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Post by whollygoats on Apr 12, 2016 0:25:46 GMT
Yes....I have had a return to UK on my back burner for some time. Now, I'm retired.
So. Skara Brae is one destination.
Isle of Man is another destination.
Wales requires a more thorough visit.
I assume I'm expected to show my face in Whitehaven.
What I'm wondering is what things should I absolutely NOT MISS in all of Wales?
Or, for that matter, anywhere along the transits to beyond John O'Groats and the middle of the Irish Sea?
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Post by tangent on Apr 12, 2016 8:11:28 GMT
You might like to fly to Manchester because it's quite central, in which case I would buy you a beer.
Chester, Conwy Castle and Caernarvon are worthy places to visit in North Wales (Chester is close to the border) but juju should advise you on South Wales.
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Post by JoeP on Apr 12, 2016 9:04:02 GMT
We must alert Border Control!
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Post by raspberrybullets on Apr 12, 2016 10:00:02 GMT
I haven't visited enough of the UK to give advice, so many areas look so pretty. I'd say though, do not miss the Lake District, which is handy to Moose anyhow. Are you visiting Scotland and Ireland also? The Peak District was beautiful as well.
I would recommend staying in B&Bs. They are generally affordable, clean and provide nice breakfasts. If you do go to Ireland at all, the best place I ever stayed was at a B&B on the mid west coast and I'll recommend it.
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Post by juju on Apr 12, 2016 14:06:42 GMT
So many areas of Wales are a stunning, it's hard to choose one! Snowdonia National Park in the north is majestic: www.snowdoniatourism.co.uk/And then there's mid Wales, and the Ceredigion coastline, my favourite: www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/fun-stuff/34-pictures-thatll-make-you-11090459And of course Pembrokeshire in the South West and the Gower Peninsula, which is absolutely stunning: www.enjoygower.com/I would avoid the industrial south east of Wales and the M4 corridor, although the capital Cardiff is worth a visit, too. Wales has mountains, beaches, lakes, miles of open space, lots of castles, stunning countryside and loads and loads of culture and history! But bring a raincoat
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Post by JoeP on Apr 12, 2016 15:17:25 GMT
But don't bother with an umbrella because it will blow away.
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Post by Kye on Apr 12, 2016 15:22:36 GMT
It didn't rain when I was in Wales --an historic first!
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Post by JoeP on Apr 12, 2016 15:51:12 GMT
You must have imagined that Kye
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Post by juju on Apr 12, 2016 16:31:34 GMT
Actually it was lovely when Kye and Genie were here. And also when Sarah was here. So the moral is, more North Americans should come to Wales!
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Post by JoeP on Apr 12, 2016 17:43:06 GMT
I supposed you have witnesses and photos to prove this? I'm not going to believe it otherwise.
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Post by Kye on Apr 12, 2016 18:01:23 GMT
Well Joe, you were there so you have first-hand knowledge!
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Post by juju on Apr 12, 2016 18:05:14 GMT
So who was this mysterious chap, then?
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 12, 2016 19:58:59 GMT
You might like to fly to Manchester because it's quite central, in which case I would buy you a beer. Chester, Conwy Castle and Caernarvon are worthy places to visit in North Wales (Chester is close to the border) but juju should advise you on South Wales. I'd be willing to fly to Manchester or Glasgow, but I think that will depend upon which airlines offer the best package. I suspect I may well end up in London...which is fine, as I have to spend time at the British Museum and at the Tate Gallery....but lodgings in and around London tend to be hideously expensive. I have been to Chester. During my first tour of the Islands, I returned to Britain from Eire via the Dun Laoghaire ferry to Holyhead on Anglesey. At Holyhead, I caught a train that took me to Chester, where I arranged accommodations. That landing at Hollyhead and train to Chester is my one and only experience with Wales; a couple of hours watching it speed past through train windows. One question I would have of you, Steve, is "where are the best aviation museum venues open to public visitors"? Anywhere in the British Isles.
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Post by JoeP on Apr 12, 2016 20:25:48 GMT
So who was this mysterious chap, then? That was a fun day, sitting in your house with Photoshop listening to the wind rattling the windows.
