Alex Rigsby

Hello All,

I am from the US and am making my first trip overseas this June to the UK.

I'll be spending a good part of a week in London, but I want to make a side
trip to Lakenheath and then to Blackpool. Does anyone have any suggestions
on method of travel? Train and rental car are certainly the two easiest
options. What about convenience with regards to these two? I want to do
the trip in less than 3 full days.

Thanks for any advice or input.

~Alex R.
[email protected]
Please remove the REM-OVE from my email to reply.

The Reid

Following up to Alex Rigsby

    >I'll be spending a good part of a week in London, but I want to make a side
    >trip to Lakenheath and then to Blackpool. Does anyone have any suggestions
    >on method of travel? Train and rental car are certainly the two easiest
    >options. What about convenience with regards to these two? I want to do
    >the trip in less than 3 full days.

Blackpool 4 1/2 to 5 hours (much longer Friday evening)
Lakenheath under 2 hours

Notes on driving
We drive on the left :-)
Yellow and grey "Gatso" cameras on poles are automatic radar speed
traps. I dont know what happens when a US citizen sets them off?
There is a £5 a day congestion charge now in force Monday to Friday in
the very centre of London.
--
Mike Reid
"Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso
Fellwalking, photos, London & the Thames path "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk"
Spain, food and walking "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" (see web for email)

Alec

"The Reid" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Following up to Alex Rigsby
    > >I'll be spending a good part of a week in London, but I want to make a
side
    > >trip to Lakenheath and then to Blackpool. Does anyone have any
suggestions
    > >on method of travel? Train and rental car are certainly the two easiest
    > >options. What about convenience with regards to these two? I want to do
    > >the trip in less than 3 full days.
    > Blackpool 4 1/2 to 5 hours (much longer Friday evening)
    > Lakenheath under 2 hours
    > Notes on driving
    > We drive on the left :-)
    > Yellow and grey "Gatso" cameras on poles are automatic radar speed
    > traps. I dont know what happens when a US citizen sets them off?
If you are in a rental car, the rental company get a Notice of Intended
Prosecution, asking them to identify the driver caught on camera, which they
do from rental details. They pay the fixed penalty (£60) and debit your card
for the amount plus a service charge (maybe £20-30). There's also a question
of penalty points, but we don't go into that.
    > There is a £5 a day congestion charge now in force Monday to Friday in
    > the very centre of London.
You have up to 10 pm on the day to pay £5. If you don't the rental company
will bill your card with excess charge. Return your car outside of Central
London (airport?) and you'll be fine.

To add my two cents' worth, driving certainly makes sense and you can visit
other interesting places en route. From Lakenheath, you can stop at
Cambridge (with American Military Cemetery at Madingley), Ely and Lincoln
(both cathedral cities). Then through Peak District National Park, which has
a beautiful stately home at Chatsworth. Stoke-on-Trent is interesting if you
are into fine china (Wedgewood and Spode factory tours etc) and then on to
Chester (Roman remains and cathedral). Liverpool (Beatles, Tate Gallery and
Maritime Museum), Manchester (nightlife, music, Lowry Centre), and it's only
an hour to Blackpool via M6 and M55. On your way back you can stop at
Warwick (castle), Stratford-on-Avon (Shakespeare) and Oxford.
Book your car before you leave through www.autoeurope.com or www.kemwel.com

Alec

barney

In article ,
[email protected] (Alec) wrote:

    >
    > "The Reid" wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Following up to Alex Rigsby
    > >
    > > >I'll be spending a good part of a week in London, but I want to make
    > > a
    > side
    > > >trip to Lakenheath and then to Blackpool. Does anyone have any
    > suggestions
    > > >on method of travel? Train and rental car are certainly the two
    > > easiest
    > To add my two cents' worth, driving certainly makes sense and you can
    > visit
    > other interesting places en route. From Lakenheath, you can stop at
    > Cambridge (with American Military Cemetery at Madingley), Ely and
    > Lincoln
    > (both cathedral cities).

