Triumphrat

silvoor · 02-26-2005

At the request of my wife I have made plans to visit England in April. After booking a flight I began to consider what we will I do for the week after the usual London stuff? What I know about the UK is Triumph, The Beatles and what I picked up from movies like The Battle of Britain, Excaliber and James Bond (I know only the ones with Sean Connery are historically accurate). Also I have read a lot of Jack London's work but he's no more English than Irving Berlin was German.

I need tips, recommended websites etc. Traveling alone I would sleep late and learn pub cultures but what do places like Liverpool, Wales and Hadrian Wall offer? Should I plan to rent a car or are trains and busses available? Also lodging - where do I find a clean room at a fair price without paying expense account rate? Where are the best castles? The best nude beaches? The best boiled meat?

Oh yes, to make this an official forum post, I'm buying a BRG Tiger when we get back unless I get a good deal on a leftover 04.

BigStripey · 02-26-2005

Wow.....quite a list of 'things to do'

Firstly, hire a car!, public transport here is expensive and unreliable, especially if you are going to spread your wings a bit while you are here.

Accomodation outside the capital is pretty good, there are thousands of good quality B&B's (bed & breakfast) to stay in, as well as the ususal chains like holiday inns, Ibis, Travel Lodge etc

Your best bet would be to go to a tourist office when you get to London. They are pretty good and will have the latest info on accomodation.

However, when you sort an itinerary out, let us Brits know and I'm sure there will be some specific recommendations made for the town you are visiting. Who knows?, you might even get a guide!

Whilst on your grand tour, why not call up Triumph, go to Hinckley and tour the factory....who knows you might even see your BRG being built!

how cool would that be. They welcome visitors, but the tours are by appointment i believe. Peter Clark is your man to speak to at Triumph.

Other places to visit....hmmmm, that would depend on what you are in to. If history is your thing then we have it all here. But if it is more nightlife/social scene, then the major cities take some beating.

If you pin it down a bit more I'm sure we can help you a bit better.

Cheers

02-26-2005

You might want to take a look at this site:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/

and click on the "About the National Trust" link. For a sample of what's on offer (in the South West) check out the National Trust links on my site:

http://www.brympton.co.uk/

This may or may not be what you are after but if we all supply our own suggestions at least you can pick out the one's that inspire you. Good luck

Mark

knarf · 02-26-2005

need cheap lux hotel use www.wotif.com

I got a 2 bed apartment in london for £100 per night

tango · 02-26-2005

Why not hire a bike?

Archimedes put up a post about bike hire here in the UK for you guys.

Otherwise hire a car, public transport (outside London) will not be what you find acceptable.

Is it one week in London then another on a culture cruise?. if so, my choice would be the south coast, Cornwall to Hampshire.

Still quite rural in places with picture postcard villages, remember the Romans were here, so steeped in history..

There are connecting highways, dual carraigeways/motorways, but the whole area is covered with good quality A+B roads.

Accomodation down there is excellent, from period contry inns/pubs, which generaly serve good value for money wholsesome food, right up to some of the grandest country house hotels in the UK, one of the real pleasures of my job, by the way, visiting and staying in these very same places.
Also at that time of the year it will have the best climate, especially if you are on a bike.

The cost of living over here compared to the State's might shock you, and the price of fuel is a disgrace.

You can get a book or two from the Tourist Information Office, I'll find out which ones, about places to stay giving all accomdation types and prices.

Compared to the US the UK is a spit in the ocean, but there is a hell of a lot crammed into it, so don't make time an issue, in other words just chill, after the hell hole that is London :-D , only joking.
Take your time, there is no point in doing 2-300 mile days, you would miss too much.

The UK is such a diverse but compact country with lots of different cultures, and it is easy to get from one end to the other in a day.
Huge sprawling cities to wilderness, a little known fact, the NW coast of Scotland offers some of the best secluded beaches you'll find anywhere, but best to keep your kegs (clothes) on in April.

Keep us posted, and enjoy your trip.

silvoor · 02-26-2005

Thanks for the replies.

I'll plan to rent a car, check the web sites and put an itinerary together. I'm sure this will lead to more questions.

A visit to Hinckley will be planned.

The final decision to get the Tiger was based on the information I learned on this website but mostly the genuine appreciation of the bike many of you have expressed.

03-01-2005

I'd advise you to get hold of the Rough Guide book. "Rough Guide to England" or "Rough Guide to London" or "Rough Guide to Britain" - which one depends on how far you are travelling out of London. Excellent and informative. The Lonely Planet book is very good as well, they do London, England and Britain as well. If you stay in London you will need an A-Z and a tube map - total must haves.

