Britain in May - Pre-book B&Bs?

I have traveled to the UK many times in May, have never booked B&B'S in advance. This was in the north (Yorkshire area), southwest area (Cornwall, Devon, etc), Cotswolds, Kent and many more areas. I have never spent more then 15 minutes finding a room. There are others who book all their B&B's in advance so it's really up to you. I perfer not to, because you can be more flexable, not having to be in a certain town/village on a certain day, etc. You can always go to a tourist information center in any village/town and they can book a room for you. There are hundreds of B&B's that do not advertise...they depend on their signs to get people. At one B&B in Leyburn in Yorkshire they was telling us that they never advertise and always keep busy...a lot of B&B owners do not want the cost of advertising. We have been to the UK lots of times..from March thru August, and haven't had trouble finding a room. The B&B's that advertise on the internet, thru travel books...get booked but believe me there are hundreds out there that don't get booked up. Also, there are a lot of country pubs that have B&B's over the pub, they are fun to stay in.

I went to England in summer 2008 and had difficulty booking B&Bs and guesthouses even in advance, and I started booking in Fall 2007. My experience was that they did book up fast and I'd say York, Bath and London are the most difficult to book. IMO, it's better to be safe than sorry and just book as early as possible. I'm planning a trip to Ireland for summer 2011 and I've found that many places are already taken.

We travel using B&Bs almost all the time. We do the 'hub' approach taking day trips from a central location. We usually opt for the smallest B&B we can find and in that way we hope to meet the locals and other travelers. We usually [INVALID] the particular room that we will occupy and investigate parking and other particulars. For all these reasons we reserve well in advance and provide our credit card info. This is done by email from home and we take copies of the arrangements as well as route plans with us. There is always extra time to explore when we get there.

Having said all this, except for London, Edinburgh, and possibly Bath, there is almost no chance that you will have to sleep in the car in the UK in May. We just think that it is a chore that can be completed best before the trip. Once there we want to use all of our time exploring.

Depends on the weather. We have done a lot of driving around England from May through August. After a few frustrating experiences spent driving around to find someplace to stay, now we book ahead for weekends (friday and saturday nights). Some days in popular places you can spend some time looking for someplace nice. If you dont want to do that, book ahead. On a few occassions when stuff was really booked up (many events) we would find a motorway and drive 30 or so miles and find some place. (Our preference is small hotels)

Bob, it is entirely possible that you will find "someplace" to stay without reservations. However, if you research sites like tripadvisor in an attempt to evaluate potential B & Bs, you will form preferences. If you have preferences, including not only the place but also the room size and price, I would definitely recommend early reservations.

Try website "Smoothound.com" lists many of B&B in the UK with prices, etc. We used Rick's advice and stayed at the Henry in Bath. Not sure if you are going there but I understand it has been renovated, it was going though that when we were there but the location was great. We also used "latestays.com" for Edinburgh and had a 2 bedroom/2 bath/lv/kitchen and free transport every half hour to town for $100.00 a night right on the river, there were 4 of us and we only paid $25.00 per person. We also used them for Barcelona and paid again $100.00 per night for another 2 bedroom apartment Good luck.

Good grief! When you're ready to stop, look for a place, if it's full go next door or everwhere the first place recommends. In a gazillion trips, we've never made a reservation and never taken more than fifteen minutes to find a spot. I can't speak for places like Bath and the Cotswolds since I avoid them like the plague. Too much planning puts you on a schedule and makes your head hurt.

Personally, I think it's rude and inconsiderate to just drop in on a B&B and ask for a room at the last minute. My impression is that a lot B&B owners want to know ahead of time if you're staying at their place because they have lives too and a business to run. It's okay to drop in at the last minute at a hostel or a hotel, but at a small family-run B&B I think you should reserve a space in advance out of courtesy to the owners. At any B&B I've stayed at in Europe and the U.S. the owners want to know exactly when you're coming so they can get prepared and work around your schedule. They get a bit ticked if you show up way off schedule, unless there's been an emergency.

Everyone's experience is different, but that's been my experience. If I owned a small B&B I'd want to know exactly when travelers are coming.

