At the outset of this post I just want to say thank you so much to all of you who left suggestions on the London Calling Post, it was all tremendously helpful. Keep those suggestions coming.
Here is what we have so far for London. I am really excited for our walk-abouts. This is a very English thing. I just read about them in Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island where he describes all these people walking about in high wool socks and hiking boots. I am not sure I will be sporting that fashion but I am excited to have many a walk-about in London and all over the UK.
Day 1: May 7, 2009
Arrival
Check-in
Visit Westminster
Hyde Park and walk-about from Hyde Park back to hostel with a stop at Regents Park
Day 2: May 8, 2009
British library
British museum
Temple to Buckingham Palace walking tour.
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/places-of-a-lifetime/london-walking-tour-3.html
Catch concert St. martin in the fields
Day 3: May 9, 2009
Portebello Road Market
Walking tour London Eye to Design Museum:
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/places-of-a-lifetime/london-walking-tour-1.html
London Tower and London Bridge.
I thought Camden Market was a fun place to visit also, but Portebello Road Market may similar, not sure, didn't see that.
ReplyDeleteYou asked about St. Andrews. I would recommend visiting, it is not a very big city and would only take 2-3 hours to see everything of import.
ReplyDeleteI suppose if you were a golf fanatic it would be must see, and it is the home of golf, and you are not going to be that far away. The problem is that there is no train that goes through the town, so you have either have to rent a car or take the train to Leuchers and then take the bus into St. Andrews.
I am not entirely sure of what your mode of transportation will be, but there is a road that basically follows the ocean from St. Andrews around to just north of Edinburgh. The city with the best fish and chips in the UK is located on this road, Anstruthers. So to visit St. Andrews wouldn't mean that wouldn't see other things.
Amy and Jess,
ReplyDeleteBrian (Tanner)(I'm his mom, Jan) told me to share some thoughts on your trip to England a while ago and I spaced it until we just started reading books on Ireland for our trip in May. Sorry- you probably already have everything planned out, but I will offer a few suggestions. Your London itinerary looks great. It would be awesome if you could catch Westminster Abbey in the late afternoon (5:00 or so) when they have Evensong. The music is quite the celestial experience and worth checking to see when it happens. I agree that you should see the Tower of London. We spent quite a long time there. We went to Portobello Road, but it was a long walk from the station to the market. Just be prepared. We bought a few books and CD's at great prices.... We loved Bath, especially the walking tour that we took with a cute older English gentleman named Geoffrey. He was quite the historian and a bit of a comic. The tour was free or very inexpensive and I think we caught it at the tourist office near the town square/Church area. Between Bath and Stratford-Upon-Avon are the Cotswolds. This was our favorite area in all of England. It is quintessential quaint- full of honey-colored stone cottages, marketplaces, sheep and more sheep (the wool growing center of England before it dwindled), gurgling brooks and mama ducks with ducklings, hiking through fields of sheep from one hamlet to another, etc., etc. (We even took our friends back with us and they loved it.) I don't know how you are getting around, but if you can fit in the Cotswolds, do it! As far as the Lake District goes, we rented a canoe at Lake Windemere and that was fun. But the best was visiting Wordsworth's home. There are two homes- Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount. We did not have time for both, so we visited Rydal Mount and it was great. Dove Cottage was too crowded that day. From there, we headed into Scotland and one of our favorite places was Stirling Castle. What a lot of history there- perpetual wars between Scotland and England, William Wallace, and Robert the Bruce. It is one of the most important of all the castles in Scotland. We saw Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, went to Inverness in the Highlands, the Isle of Mull, and went to some sheep dog trials in the country. Of course, we enjoyed Edinburgh. The castle is great and we walked along the Royal Mile, seeing sights like the Writer's Museum, Greyfriars Bobby, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.... We really wouldn't recommend visiting Dover, but Canterbury was a great destination if you want to go east of London.... Don't be afraid of eating in pubs. The food is good and there are non-smoking areas.... I hope you great trip! England and Scotland are awesome, no matter where you go and what you see. Enjoy the experience!! Jan Tanner