Great Britain Cruise vs. Land

[Harters]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

for an island nation like Great Britain, it would be best to see it by land AND by sea

But, also, bear in mind that we are a small country. None of us live more than around 75  miles from the coast, so getting around is easy. 

 

As suggested upthread, I'd agree that, for a first time visitor, you'd want to include London. But, please try and get away from the capital and see something of the country where most of us live. Otherwise, it'd be like me saying I've visited New York City so I've seen America. 

Edited March 15 by Harters

[Techno123]

Bore da pawb

only a few of you have mentioned God's own country - Cymru (Wales)

 

It's the land of mountains and castles (over 600) beaches and song. With just over 3 million people, it's never crowded. It has its own language (please don't ask a Welsh person or a Scot come to that if they are English😜😂)

 

If you dock at Holyhead which is on Ynys Mon (Anglesey) you would need to take an excursion so would only see a fraction of just my tiny corner of Wales so I definitely recommend a land tour.
 

How long for the UK - well I've lived here all my life and I'm still exploring.

Hwyl fawr

 

 

Edited March 15 by Techno123

[Harters]

Thanks for the reminder, Techno. Or should I say "diolch".

 

Granny Harters came from Hawarden before moving to Manchester as a young woman. And my late father-in-law was a Griffiths from somewhere near Denbigh. So both of us have a connection. North Wales is a day trip or long weekend destination for us and I'd say we're still exploring the area.  We like to have a week's UK holiday each year and, by co-incidence, it was only the other day we were saying we were due a return to North Wales (our last long trip was in 2010 when we stayed in Abersoch). Thinking maybe Caernarfon or Porthmadog as a base next year. 

[QuestionEverything]

2 hours ago, Mareblu said:

And for a truly luxurious experience:  Tauck tours.  They offer some superb experiences in the British Isles.

They are on our list indeed. Thanks so much.

[Techno123]

40 minutes ago, Harters said:

Thanks for the reminder, Techno. Or should I say "diolch".

 

Granny Harters came from Hawarden before moving to Manchester as a young woman. And my late father-in-law was a Griffiths from somewhere near Denbigh. So both of us have a connection. North Wales is a day trip or long weekend destination for us and I'd say we're still exploring the area.  We like to have a week's UK holiday each year and, by co-incidence, it was only the other day we were saying we were due a return to North Wales (our last long trip was in 2010 when we stayed in Abersoch). Thinking maybe Caernarfon or Porthmadog as a base next year. 

Croeso @Harters We camped (well in a motorhome when we had one - it got crushed by a falling tree but that's another story) very near Porthmadog a couple of years ago. Got the train to Pwllheli and walked the coastal path back - gorgeous. Have you been to Portmeirion (I am not a number if you are a child of the 60s 😜) - well worth a visit if not. Caernarfon has the castle and easy access to Anglesey so also a good option. Decisions, decisions 😁

[JYDCruise]

14 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

In general, the maximum age for rental cars is 75. 

Darn! I would have really enjoyed renting a 1931 Austin 7 Swallow!

[Harters]

Yeah, been to Portmeirion years back. It was featured on TV a couple of weeks back on a food programme (Hairy Bikers). That's actually what prompted us to think about another visit. 

[NYAS]

14 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:. When we travel, we prefer to use the "spoke" method...stay in one hotel and take day trips to surrounding areas...much better than packing up and moving every couple of days.

Agree with @AMHuntFerry on the “spoke” method. This has worked well for us in Normandy (based in Bayeaux), Basque Country (based in San Sebastián) and the Italian Lakes (based in Stresa). Now researching other such itineraries, especially ones as above where the base towns offer several appealing dining options.

[Hlitner]

We have spent time driving through the UK (except Wales) and have also done a couple of circumnavigation cruises around the entire island.  We enjoyed both modes (cruise and driving) and it is actually a great combination.  Doing the cruises has given us a chance to visit some far flung places in the North that we would generally not visit on a driving trip.  Driving (outside of London) has given us an opportunity to appreciate the UK, interact with some friends (who we met on previous cruises) etc.  Much of the UK is not going to be visited if one simply takes a cruise.  