Katie, you are completely wrong, it's not rude and inconsiderate to stop when you see a B&B sign. There are hundreds of B&B's that doesn't advertise,they depend on their signs to get people to stop. All of the B&B's we have stayed in say that they depend on their signs, that it's expensive to advertise so it's a lot better for them not to. In the UK, B&B owners plan on people to just stop by to ask for a room. They don't get ticked, they welcome you to their home, offer tea, show you the room, tell you places where you can get an evening meal and ask what you would like for breakfast. We have had great conversations with a lot of the B&B owners in the evenings after getting back from our evening meal.

Robin, Thanks for your perspective. I guess everyone's experience is different and every B&B is different. The B&Bs that I stayed at in Britain and Northern Ireland definitely wanted to know in advance when we were coming so they could have everything in order and get their personal concerns (family matters, appointments, shopping, etc.) out of the way before we came. As you've pointed out, there are family B&Bs that don't advertise and don't mind people dropping in at the last minute, but there are owners who certainly do. I just think it's better to error on the side of caution and consider that B&B owners have lives too and they can't always be available for travelers every second of the day and night. I feel funny just dropping in on someone, but that's just me. Everyone's different and every culture is different.

Come to think of it, if I'm traveling around Europe how am I supposed to know which B&Bs accept last minute travelers and which ones only take travelers with reservations, unless they had a sign saying so? Each place has a different attitude about that and I can't make guesses.

Until the past few years, I would have suggested going without advance reservations. These days, even many small places have an Internet presence and can be booked in advance. It all depends on whether you value flexibility in your schedule more than you value being able to snag the most popular places, which do tend to book up in advance, at least in the touristy destinations. If you found it a waste of time last time to spend time searching for rooms, you will probably be more comfortable booking in advance.

for sure first and last nights.

If a place a vacancy sign up, that means that they want to rent a room whether you knock on the door or do it sitting on the curb outside using your I-whatever. If my income came from renting rooms, I'd be delighted if somebody knocked on my door while I was eating supper. What's the other option: 'Please go away, I don't want the money since I only do this for fun and my chicken is getting cold.' ???

Ed - I rarely use B&Bs, so I'm not really an expert on the subject matter. I only use B&Bs when hotels and self-catering cottages are booked, are too out of the way, or are too expensive. In my previous posts I was just recalling the experience that I had with B&Bs in Britain and Ireland. The owners much preferred to know in advance when people were coming to stay with them so they could have everything prepared and plan their personal matters (more substantial stuff than just eating a chicken dinner); and I did have a hard time booking them in advance. Besides that, I frequently travel to Europe with a friend of mine who uses a wheelchair. Good luck trying to find any B&B that is accessible for the disabled or the elderly. I like to book in advance so I know for sure the B&B is suitable for my friend and so the owners know how to accommodate us. (For the record, we don't expect all B&Bs to be accessible b/c we know many of them are operating on scarce resources, but it's nice when they are.)

Thank you very much for your input and knowledge, though. I think we're all here to learn from one another and to change perceptions.

We used to never book - just found B&B's when we were there. Then we changed to going to the Tourist Information office to have them find a place for us. Now we always book ahead on the internet. It works better for us - seems to save us time and we get the type of room we desire. Have not found that it locks us into being some place we don't want to. We know what our itinerary will be and are not rushed.

We spent three weeks in England in June 2010 and I booked all of our B&B's in advance. I used Rick's suggestions and cross-referenced them on Trip Advisor. Many of the most popular and conveniently located B&B's book up well in advance. We had a wonderful experience with every place we stayed and to avoid disappointment and wasting time finding a place to stay, I recommend advance reservations. We're going to Scotland for three weeks in May 2011 and I have already booked our B&B's for that trip. Several places were not available almost a year in advance.

You must remember.....when you say that a lot of the B&B's are booked up a year in advanced.....those are they ones listed in tour books and on the internet. There are thousands of B&B's that do not advertise and depend on their signs...so there are plenty of B&B's out there that are available. We have never "wasted" time looking for a room...never spent more then 15 minutes looking.