Heads up: This post is 20 years old. My thinking may have evolved since then — read it with that in mind.
My Great Britain trip, Helpful Suggestions on Google Groups Here’s the thread. Some helpful suggestions: craig_352 Pro User says:
I’ve used this site quite a few times:
It gives a wide range of places throughout the UK for a wide range of prices.
– In terms of calculating routes and distances, I find the AA route
planner at http://www.theaa.com/ gives reasonably accurate driving times for the UK outside London, so long as you bear in mind that these are best possible times and don’t include either any times for taking a break along the way, or delays due to traffic.
One other important point for the original poster: plan for short daylight hours in November: it will be dark just after 4pm in London when he is travelling and signficantly earlier in Scotland, which will limit the scope for sightseeing, and mean that he may be doing a lot of driving after dark#
For day trips to Windsor, Oxford or Cambridge, for example, don’t drive… it will take you hours to find your way in the Town Centre and then expect problems with parking (in Oxford, maximum 2 hours).
Have look at coach/bus services from London www.gobycoach.com or then go by train, usually more expensive www.thetrainline.com
– Why don’t you use one of the mapping programs to check out driving times and distances–like www.multimap.com. But you’re going to spend all your time in the car.#
Can anyone name some good discount car hire sites in the UK?
You could try http://www.holidayautos.co.uk/#
I was think of this: 11/19 Arrive, London (Ealing stay) 11/20 Drive A1 North to Leeds, York (York stay) 11/21 A59 west, stop at Harrogate, Clitheroe (small unknown Lancashire market town), Blackburn or Preston (for typical Lancashire towns) (Stay at outskirts of Liverpool or Manchester) 11/22 If weather permits, then drive West to Caernarfon Castle, then round south to drive by Snowdonia and come back East to meet M6. If not, then I can stay in Liverpool for a day. (Stay at same outskits of Liverpool.) 11/23 Manchester, then South to Cardiff. 11/24 Cardiff. (2nd night) 11/25 Bath, Stonehenge, Winchester (stay at Winchester) 11/26 Winchester, Oxford, London 11/27 Leave London in the morning.#
Unless you have very specific reasons for visiting Leeds I’d suggest heading straight up the A-1 to the A-64 turn off and then go East into York and avoiding the city That said the Royal Armouries in Leeds is well worth a visit http://www.royalarmouries.org/extsite/view.jsp?sectionId=2222 I’d suggest staying in Chester rather than Manchester/Liverpool. Its a much nicer small walled city with a good selection of restaurants and is small enough to walk around. (This isn’t the first comment about skipping Leeds :P What’s up with all the Brits dissing Leeds?)#
How about taking a train to York and hiring a car in York, when you have finished seeing York.
11/21 A59 west, stop at Harrogate,
Visit Ripon and Fountains Abbey.#
11/20 Drive A1 North to Leeds, York (York stay) 4 hours, why Leeds?
11/21 A59 west, stop at Harrogate,
I understand Harrogate is nice.
Clitheroe (small unknown Lancashire market town), Blackburn or Preston (for typical Lancashire towns) (Stay at outskirts of Liverpool or Manchester)
I don’t know Clitheroe, Blackburn or Preston other than as names. Are you interested in what real everyday England is like, as opposed to the interesting bits? (these places may be interesting, I’ve never been).
From school geography that’s the area of the old water powered wool industry, later other industry.
A tourist site says:- “Preston is on the River Ribble, and developed from a market town to a centre of the textiles industry then into an engineering centre, with large industrial plants. Its growth is reflected in its buildings, including Winckley Square with its large houses built on the profits of the Industrial Revolution. The Guildhall, its arts and events centre, is being restored. Preston North End, one of the oldest football clubs, now has the National Football Museum.”
I don’t know what you are looking for, is that it?
11/22 If weather permits, then drive West to Caernarfon Castle, then
Preston Caernarfon 3 hours max The castle is good, so is the one at Harlech
round south to drive by Snowdonia and come back East to meet M6. If not, then I can stay in Liverpool for a day. (Stay at same outskits of Liverpool.)
In November you should only get snow on the “tops” if at all, (hill summits), its after Christmas most snow falls, but you never know. I have visited Snowdnia in January for 20 years or so and have only known the low roads with snow on once. I’ve seen flooding though on several occasions.
Why not stay in Snowdonia rather than Liverpool suburbs?
I have never visited the Liverpool suburbs, wont it just be housing estates?
After checking the weather forecast you could drive through Snowdonia, Llanberis pass next to Snowdon IIRC (A4086 rather than A5) then to Betws y Coed and out. 3 hours
I would rather stay in the Pen y Gwydd half way up Snowdon than a Liverpool suburb. but that me, not you.
11/23 Manchester, then South to Cardiff. 11/24 Cardiff. (2nd night) 11/25 Bath, Stonehenge, Winchester (stay at Winchester)
I would stay in Bath rather than Cardiff. I would probably cut out Cardiff and have a bit of time around Bath, maybe the Cotswolds or the Wylie valley and meander to Winchester and Oxford on backgroads.
11/26 Winchester, Oxford, London 11/27 Leave London in the morning.
If it was me I would ditch half the big towns/cities and go for some smaller places in scenic areas, but that’s just me.#
Mike Reid Walk-eat-UK “http://www.fellwalk.co.uk” Walk-eat-Spain “http://www.fell-walker.co.uk” Photos of both “http://www.lawn-mower-man.co.uk”#
So you don’t intend to see anything of London? Lots to see there. Also lots to see in Bath and environs. I assume day 11/26 is dedicated to Oxford, otherwise again you’re doing too much that day. In general, cities, whether big or small, offer more sight-seeing options in off-season (rainy, dark, cold) weather. Marianne#
Like (the other) Martin I’d be inclined to go to Leeds and York by train and then pick up a car. Both have good train services to London and within both cities you don’t need a car. York in particular is best seen on foot. Why not see if you can arrange a one-way car rental to pick up in York on the morning of 21st and to drop off at Heathrow on your departure? A bonus is that you’ll be getting used to driving on the left outside London and (hopefully) once you’ve slept off your jet-lag. I’d second Keith W’s recommendation to stay in Chester rather than outskirts of Liverpool: easy access to Liverpool in one direction and North Wales in the other, plenty of accommodation, and a nice place to visit in its own right. Cardiff is a pleasant enough city but, given how tight your schedule is, seems an unlikely choice for a two-night stay. Bath or Bristol would have more to offer a visitor, or you could explore a rural area in south Wales such as the Brecon Beacons, or the Wye Valley right on the English/Welsh border Winchester is a lovely cathedral city, but so is Salisbury, which is very close to Stonehenge and for that reason alone would be a better choice for a stop. I still think it’s a lot of driving, though much less excessive than your original plan, and I still think that the dark evenings are going to be a bigger constraint on travelling outside cities than severe weather Martin