Vacation Plans -- United Kingdom

Pifka === Scotland is a good idea. Great cities and a wide variety of scenery and considering you have limited time, you should plan carefully as you obviously realise.

Flying into Scotland, spend 3 days there. Lake District isn't that far south of Scot/English border and as Gautam & Walter have said, it's a lovely part of the country.

The New Forest took a hammering in 1987/8 from an unusualy, very large storm and many of the trees suffered. Not quite up to USA tornado strength but............................

If you drove from the LakeDistrict down to the West Country -------M6 & M5 motorways --- that's from Kendal down to Bristol and about 250 miles. Easily done in a day, though lots of trucks about.

http://www.theaa.com/index.html You can road/route maps and directions here.

You could fly from Edinburg or Glasgow down to Bristol and pick up a rental car there.

Want any more help, just holler

Walter -- Saffron Walden? That's where MrP's father was stationed during wwii. Mr. P wanted to go to there last time to see what it was like. When you go (mid-August, you said?) please tell me about S.W.

Good Grief, OAK! Wonderful, that's just the kind of info I need. The Lakes District is close to Scotland? I am sorry to admit I had no idea. Obviously should be looking at a good map. Mr. P also said he didn't want to stay five days in the same place. Three days may be about right for this trip. Not worried about weather, but a lot of rain would be a bother.

Could you give me an idea of relative times to get from one place to another? I'd love to take trains & forego driving, which is, frankly, a strain, but don't want to waste a lot of time in stations, unless they're good ones. (Especially don't want to drive if it's going to rain.)

There's a station at Plockton -- thinking of heading there. Also I wondered about the ferry from Mallaig or Oban. Islay malts are what Mr. Piffka loves. The Isle of Skye's southeast side... we missed & regretted it. Same with Edinburgh -- too bad they're on opposite sides of the island! Aberdeen was either v. boring or we weren't in the right places -- same with Inverness. Would like to see Edinburgh downtown and the national museum. We were also supposed to stay in the big castle on Aran last time, but because of 9.11 we had to cancel.

See, I'm still aimed at Scotland!

Piffka

Literally the first eight days of August we are in England.

This site might be some help, too:
Welcome to Britain

Plockton is a very small place. But nice. I got to know it first in the 1950's when the world was a much different place.
I hope you have a great time up there.
In good weather, it's hard to beat for scenery, and in bad weather, I hear that they sell a selection of intoxicating liquors in the public houses.

Och aye lassie, Bonnie Scotland. I'm half Scots so you can spend your holiday twixt the heather and the sassanachs.

Trains. Now thiis little number will tell you all about trains. Where, when, why and how. Tickets, times and everything. http://www.thetrainline.com/

Don't forget the fare tarrif is complex. Example,,,,, I was going by train, R/T ticket from Londoon to Lancaster, which is at the southern end of the Lake District. A full no holds barred 1st class r/t ticket was about £100 = $160, BUT, you can get a Super Saver r/t ticket for about £50 - $80. A few time restrictions, but not serious. Check out your prices and don't get ripped off.

Next question ?????????????

Ah, Piffka, now I know why you wanted to know where I stayed when I was in London last month!

Since you asked about what play to see in London, you might want to check out some of the London theatre websites that are listed at

A2K Performing Arts Forum "Helpful Links"

If I were going back to London in the fall (and don't think I'm not tempted to do so), the play I'd be most interested in seeing is Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance. The cast includes Rupert Graves, Prunella Scales (best known to Americans as Basil Fawlty's wife in Fawlty Towers), and an up-and-coming young actress named Rachael Stirling, who happens to be Diana Rigg's daughter.

Oh, sorry, Walter... I could have checked to see what you'd written earlier! Hope it is a fabulous time in Essex. (Y'know there was a joke about all the sex-es near London... can't quite remember it.)

Thanks to Walter's link, I decided to just get the tickets and quit babbling. We arrive in London on September 19th-Friday noon, and leave on Monday-29th, 14:35. The flight to Edinburgh didn't work out. We'll have to travel up and back on our own. Now how... that's the question. I'm thinking the sleeper coach? The going up and coming back could be through the Lake District, maybe. Still need a map.

McTag -- We were staying on Loch Alsh. I love that scenery.

A Sassanach? Heard about them but I've never known what they were so I checked my Oxford Colour Dictionary. You're baaaaaaad.

Those train schedules are so confusing. You have to have a clear map and a clear head. I'm going to look at first class BritRail passes, too, and see if that would be a good deal. Some of them include car rentals. (I'm also part-Scot.)

Whoopie!

Bree! Yes. <silly grin> That's why! Thanks for the link and the recommendation. We saw the Phantom of the Opera last time -- great fun. I'll need to go back to Poetry to find the hotel you mentioned.

