I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
figure out what to do.

I love off-the-beaten-path things. Also blues and acoustic
(singer/songwriter, americana, folk) music. Enjoy museums and
exploring old towns and the occasional odd store. Not much to go on,
I know... but what do you know of that would be really neat?

Also -- would you recommend I get one of those 8-day britrail passes
instead of a car? Will I be able to get to most places I'd want to go
to with that? Outside of London, how hard is it to use a car in the
rest of the country (i.e., parking!). What's the difference between
1st class and 2nd class on a britrail pass?

Thanks to all for your help!

Re music, take a look at http://www.sadfolk.co.uk/ and
http://www.webfeet.org/. Webfeet, in particular, will provide links to
various other places.

Bristol is 15 minutes by train from Bath and parking in Bath is painful so
I'd use the train for that. Bath to Salisbury by train is about an hour
and, again, parking in Salisbury is not much fun. You can get a tour from
Salisbury out to Stonehenge, I believe.

Of the beaten track - try Castle Cary, a small market town. Has a railway
station. Slightly off the train route from Bath to Salisbury. It's an
uphill walk of about a mile from the station to the town but there are taxis
(usually) at the station.

Britrail depends on how far you got. To work out "normal" fares and times
try www.nationalrail.co.uk

"Thomas Rush" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    > then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    > figure out what to do.
    > I love off-the-beaten-path things. Also blues and acoustic
    > (singer/songwriter, americana, folk) music. Enjoy museums and
    > exploring old towns and the occasional odd store. Not much to go on,
    > I know... but what do you know of that would be really neat?
    > Also -- would you recommend I get one of those 8-day britrail passes
    > instead of a car? Will I be able to get to most places I'd want to go
    > to with that? Outside of London, how hard is it to use a car in the
    > rest of the country (i.e., parking!). What's the difference between
    > 1st class and 2nd class on a britrail pass?
    > Thanks to all for your help!

Hi Thomas,

I would recommend search sites listed at
http://www.energy4world.co.uk/6.html in your case maybe start with
http://www.fly2americas.co.uk/ it has travel related features straight
at it's homepage.

Start with typing keyword Bristol (onto search box) and you have at
least one option you would definitely find useful based on your
questions.

Train tickets brought also up one option you should look into, too.

I use these search sites all the time because I was forced to retire
from work life due to medical reasons hence my income is very limited
and I have found numerous bargains by using these sites. All the best
for your holiday:-)

Hoping you will find this helpful...pappa

Thomas Rush wrote:
    > I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    > then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    > figure out what to do.
    > I love off-the-beaten-path things. Also blues and acoustic
    > (singer/songwriter, americana, folk) music. Enjoy museums and
    > exploring old towns and the occasional odd store. Not much to go on,
    > I know... but what do you know of that would be really neat?
    > Also -- would you recommend I get one of those 8-day britrail passes
    > instead of a car? Will I be able to get to most places I'd want to go
    > to with that? Outside of London, how hard is it to use a car in the
    > rest of the country (i.e., parking!). What's the difference between
    > 1st class and 2nd class on a britrail pass?
    >
    > Thanks to all for your help!

Without a doubt, Bath should head the list - the [at last !]
redeveloped bath complex must be very impressive indeed now. Also
there's very many other gems all around - even an American Museum
nearby:

http://www.americanmuseum.org/

And Avebury as well as the almost-obligatory Stonehenge and Stourhead
and Longleat and much of Wiltshire and going a bit further afield into
Dorset, Milton Abbas; Cerne Abbas, the Piddles etc.;Lyme Regis;
Shaftesbury; Dorchester; Salisbury; Christchurch;
Bournemouth..........enough for a month let alone for a week, and more
than enough variety to match your particular interests !!

Would have thought a car far preferable to having to rely on trains and
buses, especially if you're visiting the rural areas, which tend
completely to lack either.

Very subjective view, but HTH

David




Thomas Rush wrote:
    > I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    > then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    > figure out what to do.
    > I love off-the-beaten-path things. Also blues and acoustic
    > (singer/songwriter, americana, folk) music. Enjoy museums and
    > exploring old towns and the occasional odd store. Not much to go on,
    > I know... but what do you know of that would be really neat?
    > Also -- would you recommend I get one of those 8-day britrail passes
    > instead of a car? Will I be able to get to most places I'd want to go
    > to with that? Outside of London, how hard is it to use a car in the
    > rest of the country (i.e., parking!). What's the difference between
    > 1st class and 2nd class on a britrail pass?
    >
    > Thanks to all for your help!

Sorry, yes I do know that Salisbury isn't in Dorset ! - doha mea culpa
!

