UK Tour Guide: Places to See in the UK

[aychamo]

Hey guys

We are making a trip to the UK later this Summer, and I'm trying to get a list of places worth seeing. So far I have:

- White Cliffs of Dover
- Westminster Abbey (among the people buried there, I want to see Darwin's grave, Newton's grave, and Shakespear's grave)
- Stonehenge

Beatle Stuff:
- Abbey Road (the crossing and the studio)
- Whatever houses in London the Beatles lived in
- in Liverpool:
- - Pennylane
- - Strawberry Fields
- - The Beatles' birth houses, etc
- - The Cavern Club

Does anyone know where Lennon's Ascot house is, and where Lennon & Harrisson are buried? I would love any suggestions.

Thank you
Aychamo

 

[jcsd]

I think Avebury is a better experince than Stonehenmge, though they are quite close so you could visit them both. Teher's also a lot of stuff 9far too much to list) to see within walking distance of Westminster Abbey

Both John and George died in the US and were cremated, so they don't have graves in the UK, but you might like to vist John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool which is open to the public, Tittenhurst Park in Ascot (I don't know whethr it's opento the public) and the Abbey Road Studios which I believe have just been opened to the public for the first time ever.

 

[icvotria]

Shakespeare was buried in his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon but some other people buried at Westminster who might be of interest to you are Faraday, Rutherford, Joule, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy (but his heart's buried with his family, aww) and Rudyard Kipling. Give Kipling a kiss from me! If you're looking for a good bar in London there's this wicked place in Soho, on Firth Street (I think!) called Garlic and Shots. It's all dark and dingy and below ground and full of bikers and you feel a bit like you're in From Dusk til Dawn and there's millions of shots, it's lots of fun. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see the white cliffs of Dover, they're pretty boring. If you're looking for nice scenic places I'd say try the Pennines and the New Forest and there are lots of pretty beaches in Suffolk. And make sure you go to the British Museum, it's really good. Have fun!

 

[zoobyshoe]

icvotria,

This site:
Faraday
Address:http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~eugeniik/history/faraday .

says Faraday is buried at Highgate Cemetery, London (Scroll directly to the bottom). Is Highgate Cemetary an appendage of Westminister Abbey?

 

[icvotria]

I stand corrected, it must be a memorial they have at Westminster. Mmmmm, Highgate Cemetery, I love it there, I used to live really close by and we used to go see where Karl Marx is buried and my dad would always say he wanted to be buried higher up than him. I feel all nostalgic now. I can't remember seeing Faraday's grave though, I feel cheated.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I was in London for a week about 30 years ago. At that time I'd never heard of Faraday. I had to check your mention because I did visit Westminister back then and might have walked by him without knowing it. Guess not, though.

Last year someone in a thread here mentioned having visited the Faraday museum in London at the location of one of his old laboratories. Much of his actual experimental equipment can be seen there. If I went back, I'd visit this.

 

[aychamo]

Hey, cool. I didn't know all those Physics studs were buried at Westminster.

What are some other good pubs to hit in the London area? Maybe a pub where the locals go, off the tourist map. To grab a pint of a really tastey dark beer.

Also, any advice on Ireland? I've been told to visit Cork, and Dublin. I want to see vast rolling green hills.

 

[matthyaouw]

Where do I start? I guess it depends what type of things you want to see. Are you a fan of old castles and the like? or how about scenic walks, mountains etc? Do you want to see the cities or the country? Are there any particular areas that you want to visit, or avoid? Will you be going as far as Scotland?

 

[brewnog]

The Peak District would probably be a pretty good stop. Don't make the mistake most tourists do and stay down south (or worse - in London), - it's pretty vital to try and see the north of the country (and yes, Scotland if possible).

 

[matthyaouw]

Agreed. There are some loveley places in the Peak district. If you go there, I reccomend Dovedale, Winnet's pass, a walk down the old Mam Tor road, and either the Blue John mines or Treak Cliff caverns.

If you are after scenery, I also reccomend the Lake District and the Malham/Gordale area of the Yorkshire dales.

 

[aychamo]

Hey guys

Thank you again for the advice. I am noting it all down and locating it in my tourist books. May I ask how to get plane tickets from England to Ireland?

