We just booked our hotels. Four nights in London, four nights in northern Wales, and five nights in Bath.

Seattle - Boston 29-Aug.
Boston - London (Heathrow) 2-Sep.
London (Euston) - Llandudno 6-Sep.
Llandudno - Bath Spa 10-Sep.
Bath Spa - London - Boston - Seattle 15-Sep.

Except for the stay in Wales, the rest of our travel in the UK (our second visit) will be by rail. We're so looking forward to this!

Does anyone have any recommendations for narrow-gauge railway trips in Northern Wales? I've heard there's a tram that goes near the top of Mt. Snowdon, and one that runs near Ffestiniog (however it's pronounced).

Kaydee, where in Chipping Campden are you staying? I am torn between Pear Tree Cottage, Hookes House and, in Moreton-in-Marsh, Red House.

Hi Elliott,

Glad to see you are going to stop in Llandudno. It is a delightful Victorian sea side townand a great base if you are interested in Railways.

Yes, there is a railway to the top of Snowden from Llanberis.
http://www.snowdonrailway.co.uk/
From experience this is likely to be very busy and there may be quite a wait for a train, especially if there are a lot of coach parties. Only consider it IF you are guarenteed fine weather and good visibility!

Unless you are desperate to do this, you may find time better spent on the Ffestiniog or Welsh Highland Railways.

The Ffestiniog Railway runs from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog. It is narrow gauge and if you are lucky you may be pulled by one of the unique double Fairlie engines. This is a fantastic experience - the sheer POWER of the loco working up the steep gradients with 12 coaches. . . .
http://www.ffestiniograilway.co.uk/index.asp
It is a superb ride through excellent scenery. It may be worth splashing out and asking for a seat in the Observation car. If you have time break journey at Tan y Bwlch and follow the nature trail through the trees down to the lake. There is a very good cafe on the station.

Also there is the Welsh Highland Railway.
http://www.welshhighlandrailway.net/index.asp
You may not of heard about this but it is a completely new railway which has been rebuilt over the last 10 years along a line that closed 70 years ago, by the Ffestiniog Railway company. It runs from Caernarvon through some incredible scenery through Rhyd Ddu (on the slopes of Snowdon) to Beddgelert. Later this summer it will reopen through the Pass of Aberglaslyn to Porthmadoc (not sure whether it will be open by the time you are there.)
I've not been on this railway but daughter says the scenery is even better than on the Ffestiniog - and that is high praise from her. As a student she spent all her summer holidays volunteering as a fireman on the steam locos on the Ffestiniog.

Do try and make time for a trip on one or both of these railways - you won't regret it.

From Llandudno Junction, you can get a train on the Conway Valley line to Blaenau Ffestiniog to pick up the Ffestiniog train.
http://www.conwy.gov.uk/cvr/
Timetable connections are good and they FR is geared up for passengers wanting to do this.

And finally don't forget the Great Orme Tramway
http://www.greatormetramway.co.uk/

I think that has more than filled up you 4 days in Wales. Enjoy it.

Eleanor

Eleanor,

Thank you very much for the recommendation and the information. We're psyched!

quote:

Kaydee, where in Chipping Campden are you staying? I am torn between Pear Tree Cottage, Hookes House and, in Moreton-in-Marsh, Red House.

Sharonov, we have booked Sansons Cottage through Campden Cottages for two weeks in the latter part of July. On our last trip to the Cotswolds we rented a cottage in Blockley for a week, a smaller village near Moreton-on-Marsh, and we did several day hikes from that village. We really wanted to stay in Chipping Campden this time. We came through there and spent the night during our Cotswolds Ring walk and there's good hiking there too.

You can buy little maps in the main villages of circular hikes out of that village. I've got a book of circular hikes in the Cotswolds as well.

When is your trip? It would be great if we could meet up for a walk. I think you have come up with a good plan.

Kathy

Thanks for your reply,Kathy. I've been eyeing Sanson's cottage and Pear Tree in Chipping Campden, and also Red House in Moreton-in-Marsh. Since we won't have a car I think we're leaning towards Pear Tree; if there were three of us, like your family, we'd probably go for one with two bathrooms, but we can do with one and Pear Tree looks really nice and is right in the center of town. We'd probably better book it quickly because it got really good reviews from Slowtrav folk.

We'd love to do a walk with you but unfortunately we won't be there until September! Since we're retired we have the luxury of traveling off season.