D.
David wrote:
    > Without a doubt, Bath should head the list - the [at last !]
    > redeveloped bath complex must be very impressive indeed now. Also
    > there's very many other gems all around - even an American Museum
    > nearby:
    > http://www.americanmuseum.org/
    > And Avebury as well as the almost-obligatory Stonehenge and Stourhead
    > and Longleat and much of Wiltshire and going a bit further afield into
    > Dorset, Milton Abbas; Cerne Abbas, the Piddles etc.;Lyme Regis;
    > Shaftesbury; Dorchester; Salisbury; Christchurch;
    > Bournemouth..........enough for a month let alone for a week, and more
    > than enough variety to match your particular interests !!
    > Would have thought a car far preferable to having to rely on trains and
    > buses, especially if you're visiting the rural areas, which tend
    > completely to lack either.
    > Very subjective view, but HTH
    > David
    > Thomas Rush wrote:
    > > I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    > > then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    > > figure out what to do.
    > >
    > > I love off-the-beaten-path things. Also blues and acoustic
    > > (singer/songwriter, americana, folk) music. Enjoy museums and
    > > exploring old towns and the occasional odd store. Not much to go on,
    > > I know... but what do you know of that would be really neat?
    > >
    > > Also -- would you recommend I get one of those 8-day britrail passes
    > > instead of a car? Will I be able to get to most places I'd want to go
    > > to with that? Outside of London, how hard is it to use a car in the
    > > rest of the country (i.e., parking!). What's the difference between
    > > 1st class and 2nd class on a britrail pass?
    > >
    > > Thanks to all for your help!

"Thomas Rush" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    > then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    > figure out what to do.
    > I love off-the-beaten-path things. Also blues and acoustic
    > (singer/songwriter, americana, folk) music. Enjoy museums and
    > exploring old towns and the occasional odd store. Not much to go on,
    > I know... but what do you know of that would be really neat?
    > Also -- would you recommend I get one of those 8-day britrail passes
    > instead of a car? Will I be able to get to most places I'd want to go
    > to with that? Outside of London, how hard is it to use a car in the
    > rest of the country (i.e., parking!). What's the difference between
    > 1st class and 2nd class on a britrail pass?
    > Thanks to all for your help!

You're obviously already getting loads of advice.
I live in the country/coastal belt south of Bristol/London.
If you end up in the Devon/Dorest/Hampshire/Sussex area by all means come
back to me for any more detail you'd like.
Google up Brighton - that might suit your music scene and off-beat life.

Surreyman

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 06:17:02 +0100, "Graham Harrison"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >Re music, take a look at http://www.sadfolk.co.uk/ and
    >http://www.webfeet.org/. Webfeet, in particular, will provide links to
    >various other places.
    >Bristol is 15 minutes by train from Bath and parking in Bath is painful so
    >I'd use the train for that. Bath to Salisbury by train is about an hour
    >and, again, parking in Salisbury is not much fun. You can get a tour from
    >Salisbury out to Stonehenge, I believe.

There is also a public bus from Salisbury to Stonehenge.


--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006, Graham Harrison wrote:

    > Bristol is 15 minutes by train from Bath and parking in Bath is painful so
    > I'd use the train for that. Bath to Salisbury by train is about an hour
    > and, again, parking in Salisbury is not much fun. You can get a tour from
    > Salisbury out to Stonehenge, I believe.

When I was there (a couple of times) I took a local bus to ... (is it
Avebury or Amesbury ?) and then walked to Stonehenge. Seeing the stones
from afar is nice.

The same bus passes also near to the archeological site of old Sarum,
which is interesting.

From Bath I took also a local bus excursion to Wells, the cathedral is
quite nice. I missed Glastonbury though, I had not read much about it
yet.


--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected] is a newsreading account used by more persons to
avoid unwanted spam. Any mail returning to this address will be rejected.
Users can disclose their e-mail address in the article if they wish so.

"Thomas Rush" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    > then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    > figure out what to do.
    > I love off-the-beaten-path things. Also blues and acoustic
    > (singer/songwriter, americana, folk) music. Enjoy museums and
    > exploring old towns and the occasional odd store. Not much to go on,
    > I know... but what do you know of that would be really neat?
    > Also -- would you recommend I get one of those 8-day britrail passes
    > instead of a car? Will I be able to get to most places I'd want to go
    > to with that? Outside of London, how hard is it to use a car in the
    > rest of the country (i.e., parking!). What's the difference between
    > 1st class and 2nd class on a britrail pass?
    > Thanks to all for your help!

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Cornwall.
Take a car and head down there.
Too many things to do and see to try and list them all but google is you
friend.
http://www.cornwalltouristboard.co.uk/

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 01:04:17 GMT, Thomas Rush <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    >then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    >figure out what to do.
    >I love off-the-beaten-path things.

OK - I live in Bristol, so if you fancy a coffee and/or a beer (or
three) and a natter about life, the universe and everything, you're
most welcome to contact me. My work and your business schedule
permitting, I can show you around some of the sights and help you to
navigate the bus routes!.

