Cali coming to the UK again........a few questions.

SacCyclone

SacCyclone

Club Member
Hi everyone.....

My last trip to the UK was in 2016 and met up with BlueJon from the Zclub in London at a local pub.
Great getting to meet up with Jon.
Time has just flown by.
Made it through Covid and a heart surgery so now back to a little travel.

Below is my schedule, last time we spent several days in London proper visiting the local landmarks like the London Eye, Chard, Harrods, and walked along the River Thames for a afternoon tea near the London Bridge.

This trip we are looking for a more local experience, maybe in a smaller city with local charm etc.
Any thoughts or ideas for a local and less touristy destination?

I know the wife wants to visit Cotswolds, Highclere Castle, Windsor Castle, and Tea at the Chard. So, it looks like we will spend some time around London. She really wants to visit castles on this trip.

Our trip so far;

Sacramento to London on Nov.13.

Fly London to Rome Nov.14

Cruise from Italy to Greece Nov. 15 - 22.

Paris Nov. 22 to 28th.

Eurostar 28th to London.

London and countryside 28th to Dec.5th.

Fly London to Sacramento Dec. 5th.

Again, if anyone needs some small parts from the states that will fit in my backpack again, PM me for address etc.

Look forward to meeting up with some of you in and around London between Nov. 28th to Dec. 4th.

Cheers and thanks in advance for suggestions of places to visit in the UK on this trip!

Mike
 
S

status

Well-Known Forum User
Well,I’m out in the country,we call it out in the sticks over here,im near London Stansted international airport plenty of proper country lanes with bends in em,can take you for a blast in my Rebello powered Zed or one of my Subaru imprezas ,I’ll even make yer a cup of Rosie Lee ( hot ) and a biccy
 
Robotsan

Robotsan

Club Member
Glad you've finally got your European trip booked Mike.

Sounds like you need to stay somewhere not to far from London, picturesque, full of history and quaint old English buildings.. have you heard of, Luton? Only joking.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along to help, but I know there's loads of amazing castles south of London - particularly to the south east, like Leeds Castle, Rochester Castle, Upnor Castle, Tonbridge Castle etc. Not sure how easy it is to get to them all via public transport though.

You could probably do with a nice little town in the area as a base, where you can get a bus or local train out to all those places on day trips. Royal Tunbridge Wells is a famously picturesque and posh little town in Kent, but I don't know how well connected it is to those areas. Buses are probably more likely.

Or you could stay on the south coast - check out the little town Rye, that has some of the oldest streets in Britain. Then you've got Bodlam Castle and Scotney Castle up the road. And Hastings Castle down the coast, but I don't think there's a lot of that one left!
 
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Alphabettispaghetti

Alphabettispaghetti

Club Member
SacCyclone said:
Hi everyone.....

My last trip to the UK was in 2016 and met up with BlueJon from the Zclub in London at a local pub.
Great getting to meet up with Jon.
Time has just flown by.
Made it through Covid and a heart surgery so now back to a little travel.

Below is my schedule, last time we spent several days in London proper visiting the local landmarks like the London Eye, Chard, Harrods, and walked along the River Thames for a afternoon tea near the London Bridge.

This trip we are looking for a more local experience, maybe in a smaller city with local charm etc.
Any thoughts or ideas for a local and less touristy destination?

I know the wife wants to visit Cotswolds, Highclere Castle, Windsor Castle, and Tea at the Chard. So, it looks like we will spend some time around London. She really wants to visit castles on this trip.

Our trip so far;

Sacramento to London on Nov.13.

Fly London to Rome Nov.14

Cruise from Italy to Greece Nov. 15 - 22.

Paris Nov. 22 to 28th.

Eurostar 28th to London.

London and countryside 28th to Dec.5th.

Fly London to Sacramento Dec. 5th.

Again, if anyone needs some small parts from the states that will fit in my backpack again, PM me for address etc.

Look forward to meeting up with some of you in and around London between Nov. 28th to Dec. 4th.

Cheers and thanks in advance for suggestions of places to visit in the UK on this trip!

Mike
Click to expand...

Get out of London, look at somewhere Like Bath?
 
SacCyclone

SacCyclone

Club Member
Wow, thank you all for the great comments and suggestions.
You are all a great group of chaps, very much appreciate the input.

