Go Back  British Expats > Living & Moving Abroad > USA
Reload this Page >

What to see/where to go?

What to see/where to go?

Old Jul 9th 2013, 6:20 am
  #1  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Beccarose's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 217
Beccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the rough
Default What to see/where to go?

So I am trying to plan our England adventure. This trip is 2 weeks for us to get a good idea of 1) do we definitely want to live there and 2) where.

Since it is only 2 weeks we are keeping it no further north than Manchester. We start in London and want to work our way south, then west, then north.

What are some places we should definitely have on our list to visit? And does anyone have any recommendations on lodging in those places?

A little bit about what we are wanting, we are a family of 5 (well, 6 but my oldest won't be moving with us), all of the kids are 10 and older. Sports are a big part of our lives (as in playing sports), we don't want too small of a town as to not have accessibility to activities but also not so big that it will take us an hour in traffic to get to those activities. Safety, good schools, good quality areas are all of course important.
Beccarose is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 7:28 am
  #2  
 
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,848
Englishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond repute
Lightbulb Re: What to see/where to go?

Take a look at "The Guardian" newspaper's series of "Let's Move To........."

They have reported (so far) on what it's like to live in 269 places in the UK. There are 5 pages in this list here, so you should be able to find something of interest

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/series/letsmoveto


Also when booking your flights, it may be more convenient to say, fly into London Heathrow and the return flight out of say Manchester, Birmingham.

Btw The Dutch airline KLM has many flights to UK regional airports via its hub in Amsterdam; quite often their flights work out cheaper than flying on a non-stop to the UK with a British or American airline.
Englishmum is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 7:47 am
  #3  
 
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,848
Englishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond reputeEnglishmum has a reputation beyond repute
Lightbulb Re: What to see/where to go?

PS. Motels are probably a good place to stay if you're going to be on the move. The largest chains in the UK are the Premier Inns and the Travelodges (personally I much prefer the Premier Inns).

There are also some of the French-owned Formule 1 (very, very basic 'crash pads' and in the same Accor hotel group Ibis/Mercure) and Campanile motels too, plus some Days Inn hotels:

http://www.premierinn.com/

http://www.travelodge.co.uk/

http://www.daysinn.co.uk/

Otherwise you can just look up the nearest tourist board for the area of the UK you plan to be in and they will have listings of B&Bs, hotels and motels etc.

http://www.visitengland.com/en/EN/

I always check http://www.tripadvisor.com for reviews of where I plan to stay (accommodation, restaurants, things to do etc.)

Hope this helps!
Englishmum is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 10:33 am
  #4  
BE Enthusiast
 
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 603
NiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond reputeNiHao has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

Englishmum,

Thanks so much for posting all this great info!
NiHao is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 1:42 pm
  #5  
BE Forum Addict
 
Tockalosh's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Up on the Ranches not down on the Springs
Posts: 2,109
Tockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

When you are heading up North, take a hotel in Knutsford and base yourself there. its 45 mins drive into Manchester, 45 mins drive to Liverpool or Chester (latter being a must see place). Don't know your budget for hotels but quite a few of the pubs do lodging both in Knutsford and the surrounding villages.
You wont regret it, promise you.
Great little town, bit of poshness about some parts of it, right on a beautiful national trust park, great restaurants, nice bars, decent pubs, loads of sports available etc etc
Tockalosh is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 2:02 pm
  #6  
BE Forum Addict
 
Joined: Jan 2011
Location: Tunbridge Wells KENT
Posts: 2,914
Pistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond reputePistolpete2 has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

Originally Posted by Beccarose
So I am trying to plan our England adventure. This trip is 2 weeks for us to get a good idea of 1) do we definitely want to live there and 2) where.

Since it is only 2 weeks we are keeping it no further north than Manchester. We start in London and want to work our way south, then west, then north.

What are some places we should definitely have on our list to visit? And does anyone have any recommendations on lodging in those places?