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Post by juju on Apr 12, 2016 20:30:29 GMT
So who was this mysterious chap, then? That was a fun day, sitting in your house with Photoshop listening to the wind rattling the windows. WG - there's a list of aviation museums here, by area: www.aviationmuseumguide.co.uk/Are you doing the West Country at all? Bath? Stonehenge? Devon or Cornwall? My favourite hippy-mecca, Glastonbury?
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 12, 2016 20:34:25 GMT
Thank you, Juju!!! Snowdownia jogged a memory of some specialty railroad that goes up in to the mountains....I found it: Snowdonia Mountain RailwayUnless a knowledgeable local tells me that this is a crass tourist-trap ripoff not worth the charge, this has made it as 'definite'. Get high in Wales! In looking at the Ceredigion materials, I found the Vale of Rheidol Railway...Worthwhile? Are there 'magical mystery tours' available of Pembrokeshire and the Gower? Also....I hear about Hay-on-Wye. Books and all. I'm not sure it garners a visit, or not. Then, Wales has the reputation for some of the best preserved medieval castles in the whole of Britain. Are there better ones for visitors?
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 12, 2016 20:50:58 GMT
That was a fun day, sitting in your house with Photoshop listening to the wind rattling the windows. WG - there's a list of aviation museums here, by area: www.aviationmuseumguide.co.uk/Are you doing the West Country at all? Bath? Stonehenge? Devon or Cornwall? My favourite hippy-mecca, Glastonbury? *deep sigh* Maybe. I fell in love with Cornwall during my visit with my wife decades ago. We pulled in to Penzance on the train, just before sunset, with the red sails on the bay. We loved Mt. St. Michael. We had a magical mystery tour. We stumbled in to Mazy Dayz on what was Midsummer's Day; a huge community festival. We spent a miserable night in St. Ives, thanks to all the newly hatched gulls. We trekked to Tintagel to pay our Arthurian respects. We also enjoyed Plymouth, Bath, and Bristol...and yes, we spent an entire day in Glastonbury, including dozing in the Chalice Garden and hiking to the tower at the top of the Tor, all for more Arthurian respects. One thing I did not do whilst I was in the West Country was to visit the site of my patronym. It's just southwest of Taunton, in Somerset. The reason I'd rushed through Wales the first time was that I was on a schedule to get to Salisbury and Stonehenge on the Autumnal Equinox. The reason I'd missed Wales the second time was that we hurried from the West Country to the Lake District, where we stayed in the Kendal Youth Hostel. I'll be combing the air museum lists, thanks.
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 12, 2016 22:45:50 GMT
Duxford seems to be it...the 'definitive'. It makes the list, but I'm still interested in any others which might hold special interests. My interests: Coastal Command, seaplanes, transport aircraft, STOL aircraft, and 'close air support' craft.
Hmmmm....Duxford is near Cambridge. Cambridge is about an hour out from London King's Cross. I wonder if I can get less expensive accommodations by 'commuting' out that line...see Duxford, then using the same accommodations, train in to London to do British Museum and the Tate. Halfway, perhaps?
Do train stations still have tourist information 'i' offices that can connect you with a hostel, B&B, or hotel? Or does everybody now do that on their mobile device?
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Post by tangent on Apr 13, 2016 5:41:17 GMT
The only aviation museum I've been to is the Avro Heritage Museum near where I live. It's a new museum, wrongly catalogued in the museum guide, and its website is www.avroheritagemuseum.co.uk. It's open at weekends. I've no idea how it compares with the other museums. Do train stations still have tourist information 'i' offices that ,can connect you with a hostel, B&B, or hotel? *blinks* Cambridge station has shops and cycle racks - they say they have space for 3,000 bicycles - but no tourist information. There's a tourist information office in the centre of Cambridge and you can find accommodation from their website, www.visitcambridge.org/.
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Post by juju on Apr 13, 2016 8:25:16 GMT
The best way to book accommodation these days is online. I've had good results from booking.com and laterooms.com
Or you could just put in 'B&B insert town' and see what happens.
Travelodge and Premier Inn are chains of cheap hotels - a bit soulless but excellent value for money if you book ahead, and always clean and very comfortable.
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Post by Kye on Apr 13, 2016 11:56:23 GMT
You could also check Airbnb in the area.
