United Kingdom

London in the Summertime

April 6, 2014 By Lauren

London gets a bad rap for weather, which is sort of…deserved. But that’s not to say that you won’t get at least two glorious weeks of summer each year. Since the summer is famously fleeting, be ready to make the most out of it. When the sun comes out, so does everyone else. Although London gets part of its personality from the ubiquitous drizzle, it shines during the summer.

When you’re planning your trip, look at Hotels4U for London Hotels that are close to transport links so you can access all that the city has to offer. Most of central London is walkable, but there’s plenty to see on the fringe and for that, your best option is usually the train system. Here are just a couple of suggestions to get you started.

Richmond

Set on the banks of the Thames, Richmond is the perfect place to find a pub and claim an outdoor table for the afternoon. If you want to do some exploring before settling in, check out Kew Gardens or Richmond Park. You could also visit Hampton Court Palace on the way in or out of London. Bear in mind that when it rains in Richmond, it pours:

Greenwich

On a sunny day, jump on the Docklands Light Railway to Greenwich, ground zero for the modern concept of timekeeping. This is where time starts, and you can get a photo of yourself straddling the prime meridian. Greenwich is its own little center of activity, with the Royal Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark (the world’s last surviving tea clipper) all within walking distance.

Covent Garden

If you’d rather stick to the heart of the city, head down to Covent Garden. It’s an old covered marketplace that is a constant flurry of activity. You can shop, watch street performers, eat, drink, and generally be merry. Is it touristy? Yes. But for good reason.

Notting Hill

Admittedly, I’m biased towards Notting Hill because I used to live there. It’s close to Portobello Market, a long street lined with a hodgepodge of shops and its main attraction, the Saturday market. It is rammed with people but don’t let that stop you. Get there early and investigate what the stalls have to offer – you could find anything, from trinkets to the best chocolate banana crepes this side of Paris.

London revels in its brief, blissful moments of summer. It’s a time when people break out the Pimm’s and (somewhat bizarrely) eschew the sunscreen, soaking up as much of the season as they possibly can. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you are in London, because you’ll be able to sense the way people’s moods have buoyed. Pull up a chair and join them, but bring an umbrella – just in case.

High tide in London — May as well go to the pub.

Rail Tours: Destination Checklist

February 6, 2014 By Guest Blogger

If you thought rail travel was only about commuting to work or visiting family, think again. From desert odysseys to mountain adventures, city breaks to luxury safaris, railways holidays come in all different sorts of shapes and sizes.

Here’s a quick guide to just some of the many different kinds of trip on offer.

Short breaks

If you’ve only got a https://www.viagrasansordonnancefr.com/viagra-naturel/ few days to spare or want to make the most of your weekends, a short UK railway break could be just what you’re looking for. Hop on a train in London or closer to home and be whisked https://www.acheterviagrafr24.com/achat-viagra-en-ligne-suisse/ to the Highlands of Scotland, the wilds of Wales or the beauty of Cornwall. Your travel and accommodation will all be arranged for you, so all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the view!

4703986442_1d0e91a2f4 — Train station in Berlin

Historic journeys

If you have a love of trains and a love of history, taking a trip on a classic steam train through timeless countryside could well be your ideal summer break. All around the UK, steam trains carry enthusiasts to some of the most beautiful parts of the country, but if you’ve got more time then you could even visit Belgium, Austria or Germany by rail.

For https://www.acheterviagrafr24.com/acheter-du-viagra/ anyone interested in the battles of World War One, a train journey to the sights and monuments of the conflict would be a weekend to remember. Your guides will talk you through the momentous events that took place in these now peaceful towns and villages and give you a real insight into what life was like back in the early 1900s.

Exotic excursions

Those who want to travel even further afield may think rail journeys are out of the question – but they’d be wrong! Go on safari in South Africa, visit the temples of Sri Lanka or walk round the imperial cities of China with sensational rail journeys throughout these countries.

3936628067_dba65bcc37 — https://www.acheterviagrafr24.com/ Tracks to adventures and travels still unknown!

Long haul breaks can last anywhere from one week to three weeks, but you can also arrange https://www.viagrasansordonnancefr.com/viagra-en-pharmacie/ a custom-made trip and experience everything that your chosen destination has to offer at your own place.

If you’ve got a list of places that you want to visit, a rail tour is almost guaranteed to take you there. As train holidays let you travel around viagra pas cher inde maroc and experience cities, towns and villages at a more relaxed pace, you’ll come back with a deeper understanding and appreciation of what your destination has to offer.

Right to Roam – Hiking in the United Kingdom

April 15, 2013 By Jillian

After backpacking around the world, we’ve settled into a more normal travel routine, taking shorter vacations here and there to relax and recharge. That’s not to say the adventure is gone- in fact we’re probably pickier and more selective about the places we visit now given that we have only a short time to get there and explore. Our focus now is to go to places where we can do the activities we love like hiking and camping instead of focusing on places where we can check off a list of must-sees.