Piffka, London to Edinburgh by coach is going to be a pain !! It's much better if you can fly down. EasyJet does very good fares - and if you book well in advance they are even cheaper. I have known people to fly for $20 one way.

Easyjet

For the lakes, I suggest that either you drive down - or hire a car while you are out there. Public transport at best i svery sporadic, and car is the best way to go around.

By coach do you mean a bus? Not planning on those except from Kyle of Lochalsh to Armadale. I was thinking we'd get first class BritRail passes for the week and reserve cabins on the sleeper train, either going up to Edinburgh or coming back, possibly from Ft. William. I made reservations in London for the first 2 nights but Mr.P wants me to change them so we go to Edinburgh right away.

We could either get to Edinburgh by train or else we'd have to fool around getting from Heathrow to Luton, I think. Haven't checked EasyJet lately but we flew with them last time and they were flying out of Luton. They are cheap and not too bad, though I do have one horror story. I didn't want to be caught waiting in the airport security lines we have here.

Do you have long security lines in the UK? It takes two hours or more to board anything in the US. grrrrrrrr

The Low Woods Hotel looks wonderful. We could get there by train on our way back. Wish it had triple rooms... our 19 yr. old son will be traveling with us in Scotland. It's been a hassle finding rooms that have two bedrooms or at least three beds.

hi Piffka - i go along with those who say the west country.


CORNWALL - miles and miles of cliff top walks over beautiful little coves or wide sweeping bays and the Atlantic pounding in.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, The Eden Project (both on the net I'm sure), loads of art galleries around St Ives and St Just and Falmouth. The north coast is wild and rugged. The south coast is softer, the trees go down to the water in 'drowned valleys' that form twisting creeks. Plymouth is a nice city and in easyish reach - spectacular harbour and old bit round the Barbican, old 30's swimming pool near the Hoe, Plymouth Hoe ... Nearby is Dartmoor with wild ponies.


I'd recommend half the week in Plymouth, exploring Plymouth and Dartmoor and then move on down to Cornwall for the second half of the week.

St Ives (fantastic setting, incredible light, loads of galleries and the Tate), Bedruthan Steps, Polperro, Charlestown with its tall ships, Mevagissey - beautiful little fishing harbour, The Eden Project - too complex to explain - see the net, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, King Harry's Reach - an old chain ferry across a wooded deep creek where they lay up huge ships and they sit there rusting gently, there are beautiful walks by the water, through the trees .....

Thanks, Vivien... I believe you! The WestCountry website is fabulous, that attractions list is amazing. There is so much to see! I'd love to go to all the gardens & especially the national arboretum. I did read about the Eden Project a while back, it is very interesting.

here's their website: http://www.edenproject.com/

We visited a bit of the West when we were working on a boat in Lymington and went back to see the three "S's - Salisbury, Sarum & Stonehenge, two years ago. I could live there, I really could, and I'm frustrated that we have so little time.

My guys are now saying they want to "circumnavigate" Scotland by train with stops to visit the Orkneys & Skye by ferry. They're talking about the Scapa Flow and had to find it on the huge map of Scotland lying across our dining table. Worst of all, Mr.P is bringing up Culloden again. [size=8]I'm not eager to visit a battlefield.[/size]

Piffka - strongly suggest that you rent a car and drive around scotland. Some of the most beautiful places are remote and only accessible by car.

Where the heck is Thinkzinc? This is her territory.

(lurking)

ehBeth

You don't trust us men a lot, it seems

Guatam -- I know, love those single-tracks, but the trains are so novel to us, plus we can drink & not worry about driving, navigating, having the car break down or need fuel. We will likely rent for a day or two in different spots -- possibly Ayrshire and drive down to the Lakes, but we'd want to do a drop-off. Here's a list of places we were looking at... if only I had another week!

Th - Leave home
F-S Edinburgh* -- 2 nights
S- Wick & the Orkneys*
M - Plockton - Kyle of Lochalsh - Armadale* - Mallaig
T- Fort William -- Glasgow -- Ayrshire*
W -Lakes District
Th,F,S,S London -- 4 nights (possibly 1 of these in the SW)
M - Leave UK

Well, I only would like that by car (you can't stop the train where you want to, don't you?), and still needed for that a couple of more days. :wink:

But it sounds great

Olk already gave a train link - here's another one

UK Railways On The Net


And this link

British Bookmarks can perhaps give some additional help as well.

Mallaig and the coast up there is beautiful and the light is fantastic. The west coast does get a lot of rain though - and midges.

Going up to Edinburgh, take the east coast line on the train as when you get to the north of England it follows the coast a lot and goes through some beautiful scenery. The west line to Edinburgh is notorios for cancellations etc

listening