 

A word about London, which is actually one of our least favorite places in the UK.  It is a very large city and worthy of a few days visit.  I have sometimes joked that although we have traveled throughout the world (far more then 100 countries) it is in London where we faced the most language barrier problems :).  London is also a very expensive city for tourists.  Lots to see and do, but we prefer being outside this large metropolitan area.  Even our English friends (who live in Hampshire and near Brighton) avoid London.

 

Hank

[Vineyard View]

Good friends have taken a number of Traflager tours. They enjoyed the experience, although they do point out that in the bus tour world, one never knows who your traveling companions are going to be, and how they may impact your experience……both good and bad. 
We are discussing whether to take a British Isles cruise next year, vs a driving tour. We’ve actually had this discussion for several years! We are not group land travel people. When we did safari in Africa we traveled with these friends mentioned above, and it was a lifetime heart experience, but generally, if others want to travel with us, we would choose a cruise over land. 
So a bus tour is truly out for us. I am enjoying this thread very much. There is a lot of good information and suggestions. I get stumped on where to start the planning, and how long to realistically plan. It seems to me that a single land tour would not be sufficient, and that is when I find myself stumped once again! 

[Harters]

36 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Even our English friends (who live in Hampshire and near Brighton) avoid London.

I live in the northwest (about a 2 hour train journey from the capital). I wouldnt say I avoid it (although I think I'd hate to live there) but I now only visit the central area for specific reasons - to see a show, go to a particular restaurant, etc. Usually staying overnight but, last trip in 2021, we went for the day, just for lunch at my favourite London restaurant (Rules). 

 

https://www.hungryonion.org/t/london-covent-garden-area-rules/26418

 

That said, most of my trips in the last couple of decades have been to undertake research at the National Archives, so I've stayed out in the sticks at Brentford. 

[Harters]

6 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

I get stumped on where to start the planning, and how long to realistically plan.

You have to decide how long  you want to stay, you have to regionalise and you have to work into that the things that interest you. Yes, I know that's probably all self-evident but keeping things relatively local means you're not constantly moving base. You don't want to be in Devon one day and Northumberland the next.

 

For example, for our UK break this year, we're going to stay in Hereford for a week. Looking at the various things we plan to do each day, nothing is more than an hour's drive and most are much less. The only time we've done a UK driving tour was one trip to Scotland when we went north up the west coast, past Loch Lomond to Fort William and then Inverness. Return visit was along an eastern route through the Highlands, stopping at Pitlochry. Took us about a week. 

[Vineyard View]

Thank you Harters. Yes, finding that sweet spot to call a home base for a bit is our style of land travel. Two weeks (due dog sitters) is about the range now days. We have experienced London in the past, but never outside of London, nor Ireland/Scotland. So that is a lot of geography! I think that my doing research is a prerequisite, and committing to that is necessary to pull off a great land trip. It’s been a long while since we have done an extensive land trip outside of the U.S.  Your response is spot on. 

[Vallesan]

6 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you Harters. Yes, finding that sweet spot to call a home base for a bit is our style of land travel. Two weeks (due dog sitters) is about the range now days. We have experienced London in the past, but never outside of London, nor Ireland/Scotland. So that is a lot of geography! I think that my doing research is a prerequisite, and committing to that is necessary to pull off a great land trip. It’s been a long while since we have done an extensive land trip outside of the U.S.  Your response is spot on. 

Just to add one more thing to Harters great post please consider the time of year. The Cotswolds and Shakespeare country etc. may be great,  but not between Mid July and end of August. School holidays make some places so overcrowded that you might find them not exactly as you’d hoped for. In fact if you can avoid this period in most ‘popular’ places it would be better.

[Harters]

Add the Lake District to Vallesan's warning of overcrowding in the main summer months. It can make parking in the area's small towns all but impossible. Go slightly out of peak season.

 

Walk. Gaze at mountains. Take boat trips on the lakes. Eat Herdwick lamb and Grasmere gingerbread (although not together). 

 

But, if you want all but deserted scenery, a trip to the northeast and the Northumberland coast would be my suggestion. 