 

[Andy]

Devon and cornwall are very good bets, and the new forest is a pretty nice place to be so long as your not one of those tourists that drive way too slow and block the roads up. I forget how nice the new forest is until i go too london for a few weeks.

 

[hypatia]

The most importaint tip...be sure to look right befor crossing the street!

 

[Astronuc]

The west coast - from Land's End to the far north - as much as you can.

http://www.gordon-c-harrison.co.uk/camusfearna.htm

According to Gordon Harrison:

Sandaig Islands & the Sound of Sleat - This was the 'Camusfearna' of Gavin Maxwell's best-selling book 'Ring of Bright Water'. He lived here for many years with his otters until the cottage that was his home at Sandaig was razed to the ground by fire.

In Wales - St. David's Head and the Snowdonian Mountains

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=10262

http://www.eryri-npa.co.uk/page/screen.php?nav1=home&nav2=1&nav3=1&nav4=1&nav5=1&level=1&lang=eng

In Scotland - the Highlands - western side.

In England - The Lake District and Cumbria, and certainly the Peak District if you can't go too far north.

 

[matthyaouw]

You sir, have good taste in tourist spots. I love all of the places you've mentioned

 

[brewnog]

You sir, have good taste in tourist spots. I love all of the places you've mentioned

Yeah, damn right! I think Astronuc is a closet Brit with good countryside at heart...

Aychamo, - RyanAir (http://www.ryanair.com) is often the easiest way to fly to Ireland, if you book early you might find a flight for under £5, especially if you're flying from the North.

 

[brewnog]

Agreed. There are some loveley places in the Peak district. If you go there, I reccomend Winnet's pass.

OT:

One of my friends was driving his car up Winnats Pass a couple of weeks ago, and blew a radiator hose. A driver going in the opposite direction got 'lost' in the resulting steam cloud and wrote off his car, and is now trying to claim off my friend's insurance for it! The cheek...

 

[matthyaouw]

Nice! An amendment to my earlier statement:

If you go there, I reccomend Winnet's pass, so long as you have a good car or are a strong walker. :P

I remember ascending it in my college's shoddy minibus with my geology class. That was worrying

 

[brewnog]

I was on a school trip up there once, the minibus got about 200 yards up the steep bit and then had to reverse, we had to take a detour through Edale to get to the top!

 

[Astronuc]

matthyaouw, brewnog

Gentlemen - I come from the Land Downunder, but my paternal grandfather was born in Oldham (suburb of Manchester) and my paternal grandmother is from Cornwall - so this side a 2nd gen Aussie.

On my mother's side - I am a Highlander and a Viking - but also 5th gen Aussie.

I have been to England several times both for pleasure and business.

I have to get back there someday, hopefully soon!

I would love to spend a year or so at Camusfearna with some otters and a vegetable garden.

Besides, there are all those Whisky distilleries in Scotland.

 

[matthyaouw]

Its nice to finally find people as enthusiastic about the beauty Britain has to offer as I am. Most people I talk to seem to have the impression that you have to go far away before you can find anywhere nice.

 

[brewnog]

Its nice to finally find people as enthusiastic about the beauty Britain has to offer as I am. Most people I talk to seem to have the impression that you have to go far away before you can find anywhere nice.

I'm in complete agreement with you here! 15 minutes from home home and I can be amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe. I love it!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

This is from something unusual that came up some time ago - really off the wall but perhaps interesting to some. Anyway, since I've never been to the UK it is my only contribution to the topic. Also, one person said that he knew about this and that it is pretty cool.

Dear ****** Ivan

Yes, this sculpture can be found in one of our smaller caves called the “Crystal Quest”, which is joint onto Cox’s Cave. Crystal Quest is an underground fantasy adventure and consists of heroes, princesses and mythical dragons. It is a tale of good verses evil, and the goblin in your picture is part of the scenery. You may be interested to know that J.R.R. Tolkien’s description of Deep Helm in “Lord of the Rings” was itself inspired by a visit to Cheddar Caves.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

**********
Cheddar Caves & Gorge
Somerset, England.

http://www.picturesofengland.com/pictures/500/Cheddar_Caves_and_Gorge_10673614781.jpg
a google hit
http://www.picturesofengland.com/England/Somerset/Cheddar/Cheddar_Caves_and_Gorge

 

[zoobyshoe]

Is that where gollum lived?