I'm going to the UK!!!

“Assuming all goes well with the finance, I'mgoing to the UK for two, maybe three, weeks in April!

I wonder, will it be too cold to camp instead of spending loads of money of hotels/hostel/etc?

Anyone been and have suggestions of what to do/see/etc?

Also, I want to do some fossil collecting. I know they've got beautiful Jurassic ammonites there.”

“Depends where you're going to be. It's never too cold to camp. Actually it shouldn't be so cold, but it may well be wet.”

“Flying into Birmingham, spending some days in Ironbridge, and then working my way north to Edinburgh. Might add another week and explore more of Scotland.”

“You got mail Twinks”

“Don't forget to visit Sheepingham on Twerpington.”

“It's worth spending that extra week up in scotland. You should be able to find some pretty reasonable B&Bs up there at that time of year. The later in April the better. From Edinburgh I'd look to go up to the Ft William area, you'll go up through the mountains.
If you want possibily the most dramatic scenery in the UK, then keep going up to the Isle of Skye.
The weather is always gonna be something of a lottery, and it can really close in up ther - but there shouldn't be any midges about at that time of year.

There's loads of options for what you can do, from Shropshire you could head over to the Welsh Mountains, or up to the lake district.”

“I read somewhere that there are ferries from Scotland to Iceland...know anything about that? But I guess if did that I'd miss out on exploring Scotland beyond Edinburgh. So torn!”

“I'm Scottish and Cherokee Indian...go figure.

I'm jealous...sounds like a great trip and I hope it all works out!!”

“You must be a real pistol then!”

“That's gonna be one rough and long ferry trip Twinks.

I'd stick to scotland.
Get a good Balti Curry in Birmingham, then I guess you're up to shropshire, you can see Offa's Dyke there (8th century king, big ditch - kept the Welsh at bay) - then I'd head up to the lake district. Go to Keswick and Kendall, see Lake Windermere and Conniston. Hike up the Old man of Conniston, also Helvelyn. Skafell Pike can be a #&%!$ of a hike.
Go up to Edinburgh, see the Castle, get drunk on Princes Street, go in the old town under the city - it's spooky.
Head up to Fort William, hike Ben Nevis, head up to the Isle of Skye, stopping to see Loch Ness on the way.
Get to Isle of Skye, hike in the Cuillin, spectacular country.

You could save a little money by camping, but you'll prolly have to pay for campsites anyway. Always keep the option of B&B as sometimes it's important to stay warm and dry.

Look to join or book with the Youth hostel association and Scottish YHA

http://www.syha.org.uk/SYHA/web/site/home/home.asp

http://www.yha.org.uk/ Will keep the cost down

Also,l if you get to the wilds you can always use a bothy http://www.mountainbothies.org.uk/ but get recommendations on which ones, as some of them are a little dirty and a little scary - (some great ghost stories abound).
last edited: 12/20/05 10:45:19 AM”

“Great suggestions Y2 - I sill look into all those options. Sounds like a good mix of history, city, and countryside with some lovely hiking.

Thank you”

“

They sell prints of these here
http://www.mountain-images.co.uk/mountain-print-products/039-cuillin-of-skye.html”

“caw that's gorgeous”

“got my ticket to the uk this weekend!”

“If you are going soon bring lots and lots of warm clothes.

It may not be cold but it is very damp, so feels alot colder. Cold, wet and miserable is the phrase.”

“Remember: Only eat in pubs or Indian restaurants.”

“check out the West Highland way, did it a few years ago. Ya need a place to stay in Northern England I have lots of family there that can put you up. They are all walkers as they say. email Me I will get you My number”

“check out the West Highland way, did it a few years ago. Ya need a place to stay in Northern England I have lots of family there that can put you up. They are all walkers as they say. email Me I will get you My number”

“ooops”

“I enjoyed London. We even met one or two people who were born in England!!! Seemed like most of the people in Central london were foreign born or tourists.

Enjoy!”

“Don't trust those brits.”

“easy y2,do not trust Me but ya can trust them, good folks. spent lots of time there”

“I think Y2 knows what he's talking about, trust him.”

“Brits rhymes with..................grits.”

