Hey, Jerry, Angie,
what's the best time for me to bring my family to England? We have some fellow expat friends there that want us to come visit for a few days.
...and if you only were going to spend 1 week there in your life, what would the must sees be?
They live near...er we'll be staying near Brighton?
Jon
Needing tips for visiting England...
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Re: Needing tips for visiting England...
Scotland.JonBarton wrote:...and if you only were going to spend 1 week there in your life, what would the must sees be?
"This Basil. This Basil's wife. This smack on head."
-- Basil Fawlty
-- Basil Fawlty
Hi Jon -
1 week, huh? No jet lag allowed!
I am not familiar with the Brighton area except that it appears to be a "hip" place, but I bet Jerry could help out with that area.
There are loads of cool castles ot visit in S/SE England....castle ruins are our faves to explore.....Dover Castle was our favorite, but it is not a ruin....secret wartime tunnel tour was amazing there. Kyle loved it and he was 7 at the time. There are so many castles, so if you just get in a car and drive east toward Dover you could hit about 5 castles. Maps will have castles indicated on them.
In London, I would recommend the open top double-decker bus tours for 1 day - can get boring for kids, but there is one that does a kid-friendly version with a pre-recorded (headset) tour in a ghost voice telling the kids all the creepy, scary (COOL) things about London. I think it is the Original London Bus Tour/Company or something like that....not the Big Red Bus, but maybe they do it now too. It is a hop on/off sort of thing and you could literally do it all day and still not hit the entire tour. Nice to use it as your transport for the day instead of subway and taxis. Kids love Tower of London (set aside 3 hrs for that)....skip London Dungeon (it would be very scary for kids even though they allow kids and it is expensive for the cheap, dated displays inside). Gotta visit Trafalgar Sq. Any West End productions you can see in USA and since you only have 1 week I would skip shows. Definitely go see Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (check the website for times). Westminster Abbey of course. Natural History Museum is fantastic (the Dino part).....again, you can see the museums in the USA.
You are probably flying into Gatwick, but if it is Heathrow Windsor Castle is nearby and you can coordinate that with flying in or out. The Queen still uses it as a part-time residence.
Well, have fun! When are you going? I am sure Jerry can give you some good tips....he is more English that I am.
1 week, huh? No jet lag allowed!
I am not familiar with the Brighton area except that it appears to be a "hip" place, but I bet Jerry could help out with that area.
There are loads of cool castles ot visit in S/SE England....castle ruins are our faves to explore.....Dover Castle was our favorite, but it is not a ruin....secret wartime tunnel tour was amazing there. Kyle loved it and he was 7 at the time. There are so many castles, so if you just get in a car and drive east toward Dover you could hit about 5 castles. Maps will have castles indicated on them.
In London, I would recommend the open top double-decker bus tours for 1 day - can get boring for kids, but there is one that does a kid-friendly version with a pre-recorded (headset) tour in a ghost voice telling the kids all the creepy, scary (COOL) things about London. I think it is the Original London Bus Tour/Company or something like that....not the Big Red Bus, but maybe they do it now too. It is a hop on/off sort of thing and you could literally do it all day and still not hit the entire tour. Nice to use it as your transport for the day instead of subway and taxis. Kids love Tower of London (set aside 3 hrs for that)....skip London Dungeon (it would be very scary for kids even though they allow kids and it is expensive for the cheap, dated displays inside). Gotta visit Trafalgar Sq. Any West End productions you can see in USA and since you only have 1 week I would skip shows. Definitely go see Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (check the website for times). Westminster Abbey of course. Natural History Museum is fantastic (the Dino part).....again, you can see the museums in the USA.
You are probably flying into Gatwick, but if it is Heathrow Windsor Castle is nearby and you can coordinate that with flying in or out. The Queen still uses it as a part-time residence.
Well, have fun! When are you going? I am sure Jerry can give you some good tips....he is more English that I am.
Angela Eddy Feemster
John,
Something to consider when coming over is that schools only have 6 weeks off in the summer, so it helps to come in June or early July to avoid crowds at many destinations, and prices might be cheaper. They bump up prices in the travel industry during school breaks.
I've never been to Brighton, (thanks Ang.) but it's pretty big and on the sea which is cool. There is a soul restaurat there that has been on of Chef Ramsey's programs called Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack & Big House. Not sure how good it is. Brighton is also the gay capital of the UK, so you might want to avoid or not avoid it at certain times. It's also the closest beach to London, so I'm sure it gets pretty busy.
