Bryan And Colleen Wooten

Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father back to
England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe Abbots Airfield in
Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit the American cemetery in
Madingley. Maybe a trip up to Scotland to round out the trip.

I was thinking 2 nights in London, for trip recovery, 3 in Cambridge, 2 in
Scotland, 1 in London and fly home. Train and taxis, local tours to get
around...

Any advice? This is truely a "once in lifetime" trip.

TIA

Bryan

(I didn't vote for him)

Ken Pisichko

Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote:

    > Any advice? This is truely a "once in lifetime" trip.

My son and I went on a similar "once in a lifetime trip" in February. we
received so much great advice we could not implement it all. None of the
advice was contradictory.

All I can say is eat a meal in a small pub somewhere out of "big" cities. Have
a nice pint of beer. The price will astound you. Matthew and I had such a
lunch that cost us about 12 pounds - over $30 Canadian/ $20 USD.

As you will be in London for a couple of days, STAY away from "Steak Houses".
Chinatown near Lichester (spelling??) has wonderful food if you are into that
stuff.

All museums are free of charge - the national Gallery, the Science Museum etc

Make sure you get a family pass for the London transportation system EVERY
day. The two of us paid 3.8 pounds for a zones 1-4 pass. We rode the tube,
busses, trains and the LRT all the time. Better that renting a car - quite
expensive in London. If you have the disposable money, take a short ride on
one of London's Black taxis.

It will be less expensive to take a bus (instead of a train) from Victoria bus
station to Cambridge and probably anywhere else .

You will have fun there. Bring "layers" and forget the fancy clothes. We
brought light raincoats but did not need them. A sweater is always good.
Walking shoes.

Oh yes, stop at Harrods. It is an incredible place - especially when compared
to Target or Wal-Mart. Look at the ties (or even the riding saddles).

Hope this is useful. Too bad you can only be there for a few days.

Oh yes, get to a fish and chip shop in the "suburbs), and a Whimpy's Hamburger
outlet - there are a few left (one in Clapham Junction I believe it was).

Drink lots of water on the way there and back!

Ken

Malcolm Stewart

Ken Pisichko wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote:
    > > Any advice? This is truely a "once in lifetime" trip.
    > My son and I went on a similar "once in a lifetime trip" in February. we
    > received so much great advice we could not implement it all. None of the
    > advice was contradictory.
    > All I can say is eat a meal in a small pub somewhere out of "big" cities. Have
    > a nice pint of beer. The price will astound you. Matthew and I had such a
    > lunch that cost us about 12 pounds - over $30 Canadian/ $20 USD.

Are you boasting or complaining? Some pub food is great, whilst in too many
cases I've waited far too long for stuff which has clearly been dug out of the
freezer and not soon enough - particularly the sweets.

    > As you will be in London for a couple of days, STAY away from "Steak Houses".
    > Chinatown near Lichester (spelling??) has wonderful food if you are into that
    > stuff.

It's near Leicester Square

    > All museums are free of charge - the national Gallery, the Science Museum etc

Correction - many smaller museums still charge. Only the large State run
museums were covered by the recent changes, and cathedrals are increasingly
making charges. If they allow photography, that's OK by me and I'm happy to
contribute. Otherwise I leave and find another - there's no shortage.

    > It will be less expensive to take a bus (instead of a train) from Victoria bus
    > station to Cambridge and probably anywhere else .


--
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK

Jim Ley

On Sun, 6 Apr 2003 10:03:46 +0100, "Malcolm Stewart"
wrote:

    >Ken Pisichko wrote in message
    >news:[email protected]...
    >> Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote:
    >> > Any advice? This is truely a "once in lifetime" trip.
    >> My son and I went on a similar "once in a lifetime trip" in February. we
    >> received so much great advice we could not implement it all. None of the
    >> advice was contradictory.
    >> All I can say is eat a meal in a small pub somewhere out of "big" cities. Have
    >> a nice pint of beer. The price will astound you. Matthew and I had such a
    >> lunch that cost us about 12 pounds - over $30 Canadian/ $20 USD.
    >Are you boasting or complaining? Some pub food is great, whilst in too many
    >cases I've waited far too long for stuff which has clearly been dug out of the
    >freezer and not soon enough - particularly the sweets.
    >> As you will be in London for a couple of days, STAY away from "Steak Houses".
    >> Chinatown near Lichester (spelling??) has wonderful food if you are into that
    >> stuff.
    >It's near Leicester Square

and not pronounced in such a way as you'd mistake the above spelling -
"lester" maybe

I'd have to say, stay away from the Wimpy's aswell as the steak houses
too.

Jim.

Adrian Rothery

"Bryan and Colleen Wooten" wrote in message
news:U1Lja.339983$F1.55615@sccrnsc04...
    > Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father back to
    > England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe Abbots Airfield in
    > Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit the American cemetery in
    > Madingley. Maybe a trip up to Scotland to round out the trip.
    > I was thinking 2 nights in London, for trip recovery, 3 in Cambridge, 2 in
    > Scotland, 1 in London and fly home. Train and taxis, local tours to get
    > around...
    > Any advice? This is truely a "once in lifetime" trip.
To be honest, a sidetrip to Scotland for 2 days is going to be spent
travelling there and back for most of that time.
A shame as there are many places in Scotland well worth visiting, so much so
that I would have suggested skipping London for Scotland if it hadn't have
been for your Suffolk journey.
Better to miss Scotland this time round and take it a little slower with
your father.

Adrian.
www.selfdrivecamping.co.uk

Marie Lewis

In article , Jim Ley
writes
    >I'd have to say, stay away from the Wimpy's aswell as the steak houses
    >too.
and McDonalds, and Burger King, etc., etc.
--
Marie Lewis

Irwell

On Sun, 06 Apr 2003 13:58:29 GMT, "Adrian Rothery" wrote:

    >"Bryan and Colleen Wooten" wrote in message
    >news:U1Lja.339983$F1.55615@sccrnsc04...
    >> Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father back to
    >> England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe Abbots Airfield in
    >> Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit the American cemetery in
    >> Madingley. Maybe a trip up to Scotland to round out the trip.
    >> I was thinking 2 nights in London, for trip recovery, 3 in Cambridge, 2 in
    >> Scotland, 1 in London and fly home. Train and taxis, local tours to get
    >> around...
    >> Any advice? This is truely a "once in lifetime" trip.
    >To be honest, a sidetrip to Scotland for 2 days is going to be spent
    >travelling there and back for most of that time.
    >A shame as there are many places in Scotland well worth visiting, so much so
    >that I would have suggested skipping London for Scotland if it hadn't have
    >been for your Suffolk journey.
    >Better to miss Scotland this time round and take it a little slower with
    >your father.
    >Adrian.
    >www.selfdrivecamping.co.uk
Good advice, maybe substitute an
escorted tour of Stratford, Warwick,
Chester etc., for the two days spent
in Scotland.

Harvey Van Sickle

On Sun, 06 Apr 2003 01:03:48 GMT, Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote

    > Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father
    > back to England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe Abbots
    > Airfield in Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit the American
    > cemetery in Madingley.

You probably have this on your list for Cambridge, but in case not the
Imperial War Museum's air museum at Duxford is really good -- they have
a good website, too -

http://www.iwm.org.uk/duxford/

Main advice -- which others have given -- is not to try to do too much.
The country's deceptively small -- it's tempting to try and squeeze
something in because it seems so close, and you can wind up overtiring
yourself. (It's probably not so tiring for your father -- you're doing
the logistics.....)

The idea that someone in the thread suggested of replacing the Scottish
plan with something like Stratford, Warwick or Chester is a good one.

--
Cheers,
Harvey

For e-mail, harvey becomes whhvs.

Owain

"Harvey Van Sickle" wrote
    | Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote
    | > Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father
    | > back to England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe Abbots
    | > Airfield in Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit the American
    | > cemetery in Madingley.
    | You probably have this on your list for Cambridge, but in case not the
    | Imperial War Museum's air museum at Duxford is really good -- they have
    | a good website, too -
    | http://www.iwm.org.uk/duxford/
    | The idea that someone in the thread suggested of replacing the Scottish
    | plan with something like Stratford, Warwick or Chester is a good one.

The IWM actually has several museums; as well as Duxford there is the main
IWM in London (allow at least a full morning and perhaps most of a day) and
also the Cabinet War Rooms - which I've visited twice and would go to again.

Owain

Bryan And Colleen Wooten

Thanks all for the tips, I "knew" I was over extending my 82 year old dad's
endurance...

Found a B&B 2 miles from Thorpe Abbots, easy train from London. Save
Scotland for next time...

Bryan


Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote in message
news:U1Lja.339983$F1.55615@sccrnsc04...
    > Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father back to
    > England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe Abbots Airfield in
    > Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit the American cemetery in
    > Madingley. Maybe a trip up to Scotland to round out the trip.
    > I was thinking 2 nights in London, for trip recovery, 3 in Cambridge, 2 in
    > Scotland, 1 in London and fly home. Train and taxis, local tours to get
    > around...
    > Any advice? This is truely a "once in lifetime" trip.
    > TIA
    > Bryan
    > (I didn't vote for him)

Nick Davies

Ken Pisichko wrote:

    > Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote:
    > >
    > All I can say is eat a meal in a small pub somewhere out of "big" cities. Have
    > a nice pint of beer. The price will astound you. Matthew and I had such a
    > lunch that cost us about 12 pounds - over $30 Canadian/ $20 USD.

Did you think that was cheap or dear? You can quite easily pay 50 pounds for two
for a three course meal and a bottle of wine - many pubs think nothing of
charging a tenner for steak and chips and 15 quid for a bottle of wine, and will
look at
you strange if you ask for a simple sandwich. And if they do them they'll want a
fiver for it.

And watch out on Sundays. All many pubs do is roast dinners. They very often are

very cheap, sometimes less than a fiver, but as so often you get what you pay
for. Unless
you hit lucky it can be disgusting. For an evening meal anywhere you have far
more of
a chance in a local curry house. It will be cheaper than the pub and, unless the
pub is any use
the food will be miles better.

Do remember that about 75% of British pubs are rubbish, having any or
all of dirt, stale air, bad beer, bad food, no food, noise, obnoxious staff,
hostile customers.

All of the chain pubs, the Vintage inns,Harversters, Beefeaters and what have you
fall
into this catagory, usually on quality of food and drink. They are also Meccas for
families
with screaming kids.

As you say, small pubs out of town are the best bet, but watch out for any
corporate
branding, you will be disappointed. You are best checking one of the many pubs
guides if you are visiting a strange area and don't fancy taking a chance - any
pub with
decent food and will be listed.

Jenn

In article ,
"Bryan and Colleen Wooten" wrote:

    > Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father back to
    > England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe Abbots Airfield in
    > Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit the American cemetery in
    > Madingley. Maybe a trip up to Scotland to round out the trip.
    >
    > I was thinking 2 nights in London, for trip recovery, 3 in Cambridge, 2 in
    > Scotland, 1 in London and fly home. Train and taxis, local tours to get
    > around...
    >
    > Any advice? This is truely a "once in lifetime" trip.
    >
    > TIA
    >
    > Bryan
    >
    > (I didn't vote for him)
    >
    >



Having traveled with my 80 year old mother and old and tired self, this
is way to much moving around. Do London [easily worth a week or two by
itself] and the Suffolk site for your Dad. Bag Cambridge and Scotland.