Thanks again, and I hope you make it up to Chicago sometime.

Joining this topic late but I'll chime in: I am. I'm going to do parts of Hadrian's Wall( 1 night in Newcastle and 2 in Hexham) and then 3 nights in London. I was going to spend 3 nights in Rome and 2 in Brussels after the UK but due to the economy and having to take 12 payless days before 6/30, I had to cancel that part of the trip. BOO HOO!

We just booked tickets to London for five days over Easter weekend. Despite living outside Rome for more than two years now, this will be our first trip to England. We're really looking forward to it and will be researching like crazy in the next few weeks!

I'm planning the UK for the month of September. I have 3 weeks' walking with HF Holidays planned: in the Cotswolds, Snowdonia in Wales, and Cornwall (St Ives). Then it's on to London for almost a week (and a side trip to Cambridge, to see Samuel Pepys's diaries at Magdalen College - I adore Pepys and have wanted to see his diaries for a long time!) Winding down, I'll travel north to York for a couple of days and then go to Edinburgh (Scotland) for 2 days. Flying back from Edinburgh. I'm starting to get excited already - have been to London many times but haven't traveled outside London much at all.
Linda

I wish I could interest people in northern England. Apart from one trip to Hadrian's Wall, you would not know that there is anything worth seeing north of the Cotswolds. I've no desire to knock places like Bath but to mind York is second only to London in places of interest in England, Durham has one of England's top cathedrals and there are five national parks.
Don't any of you from the USA like the idea of Washington Old Hall, where your first president's family were based? Northern England again!

Here is a bit of Washington History to help Davidx in his campaign for the North! but then there are also the Oxfordshire and Suffolk connections. It is wild and wonderful and steeped in history in the North, but perhaps it is something to do with the fact that it is generally colder and wetter up there, David? Also, as people have limited time for holidays, it is just simply further to go if they are flying in and out of London and they want to grab a bit of countryside within easier reach.

quote:

Originally posted by felicity:
It is wild and wonderful and steeped in history in the North, but perhaps it is something to do with the fact that it is generally colder and wetter up there, David? Also, as people have limited time for holidays, it is just simply further to go if they are flying in and out of London and they want to grab a bit of countryside within easier reach.

I'm firmly in David's camp. The eastern side of the North is fairly dry since it's in the rain shadow of the Pennines and the temperature difference isn't that much in what is a fairly small country. York is easily accessible by rail from London and should be second only to London as a destination. North Yorkshire is probably England's most beautiful county as well.

David, I share your frustration. I have the same type of issues when Europeans plan trips to North America and never consider that there may be something worth visiting outside the theme parks, big cities, or Vegas.

We've pretty much finished our planning for our month in Scotland this summer. Just checked into the ferries between the mainland and Orkney.

Hi,
Next week I will be in England for a week.I will be in Oxford ,Kennington Poplar Grove. This will be a slow travel and I would like to spend the whole week as a local as much as possible. I read a lot in Slowtravel about Colswolds. I will not have a car, but I would love to see some parts of it, may be 1-2 villages. Burford seems to be the closest to Oxford. Does making daily trips make sense? What would you suggest, to be as a local but still trying to explore the surroundings as much as possible ?
Thanks,

Hello Banu -Oxford is great centre from which to see the countryside around although I think you could happily spend all your time in Oxford.

However, daily trips outward are perfectly possible if well planned. There is a good bus service (Stagecoach – about every 40 mins) to Woodstock which is a great little town near Oxford and apart from the town itself, of course there is Blenheim Palace to explore (although that doesn’t really fulfill your criteria of living like a local!).

Burford is further, and not on the train line and as far as I know there is only this bus service service from Oxford and if you were to get the second one in the morning, you would have 6 hours plus there before your bus back. That might be too long? There are some good places to eat and loads of antique shops. If spending 6 hours there is too long, and you are a walker, you could venture the 7 mile hike through beautiful countryside to Minster Lovell and pick up your bus back from there although you might be a bit stuck if you missed it…..travelling by public transport in the British countryside, I have to say, is pretty hazardous if you mis-time.

There is also the train which takes you West on the Cotswold Line to Kingham, Charlbury, Moreton in Marsh. The latter has market day on Tuesdays and a lot of people travel from Oxford for this so I think the train times fit in quite well. This is mainly a food and clothes market and is not a place where you will pick up interesting and collectable items (the open market at Gloucester Green in Oxford is good for that), although Moreton itself has some nice shops and places to eat. There is a bus service from the station to Chipping Campden so you could fit that one in as well, perhaps.

