Totally ot: nice places to visit in UK?

[Natiebear]

So my dream is to vacation in England. I plan on a summer trip. I wanted to stay in London but heard it's very expensive and there are nicer places to see. I love the seaside and also want to see some castles. I'm very picky about where I stay and it has to be very nice or I panic. So a Hotel would be best I'm thinking. Anyway where would you suggest going for an american?

[jkl81]

Natiebear, hope you're having a good Thanksgiving! This is a good and relevant question but I suggest that you move it to the 'Private Forum-General Discussion" forum. It'll get more hits, or you could leave it here if you want. Good luck

[sarahh]

winchester haha, its quite upmarket, busy high street, old capital so lots of history etc, on hour into london on the train if you want to go for day trips and half an hour to the seaside there are castles pretty much everywhere:')

[Maddie-_-]

Aha! ok i live in UK and there are some really nice places that are much nicer than London. I live an h
our away from london and to get there I take the train (so if you want to go then you can get there easily and its only about £5)
So there is a castle called Hever Castle. You can tour it and all around it there are rowing boats you can take out on the river, activities depeding on the time of year, performances ect. Its in a lovely area, and if you are looking for a cheap hotel with a pool but one that won't make you scared, then Premier In. Its cheap and kinda like the motel 6's you get in America. Its much nicer though and no truckers (mostly) Ooooor if you want somewhere abit nicer but not too posh and expensive then I would reccomend Holiday In. Its more of a family place where you can stay for a week but its not a place to lounge around. You can because its really nice and most of them have a pool, and they are clean ect, but its not soooo lovely that you dont want to leave. I have stayed in loads. Staff are normally lovely too. Englands full of castles, google it and find some maybe. Then find your budget for the trip, see how much you can spend and then find the castle you want to go to on google. Then go to hotel Trivago(the site) and search for the nicest hotels at your budget. Enjoy! And bring a coat (remember, fanny means something else hear and its not something we say! ) Have had Americans say that to me before and I was like :O

Enjoy! OOh and Oxted is a nice area to go to, very historic and Harry potter was filmed there I believe and you can tour the places. Pretty cool. They also have Englands best ice cream there

[Elski]

So many lovely places to visit! How long are you coming for? Are you hiring a car or using public transport? Are you up for travelling around? Do you want sight-seeing, relaxing or both? What are your family's ages and interests? Tell us more about what you're hoping to get out of a trip to the UK and we can be more useful

[Grace47]

I've always wanted to go to Oxford and Stratford Upon Avon. It's in Wales, but I'd like to go to Cardiff. Too much Torchwood! Lol!

[Kazzia]

London is definitely not representative of England as a country - although it's definitely worth a visit (2 days or so should be suffice). London is full of great places to eat but if you are looking for an example of British food (which gets an unfairly bad press) then there are plenty of pubs aimed at tourists in London you MUST avoid, where the food is awful. I work pretty much in between Westminster and Buckingham Palace and the place is littered with pubs selling bad food, all on the tourist walking routes. All the professionals who work in the area eat and drink at different places. London is definitely expensive but for 1-2 nights it's worth splashing out a little bit for a decent hotel.

Other cities worth visiting are Bath, Oxford, Cambridge and York (I'm only mentioning ones I've actually been to here). Stratford Upon Avon is a must for any fans of Shakespeare!

Please try the counties Cornwall, Devon and Dorset if you want to get the best of British coastline and beaches. Purbeck in Dorset on a warm summer day is perfect...I grew up in Cornwall so obviously I'm biased! You would ideally need to hire a car though to properly explore the South West of England as the public transport is infrequent and slow. Also, a top castle to visit is actually in Dorset, it's called Corfe Castle. Also, further along the coast towards Southampton is the New Forest, which is wonderful!

It depends on where you decide to go if you need hotel advice, but I also advise self-catering accommodation as it's cheaper than hotels and it puts you in charge of buying and preparing some of your meals. Only the other weekend I hired out a 600-year old cottage with friends in Oxfordshire.

I only really know the South of England - others on here will know the North better - plus there will be other experts on here with a view to Wales and Scotland.

Suffolk and Norfolk are nice and rural but the landscape is very flat, but that has its good points for some activities. As a horse obsessive the town of Newmarket is the best place in Suffolk for me - it's actually designed for (race)horses - definitely a unique place.

Like any country, England has its high and low points, but I always advise anyone visiting to go off the beaten track a little bit and only dip in and out of tourist hotspots. There is a LOT of history and culture to explore. I have friends from America who often ask where to go when they're popping over. In any case, best of luck with your English trip!

[Maddie-_-]

I wrote this long paragraph but it wouldnt send, anyways, SUSSEX! its really fun and there are lots of activities, themearks near-by and castles. 1-hour to london by train, but there are other VERY english places like country clubs and other snooty places Not that uk is really like that but its fun to see what we have that america doesnt, when I visited the US i almost fainted when I saw a yellow school bus! Wherever you go, ebjoy it! BTW, holiday inn is cheap and decent

[Felle]

Leicester is kinda nice, especially High Cross haha.

[kezza]

I live in Leicester. Id recommend Cornwall and the south coast. Scenic and lovely in all seasons

[Felle]

I live in Leicester. Id recommend Cornwall and the south coast. Scenic and lovely in all seasons

I must ask, what area? Im usually in LE4 when I go to visit my boyfriends family.

[kezza]

I must ask, what area? Im usually in LE4 when I go to visit my boyfriends family.

I live in the LE19 area just off m1 junction 21