Misery and logistics and moving in and out of hotels is not 'once in a
lifetime', it is just tiring

Jenn

In article ,
"Owain" wrote:

    > "Harvey Van Sickle" wrote
    > | Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote
    > | > Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father
    > | > back to England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe Abbots
    > | > Airfield in Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit the American
    > | > cemetery in Madingley.
    > | You probably have this on your list for Cambridge, but in case not the
    > | Imperial War Museum's air museum at Duxford is really good -- they have
    > | a good website, too -
    > | http://www.iwm.org.uk/duxford/
    > | The idea that someone in the thread suggested of replacing the Scottish
    > | plan with something like Stratford, Warwick or Chester is a good one.
    >
    > The IWM actually has several museums; as well as Duxford there is the main
    > IWM in London (allow at least a full morning and perhaps most of a day) and
    > also the Cabinet War Rooms - which I've visited twice and would go to again.
    >
    > Owain
    >
    >
    >

the London war museum is definitely a must on this trip -- but one of
those is enough -- drop Cambridge altogether unless your father really
has his heart set on tha;t

Harvey Van Sickle

On Mon, 07 Apr 2003 12:55:42 GMT, Jenn wrote
    > In article ,
    > "Owain" wrote:
    >> "Harvey Van Sickle" wrote
    >>> Bryan and Colleen Wooten wrote

    >>>> Any advice for a first time traveller taking an elderly father
    >>>> back to England to visit his wartime duty station (Thorpe
    >>>> Abbots Airfield in Suffolk) and a trip to Cambridge to visit
    >>>> the American cemetery in Madingley.

    >>> You probably have this on your list for Cambridge, but in case
    >>> not the Imperial War Museum's air museum at Duxford is really
    >>> good -- they have a good website, too -
    >>> http://www.iwm.org.uk/duxford/

-snip-

    >> The IWM actually has several museums; as well as Duxford there is
    >> the main IWM in London (allow at least a full morning and perhaps
    >> most of a day) and also the Cabinet War Rooms - which I've
    >> visited twice and would go to again.

    > the London war museum is definitely a must on this trip -- but one
    > of those is enough -- drop Cambridge altogether unless your father
    > really has his heart set on tha;t


Horses and courses, I supppose, but that strikes me as very strange
advice.

I suggested Duxford because he said his father was a US airman in WWII
-- returning to his wartime base in Suffolk and the Cambridge military
cemetery sound like the the main reasons for the trip.

Given that background, why on earth would you advise that the London
IMP be a higher priority than Duxford? The latter even has an
"American Air Museum in Britain" as part of the complex.

He'd probably enjoy both of them, but if they're going to do one and
drop the other I'd have though it made obvious sense to scratch the
main London museum.

--
Cheers,
Harvey

For e-mail, harvey becomes whhvs.

barney

In article , [email protected] (Ken
Pisichko) wrote:


    > As you will be in London for a couple of days, STAY away from "Steak
    > Houses".
    > Chinatown near Lichester (spelling??) has wonderful food if you are
    > into that
    > stuff.

Absolutely right about "steak houses". The spelling you're looking for is
Leicester (pronounced "Lester").

    > All museums are free of charge - the national Gallery, the Science
    > Museum etc

Well -- not all. But the big famous London ones are.

    > It will be less expensive to take a bus (instead of a train) from
    > Victoria bus
    > station to Cambridge and probably anywhere else .

But also usually take quite a bit longer (especially as Victoria is on the
"wrong" side of London for Cambridge -- though the decision partly depends
which part of London you're staying in, of course).

    > Oh yes, get to a fish and chip shop in the "suburbs), and a Whimpy's
    > Hamburger
    > outlet - there are a few left (one in Clapham Junction I believe it
    > was).

For a much better burger try Ed's -- there is one at the Charing Cross
Road end of Old Compton Street, one toward the bottom of Hampstead High
Street, and I think one in Earl's Court too.