Going to the UK for the summer. . . what to see?

Hey all, with my new found freedom (retirement) the lovely Mrs_B is coming up with all sorts of ways to spend Melen's college fund, plus our retirement money long before we die. She is working on a couple month trip to the British Isles.

We will probably travel with some friends, at least for 2 to 3 weeks. I doubt I will go for the whole time, maybe just 3 to 4 weeks and let them stay for the remainder of the summer, but I have a question or two for those of you who live there, or have been there.
We love historic stuff, it is easy for us to pass up amusement parks and tourist traps. Not sure if we will make it to Ireland, but the plans are to bounce around England and Scotland (there are ruins of her family castle in Scotland). Might make it to Wales. I know nothing about the plans and not much about England; I learned long ago that my best bet is to tag along for the ride and let the lovely Mrs_B plan the trip.

What to see?

Bunch of rusting Slow Tracs and no snow.

How far north into Scotland will you be going?

Which castle would be from the lovely Mrs_B's family?

If you make it up towards Inverness, the Brodie castle is worth a look.
http://www.castles.org/Chatelaine/BRODIE.HTM

One piece of history about the place (but don't mention it if you're there on a tour) is that one of the 18th century Brodie's (Deacon William Brodie) was the person that give Robert Lewis Stevenson the inspiration to write Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde.

Hume Castle (also called Home Castle). I've seen photos, it is just ruins now. But she can trace her ancestry to that castle.

As far as how far north? Honestly I am not involved in any of the planning. She and her friend are doing the planning. Me and the other husband are just supposed to show up with our credit cards to provide 'support services' like carrying shopping bags out to the car.

England:
London- all of it. It seems big yet it's very small if you want to see the more interesting places.

Stonehenge- a must! but if you haven't already been there, it's disappointing because it's become a tourist trap.
When I went there, I expected it to see some remote, desolate place with people walking around looking at the stones.
Not the case. It costs a few bob to get in, then there is the museum now erected on the grounds.

Scotland- most definitely Edinburgh (Princes Street!)
The castle is amazing.

I think you'd really like Wales.
Particularly Swansea. I liked Wales when I visited there as a UK resident.
Much easier to drive and the Welsh accent is almost American sounding to me, they barely have an accent unless they speak proper Welsh.
Same as in the south of England, especially around the Sheffield area.
I always found them to have mild accents much like us here in the states.

bczoom said:

How far north into Scotland will you be going?

Which castle would be from the lovely Mrs_B's family?

If you make it up towards Inverness, the Brodie castle is worth a look.
http://www.castles.org/Chatelaine/BRODIE.HTM

One piece of history about the place (but don't mention it if you're there on a tour) is that one of the 18th century Brodie's (Deacon William Brodie) was the person that give Robert Lewis Stevenson the inspiration to write Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde.

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Scotland??!!
Just don't try to camp way up around John o' Groats.. RAIN RAIN and more RAIN

You could easily spend 2 or 3 weeks in London alone. There is so much to see. You will find the place pretty crowded though, especially Central London. All the historic stuff is worth seeing, Tower of London, Buck House, etc. Also, if you love the theater, there's plenty of choice. Probably the best way to get introduced to the City is to take a bus tour. The expensive ones are from Harrods but the City of London runs one that is fairly reasonable and informative.

Gardens - Hyde Park is nice especially on Sunday mornings at Speaker's Corner (can be fun) or the botanical stuff at Kew Gardens. Outside of London, there are plenty. It just depends on which route Mrs Bob takes you.

If you like castles and such, there are literally dozens open to the public. Again, it just depends on the direction you are heading.

When you cross the border into God's Country, you definitely need to go to Edinburgh. Princess Street Gardens are a restful place in the middle of the city and close to the castle. Lots of alleys to explore and great pubs to find.

From there, it depends on the time of year. During the summer there are always Highland Games going on somewhere that are worth a visit. The highlands and west coast are pretty but, again, it depends on the weather. If you are interested in Scottish history, you have to go to Glen Coe and up to the Culloden Battlefield by Inverness. Both are sad places if you're Scottish. It's a beautiful place and the people are friendly. You'll have a great time.

Bob, I would love the opportunity to meet, if you visit Hampshire (recommended) let me know.

I recommend that one day you hire a car and take to the country lanes, make sure you've got a good map though. You'll come across a small village somewhere which will have a great pub for lunch.
The further out of town you go, the nicer it gets.

If you are planning on going to the coast avoid the south coast, there are much better cleaner beaches to be found elsewhere.

I cant think of any particular places that are great for just mucking about on canoes, but you'll probably find more up north, the lake district sounds like a good bet. (BTW, up north to me is anywhere further north than London)

Jim, I'd love to get together with you one day. My plans are to fly into London on Sunday July 6 and fly out Friday Aug 1. What happens in between those two dates is totally uncertain at this point, but I will be in the UK about 4 weeks. Now that the lovely Mrs_B has the dates when I will be there, she is going to go about making plans for some sort of a circuit around the island. I believe she decided to eliminate Ireland from this trip so it will only include England, Wales and Scotland. There is a possible side trip to the north of France for a day or two, our parish priest will be in France and we may try to meet up for a day or two if his schedule permits???

Well Bob, let me know when and where.

I live right near where Jane Austen and Gilbert White lived, museums at both locations. Might be of interest to Mrs_B, good excuse.....

B_Skurka said:

Honestly I am not involved in any of the planning. She and her friend are doing the planning. Me and the other husband are just supposed to show up with our credit cards to provide 'support services' like carrying shopping bags out to the car.

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Maybe I'm taking you too literally, but if you are not involved in the planning, why are you asking people's advice as to where to go?

"Uh, honey, uh, the guys on FF suggested we go to such-and-such a place."
"NO! Now give me your credit card!"
Bone

Mith said:

Well Bob, let me know when and where.

I live right near where Jane Austen and Gilbert White lived, museums at both locations. Might be of interest to Mrs_B, good excuse.....

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Hell, I would be there just to ride your famous tractors!
Bone

BoneheadNW said:

"Uh, honey, uh, the guys on FF suggested we go to such-and-such a place."
"NO! Now give me your credit card!"

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That is pretty much what happened today!

Definitely no snow, but snowtrac is not rusting in Wales. DO find an excuse for the lovely Mrs. B to visit Wales. You are very welcome to stay with me - working farms etc, sheep (lots) castles, sea, mountains etc., etc., loads to see and do in this area. Canoeing also in sea and rivers and 'boys toys' to play with - do you fancy driving a Scammell?

Hey, I've got an idea. You could see some British people!
I remember coming home from England and Scotland and being keenly aware of how much "less polite" we are compared to the British. Of course, one can only handle so much politeness before they go "Don Rickles" on someone.
Bonehead

My wife and I spent two weeks there for our honeymoon. We flew into Heathrow, rented a car (Fiat Uno - POS!) and away we went. We met some really nice people, put some serious miles on the car, stayed at several B&Bs and had a blast. We stumbled upon a pub called The Terisha Inn (sp?) just south of the M4 and just east of Wales. The people there were so nice and the food and drink so wonderful, we stayed there two days.

We went back another time and purchased Euro-rail passes and rode the train all around. I think we had more fun in the car. We were able to get to many places that were not typical tourist areas. We also took the hovercraft over to France. That was a mistake. The French were every bit as rude to us as you would think. My wife dragged me out of there before I killed some little rude Frenchman. The hovercraft was cool though!

Bob any update to plans?

I thought this might interest you, I stumbled on it surfing. Sitting in on pommy parliament would be entertaining, Poms have a great sense of humour and non better than their parliamentarians from what I have heard. http://www.parliament.uk/about/visiting/tour.cfm

No real update. The lovely Mrs_B has booked the airline tickets but there are no other definite plans on where we will go, where we will stay, etc.

One thing that I am wondering about is buying a new compact GPS system. I'd like a GPS that can load both UK and USA maps, give turn by turn directions. I'm not sure if the units that come preloaded with USA maps can accept UK maps, or visa-versa. Anyone know about these things?

Bob I don't know about the USA but I do know that a friend bought a GPS while in the UK and it was useless back here in OZ.

I think I mentioned this somewhere else, I got a great deal from this crowd regarding a hire car might pay to check them out. http://www.novacarhire.com/