Perhaps I've watched too much Inspector Morse, but surely what the locals do is hang out in pubs, especially those beside the river or the Oxford Canal. This website might help. For Morse pubs in Oxford see here.

We will be leaving for our first trip to England the end of May -

London 3 days
Bath 2 days
Strete (Dartmouth) in Southwest Devon 4 days - where my family originates from

Then take the ferry across the Channel for four days in Normandy for the 65th Observance of
D-Day - where my father fought in WWII (the big one)

This might be called the "Back to my roots - Bucket List trip" - may have to work on the title, but you get the drift

Bob & Anne

Greetings,
As of the wee hours of this morning, our group of 4 will be spending time in Dublin at either end of our Italian trip. Found fabulous rates flying Dallas (DFW) to Dublin and will get cheap tix on to Milan from there. So June 28-29 or -30, then July 9/10/11-13, we'll be looking for lodging in Dublin. Haven't been to Ireland in 19 years; then it was our belated honeymoon. This time, thee trip is a celebration of our 20th anniv.! We're bringing our daughter and a niece. Any tips for great, affordable lodging? Any RyanAir experiences to share?
Cheers to everyone!

Donna - are you familiar with our main Slow Travel website, with its hotel, restaurant and vacation rental reviews? Here are hotel reviews for Ireland, including many in Dublin. There is also this review of rental apartments that sounds very enticing.

As far as Ryan Air - a very popular topic on these boards. If you use the "find" feature at the top of the page and enter a keyword such as Ryan Air, you will find links to many previous posts that will answer your questions.

Well, here is an American headed to northern England for two weeks in July. I am taking a garden tour of the Lake District and Yorkshire. After that, I will be exploring York itself, along with a daytrip or two to the surrounding countryside.

I am very excited about this trip. I have been interested in Yorkshire since taking British history in college and, I must admit, admiring the landscape as shown in the TV show, All Creatures Great and Small.

It is somewhat more difficult to get to than other areas of Britain--perhaps that's why more Americans don't go.

Ginny58,

The typical American doesn't go to Yorkshire because it isn't on the "must see" list.... They don't know what they are missing. It is an amazing county and has the lot - scenery, coast, preserved railways, castles, minsters, cathedrals and churches.....you name it, it has it.

York itself is a beautiful medieval town with castle, minster and walls to walk round. There are so many narrow streets and old churches to explore. Don't miss the Shambles...

As you like history make time to visit Jorvik

Betty Tea rooms are the place to go for tea - but they are very popular and do get very busy. We like their "Yorkshire Fat Rascals"

The countryside is good to - the Yorkshire dales and North York Moors are nice days out.

Also just down the road is Beverley. This is a small market town which tourists don't know about. It has the most amazing Minster - arguably the best Gothic Minster in Europe. It isn't as big as York but chances are you will have the place to yourself. To whet your apetite look here and here for some pictures.

There is also another lovely old church at the other end of the town. See if you can find the carving of the rabbit which is supposed to be the inspiration for Lewis Carrol's white rabbit in 'Alice in Wonderland'.

Enjoy your holiday.

Eleanor

My husband and I will be traveling to Ireland from August 28 to September 4, 2009. Just booked our flights, haven't booked a hotel yet. We'd like to stay 3 nights in the countryside and 3 nights in Dublin so looking for recommendations for accommodations. Also places to eat, things to do etc. I love music and food if that helps.

We're debating where to go for a family trip in August, anywhere from 7-10 nights. Scotland and Ireland are serious contenders. Or we may just drive somewhere in the US...

Cairenn,

Where are you flying into and out - is it Dublin both ways? This will affect itinerary.

Apparently Doolin on the west coast is the in place for Americans at the moment for music and pubs, followed by Dingle.

Kinsale on the south coast , south of Cork, is the 'in place' for food for the Americans....

Eleanor

I'm leaving for the UK on June 7th. I will be spending the first 4 days in the Cotswolds, then travel to London for a week. I have been to London 4 times since 2001 but have never spent time outside of the city. I plan on taking the train to Moreton-in-Marsh where I will be staying at the Warwick House B&B (any comments about the Warwick House?). I won't have a car and plan on using the local busses to visit Chipping Campden and Hidcote Manor Gardens. Another day I will head to Stow-on-the-Wold and probably Bourton on the Water. I have done quite a bit of research on local bus travel but would certainly appreciate any comments from you experts!