Lincoln might be a bit out of the way; for an equally stunning cathedral,
though in a less picturesque city, Peterborough is also convenient to the
route you'd be taking.

If you do decide to take the train, the station you need for Lakenheath is
Brandon (Suffolk). The train journey from London will involve changes at
Cambridge and Ely anyway so that would provide a good opportunity to see
those places (allow as much time as you can spare for Cambridge and just
an hour or two for Ely which, although pretty, is a small place with
little to actually see or do apart from the cathedral).

On from Brandon, there are a variety of rail routes to Blackpool, all of
them rather dull and taking 5-6 hours. See www.nationalrail.co.uk for the
choices.

But on balance I think driving is going to be the better option. If you
visit Cambridge be sure to use the Park and Ride (car park on the
outskirts, bus into the city) as it's one of the worst English cities for
driving and parking.

You could also combine the two methods -- rail to Brandon, then pick up a
car and drive to Blackpool. Try www.justoffbase.com for details of car
hire companies close to Lakenheath.

Jonathan Morton

"Alex Rigsby" wrote in message news:...
    > Hello All,
    >
    > I am from the US and am making my first trip overseas this June to the UK.
    >
    > I'll be spending a good part of a week in London, but I want to make a side
    > trip to Lakenheath and then to Blackpool. Does anyone have any suggestions
    > on method of travel? Train and rental car are certainly the two easiest
    > options. What about convenience with regards to these two? I want to do
    > the trip in less than 3 full days.
    >
    > Thanks for any advice or input.
    >
    > ~Alex R.
    > [email protected]
    > Please remove the REM-OVE from my email to reply.

Remarkable - a posting about travel in Europe :-)

Forgive me, Alex, but I don't know about your age or driving
experience - though you've obviously not driven on the "wrong" side of
the road (or, more relevantly, the wrong side of the car: trust me,
you'll be opening the door instead of changing gear!).

I'd be inclined to go by train. Lakenheath (which is pretty much in
the middle of nowhere) would be best done to Ely from Kings Cross
(hourly service and takes just over an hour) and then by taxi from
there. You could admire Ely and/or Cambridge on the way back if you
had time. That's a fairly easy day trip.

Blackpool is between 3 and 4 hours from Euston. Mostly you have to
change at Preston (not really a problem) but there are one or two
through trains. Realistically a day trip to Blackpool isn't on, so you
should allow two days for Blackpool and one for Lakenheath.

It isn't worth trying to do a triangular trip by train IMHO, because
of the relative inconvenience and expense, so if you decide on the
train it's worth treating it as two trips. If you decide to hire a
car, then you *can* do a London-Lakenheath-Blackpool-London trip
fairly easily, but you'll still hit the worst road in Britain in both
directions. The M6 from Birmingham to Preston is not a relaxing drive,
and worse still it's completely unpredictable - you could sail through
one day and get completely stuck in traffic the next, but sadly the
second of those two possibilities is the more likely.

Incidentally my advice on the trains pre-supposes you're doing the
trip in the week. More research is required at the weekend, as they're
doing lots of weekend maintenance work on the Blackpool line at
present.

HTH

Jonathan

The Reid

Following up to Jonathan Morton

    >Forgive me, Alex, but I don't know about your age or driving
    >experience - though you've obviously not driven on the "wrong" side of
    >the road (or, more relevantly, the wrong side of the car: trust me,
    >you'll be opening the door instead of changing gear!).

I dont want to understate the problem, but I have never found it a
problem, providing you are driving a car *of* the country. As
*everything* is reversed it all comes fairly naturally. What *isnt*
good is driving a right hand drive car in say France.

But I have got into the passenger seat and tried to drive off :-)
--
Mike Reid
"Art is the lie that reveals the truth" P.Picasso
Fellwalking, photos, London & the Thames path "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk"
Spain, food and walking "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" (see web for email)

Chris Brown

In article ,
wrote:

    >If you do decide to take the train, the station you need for Lakenheath is
    >Brandon (Suffolk).