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 13, 2016 14:11:39 GMT
The only aviation museum I've been to is the Avro Heritage Museum near where I live. It's a new museum, wrongly catalogued in the museum guide, and its website is www.avroheritagemuseum.co.uk. It's open at weekends. I've no idea how it compares with the other museums. Ah. Thanks. That's Avro, now to find de Havilland, Short, Saro, Supermarine, Fairey, Vickers, Blackburn, Bristol, Armstrong-Whitworth, Hawker, Miles, Boulton-Paul, Handley-Page, Airspeed and Westland. I'm banking on the Imperial War Museum having a wealth of variety. Thanks, Steve. I mistakenly assumed that if you'd been enticed to one, you may well have been to, or reconned, others. I'm assuming that Farnborough is just an air trade show that allows the public in to gawk on two days every other year, and does not maintain a static display museum I was spoiled. I tramped and trained around the isles back in 1980, being a young man with a backpack. I was spoiled in that when I used the train, either I had a specific destination and I called ahead to book a bed, or, when I arrived at an acceptable destination, each and every Britrail train station had a staffed kiosk where travelers could step up, tell the staff the kind of accommodation sought and they'd link you up with local accommodations. Each kiosk was clearly marked with a large red enclircled italic 'i'...I called them 'Intourist' offices. It made my mode of travel quite easy.
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Post by Kye on Apr 13, 2016 15:07:19 GMT
Not as easy as using the Internet...
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 13, 2016 15:29:35 GMT
But don't bother with an umbrella because it will blow away. Puddle City has a reputation for rain, but it really does not rain all that hard at any given time...it just sort of 'drizzles' endlessly. The city is built immediately next to a temperate rain forest. The real issue is the endless overcast that comes with it. Consequently, locals don't tend to use umbrellas (bumbershoots) and rely upon a good rain-repellant outer garment, usually a lightweight parka shell, with hood. Wales sounds very similar.
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 13, 2016 15:46:43 GMT
Not as easy as using the Internet... Ah...but I'm not particularly sophisticated in that manner. I do no...zero...mobile applications. I do not even have a mobile phone. How are 'cyber cafes' these days? That was the means of accessing the internet in 2004, when I did the Silk Roads tour. I'm viewing 'using the Internet' as being easy if you want to book everything in advance and force yourself to be in certain places at certain times. Since I don't have mobile access, I'm stuck unless I hunt down a cyber cafe to access a computer...to change reservations...somehow that does not sound 'easier' to me. Am I just making it more difficult than I need? I liked arriving in a town, booking a 'baseline' accommodation (inexpensive comfy bed with breakfast) and then wandering about. By next morning, I will hopefully have decided whether I want to spend another night, or move on. When I traveled with my wife, she introduced me to International Hosteling, and we lucked out in that the movement was adding more 'family rooms' with privacy and recruiting older adults at the time, so we were able to occasionally have a private room in a hostel. Hostels, B&B, and standardized hotel chains like Juju noted (on road trips, we call them 'No Tell Motels') are the way I travel. I don't want fancy hotel rooms...I don't intend on staying in them; I generally want to be out and about. Other than to book for, say, a luxuriant cleanse, comfortable but spartan is fine for me.
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Post by juju on Apr 13, 2016 16:02:26 GMT
By the way, tourist information centres do still exist - every town will have one - just not necessarily located in the train station.
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Post by tangent on Apr 13, 2016 16:31:34 GMT
Yes, there are plenty of potential visitors who do not want to use the Internet.
Your description of Puddle City sounds more like Manchester than South Wales.
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 13, 2016 16:46:06 GMT
Hmmm...So, this Orkney tour looks like it will be my 'primary destination'. I haven't decided whether to include the Shetlands, or not, but this four-day gig in the Orkneys gets me Skara Brae, Maeshow, the Standing Stones of Stennis, the Ring of Brodgar, and the harbour at Scapa Flow. I think I may have to go the the Shetlands to get the pony, though. Booking with this outfit for early, if in autumn, or late, if in spring, on my itinerary, becomes kind of an anchor for the other destinations....(start in the north and work south, or vice versa).
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 13, 2016 16:49:24 GMT
Yes, there are plenty of potential visitors who do not want to use the Internet. Your description of Puddle City sounds more like Manchester than South Wales. Well...On advice from natives, I've tended to give Manchester and the Midlands a fair amount of distance, but I can certainly understand that south Wales is probably more like the Oregon coast than the inland valley....heavier and more persistent rains and more wind.
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Post by whollygoats on Apr 13, 2016 16:56:42 GMT
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