Vacation in Britain

**Pleater** · 13th December 10, 04:05 PM

London in July - not my idea of fun.

You could just get on a train and go to Portsmouth - there is the castle and the walls and forts - both on the sea front and further inland. There is the dockyard and the Victory and other tourist attractions - Dickens' house for instance.

From there you could visit Winchester, Beaulieu and the New Forest if you hired a car for a couple of days.

Fly from Southampton airport to Edinburgh maybe, then spend a few days traveling around in Scotland. If it fits your timetable there are sleeper berths on trains to London for the return trip.

Five days is really not enough time.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

**Drac** · 14th December 10, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by Pleater

London in July - not my idea of fun.

Too cold?

Jim

**Richard** · 14th December 10, 07:50 AM

London in July - not my idea of fun

Coming to the UK at anytime is not my idea of fun and I live here !!!

**MacBean** · 14th December 10, 08:52 AM

Five days is too little, and the airfare you list is too much. Get a cheaper flight, perhaps at a different time, and stay longer. You'll regret doing the fast, racing tour, that so many Americans seem prone to doing.

England has so many lovely spots, but one close to London, within reach of the airport, is the Cottswolds. I'm partial to fishing villages from Cornwall to Kerry, to Donegal, to the western highlands, and all around. It really depends what you like to do. We like to walk the public right-of-way paths, and Stately Homes bore me. For you it may be the opposite. Give us some clues!

**Drac** · 14th December 10, 09:15 AM

Originally Posted by MacBean

Five days is too little, and the airfare you list is too much. Get a cheaper flight, perhaps at a different time, and stay longer. You'll regret doing the fast, racing tour, that so many Americans seem prone to doing.

Unfortunately we can only spare 1 week of vacation and counting on a loss of 2 days on each side for travel (not guaranteed but to play it safe) it only leaves us with 5 full days. Amy only gets 2 weeks a year and I get 3. With a familial obligatory week for us both and 1 week for military duty for me it is all we will get for years to come.

$400ish + taxes/fees US each person/each way is pretty much the cheapest from DFW to Heathrow. Both non-stop and with connecting. I used the search engines to get rough ideas and fine tuned it on the airline sites.

Jim

**ThistleDown** · 14th December 10, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by Drac

Unfortunately we can only spare 1 week of vacation and counting on a loss of 2 days on each side for travel (not guaranteed but to play it safe) it only leaves us with 5 full days. Amy only gets 2 weeks a year and I get 3. With a familial obligatory week for us both and 1 week for military duty for me it is all we will get for years to come.

$400ish + taxes/fees US each person/each way is pretty much the cheapest from DFW to Heathrow. Both non-stop and with connecting. I used the search engines to get rough ideas and fine tuned it on the airline sites.

Jim

You used US11K as a saving in an earlier post, Drac. Probably USD800 each isn't too far out of line. What's wrong is your attempt to see the entire island in 120 hours. It can't be done with even the most limited satisfaction. Choose: London anytime except the summer months, Argyll and Inverness anytime except the deepest of winter months. Go to one (Scotland) or the other (England) this trip, but definitely not both. If you choose London you will spend not a minute less than 72 hours there and, given that you must sleep for at least a few of those, you will feel cheated. Take in a bit of the southern part of the country and that's the extent of your holiday.

Alternatively, if you land in Glasgow and head for Inverary over 48 hours, on to Inverness over the next 48 and back to Glasgow through Stirling in the last 24 you will have done little except drive in a hurry between centres of population. Not worth it for the money if that's all the time you can afford.

So, go to London for five days, or go to Glasgow and on to Edinburgh for five days. May, June or September.

**Drac** · 14th December 10, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by ThistleDown

You used US11K as a saving in an earlier post, Drac. Probably USD800 each isn't too far out of line. What's wrong is your attempt to see the entire island in 120 hours. It can't be done with even the most limited satisfaction. Choose: London anytime except the summer months, Argyll and Inverness anytime except the deepest of winter months. Go to one (Scotland) or the other (England) this trip, but definitely not both. If you choose London you will spend not a minute less than 72 hours there and, given that you must sleep for at least a few of those, you will feel cheated. Take in a bit of the southern part of the country and that's the extent of your holiday.

Alternatively, if you land in Glasgow and head for Inverary over 48 hours, on to Inverness over the next 48 and back to Glasgow through Stirling in the last 24 you will have done little except drive in a hurry between centres of population. Not worth it for the money if that's all the time you can afford.

So, go to London for five days, or go to Glasgow and on to Edinburgh for five days. May, June or September.

I corrected it. Meant $1100US in savings. April or May save about $800US. We have changed our thoughts toward only one or the other. I think in the way of a Texan to often about traveling.

Probably be London due to my wife's passion. When you spend 6 years of your school life studying Elizabeth I and another 20 researching on your own it becomes an inportant thing.

I'm sure we will find some areas of interest for me. If nothing else there is Stonehedge, the Temple of Mithras and some fish & chips. Should keep me happy.

Jim

**ThistleDown** · 14th December 10, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Drac

I corrected it. Meant $1100US in savings. April or May save about $800US. We have changed our thoughts toward only one or the other. I think in the way of a Texan to often about traveling.

Probably be London due to my wife's passion. When you spend 6 years of your school life studying Elizabeth I and another 20 researching on your own it becomes an inportant thing.

I'm sure we will find some areas of interest for me. If nothing else there is Stonehedge, the Temple of Mithras and some fish & chips. Should keep me happy.

Jim

I wonder what that is all about? In Britain we tend to work to live, but in America you seem to live to work. Then, because you have so little off-time to devote to a holiday you rush madly from pillar to post.

May is good and you will find much of interest to you in London without needing even to hire a car and drive across country to Salisbury and Stonehenge. Drop in on The Tower and contemplate the number of Scots done away with there -- that's worth a day in itself

**seanachie** · 14th December 10, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by ThistleDown

Argyll and Inverness anytime except the deepest of winter months. .

After this note I hope I get lucky, I will be in Inverness 19 January. I have a ticket on the Caledonian Express to return to London and I hope the service is running.

**ThistleDown** · 14th December 10, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by seanachie

After this note I hope I get lucky, I will be in Inverness 19 January. I have a ticket on the Caledonian Express to return to London and I hope the service is running.

Yes, I recall the thread about your trip. I, too, hope you get lucky. Right now the temp is just up from freezing and snow is in the forecast for the next few days. The last half of last January was not too pleasant and if we get a repeat this year you will definitely want to give a pass to a battlefield saunter.