CindyGene - welcome to Slow Travel! It sounds like you have a great trip planned - the Cotswalds are lovely, and you have picked out a few of my favorite villages.

I can't offer any words of wisdom about public transportation in the Cotswalds, but in a recent thread about train costs, Kaydee talks about using taxis..

Enjoy your trip, and when you return, it would be great if you could write up a trip report..

TourMama

Well, my trip is already planned and about near here and gone.

May 26-June 1: Edinburgh
June 1-June 8: near Oban/Loch Awe in Argyll

WE are going to the UK in 2009. This will be our 17th trip to the UK. We fly from memphis, TN May 31 to Manchester and pick up a car at the airport. Then we drive to Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District for a few days. Some old friends own and operate a country house hotel there.

From Bowness we drive down to the Cotswolds for a couple of days before we pick up our narrowboats (2 of them) at the Marina at Stoke Prior. We are 3 couples and the wife of one friend who does not like to travel. The plan is to do the "Avon Ring" in a couple of weeks stopping to see sights and as many pubs as possible. The max speed on our boats is 3 or 4 MPH. Is that SLOW enough? BBC TV has invited us to take part in a special shoot, about which we know very little but will report when we come home.

At end of our boat trip we plan to spend a little time in the Peak District, then back to Manchester in late June to catch the plane home.

quote:

Originally posted by sarahnwalker:
Well, my trip is already planned and about near here and gone.

May 26-June 1: Edinburgh
June 1-June 8: near Oban/Loch Awe in Argyll

Love Scotland. Hope you can get to Fort William. If you do, you must not miss the little seafood restaurant on the pier.


Happy Travels.

Ooh, Daniel, thanks for the tip. We will be trying to get up to Fort William one day. Will this seafood restaurant be obvious? Or is there a name or identifier?

We have changed our mind and it's final: we are going to Wales at the end of August. Let's hope it's not too rainy. It's the only time we can actually leave for 10 days in between check-ins and check-outs! I can't wait!

Whereabouts in Wales are you heading for? Some really lovely parts... We're recently returned from a nice few days around St Davids: spectacular scenery on the coast path there. And we're having a short break in early Aug at Aberaeron, a bit further up the coast (never been there).

No chance of a GTG in late Aug, though We'll be in Puglia (rather less green and mountainous than Wales, but the wine is better...).

Jonathan

I am off to Duchally Estates on the 18th of this Month until the 26th. Can anyone recommend restaurants in the area, there are none listed in the restaurant review section. Also any hidden gems I should either visit or walk. Duchally is located in Perthshire

I want to join this thread sooooo badly!!! We've posted our house on Home Exchange.com and thought we had an exchange set up for July but it fell thru. I've also looked on sites offering sabbatical apartments for rent, but most of them want a minimum of 4 weeks which we just can't afford!

I'd love to have 2 full weeks in London which would give us time for a few day trips (Bath and Warwick Castle). I'm still hopeful that something will just pop up at the last minute and we'll be able to hop on Ryan Air and fly from Perugia.

To the rest of you, enjoy - I'm so jealous!

I am off to England for 3 weeks in September, with a sidetrip to Cardiff. I'm staying in York first, then off to Hadrian's Wall country for a week. After that, down to London, with time in both Dover and Stratford.

I am really looking forward to it - going to some new places, and revisiting some old favorites. I fell in love with the North East coast last time I went, and a day trip to York put it at the top of my list for a return visit.

Now I'm getting in shape for all that walking!

We are flying on the 24th from Vancouver to arrive in Glasgow the 25th of June. We leave tomorrow for Vancouver! The itinerary includes Edinburgh and Glasgow,(both cities are where my fiance's brothers live) and Gretna Green (where my future mother in law lives) and the Lake District for four weeks. Oh yes and we are also going to make a detour for a week to Santorini. We are also taking our kids with us but not to Santorini lol.

Sandy

The "Three Amigos" are off to London for a week in October to visit my niece, her second semester in London! (What a life, I wish I was a "kid" again!) Anyway, we'd like to do a day trip out of the city either to Wales or northern England. Any suggestions? All of your plans sound great, but we'd like to base in London and day trip out of the city.