For real English beaches I'd suggest you head west. The further west the better. Cornwall is amazing, but it's a bit of a trip. Stonehenge is in the southwest about an hour from here. Poole and Bournmouth are good too. The Dorset coast line is a World Heritage Site, known for it's jurassic fossil finds. Also many quant pubs. Corfe Castle and Swannage are reccomended.
I've only been to London a few times, but definately worth a visit. Angie said it all, except for the London Eye, which is the huge ferris wheel that gives you a sky view of London. Take the train though, do not drive as it is a nightmare and they have a congestion charge for vehicles entering London.
If you want to fly somewhere while you are here, Scotland and Ireland are <2 hours flying and well worth checking out. Particularly Edinburgh and Dublin.
I'd stick to villages and small towns as they tend to have character. Chichester is near Brighton and is lovely. (Ang
) You don't have to tip in pubs, they look at you weird if you do. Kids are usually allowed in pubs, find one with a beer garden, and you can sit outside and enjoy the beer.
I'll try and think of some other things. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Jerry
Something to consider when coming over is that schools only have 6 weeks off in the summer, so it helps to come in June or early July to avoid crowds at many destinations, and prices might be cheaper. They bump up prices in the travel industry during school breaks.
I've never been to Brighton, (thanks Ang.) but it's pretty big and on the sea which is cool. There is a soul restaurat there that has been on of Chef Ramsey's programs called Momma Cherri's Soul Food Shack & Big House. Not sure how good it is. Brighton is also the gay capital of the UK, so you might want to avoid or not avoid it at certain times. It's also the closest beach to London, so I'm sure it gets pretty busy.
For real English beaches I'd suggest you head west. The further west the better. Cornwall is amazing, but it's a bit of a trip. Stonehenge is in the southwest about an hour from here. Poole and Bournmouth are good too. The Dorset coast line is a World Heritage Site, known for it's jurassic fossil finds. Also many quant pubs. Corfe Castle and Swannage are reccomended.
I've only been to London a few times, but definately worth a visit. Angie said it all, except for the London Eye, which is the huge ferris wheel that gives you a sky view of London. Take the train though, do not drive as it is a nightmare and they have a congestion charge for vehicles entering London.
If you want to fly somewhere while you are here, Scotland and Ireland are <2 hours flying and well worth checking out. Particularly Edinburgh and Dublin.
I'd stick to villages and small towns as they tend to have character. Chichester is near Brighton and is lovely. (Ang
) You don't have to tip in pubs, they look at you weird if you do. Kids are usually allowed in pubs, find one with a beer garden, and you can sit outside and enjoy the beer.I'll try and think of some other things. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Jerry
Jerry Cottrell
You can't legislate intelligence and common sense into people.
Will Rogers
You can't legislate intelligence and common sense into people.
Will Rogers
Jerry makes some excellent points that I was taking for granted you might already know.....check the internet for school breaks....our kids' school website has the calendar up for the next year if you want to check it out:
http://www.spaldwickschool.org.uk/ - scroll to the left to see the right hand side of the page with calendar
London Eye - I think it is an eye-sore and a waste of money and a long wait in a line. I could care less about seeing London from the sky.
You can take a daytrip to Edinburgh or Dublin or Inverness...the flight can cost as low as $120-200 for the 4 of you round-trip (or cheaper) leaving at 630am and returning around 1130pm.....I know people who do that all the time. If you go to Inverness you can rent a car and drive around Loch Ness in a few hours. There is a great castle in the middle of the drive. Edinburgh Castle is beautiful although I have not seen it.....You can even fly to take the Eurostar high-speed train to Paris for the day as well.
I agree with Jerry - avoid big cities in England....drive around and find some villages and visit their pub....it is not just a drinking establishment....it is a place for families to eat as well and most have playgrounds.
http://www.spaldwickschool.org.uk/ - scroll to the left to see the right hand side of the page with calendar
London Eye - I think it is an eye-sore and a waste of money and a long wait in a line. I could care less about seeing London from the sky.
You can take a daytrip to Edinburgh or Dublin or Inverness...the flight can cost as low as $120-200 for the 4 of you round-trip (or cheaper) leaving at 630am and returning around 1130pm.....I know people who do that all the time. If you go to Inverness you can rent a car and drive around Loch Ness in a few hours. There is a great castle in the middle of the drive. Edinburgh Castle is beautiful although I have not seen it.....You can even fly to take the Eurostar high-speed train to Paris for the day as well.
I agree with Jerry - avoid big cities in England....drive around and find some villages and visit their pub....it is not just a drinking establishment....it is a place for families to eat as well and most have playgrounds.
Angela Eddy Feemster