 

Either might fit as an intermediate stop for someone who wants to spend time in, say, London and Edinburgh. 

[clo]

13 hours ago, Woodrowst said:

I have traveled extensively to the UK.  It would be hard to imagine not spending any time in London on my first trip to England, Edinburgh on my first trip to Scotland, Dublin on my first trip to Ireland, or Belfast on my first trip to Northern Ireland. They are all amazing.   The good news is that each of these cities have wonderful day trips to smaller towns or rural areas so you can get the best of both worlds.  Next month my wife and I have an expedition cruise coming up that spends its time going around the lesser traveled outer Scottish islands.  But I would not do that as my first UK cruise. 

I'll differ with you in that it's the small towns not the cities that we love. I've joked that London is full of 'foreigners.' 🙂 Like Glasgow better than Edinburgh and Dublin didn't light our fires. But, boy, everything else did. Just my two cents.

[Vallesan]

10 minutes ago, clo said:

I'll differ with you in that it's the small towns not the cities that we love. I've joked that London is full of 'foreigners.' 🙂 Like Glasgow better than Edinburgh and Dublin didn't light our fires. But, boy, everything else did. Just my two cents.

Exactly! London is probably the most multi-cultural city in the UK. 
 

[Harters]

22 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

London is probably the most multi-cultural city in the UK. 

 

And it's also where many (most?) foreign tourists gravitate to. 

[clo]

19 minutes ago, Harters said:

 

And it's also where many (most?) foreign tourists gravitate to. 

And I heard more non-English spoken than in any "English speaking country.:)

 

[lackcreativity]

20 hours ago, ORV said:

Any idea how many people are on these bus tours?

We traveled with Globus on our first trips to Europe in our fifties (now 70's), and we selected that company because our in-laws had traveled with them years before that. Globus has been doing this a long time, and they know what they are doing. I know that escorted bus tours are a major turn off for some people, but we enjoyed every one we took. As of our last one ten years ago, the group size was usually around 30/35. I don't remember the large coach busses ever being completely full.

[Techno123]

For a small country there is an awful lot to see. Like @Harters we try to holiday in the UK when we can and not even scratching the surface. The more I travel, the more I appreciate my home (although got to say, Norway is a close run thing 😜)

[Vineyard View]

5 hours ago, Vallesan said:

Just to add one more thing to Harters great post please consider the time of year. The Cotswolds and Shakespeare country etc. may be great,  but not between Mid July and end of August. School holidays make some places so overcrowded that you might find them not exactly as you’d hoped for. In fact if you can avoid this period in most ‘popular’ places it would be better.

Absolutely!  We always travel shoulder season for that reason….Apr/May being our favorite times for multiple reasons. 
I just sincerely wonder if in a two week timeframe, one can visit that much geography without changing stay locations more often than we like. Friends took a two week trip to Scotland and Ireland last Fall. They were on the move way more than we want, and agreed upon return that it was more than they liked. And that is not even touching Wales, London, or the many lovely places surrounding. 

[Harters]

VV - I think you have to start from what sort of things or types of places appeal. Things will fall into place once you're clear on that sort of thing. For instance, if you like mountain scenery, don't go to East Anglia which flat as a pancake. If you like castles, maybe North Wales suits. On the flip side, my trips to the States have often had a focus. In real life I'm an amateur military historian and we've done a number of trips following your Civil War (or War Between the States, if you prefer). We've driven the Blue Ridge Highway stopping in small towns and never coming across another foreigner in the three week. And there was the Great Music Road Trip - Nashville, Memphis Tupelo, New Orleans, Lafayette. 

[clo]

2 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Friends took a two week trip to Scotland and Ireland last Fall.

We probably did two weeks in Scotland. Started in Glasgow and went up through somewhat (I suck at geography) through the middle, stopping at a distillery, on up to the coast and then west over to that coast. Then down there and back to Glasgow where Bob played golf at Troon!

[clo]

2 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

 We always travel shoulder season for that reason

We do a ton of our travel in spring and fall. We were in Antarctica in the middle of summer however. LOL.