We're finally booked for our October return to London, arriving 17 October and departing 2 November. It will be so good to get back!

quote:

I wish I could interest people in northern England. Apart from one trip to Hadrian's Wall, you would not know that there is anything worth seeing north of the Cotswolds. I've no desire to knock places like Bath but to mind York is second only to London in places of interest in England, Durham has one of England's top cathedrals and there are five national parks.

Davidx I am interested! I am taking my mother to Scotland but I am bringing her to York and environs before we fly home to Australia. I felt she had to see Yorkshire and some of that area.

Yippee! I'm back to slowtrav after a pop-up camper induced hiatus--we bought a camper last September to take trips here in the US since the economy was so yucky, and after some wonderful camping trips(a different kind of slow travel), we decided we really want to go back to Europe. So, yesterday we sold the camper and plan on going to London for Christmas! All this time I avoided slowtrav because I couldn't bear to hear about everyone's trips abroad, but now we're back to planning! This next trip will be just me and the hubby as the kids want to stay at Grandma's in Florida--fine by me! Now we can linger in museums, walk to our hearts' content, and go on guided tours of more than an hour.
I'm also getting in the mood by reading a book one of my mom's friends gave me: My Love Affair with England by Sue Ellen Toth. Everything she says seems like I could have written it (well, if I had been to as many places as she had...once I go to all those places, I'm sure I'll feel the same way!). Now to the planning...where to stay in London?

Glad for your good news--sounds great.

We had stayed in the center and I would recommend Hoıliday Inn MayFair

http://www.slowtrav.com/uk/hot...on+Mayfair&s=Mayfair

I goofed on the author of My Love Affair with England. It's Susan Allen Toth, not Sue Ellen. I was close, though!

Too bad that member Tara F sold her camper, I would have encouraged her (and everyone else) to come do Europe in an RV. This is our 3rd summer in Papillon the motorhome as we really would not consider any other type of travel. Six months at a time. Sites are more frequent and closer to town than any sites in the US.

Hardly ever need a reservation and room service is always top notch.

come join the fun.

I've been in Wales for a week and the weather is miserable and I think I stick to holidays on the med next summer and beyond.
The scenery in parts of Wales is very beautiful but with the weather here I am not sure if it is worth travelling for.

We will be London from October 15 for a week, and then off to Paris via the Eurostar. We've booked a hotel in Bayswater, but we're thinking of maybe another location.

quote:

Originally posted by TominVB:
Too bad that member Tara F sold her camper, I would have encouraged her (and everyone else) to come do Europe in an RV. This is our 3rd summer in Papillon the motorhome as we really would not consider any other type of travel. Six months at a time. Sites are more frequent and closer to town than any sites in the US.

Hardly ever need a reservation and room service is always top notch.

come join the fun.

Ha! I love it! I looked at your website, and you are definitely seeing Europe in grand style! Hats off to you both, as you are engaged in such a truly down to earth way to see the world. We went to places we never would have had we not had the camper, and I just cancelled a Christmas camping reservation in St. Augustine and at the Disney campground with a twinge of sadness. I don't think the pop-up would fit under my seat getting over to England, though, so I think your way of buying one there is much smarter! My husband just read an article about caravaning in Europe, and he said we could still do it, but I think I want to keep to inns and apartments for awhile--we boondocked in the rain in Acadia on our last trip, and I have to say that electricity and water that you aren't worried about running out of are nice things to have! Enjoy your travels--I'm so impressed with all the places you've ventured to!

TaraF: The "Three Amigos" will be in London in October. I found a nice flat in London through www.vrbo.com. I found the rates reasonable compared to hotels, easy access to the bus and tube and in a nice area. We're off to Portsmouth to check out the Royal Navy museum as one day trip out of the city. Have a nice trip!

Message for Paul Velvet:

Don't give up on Wales for holidays. This summer has been terrible.... August is traditionally one of the wetter months and this year has been even wetter than usual, and has followed a wet July. Mountains always attract the rain.

Where abouts were you based?

To try and miss the rain you need to travel west as far as you can to the tip of the Lleyn Peninsula (north Wales) or St David's Head (South Wales). It can be raining around the mountains but often the sun will be shining here.

Next time try coming from late April to mid June or September. The weather is often drier then.

Eleanor

Eleanor,

You said

quote:

"Next time try coming from late April to mid June or September. The weather is often drier then."

That's excellent news. My wife and I will be in Northern Wales (Llandudno and vicinity) Sept 6-10. We are really looking forward to it!

Even if it does rain, we're from the rainy Pacific Northwest in the US, so we don't mind it. We're used to it.