- You may find Cheshire BMD useful for post 1837 events. The entries on there for Births, Marriages and Deaths have more information than the GRO Indexes, and have been compiled through painstaking volunteer work from the primary source registers at the local register offices, so are free of any transcription errors made when they were transcribed to GRO, then transferred to the GRO calendars.
Also, on the GRO website you can now view (not download) certificates for births and deaths for £2.50, rather than paying £11 for a mailed certificate. View with one device, photograph with another.
The free BMD website (although excellent) is effectively a 4th tier source so with the best will in the world has errors.
Posted by
Bristol, UK
1034 posts
I know we all sound like stuck records on here but you really can’t go wrong with a Premier Inn for a comfortable bed and a good night’s sleep.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6546 posts
Here's another stuck record recommending Premier Inns (that's going to stick with me, Helen!). 🤣
PIs are a great value for the money. They are consistently good, clean and well-located, with very comfortable beds and very reasonably priced. I'm staying in one in London for 5 nights (the Premier Inn County Hall). I also stayed at several in Scotland last year and was very pleased with them.
The price varies depending on the location and when you book, so I would echo what everyone else has said, which is to book as early as possible. https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/home.html