Trip to England

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 10:45 am

The day I went to Arundel they had a power cut! Enjoyed it though, the village is pretty too.

I think most castles have been re-built or had bits added on over the years, I suppose if they hadn't then they'd just be ruins.

laktor · Post by **laktor** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 2:13 pm

I've been to Warwick Castle, Salisbury and toured the battlefield at Hastings. Unfortunately, I wasn't there during a battle reenactment. That would have been awesome! But I would definitely recommend all of these places.

Tanzanite · Post by **Tanzanite** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 3:56 pm

[quote=""Madeleine""]The day I went to Arundel they had a power cut! Enjoyed it though, the village is pretty too.

I think most castles have been re-built or had bits added on over the years, I suppose if they hadn't then they'd just be ruins.[/quote]

My husband put Arundel on the list - he doesn't just want to go castle "ruins" since he thinks they all start to look alike after awhile!

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 4:47 pm

[quote=""Tanzanite""]My husband put Arundel on the list - he doesn't just want to go castle "ruins" since he thinks they all start to look alike after awhile![/quote]

He could have a point, that's why you should be careful to pace yourself! You don't want to get "castled out"!

Tanzanite · Post by **Tanzanite** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 8:02 pm

I need to ask a really stupid question: In the UK can I expect to find a hairdryer in the bathroom?? That's pretty standard in the states but I've looked at the hotel websites (all Hiltons) and it doesn't say (I don't think a lot of US hotel websites say either because its so standard - it's like not saying the bathroom has a toliet...). I don't want to pack one if I don't have to but don't want to be stuck without one either.

Vanessa · Post by **Vanessa** » Thu October 7th, 2010, 8:27 pm

You may not find one in the bathroom (due to safety regulations in the UK), but there will be one in the bedroom if it's a Hilton.

Tanzanite · Post by **Tanzanite** » Mon October 18th, 2010, 7:55 pm

We made it back last night - had a great time!!! Despite our agressive itinerary, we only had to cut out two things - Ely and York. Ely was due to our flight being delayed out of Denver by an hour or so, then having to circle Heathrow for awhile (because we were late) and the line being in customs being really long - so, we weren't able to do anything the first day we were there as planned which threw everything of a little. By the middle of the trip (when we planned to go to York) we really decided we needed some extra sleep and so started later that morning than I would have originally liked. But some sleep is important...

My husband has the patience of a saint when it came to driving. The roundabouts were a nightmare - too many of them all over the place! Plus sometimes signs were hard to read and we missed turns. Got dreadfully lost in Bradford trying to find our hotel - drove around there for an hour before we found it and after checking in, went straight to the bar!!

The one real disappointment was Leeds Castle. The grounds are lovely and the exterior of the castle pretty, but we thought the interior was way too "modern" looking and we didn't really care for it.

I'll be posting pictures/information/stories on my Mind the Gap blog starting in a few days once I get caught up on some things and sort through the 3500 pictures we took (my husband goes a little crazy with the camera...).

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Mon October 18th, 2010, 8:13 pm

Glad you had a good time! One quick tip: get a GPS unit for the car. We got a TomTom with European settings as well as US ones ($138) and drove from Barcelona to Toulouse, then around the back of the Pyrenees and down through middle Spain and back to Barcelona without a hitch. (Except the time somebody leaned on the unit and inadvertently put in lat/long coordinates instead of Tortosa, and we ended up in the middle of NOWHERE with the unit saying primly, "You have reached your destination.")

LoobyG · Post by **LoobyG** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 1:33 pm

GPS is a truly wonderful invention, although it should never be used without a map for back up - I remember our Sat Nav got us wonderfully lost in the Lake District a couple of years ago and we had a terrible time getting to our destination. Glad to hear you had a great time Tanzanite, you'll have to save York for another time! It's definitely worth saving 2 days or so for

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Tue October 19th, 2010, 4:34 pm

I can't believe your trip is over so soon, it seems like only yesterday we were all talking about it! Can't wait to see the photos and hear more about it.

I agree with you about the signs in the UK, they can be pretty awful and sometimes non-existent, especially at places where you really need them like junctions and roundabouts, just be grateful you didn't go to Harlow - awful place with loads of roundabouts with no signs anywhere, and no street names either. Mini-roundabouts are the worst, they seem to spring up everywhere, even on fairly minor roads.

Glad you had a great trip though, it's a shame you missed out on Ely and York but hopefully another time!