A little bit about what we are wanting, we are a family of 5 (well, 6 but my oldest won't be moving with us), all of the kids are 10 and older. Sports are a big part of our lives (as in playing sports), we don't want too small of a town as to not have accessibility to activities but also not so big that it will take us an hour in traffic to get to those activities. Safety, good schools, good quality areas are all of course important.
Maybe you can let us know what you are going to ask next now, so that we can cover everything in one go, even though everything has been pretty much covered already many times over, except now you haven't told anybody that you are going to Gothenburg as well so they are trying to give you advice without knowing what the full picture is.

You also haven't told anybody this time around that you don't want to make bookings but just travel on spec.

All the hotel stuff has already been given as has using towns as centres, none acknowledged of course, but the way you have laid this post out you want everybody to start all over again, what with Safety, Good Schools, Quality Areas with a blank cheque for the entire South of England south of Manchester .

Have a heart! as they say.
Pistolpete2 is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 2:26 pm
  #7  
 
Pulaski's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,397
Pulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond reputePulaski has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

As you head north from the SW, presumably on the M5, take a look at Gloucester, and nearby Cheltenham. Both are IMO "big, but not too big".

Gloucester has some good schools; I know less about the ones in Cheltenham. But Gloucester is about an hour from Bristol, Birmingham, and Oxford, and two hours from London by train or car. There are plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities in the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, and the mountains of central and south Wales beyond. If the area is lacking, it is in the arts and theatre- there is a professional theatre in Cheltenham, but not Gloucester.
Pulaski is online now  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 5:55 pm
  #8  
Lost in BE Cyberspace
 
quoll's Avatar
 
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Canberra
Posts: 8,374
quoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond reputequoll has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

Duh, what happened to East????? East Anglia has some lovely spots too you know! Cambridge is superb but unfortunately it is quite $$$

I'm a Travelodge girl - cant be bothered to shop around and I know exactly what I am getting when I check in. Premier Inns seem to be a bit more expensive from my few comparisons. Days Inn are another chain (stayed in one once it was fine) but if you check out Expedia you can get some quite good B&B deals as well.
quoll is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 7:40 pm
  #9  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Beccarose's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 217
Beccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the rough
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

Originally Posted by Pistolpete2
Maybe you can let us know what you are going to ask next now, so that we can cover everything in one go, even though everything has been pretty much covered already many times over, except now you haven't told anybody that you are going to Gothenburg as well so they are trying to give you advice without knowing what the full picture is.

You also haven't told anybody this time around that you don't want to make bookings but just travel on spec.

All the hotel stuff has already been given as has using towns as centres, none acknowledged of course, but the way you have laid this post out you want everybody to start all over again, what with Safety, Good Schools, Quality Areas with a blank cheque for the entire South of England south of Manchester .

Have a heart! as they say.
What's wrong with you? Why do I have to ask every single imaginable question in one post? What's wrong with how I am posing my questions? And what does it matter if we are going to Gothenburg?! Is it anyone's business, anyway?
For crying out loud it's a public forum and I don't see why I should have to tiptoe around those of you who feel it is so important to read every single one of my posts before replying to me, just so that you can jump all over me for every little subject I broach!
And for the record, the last topic I made about not wanting to make bookings ahead of time was actually my asking if that is a doable thing, what does it matter to this thread anyway?!?! Maybe I changed my mind and decided that what you said made more sense than what we were thinking of doing. Why do you care so much and why do you feel a need to read every one of my posts before replying to me?
Beccarose is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 7:42 pm
  #10  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Beccarose's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 217
Beccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the rough
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

Originally Posted by Tockalosh
When you are heading up North, take a hotel in Knutsford and base yourself there. its 45 mins drive into Manchester, 45 mins drive to Liverpool or Chester (latter being a must see place). Don't know your budget for hotels but quite a few of the pubs do lodging both in Knutsford and the surrounding villages.
You wont regret it, promise you.
Great little town, bit of poshness about some parts of it, right on a beautiful national trust park, great restaurants, nice bars, decent pubs, loads of sports available etc etc
Thank you! Most helpful and very appreciated. Will definitely have that on our list!
Beccarose is offline  
Old Jul 9th 2013, 7:45 pm
  #11  
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
 
Beccarose's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 217
Beccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the roughBeccarose is a jewel in the rough
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

Originally Posted by Englishmum
PS. Motels are probably a good place to stay if you're going to be on the move. The largest chains in the UK are the Premier Inns and the Travelodges (personally I much prefer the Premier Inns).