There are some slighly off-the-beaten-path things in Bristol, too, in
the city suburbs. Two city parks, Blaise Castle Estate and the Frome
Valley Walkway are stretched along the valleys of small rivers, and
mean that you can be in the residential parts of the city but really
feel as if you are in the countryside. Also at Blaise is Blaise
Hamlet, which looks like an idyllic country village but was purpose
built in the early 1800s for the workers on the Blaise Estate when it
was a rich man's landscape garden.

Not so off-beat, there is much to see in Bristol itself, often
associated with its maritime past (plus literary associations -
Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe in particular). The first European
to officially land on the American mainland was John Cabot who sailed
from Bristol in 1497 and discovered the "New Found Land" and there are
lots of links and associations with north America. The first US
consulate in Britain after the War of Independence was established in
Bristol in 1792 (the building is still there) and Admiral Penn,
William Penn's father, is buried in St Mary Redcliffe church.

Keith, Bristol, UK

Mein Arbeitsplatz - Mein Kampfplatz für den Frieden!

Email: usenet[dot]20[dot]keefy[at]spamgourmet[dot]com

Keith Anderson <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 01:04:17 GMT, Thomas Rush <[email protected]>
    > wrote:
    >
    > >
    > >
    > >I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    > >then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    > >figure out what to do.
    > >
    > >I love off-the-beaten-path things.
    >
    > OK - I live in Bristol, so if you fancy a coffee and/or a beer (or
    > three) and a natter about life, the universe and everything, you're
    > most welcome to contact me. My work and your business schedule
    > permitting, I can show you around some of the sights and help you to
    > navigate the bus routes!.

And I'll say again that Keith is _brilliant_ at doing this!

--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://www.davidhorne.net/pictures.html http://soundjunction.org

Hello, Keith!
You wrote on Tue, 26 Sep 2006 17:38:50 +0100:

??>> I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on
??>> business, then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to
??>> where to start to figure out what to do.
??>>
??>> I love off-the-beaten-path things.

KA> Not so off-beat, there is much to see in Bristol itself,
KA> often associated with its maritime past (plus literary
KA> associations - Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe in
KA> particular). The first European to officially land on the
KA> American mainland was John Cabot who sailed from Bristol in
KA> 1497 and discovered the "New Found Land" and there are lots
KA> of links and associations with north America. The first US
KA> consulate in Britain after the War of Independence was
KA> established in Bristol in 1792 (the building is still
KA> there) and Admiral Penn, William Penn's father, is buried
KA> in St Mary Redcliffe church.

Are there any memorials to Richard Americk, a Bristol merchant
who was involved in financing John Cabot? According to the
Chambers English Dictionary, America is named for him :-)
Dictionaries are traditionally allowed some tongue-in-cheek
entries and I'll admit that they do mention that Vespucci bum as
a possibility!

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

    > I'll be going to Southern England... a week in Bristol on business,
    > then a week of vacation. I'm really lost as to where to start to
    > figure out what to do.
    > I love off-the-beaten-path things. Also blues and acoustic
    > (singer/songwriter, americana, folk) music. Enjoy museums and
    > exploring old towns and the occasional odd store.

Bristol is a dead interesting city in itself. So is Bath, and the
coastal area of South Wales (i.e. if you're starting in Bristol,
don't assume that everything worth seeing is in the direction of
London)

For folk music, I suggest you post on uk.music.folk once you have
your itinerary more definite. There are far too many webguides to
folk clubs and sessions and none of them is any more complete or
accurate than any of the others. There were things on two nights
a week when I was in Bristol last, but that was a long time ago.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:09:36 -0400, "James Silverton"
<not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not> wrote:


    >Are there any memorials to Richard Americk, a Bristol merchant
    >who was involved in financing John Cabot? According to the
    >Chambers English Dictionary, America is named for him :-)

I'll investigate - his name was spelt in different ways - I've heard
of him as Richard ap Meryck (or even Rhysiart using the Welsh
spelling).

"Ap" is like the Scottish Mac or Mc (McDonald) as in "son of" or the
Irish O' (O'Donnell).

Interestingly enough, many typical Welsh surnames maintain the
residual "p" of the "ap" - Pugh (ap Huw), Preece or Price (ap Rhys),
and so on - similarly the "b" in Bevan.

Now, a continent named after a Welshman - that'll set hearts racing in
Newport and all points west!

    >Dictionaries are traditionally allowed some tongue-in-cheek
    >entries and I'll admit that they do mention that Vespucci bum as
    >a possibility!
    >James Silverton
    >Potomac, Maryland
    >E-mail, with obvious alterations:
    >not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not


Keith, Bristol, UK

Mein Arbeitsplatz - Mein Kampfplatz für den Frieden!

Email: usenet[dot]20[dot]keefy[at]spamgourmet[dot]com

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:09:36 -0400, "James Silverton"
<not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not> wrote:


More about ap Meryck here:

http://www.reformation.org/richard-ameryk.html



Keith, Bristol, UK

Mein Arbeitsplatz - Mein Kampfplatz für den Frieden!

Email: usenet[dot]20[dot]keefy[at]spamgourmet[dot]com