Find latest started threadsThanks for the tips Englebert. I've never heard of the two places you mentioned, Lands End or John O'Groats. Could you tell me more?
RoadTrip Enthusiast
Lands End...
Thanks for the tips Englebert. I've never heard of the two places you mentioned, Lands End or John O'Groats. Could you tell me more?
The West Country
Hi, Just looking through the thread & see you describe yourself as a 'history buff'. If you do go to the South West of England, and want somewhere off the beaten track, with History behind it, try THIS. It's a 13th Century Inn in the middle of nowhere ! It has had additons over the years so if you do stay specify that you want one of the original Inn rooms, (but mind your head). It's not Hilton Standard by any means, with floors and stairs that make you feel as though you've had one drink too many! The South West of England in general has loads of History to it, mostly connected to Smuggling and Piracy! If you do go there you may wish to visit Clovelly in Devon, HERE
The real trouble you're going to have is where to go if it's History you're after, we're overun with Castles and Historic Sites. London naturally has quite a few ! (Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, etc,etc).
If it's Romans your'e after try Lullingstone in Kent, they have the remains of a Roman Villa. And if you're in Kent you'd need to consider Leeds or Bodiam Castles, (I particularly like the latter) HERE, or even Rochester, it too has a Castle and was for a long time the home of Charles Dickens.
Best bet is to spend some time on the 'English Heritage' websuite HERE, or the 'National Trust, HERE.
Hope you enjoy it all whatever you do, and yes Gatwick is a better airport than Heathrow, (although you as you fly in to Heathrow you often see London below you, or Windsor Castle, depending upon the direction of approach.
Charlie
RoadTrip Enthusiast
Thank You!
Those are great links. I think my biggest problem, as you said, is going to be pairing down my list of historical places to visit.
Laura
They are either end of the UK, Lands End being the furthest South and John O'Groats North. Quite a trip for a photo opportunity, but Scotland has some stunning scenery to make up for it. The South West has absolutely loads to do... perhaps you want to stay in that region and experience something like the Glastonbury Festival.Originally Posted by lhuff
RoadTrip Enthusiast
Newest Ideas
I'm thinking that I'm going to book a hotel for the first three nights of my trip and just kind of wing it from there. I'm definitely looking into Paris for at least one day. I figure that gives me a day to realize that I speak no French and to get sick and tired of trying to find my way around . :) Any ideas for that day?
Laura
you'll cope in paris with english [and maybe a bit of hand gesturing] just fine.
the eiffel tower,louvre,arc de triomphe[worth climbing the stairs to the roof if only to watch the cars beneath driving around the arc from about 7 different directions and battling to get off it] and invalides are all do able in a day,even on foot,and if you like walking it's the nicest way to see the city and some of it's parks.this part is fairly compact.there is a very good underground transport system for getting you close to the attractions. a boat trip will give you a glimpse of a lot of these attractions as well as notre dam.very nice in the evening.
with a little more time it's worth a trip to the sacre couer and montmartre,there are some good views of the city from here,and a lovely village square with restaraunts and some weekends,artist markets e.tc.
just below here is the moulign rouge but be warned there are some "adult places" about and it can feel a bit seedy,particulary at night.
have fun!
Seedy?
Just like New Orleans then? :p
Yeah, Paris is a must. Rather than getting involved in flying - which will involve a quite tedious journey out to Heathrow - why not hop on the Eurostar from its new home at St Pancras (right on the edge of central London)? I've used the Eurotunnel (the freight service where you drive your car/truck/bus right on board a train near Dover) but haven't used the Eurostar out of London yet - I've heard very good things and I'm looking forward to using it myself at some point.
Paris - Eurostar or cheap flight
Hi
Just to say that we live in the Southwest (Devon). Last year we went to Paris on the Eurostar for the first time - from London Waterloo before it moved to St Pancras. The service was very efficient and really quick, and we found getting around Paris very easy on the metro.
If you're going to be out of London, maybe having done a trip to Bath or further Southwest, another option may be to fly from a regional airport. Flybe, for example, do really cheap flights from Exeter to Paris. I did the return trip last year and it was great not to have to spend hours getting to the airport - or having to queue for ages when I got there. Trip from Charles de Gaulle to centre of Paris is also easy by either metro or bus.
Best of luck!
Patti
RoadTrip Enthusiast
Train to Paris
I've discovered that a lady I work with on a part time basis is a travel agent in "real life". So it looks like it's the Chunnel for me to get to Paris.
Dumb question - would it be too far out of my way to see Normandy while on my way to Paris? My grandfather was part of the 82nd Airborne and did one of his four jumps into St. Mereeglise (sp?). I would love to be able to see that area. He spoke of it often before his war wounds finally killed him almost 50 years later.
Laura
i would have thought it is to far if you are talking same day.
possibly[i'm no expert here] the best way would be to go to caen from paris,there is a link from the gar den nour[sp?]station to here through eurostar using another rail system
caen is home to the peace memorial and museum that tells the story of the landings,i don't know how easy it is to get to the actual beaches from here is.
http://destinationsen.eurostar.com/s...&loc_id=131870
if you scroll down there is a route map and more info on the caen memorial.
hope this helps a little.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote