Vacation in England

This isn’t really a new entry. Rather, it’s an absorption of a few very old pages from my old website. This first entry deals with a vacation to England in 1998. The photos are rather poor because they are scans from photos using a very poor scanner and major lack of experience in scanning images.

I have just returned from my trip to the United Kingdom, and I wanted to make a little web page to document it. Here you will find a excerpts from my trip journal, a little travel wisdom, and comments and suggestions for the first time traveller to the U.K.

First a little background about the trip. I am a student in Medical Physics and I submitted a paper and talk to a conference in Nijmegen, Netherlands. My department was going to cover travel costs for the conference and I decided to take the opportunity to have a little holiday in the U.K.!

The trip lasted 10 days and I spent roughly $600 CAN (excluding air-fare). I mostly stayed in bed & breakfasts and travelled by train. I used the BritRail pass which gave me unlimited train travel for 8 days. I even took the sleeper train from Edinburgh to London to squeeze out a little more time on my vacation! Now that I am a train “veteran”, I have some tips for train travelling through Britain.

Britain is a land of history, from the prehistoric henges and megaliths that dot Wiltshire county, the Roman ruins in Bath, the medieval town of York, to the magnificient castles and cathedrals that are everywhere.

Check out a map of the places I visited!

Places I loved

Stonehenge:

Prehistoric. Mystical. Mysterious. ‘Nuff said.

Avebury

This is a tiny little village that sits smack in the middle of a prehistoric henge. Unlike the highly popular Stonehenge, you can still go and touch the megaliths. You can even try and commune with the earth powers like this lady facing the stones.

York

This is the picture of a medieval city. The city wall is almost entirely intact and wonderfully defensive looking.

Westminster Abbey

I believe that nearly every famous person from England is buried or enshrined here. Kings, queens, authors, poets, scientists, and architects. Every inch of the building is a fascinating piece of British history.

Stirling: Carseview Bed & Breakfast

Most of the B&Bs are really nice in the U.K., but I really
enjoyed my stay here. It was located in a small village with an excellent view of Wallace monument and Stirling Castle. Largest and best breakfast of the trip. It was so good I came back for one more day!

Edinburgh Castle

I think this is one of the most impressive castles in the Isles. It is huge, and stands atop a forbidding volcanic plug, the majestic centre-piece of the city.

Hints for Travellers to the U.K. (Remember: these are dated 1998!)

Accomodation

Youth Hostels

The ultimate in budget accommodation. Nightly rates are usually < 10 £. Most of the hostels are run by the YHA (Youth Hostel Association) but there are several independent hostels in the larger cities. Normally the rooms are shared with 4 or more beds to a room (a few hostels do have signal or double accommodation). If you are a light sleeper, this may present a problem. There are other annoying drawbacks with the hostels--you are usually locked out during the day, and in peak season you have to book several days in advance. YMCA

I stayed at the YMCA in Bath, and that was much better than I had anticipated. There were single and double rooms, a breakfast and very cheap (£ 12). Unlike the youth hostels, there was no curfew, and you could come and go as you pleased during the day.

Bed & Breakfasts

B & Bs are widely available in every city and prices are reasonable. You can opt for budget accommodation (< 12 £ /person ) which gives you a decent bed, shared toilet and shower and an hearty traditional English breakfast. If you pay a little more (15-30 £) you can stay in style. B&Bs are usually run by retirees (usually the "Missus"). Every proprietor that I met was wonderfully friendly. You can book ahead, or go to a local Tourist Information Centre (T.I.C) and have them find you place to stay. The TICs in the small towns don't usually charge anything for this, but in the bigger cities the fee may be one or two pounds.

If you are budget conscious, don’t stay in London! Too bloody expensive, and what you get is pretty trashy! A low to average “private” hotel single room runs at about £ 30 – 40 and that probably won’t include a full breakfast. Compare this to the £ 15 – 18 rate for a single in the smaller towns which is a two or three star bed and breakfast with a huge English breakfast.

Train Travel

Train travel is a cheap and economical way to see the U.K. You can still buy BritRail passes for unlimited train travel valid for several days. This is a very good deal, but remember you have to buy them outside the U.K. because they are only available to visiting tourists.

Overnight trains are a good way to cover a lot of ground, and get some rest at the same time. I went “Standard Class” from Edinburgh to London which was acceptable, but the berths were incredibly tiny. When I travel over-night again I am definitely going first class (if only for the shower!)

Money, Credit Cards, etc.

Always have some cash available. There are far fewer bank machines and no “direct payment” machines. This is especially true in small villages like Avebury! Also, most B&Bs will only accept cash!