There are also some of the French-owned Formule 1 (very, very basic 'crash pads' and in the same Accor hotel group Ibis/Mercure) and Campanile motels too, plus some Days Inn hotels:

http://www.premierinn.com/

http://www.travelodge.co.uk/

http://www.daysinn.co.uk/

Otherwise you can just look up the nearest tourist board for the area of the UK you plan to be in and they will have listings of B&Bs, hotels and motels etc.

http://www.visitengland.com/en/EN/

I always check http://www.tripadvisor.com for reviews of where I plan to stay (accommodation, restaurants, things to do etc.)

Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the genuine and appreciated reply! Very good post and will definitely come in useful.

Likewise, I wanted to thank everyone who takes the time to offer helpful tips and replies to my posts.
Beccarose is offline  
Old Jul 11th 2013, 7:50 am
  #12  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Jul 2013
Location: south korea
Posts: 22
pocari will become famous soon enough
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

have a look on the net, look for the cotswolds; exeter, bath/bristol, wales, devon, dartmoor, the new forest, newquey (sp?), cornwall.

its a shame youre not going a bit more furthr north, the lake district, yorkshire (whensleydale etc) is beautiful and york is a great city ( home of the vikings!) as is the northumberland coast.
pocari is offline  
Old Jul 11th 2013, 3:22 pm
  #13  
BE Forum Addict
 
Tockalosh's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Up on the Ranches not down on the Springs
Posts: 2,109
Tockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

Originally Posted by pocari
have a look on the net, look for the cotswolds; exeter, bath/bristol, wales, devon, dartmoor, the new forest, newquey (sp?), cornwall.

its a shame youre not going a bit more furthr north, the lake district, yorkshire (whensleydale etc) is beautiful and york is a great city ( home of the vikings!) as is the northumberland coast.
To get to the Northumberland coast you would have to go past Middlesboro and the rest of the North East and that is a toilet of a place. Its always bloody windy and cold up there anyway so its a long way to go to be miserable and you will wish you hadn't
Draw a line at the North Cheshire border and don't venture too far over it and you will be fine

Last edited by Tockalosh; Jul 11th 2013 at 3:44 pm. Reason: Trying to appease another sad grammar addict but cant be arsed to be honest.
Tockalosh is offline  
Old Jul 11th 2013, 3:38 pm
  #14  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Jul 2013
Location: south korea
Posts: 22
pocari will become famous soon enough
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

What? I'm sure there are many thousands of people from newcastle, Durham etc. who would disagree with you.
Are you typical of the caliber of person that posts on this forum? Do you actually genuinely, believe that you're being helpful to the OP?
btw, you might want to brush up on your grammar skills before you take a trip to visit the barbarians next time. You may teach them some bad habits?
pocari is offline  
Old Jul 11th 2013, 3:47 pm
  #15  
BE Forum Addict
 
Tockalosh's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Up on the Ranches not down on the Springs
Posts: 2,109
Tockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond reputeTockalosh has a reputation beyond repute
Default Re: What to see/where to go?

Originally Posted by pocari
What? I'm sure there are many thousands of people from newcastle, Durham etc. who would disagree with you.
Are you typical of the caliber of person that posts on this forum? Do you actually genuinely, believe that you're being helpful to the OP?
btw, you might want to brush up on your grammar skills before you take a trip to visit the barbarians next time. You may teach them some bad habits?
If you have a short time in the UK then I think everyone bar those from the North East would agree its a place you can miss off the "must see" list. Along with Workington and Rhyl
I did offer the OP some very useful tips actually thank you.
Tockalosh is offline  

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.