For a week you'd be best staying in the South of England unless you want to spend time travelling North or West. Distances aren't too great and London to York (which is popular with tourists) would take 3 or 4 hours to drive each way (it's about 200 miles).

Transport in the capital is excellent. Buses, Trains and tubes are frequent . It's when you get out of the centre of London that things get worse. Transport does exist and is generally ok but a car gives you the flexibility. I would say that in the centre of London a car is not as good as using the Tube. The Tube will be quicker and safer. (The Tube in central London is very safe bar isolated incidents like pick-pocketing). The tube into the suberbs is very good but driving may be just as quick and you have the flexibility to change your route.

Lots and lots and lots of things to do in London and the surrounding areas. However, it's worth travelling out into the country and see some of the wonderful sites. Some of the villages and amazing. Sometimes it's great to potter and investigate somewhere which looks interesting for no particular reason.

Petrol is very expensive, food and accommodation can be very expensive but cheaper stuff is available if you try that little bit harder. Out of London and the big towns, there are thousands of Bed&Breakfasts and Pubs who offer cheap rooms and decent food. A "good pub" and "good B&B" guide might be useful. Virtually every bookshop in the UK stocks them.

People who live in London and the big towns can sometimes be a bit "off". Unwilling to help and not very polite. London is a busy, cramped place and people like to get where they want to go and not have to deal with distractions. The majority or people everywhere else are very polite people and I'm sure you'll meet some real characters - especially in some of the rural pubs. (There are polite people in London - me for example! - before people shoot me down!).

Potentailly useful links:
General: http://www.visitbritain.com
Maps: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/
To do: http://www.timeout.com/london/
Transport in London: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/
London: http://www.visitlondon.com/
London: http://www.londontown.com/
London Tourist: http://www.londontourist.org/
Route Planning & Driving: http://www.theaa.com/
Route Planning & Driving: http://www.rac.co.uk/
UK main roads / Traffic Info: http://www.highways.gov.uk/
Sites: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Tickets for shows: http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/
Rough Guide: http://www.roughguides.com/
Lonely Planet: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/
News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Have a good one.

[ This message was edited by: sixhundred on 2005-03-01 08:33 ]

silvoor · 03-02-2005

Thank all of you for your help. I have a bit more detail but I probably will wait until I get there to finalize everything.

We will arrive in London the morning of Wednesday, April 20 and stay in London until Friday when we go to Liverpool. On Saturday we leave Liverpool for someplace returning to London Tuesday evening and depart the UK on Thursday. Thanks for the link Knarf found a good price just off Piccadilly Circus and six hundred the links you sent were everything I needed.

I'm taking the advice of Big Stripey and renting a car when I leave London. Although the rail looks inviting the reliability comment had an impact plus the freedom from a schedule can't be beat.

The open time could go one of several ways. I hate to miss Scotland, land of the world's greatest beverage, but it's a long drive back to London. I could go through Wales (looks lovely but will I get bored? I rode the Pacific Coast Highway twice and even got bored with that after a time) and work my way south of London to Bath and on to the land of Gadget as recommended by Tango.

If I head generally east from Liverpool I can tour Hinckley and go down the right coast. It would be interesting to check out any remnants of WW ll airfields. I am assuming I can find food clothing and shelter with little or no advanced notice (I always have except for one night of our honeymoon). Ireland is a thought also.

Oh, Tango - I just wanted to cruise by the nude beaches - not participate. Also if some directions are a bit off it's because I've been viewing only map segments online. I figure navigating will be relatively simple, if I hit salt water it's time to turn around. :razz:

I would enjoy meeting any of you while we are touring so if you have any thoughts on this please share them.

lancashirelad · 03-03-2005

silvoor, if you're interested in WW 11 airfields one place not to miss is the Imperial War Museum based at the former WW 11 airfield at Duxford, this is the place where the legendery fighter ace Douglas Bader was based.
Its quite handy off the M11 to the north of London & a visit takes up a full day & you won't have seen half of it, one section is dedicated to the American Airforce..

lancashirelad · 03-03-2005

silvoor, if you're interested in WW 11 airfields one place not to miss is the Imperial War Museum based at the former WW 11 airfield at Duxford, this is the place where the legendery fighter ace Douglas Bader was based.
Its quite handy off the M11 to the north of London & a visit takes up a full day & you won't have seen half of it, one section is dedicated to the American Airforce..