Will check in to Bourton on the water for sure, sounds lovely.

Kieronpollck, we are definity going to Cotswolds and i will let you know what day that will happen....will give you a shout. Can you PM me with your number so I can ring you a few days before??? or maybe FB messenger if you have that?

Bath, Bristol, and Oxford are all on the radar now so I will see how I can work them in.

Robotsan, appreciate all the castle info. The wife will be researching them this week and figure out how to work some of them in.

Status, I've been to Rebello only 60 min drive from my house. He does build very nice motors and his cam and head work is top notch. Will keep you updated if were near Stansted airport for a meet up.
 
Bazzateer

Bazzateer

Club Member
If it's castles you're after, Wales has the largest concentration of them I believe. Scotland has a few as well. Maybe for your next trip.
 
Faster Behr

Faster Behr

Club Member
candy red said:
Nice old car museum in Bourton on the water 🤓
Click to expand...

I’m only 30 minutes from Bourton On The Water. It’s pretty and generally nice, but heavy on the tourists, so plenty of chip shops and ice cream shops. There’s also a year-round Christmas shop.

Stow On The Wold is a short distance away and is arguably a nicer way to experience the Cotswolds if time is limited. Afternoon tea in one of the many tea shops is always pleasant.
 
SacCyclone

SacCyclone

Club Member
Another question:

Can I use an Uber app to hail a driver from place to place in London rather than a taxi or is that frowned upon? Is it safe to use Uber in and around London? Does it save me some money and can I hire the Uber by the hour to drive us around to see the sites etc?

Wonder if this applies to Rome and Paris too?

Thanks again.

Mike
 
SacCyclone

SacCyclone

Club Member
Faster Behr said:
I’m only 30 minutes from Bourton On The Water. It’s pretty and generally nice, but heavy on the tourists, so plenty of chip shops and ice cream shops. There’s also a year-round Christmas shop.

Stow On The Wold is a short distance away and is arguably a nicer way to experience the Cotswolds if time is limited. Afternoon tea in one of the many tea shops is always pleasant.
Click to expand...
Thank you Behr, is Stow on the Wold a day trip from London or should we plan to spend the night at a local establishment?
 
chrisvega

chrisvega

Well-Known Forum User
Uber are fine to use around London and will be cheapest and most convenient way although you have to try the Underground - Subway to you :) at some point, that is an extensive network and also easy to get around, lines are colour coded, you just need to know if you are going North/South or East/West on the line and the station names at the end of each line.

Stow would be a great base for a night to explore the Cotswolds. If you aren't driving, get the train from London Paddington station to Moreton-in-Marsh. Stow is the next town along a few miles away and you can get there by bus or taxi. Upper/Lower Slaughter and Bourton are close and worth visiting, there is a nice little motor museum in Bourton, shouldn't be too busy at that time of year.

If you have time there are two other Cotswold towns I would try and see, you probably won't be able to do both if just staying one night though. 10 miles north of Stow is the beautiful historic market town of Chipping Campden, loads of historic buildings dating from 15/16th Century built in the local honey coloured stone, some thatched. 10 miles south of Stow is the town of Burford, lots of nice antique shops, tea rooms, pubs and similar attractive historic stone buildings.

If time restricted my choice would be Stow/Chipping Campden/Bourton/Slaughters which you could easily cover in a day.

If wanting a nice city to visit with great historic architecture then Bath is not too far away so you could go there the night before or after when planning the itinerary, transport allowing. The Roman baths here are a must visit and the Royal Crescent is a superb example of Georgian architecture.
 
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Robotsan

Robotsan

Club Member
SacCyclone said:
Another question:

Can I use an Uber app to hail a driver from place to place in London rather than a taxi or is that frowned upon? Is it safe to use Uber in and around London? Does it save me some money and can I hire the Uber by the hour to drive us around to see the sites etc?

Wonder if this applies to Rome and Paris too?

Thanks again.

Mike
Click to expand...

Uber is perfect for London. But I don't think you could hire them by the hour unfortunately. Unless you could do a sort of private deal with the driver, off Uber. Black cab may be better for that.

Also like Chris says, you have to use the Tube! Google Maps tells you exactly which stations, platforms and trains to get on now, and when the trains are coming etc. It's so easy now.
 
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