Holiday in UK

SpeedStar SG

I am planning a holiday trip to UK in sept for 2 wks. Any itineary to share?

Kuali Baba SG

I was there almost exactly a year ago for a month, and even then it's not enough! You have to be really selective about what you want to do, or else you'll spend too much time running around and end up broke.

Do you want to see castles, cathedrals, whisky distilleries, football stadiums, museums, lochs, historic landmarks, ruins, seaside villages, farms or old towns? Some of these can be done within each reach of London but staying in the city centre is going to drain your finances.

cassie SG

any particular region or city?

SpeedStar SG

I am planning to visit imperial war museum, british museum, tower of london, brighton, manchester, liverpool, glasgow, edingburgh and isles of skye. Will spend a 2 wks there. WIll be in england for 6 days, follow by glasgow and edingburgh for 2 days before driving to isles of skye for 3 days, come back and go to london for 3 days. U think its a good plan?

Kuali Baba SG

Here's my take, but there'll be no comments on Brighton and Liverpool as I didn't go there. It's doable in 2 weeks, but I'd allocate an extra day in Scotland.

London - The British Museum has free admission (i.e. make a donation!) and can be easily done in one morning, just be prepared to squeeze to catch a glimpse of the Rosetta Stone. Be prepared to spend a long time queuing for the Tower, give it half a day. I didn't go to the War Museum, no comments there.

You can split your London itinerary in 2 if you're arriving and departing there. There is really a ton of stuff to do and see there, and it depends on which days of the week you're there. Go to at least one market if you can, and since the National Gallery is free too, take advantage of it. Brighton is pretty close by and easy to get to so you can stick a day trip in either London leg.

Manchester - On top of the stadium tours you can visit the Museum of Science & Industry and People's History Museum. There are 3 free shuttle bus routes around the city during office hours. It's a strange jumble of glass boxes and Victorian buildings to walk around. I'd give it 1.5 days but I had only one, so I skipped the football.

Glasgow - Plenty more Victorian buildings, fewer glass boxes. Hard to say if you'll find something to interest you but I went to Kelvingrove art gallery, visited the CR Mackintosh buildings (including the School of Art and tearooms), St Mungo's, Winter Gardens and took a walk along the Clyde in 2 days. The Old Firm rivalry between Celtic and Rangers is also very intriguing. Or you can use it to rest for the drive to Skye.

Skye - I'd stick it between the 2 Scottish cities. Plenty of beautiful scenery like the Five Sisters, a great whisky distillery in Talisker and Eilean Donan castle on the way in. Weather may restrict what you can do outdoors however and make things look less picturesque. 2 days will be enough, 3 will be quite relaxed. (If you're hungry between Glasgow and Skye, Oban has great seafood).

Edinburgh - I'd give it 2 days - there's Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle at either end of the Royal Mile (and its various attractions like the camera obscura, St Giles, John Knox's house and the various closes and ghost tours). It'll take a full day, and then you might to watch the sunrise from Arthur's Seat, or make a daytrip to Leith or St Andrews.

And since you're there, don't forget to try stuff you won't get in S'pore like haggis, black pudding, steak and kidney pies, a real full English breakfast and tallow-fried fish and chips (from The Tailend in Edinburgh/St Andrews) .

^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~ SG

2 Weeks in UK...

That's a long holiday...

SpeedStar SG

Hi kuali baba, thks!

Kuali Baba SG

You're welcome. I forgot to add a few things:

There is also an Imperial War Museum branch in Manchester, less than a kilomentre away from Old Trafford Stadium. It's an impressive example of contemporary architecture designed by Daniel Libeskin but that's all I can say about it.

The IWM in London is south of the Thames, but a short walk away, on the other side of the Westminster Bridge are the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey (you're allowed to walk around the cloister and access the bookshop w/o a ticket) and Buckingham Palace.

Walk down The Mall through St James Park and you'll be in Trafalgar Square, in front of the National Gallery (which stays open until 9 on Fridays). That's all your photo opps within a triangular-shaped zone.

If you return your London Oyster card at the end of your holiday, you'll get your deposit and remaining value back in full.

There'll be plenty of opportunities to shop and not just in London's markets, Harrods and Oxford Street. All the major chains can be found in Manchester's Arndale and on Glasgow's Buchanan Street. Those which aren't found in Singapore (yet) include Superdry, AllSaints Spitalfields (their shopfront windows consist of rows of sewing machines) and Ann Summers (lingerie and adult toys).

SpeedStar SG

wow thks again!! :)

Kuali Baba SG

No worries, let me know if you want to know anything else.