High on the list of activity focused vacations is the United Kingdom. Although I spent several weeks there on a teen tour and a few pamper days in England in college during my study abroad semester, my time in the United Kingdom so far really only hit the highlights of each country and a week or so running about London. With all of the big “must see” tourist destinations out of the way, I’m planning to spend my next trip there focused on activities we love like hiking the hills or even better Scotland’s highlands. Why hiking in the United Kingdom? Well, walking, as it is called in the United Kingdom is apparently the most popular outdoor recreation activity in Great Britain, at least according to the Ramblers Association. Government laws protect the right to roam in Scotland in places that walking has been unhindered for more than 20 years and in England and Wales the public has right of way on many routes through private land. That’s pretty cool, especially coming from America where the freedom to roam is often curtailed by signs warning about trespassing.

In England and Wales many of these “right to roam” routes are signposted and you even have the right to camp along the footpaths if you wish. Although there’s a substantial network of these trails, most of the long-distance paths are far from civilization, allowing you to really get away from it all – something that doesn’t generally come to mind when I think of the United Kingdom. The terrain may not be mountainous by most people’s standards, but the fact that you can get up and just start down a footpath and see where it takes you is very inviting.

Apparently challenge walks, or long-distance timed walks are also popular in the United Kingdom. We completed a 100K/24 hour hike a few years ago along the C&O canal in D.C. which was fun, exhausting and definitely the kind of hike that needed to end in massage treatments. Danny did another one in February along the same route that was just 50 miles (just!) and I could see us doing another long-distance hike again. With names like the Lake Wake Walk and the Three Peaks Walk, I think we’re in!

Photo Credit: Photo1 courtesy of flickr user Russell J. Smith, Photo 2 courtesy of flickr user Paul Stevenson, both via a creative commons license.

Ideas for Budget Travelers in the UK

January 25, 2013 By Lauren

The UK’s expensive, right?

English countryside — Beautiful UK countryside, and it’s all free!

Wrong.

Okay, well, right a little. At the time of writing, $100 US dollars will get you about £63 British pounds. Those are the kinds of numbers that can make traveling in the UK seem prohibitive.

But here’s the catch – it doesn’t have to be.

If you want to go to the UK on a budget, all you need to do is think outside the box. It won’t be as cheap as, say, Southeast Asia, but if you’re careful, it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Transportation

The UK has some great transport links, which give the budget traveler some options. Always check the buses first, as they tend to be cheaper. Companies like Megabus or National Express are good ones to try. Rail networks are available all over the country, and you can save by buying a rail pass, especially if you qualify for a student discount. To get from the west coast of the UK to Northern Ireland, try taking a ferry instead of a flight.

Accommodation

By now, you’d have to be living under a rock not to know about hostels, the go-to for most explorers on a budget. Sick of hostels? How about camping? The UK has plenty of spots conducive to camping. For a small fee you can rent a space for a tent or campervan, often with shared power points, showers, and kitchen facilities.

Off the Beaten Path

England Wookey Hole — Wookey Hole, England. So THAT’S where King Kong ran off to.

Groan. What a generic phrase, right? Hear me out. As congested as the main cities of the UK can be (London, Edinburgh, or Belfast), there are rolling acres of countryside waiting to be explored. Ever hear of Cheddar, England? For £16.65 you can get a day pass to the beautiful Cheddar Gorges and Caves. Bring your own lunch and cut down on costs. Look into the places you haven’t heard of, like Wookey Hole in England. Get over to Wales, which is still overlooked on many itineraries.

Although it’s small, the UK is stuffed with history, landscapes, and charm. Besides acting as a hub for travelers into Europe, it’s a destination all of its own.

*This post was brought to you in association with Butlin’s*

Go Your Own Way In The UK

September 10, 2012 By Lauren

Public transport is a wonderful thing. Underground networks make big cities accessible, while buses and trains can be a relaxing way to get around.

But there’s something you sacrifice when you take public transport, and that’s independence. Nothing beats a good road trip, where you can stop whenever something strikes your fancy.

Like gooseberries, for example.

British gooseberries — I used to think ‘gooseberry’ was a made-up word intended for insulting people.

My fiancé and I toured the UK and Ireland by camper van a few years back, and somewhere in the British countryside, I saw a hand-drawn sign that read, “Gooseberries.”

“Stop the car!” I cried.

I learned two things that day: one, that gooseberries aren’t very good, and two, nothing tastes as sweet as freedom. I loved being on our own schedule, and that it was so easy. Car hire UK isn’t complicated, nor did it require an international driver’s license (check before you go, as laws may change).

We visited places just because we could, even though people warned us that there was nothing to see:

Sherwood Forest — They were right. There was nothing to see.

And visited places because we happened to be in the right place at the right time, like Kells Priory in Ireland. While in Kilkenny, we ducked into a tourist information shop to avoid the rain, and I saw a leaflet about the Priory. It was 15km outside of town, and the woman told us we could only get there if we had our own car.

So we went.

Kells Priory, Ireland — I’d say it is no longer operational.

Even though I’d lived in the UK and Ireland for over two years, I experienced it in a whole new way. I’ll always be a big fan of public transport, but if somebody says road trip – count me in.

London in the Summertime

Rail Tours: Destination Checklist

Right to Roam – Hiking in the United Kingdom

Ideas for Budget Travelers in the UK

Go Your Own Way In The UK

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