“Y2 - do you know of any special train passes? We're going to be using the trains quite a bit and I want to get a good deal because $20 bucks here and there adds up fast! Going from Birmingham to Telford...Telford to York...York to Hadrien's Wall...Hadrien's Wall to Edinburgh. I found the schedules but have yet to find info reading any special fares, etc..”

“plan on seeing the price Willie?
give him a big kiss from me :)”

“Ah....try the europass just do a search...pretty cool. I used it travel all over europe in the 70's and 80's.

Of Course one of my uncles never had to pay when he was traveling around europe.”

“I've got Spiderloins to kiss on...Prince Willie's got nothing on him! Except, well, you know...the future crown. But who needs that craziness? lol”

“Maple, you talkin' about the prince's willie?”

“but does spiperboy have an accent?
NONONONONONO”

“Willie's Gay sorry (LOL)

OH if you are going to see Princess Di's grave remember to take the "$80.00 tour" not the knock off trips.
Apparently there were a bunch of people traveling to the island to veiw the grave. The family had to take measures to control the encroachment....Landmines.”

“WTF??”

“you've got a point”

“XL is being ironic...lol....”

“bad XL bad XL

(giggle)”

“People pay to visit The Princess's grave??

Poe had a far more profound effect on humankind and his grave is free.”

“Yo Twinky Toes....you need to get yourself a BritRail Flexipass....make sure you get the one that includes Scotland if indeed that's where you be a going....

They sell these passes by the amount of days usuage and include unlimited travel....they come in standard or 1 Class.....
For example...for an Adult "standard" regular pass for 8 days is $399 and a 1 Class ticket for the same amount of days is $598....Off Peak fares are about $100 cheaper but that ends soon like Feb 28th.....

BTW...if ya can be flexible...get on over to Bath and up to Stratford-upon-Avon.....really cool towns....my wife lived there for quite awhile and I got to spend some quality time mainly covering southern UK....ahh...south of Liverpool...anything north of that is out of my league....I totally love the UK....awesome place....I pratically lived on scones and tea....”

“Train prices are expensive TT. You can also try National Express (buses) which are cheaper and go everywhere, and are slightly more usable than getting on a Greyhound.

If you book individual fares it's way cheaper to book in advance. Long time since I've made any long train journeys there though”

“Poe was known for his famous writings and his cunning stunts....Di was known for her writings and......”

“Hadrians wall and old reeky (Edinborough) are cool, try to check out the west highland way, a cool hike”

“You used to get better deals on train passes over here than through anyplace in Europe...start goggling!”

“I had some pretty cheap fares when I hiked over there a couple years ago”

“Have fun, Twinks!

My 11-year-old son Tucker is going over there this summer with a group (England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales). I'm pretty excited for him.

Hope you have a great time!”

“Three more weeks before I'm off to England and Scotland! I can't believe it! And then after that I've got just over a month and I'm freakin' going to China!”

“Up to date on all your shots?”

“I'm back from the UK and getting ripped raw with the jetlag issue. I've been up since 5am. Anyway, I had a blast. Flew into Birmingham, took the train over to the iron conference in Ironbridge, visited my family just outside of Coventry, collected fossils at Port Mulgrave, saw the Whitby Abbey and had excellant fish & chips, walked around the North York Moors, explored Hadriens Wall, and wrapped it all up in Edinburgh! It was cold, wet, and windy. No such thing as fruits and vegetables...think I got a bit o scurvy! LOL Now I understand how some people avoid veggies... It was really great and it brought up all sorts of memories of my Scottish and English relatives and childhood. Lots of pieces fell into place. Can't wait to go back...this time to the Scottish Highlands and maybe over to Ireland...maybe. lol

The North York Moors were stunning. My pictures don't do them any justice. And Edinburgh was grand.

Some of the pictures are up and some are trapped on my camera. Anyway, if you're keen...take a peak: http://community.webshots.com/album/549582209BpgFlh”

“I lived in Holy Loch for a few years in the Navy and loved everything about Scotland I hiked all over the hills of Dundee,Holy Loch and Gurnee”

“I'm hoping to head back in a year or so and explore the highlands. The geology is just stunning over there.”

““I'm hoping to head back in a year or so and explore the highlands. The geology is just stunning over there.”
Twinkle Toes
8:00:34 AM
4/19/06
Please take me with you. :) That's on my list of places I want to see.”