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[tinyzombie]

I miss the UK!

Can you sneak me in your suitcase, OP?

[avidreader]

The Tower of London is still my favorite fee-paying London attraction--a bit pricey, but so fun.
The British Museum and British Library are wonderful and I could get lost in either for days.
If you'll be there in early September, there are some great outdoor plays in Regent's Park. I think the theatre closes on the 12th.

If you're not into large cities, many smaller UK towns have a lot of culture and friendliness and just as much history. There are hundreds of castles to see (my favorite is probably Stirling Castle, up in Scotland, but I've only been to a handful). Totton (near Southampton) is a quaint little village fun for walking for a day.

I have always used the Lonely Planet guides--I can't stand Rick Steves (sorry Thundering) and the LP books have good maps and pretty good recommendations. The England one seems pretty comprehensive.

I miss the UK! Have fun!

AR

[verbena]

Oxford's own science museum is really good, too.

As is the University Museum of Natural History: http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/index.htm

[jwormold]

I really liked York: a big train museum, Fairfax House, not all that far from Durham Cathedral and Castle Howard.  I also had a damn fine chicken balti pasty there. You can get cheap (£13) train tickets from London if you book well in advance, otherwise it is rather pricy.  Durham Cathedral is stunning. Go.

For London travel guides, I prefer Time Out. If you are feeling particularly hip, Wallpaper has city guides, too, that will send you towards trendy design shops and bars. (And there's the Luxe city guides, but I've never used those, so I can't vouch for them).  Rick Steves makes me violently ill, sorry.  The Green Guide for Great Britain has been helpful on my current trip for useful overviews, particularly if you are geographically challeneged. Who knew Chatsworth was so far from London? Huh.

I was absolutely miserable in Newcastle. The best part about Newcastle: free wireless at the airport.

[expatinuk]

I suggest that you hire a car for a day or two so you can see things that are difficult to see using public transportation. If you like things like ancient stuff I'd follow the ancient ridgeway (of course you COULD walk the ancient ridgeway) and see some of the sites such as:

Avebury: http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/ridgeway/text.asp?PageId=70
Uffington Whitehorse http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/ridgeway/text.asp?PageId=71
Chequers http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/ridgeway/text.asp?PageId=76

Anyhow read the stuff on the website.

[sweetcider]

Thanks for all the excellent suggestions!

I leave for my conference in about a week and a week after that get to do the traveling!

My plan at this point is to meet travel friend at the airport and rent a car and head to Cambridge on Friday.  We'll spend Saturday in Cambridge.  On Sunday drive west and look for friendly towns, enjoy the country side and see castles.  Depending on time etc. I'd like to make a circle that would take us to Wales, the Cotswold's, Bath, Stonehenge and/or Avebury and back to London on Friday morning.  We'll get return the car and spend Friday - Sunday in London and fly home on Monday. 

Do any of you have specific suggestions for economical places to stay in that loop?  (Particularly in Cambridge and London?)  I'm open to B&Bs and mostly want a clean, safe, comfortable place to sleep. 

Also, if there are additional sites to see you recommend, those suggestions are always appreciated.  Travelbuddy is particularly interested in castles.

We're both more history or science museum type people.  I like art museums that are well explained and/or in small doses.  We like to do some walking/light hiking (30 min - 2 hours out, not too strenuous).

[daurousseau]

I think you are supposed to sit on a park bench in tweeds and muse.

[expatinuk]

Leeds Castle...lovely.

And you can get some good deals with Travellodge... http://www.travellodge.co.uk

[frogfactory]

Earls Court (and to some extent Barons Court) in London is a good place to look for reasonably priced hotels.  I can't for the life of me remember a single hotel in Cambridge itself, but they most exist.

[wegie]

sweetcider, does this mean you're going to be joining us for the Cambridge meetup ;-)

On a more practical note, if you've only got a week, Wales is going to be difficult. I'd certainly leave out north Wales (despite the attractions of Conwy and Caernarfon castles) as it'll just take too long to get there and back by road.

The south Wales marcher castles and places like Tintern Abbey and the Wye Valley would be much more accessible on a route going anti-clockwise through the Cotswolds.

[chenar]

Sounds like it'll be a great trip!

If you are heading in the direction of Stonehenge (by car), why not go and marvel at Wells Cathedral and check out Glastonbury Tor too?  If the weather is good, there are some really nice paths/trails too, where you can hike back and forth from Wells to Glastonbury, though I'm not quite sure about the distances...

[scotia]

Enjoy your trip sweetcider. Something that sometimes surprises people who plan to drive in the UK is just how slow and crowded the roads can be, and how tiring that can make driving. One trick I have learned when driving in Southern England is to have a plan B route that takes me off motorways: I don't know whether I am particularly unlucky but in three of my last four trips south I have spent a few hours staring at extremely unattractive bits of motorway scenery and a few more hours detouring (slowly) through country roads with lots of other similarly frustrated motorists.

If you are coming in September the kids should be back at school, which will make rush hours horrible but tourist routes easier. UK universities mostly do not start until mid- to late-September.

[expatinuk]

Don't try to drive from Stonehenge to Wells if you're on a tight time table. I did that and ended up spending about 5 hours in the car. Sure, on the map it doesn't look like it's much of a drive. But it is on small backroads and the traffic is pretty awful. We didn't get to Wells until just before the Cathedral closed and I didn't even get to see the clock striking.

Oh, you can go via the motorway... but you do go a roundabout way.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Earls Court (and to some extent Barons Court) in London is a good place to look for reasonably priced hotels.  I can't for the life of me remember a single hotel in Cambridge itself, but they most exist.

An advantage of Earl's Court (if you're flying out of Heathrow) is that it is Underground Zone 1 (cheap to central London) and Zone 2 (cheaper to Heathrow).  Plus, the Earl throws great parties.

There is a nimeity of budget hotels in the area, but some of them are pretty disgusting once you pass the lobby.  There's a Best Western around the corner from the station that I stayed at once, the rooms were tiny but completely clean.  Around 70UKP including tax, IIRC. - DvF

[scotia]

There is a nimeity of budget hotels in the area, but some of them are pretty disgusting once you pass the lobby.  There's a Best Western around the corner from the station that I stayed at once, the rooms were tiny but completely clean.  Around 70UKP including tax, IIRC. - DvF

I tend to use Best Westerns when staying in London because they are reasonably priced and seem to guarantee a minimum standard of cleanliness. I have stayed here a couple of times and found it perfectly acceptable. Be warned, though, that the rooms are small (I could easily touch both walls in my single room with my elbows bent). When in London I sleep and shower in my room and otherwise am not there so it did matter to me, but if space matters you might find it difficult.

http://www.bestwestern.co.uk/Hotels/Best-Western-Phoenix-Hotel-83317/Hotel-Info/Default.aspx?