I travel from Cambridge to Brandon by train a reasonable amount. There is
actually a station at Lakenheath, but I've never been on a train that
stopped there.

Note that there are no taxi companies in Brandon, and it's a few miles from
there to Lakenheath. You might be better going on to Thetford and trying to
get a cab there, or even taking one from Ely (more expensive, but much more
reliable and the trains to Ely are considerably more frequent).

    >The train journey from London will involve changes at
    >Cambridge and Ely anyway

Not necessarilly. Every other Cambridge Express from Kings Cross continues
to Kings Lynn via Ely, so you may not need to stop at Cambridge. Also, there
are (a very few) trains from Cambridge to Brandon/Thetford direct (Central
Trains Stansted to Norwich service). The trip is doable with only one
change.

    >But on balance I think driving is going to be the better option.

Indeed. Lakenheath is not the most accessible place by public transport in
the world. By car, it's pretty easy from London though - just get on the
M11, take the A11 when it branches off. The A11 will merge with the A14
north of Cambridge for a few miles, then diverge again. Follow it until you
reach the roundabout and then follow the sign for Brandon (I think it's the
second exit from the roundabout). That road goes right past the enterance to
Lakenheath air base, and the village itself is signposted from there.

--
/* _ */main(int k,char**n){char*i=k&1?"+L*;99,RU[,RUo+BeKAA+BECACJ+CAACA"
/* / ` */"CD+LBCACJ*":1[n],j,l=!k,m;do for(m=*i-48,j=l?m/k:m%k;m>>7?k=1<<m+
/* | */8,!l&&puts(&l)**&l:j--;printf(" \0_/"+l));while((l^=3)||l[++i]);
/* \_,hris Brown -- All opinions expressed are probably wrong. */return 0;}

barney

In article ,
[email protected]_uce_please.com (Chris Brown) wrote:

    > In article ,
    > wrote:
    > Note that there are no taxi companies in Brandon, and it's a few miles
    > from
    > there to Lakenheath. You might be better going on to Thetford and
    > trying to
    > get a cab there, or even taking one from Ely (more expensive, but much
    > more
    > reliable and the trains to Ely are considerably more frequent).

Actually there are four taxi companies in Brandon according to 192.com
(you learn a new useless thing every day!), one of them even apparently
headquartered at the airbase. But if money is not too much of an issue,
agreed cabbing from Ely has the virtue of simplicity, particularly as
there is a taxi rank there whereas the Brandon cabs probably need to be
booked in advance.

    > >The train journey from London will involve changes at
    > >Cambridge and Ely anyway
    >
    > Not necessarilly. Every other Cambridge Express from Kings Cross
    > continues
    > to Kings Lynn via Ely, so you may not need to stop at Cambridge.

Good point.

P J Wallace

You can get a train from London Kings Cross to Ely (about 1.5 hrs). It
looks as though you'd probably have to take a taxi from there to
Lakenheath.

There are trains roughly every hour from Ely to Blackpool, taking
about 5 hours, but you'd have to change at either Manchester or Crewe
or both Peterborough and York, and you'd be combining several
companies' services.

Check at www.thetrainline.com or www.qjump.com fo the dates you're
interested in.

Watch out for the time allowed for connections and see if you're
prepared to put up with a delay if a connection's missed.

PJW

On Wed, 14 May 2003 03:17:28 GMT, "Alex Rigsby"
wrote:

    >Hello All,
    >I am from the US and am making my first trip overseas this June to the UK.
    >I'll be spending a good part of a week in London, but I want to make a side
    >trip to Lakenheath and then to Blackpool. Does anyone have any suggestions
    >on method of travel? Train and rental car are certainly the two easiest
    >options. What about convenience with regards to these two? I want to do
    >the trip in less than 3 full days.
    >Thanks for any advice or input.
    >~Alex R.
    >[email protected]
    >Please remove the REM-OVE from my email to reply.