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Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2019-12-28 09:30pm
by SpottedKitty
LadyTevar wrote: 2019-12-28 09:07pm
mr friendly guy wrote: 2019-12-28 09:00pm But I am a big tea drinker and I stock up on various tea varieties when I am in Asia. Is there any place where I can experience English teas?
Twinnings has a tea shop on the Strand. Can't get more British than that.
In the same category — at least, I don't think I've heard of it turning up in Forn Parts — is a Cream Tea. As well as some very nice tea, you get something from the bakery, usually a pancake or a big soft fluffy scone (I'm not kidding, I once got a scone nearly the size of both my fists), butter (not margarine, thankyewverymuch), jam and a little bowl of clotted cream. You may now feel your arteries hardening just from the description. :wink:

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-01-12 03:29am
by mr friendly guy
Ok so my time alone ie not on tour will be on 3 may to 8 may in London, Check out on the 9 of May as my tour of Ireland and Scotland starts then, so I will be flying out to Dublin. My hotel is near Paddington.

The other time will be from 23 May (when my tour finishes) to 3 June. The amount of time I stay in each part of the UK is sort of flexible, since I can always cancel the hotels, but the final flight is on 3 June from Gatwick airport. I would prefer to stick to my plan, but if something comes up then theoretically I can change hotels and still get the refund. The plan so far is

23 May to 25 May in Durham - from there I can day trip to the Beamish museum, and maybe visit Stanley as well. Durham itself has a castle and great walks. Check out on 26 May

26 May to 27 May in York. Rather not change here too much, since I booked a nice, really nice hotel. :D Check out 28 May

28 May in Chester. This is a rest day, although I understand Chester has some nice historic sights. Check out 29 May

29 May to 30 May in Cardiff. Check out 31st May.

31 May to 1 June in Bath. Plan to do a day visit to Castle comb. check out 2 June.

2 June in London (Gatwick). Most likely a rest day. I am not sure if there is much to see in Gatwick, but if anyone knows, please tell me.

3 June fly out from Gatwick airport.

If anyone can meet up, I will try and make time to see a fellow SDNetter face to face. I already met a couple of you guys already.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-01-12 03:34am
by The Grim Squeaker
Outside of London, 2 things i'd suggest are the lake district & the coast to coast trek. Beautiful views (assumes you like hiking though). You can stay at B&Bs each night, and some tours will take your luggage for you between sites.

(I'm flying to London [agaion] in a few hours :P)

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-01-12 07:32am
by Eternal_Freedom
Welp I don't have anything in my calendar for the weekend (ish) you're in Cardiff, so rock on.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-01-12 09:12am
by Starglider
mr friendly guy wrote: 2020-01-12 03:29am2 June in London (Gatwick). Most likely a rest day. I am not sure if there is much to see in Gatwick, but if anyone knows, please tell me.
I'm about half an hour from Gatwick, in case you want to see my double-secret Brexit bunker.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-01-12 11:44am
by Rogue 9
Huh. By coincidence, I was about to post this thread. I'm flying into Heathrow on June 14th and out of Gatwick on June 27th. Itinerary between is largely not fixed at this point.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-01-15 08:15pm
by mr friendly guy
Eternal_Freedom wrote: 2020-01-12 07:32am Welp I don't have anything in my calendar for the weekend (ish) you're in Cardiff, so rock on.
I will PM you closer to the day.
Starglider wrote: 2020-01-12 09:12am
mr friendly guy wrote: 2020-01-12 03:29am2 June in London (Gatwick). Most likely a rest day. I am not sure if there is much to see in Gatwick, but if anyone knows, please tell me.
I'm about half an hour from Gatwick, in case you want to see my double-secret Brexit bunker.
I will see how I feel. I would have been travelling for around 45 days by then, but if I am still up for it, I will try and PM you a few days prior to when I arrive in Gatwick.

---------------------------------
Also I am going to try the Masala zone when I am in London. Gordon Ramsay also has a restaurant there, although not sure if I will go there. A set 3 course meal sounds more than I would eat these days.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-01-25 10:36pm
by Beowulf
SpottedKitty wrote: 2019-12-28 09:30pm
LadyTevar wrote: 2019-12-28 09:07pm
mr friendly guy wrote: 2019-12-28 09:00pm But I am a big tea drinker and I stock up on various tea varieties when I am in Asia. Is there any place where I can experience English teas?
Twinnings has a tea shop on the Strand. Can't get more British than that.
In the same category — at least, I don't think I've heard of it turning up in Forn Parts — is a Cream Tea. As well as some very nice tea, you get something from the bakery, usually a pancake or a big soft fluffy scone (I'm not kidding, I once got a scone nearly the size of both my fists), butter (not margarine, thankyewverymuch), jam and a little bowl of clotted cream. You may now feel your arteries hardening just from the description. :wink:
I'd actually suggest Harrod's for the cream tea. It's not too insane for pricing even.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-03-02 08:57pm
by mr friendly guy
Bit of a necro, but what's the deal with temporary simcards in the UK. Do they cover just the UK or Europe since I will be visiting 8 other countries prior to coming into London, and also going to Ireland after.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-03-03 03:03am
by madd0ct0r
the EU’s Roam Like At Home policy allows you to use your UK allowances at no extra charge.

Your prepaid UK SIM card can be used at no additional cost in the following European countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy (includes Sardinia and Sicily), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal (includes Azores and Madeira), the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (includes Canary Islands and Balearic Islands) and Sweden

Likewise, if you have a SIM card from another European country, you can use it in the UK at no additional charge.

If you’re travelling to Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Monaco or Switzerland, you should check whether your usage there will be covered by European roaming.

Some UK networks go beyond inclusive roaming in Europe. For instance, a prepaid SIM card from Three can be used at no extra cost in 71 destinations. This includes the USA, Australia, Brazil, Singapore and more.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-03-12 01:35am
by mr friendly guy
With the Australian PM considering a travel ban for Australians going to Europe due to covid 19, this might very well affect my travel plans. For those who have agreed to meet me in the UK, I will keep you posted. I have been monitoring the reports from Europe daily to see what the situation is. No offense to the UK, but if I get sick with coronavirus, I would rather be treated in Australia than by the NHS for obvious reasons, like our doctors in my state aren't overworked and underpaid.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-03-13 05:58am
by mr friendly guy
Oh crap. Trafalgar has cancelled all tours to Europe, so my two tours are cancelled. So I think its better to try again some time later after the covid 19 pandemic has come under control.

Thanks to those who volunteered to show me around their cities, but I am going to have to delay my trip. I most probably spend more time in Australian during the time in April to June.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-03-13 02:14pm
by Eternal_Freedom
That's a shame, I was looking forward to this. Well, let me know when the plan is back on, unless I have anything else in my diary I'm still happy to show you Cardiff.

Re: What to see in England

Posted: 2020-03-13 08:42pm
by mr friendly guy
Well on the plus side, I may find it easier to take 40 + days off to travel. Basically the reason I can do travel to Europe around April was because I would be between jobs. However since my best friend is going to employ me to work as a doctor in his practice, I am a free contractor, so hours are highly negotiable (I just won't get paid, but I have plenty of savings). Maybe later in the year when coronavirus is beaten, then I can try another European trip. One day I will get to see the UK.