The U.K.! your opinion

Bellbird

Bellbird

-Oceania-South Pacific
Location
New Zealand
I have been toying with the idea of visiting the UK, I don't need a Visa, and now that I am on my own, I have a yearning to walk the paths of my ancestors. I read where the cost of living is very high in the UK and very crowded, to be expected I guess.
I would love to know the pros and cons of doing so.
 

Tracy Collins has written an excellent guide to London for the first time visitor. She has also written, UK Planning Trips. Have a look at her advice, then if you have any significant questions, for example, you might want to know what budget hotels are good value, just come back and ask.
 

horseless carriage said:
Tracy Collins has written an excellent guide to London for the first time visitor. She has also written, UK Planning Trips. Have a look at her advice, then if you have any significant questions, for example, you might want to know what budget hotels are good value, just come back and ask.
Click to expand...
well there's definitely more to the Uk than London.. and more to the Uk than England...:D
 
Interesting topic here. About a year or 2 before my wife died we flew to London and immediately took the train to Penzance which we both loved dearly. This was in 2018 and this is what we did. We rented a car in four places: Cornwall, Wales, Scotland & Dublin for Ireland. In Cornwall, we spent time in Penzance. In Wales we toured the north and the south. In Scotland we took the ferry to the Orkney Islands. We enjoyed the highlands and Edinburgh is nice but we figured there are too many tourists. Edinburgh Castle was a hoard of creeping tourists. We found the Irish to be very friendly. We used Air B&B most of the time. In Scotland, we found that they left the key in the door but really did not want to see you. Sorry you Scottish! In Ireland, we were always greeted by the host. Are the Irish more open and more friendly than the Scottish? Yes, we found out.

We traveled in the spring before the hoard of tourists everywhere. However, in West Ireland at the "Cliffs of Mohr" I counted 44 big tour buses. It is a tourist jungle. You can see the same kind of cliffs up north with almost no tourists but advertising is advertising and you gotta see the Cliffs of Mohr.

I have been to London 8 times in my life and have no desire to see it again. Give me "good ole' Cornwall" anytime for decent real people. Apparently, London is often the only part of the Uk that most Americans ever see. My wife and I had this joke about Lonon: "Where are the British." This is politically incorrect statement so I shall end here. Just want to say, if you want to go to the UK, GO. They speak our language, more or less but take a lot of cash as some things are not cheap. I just love those old British pubs.
 
Bellbird said:
I would love to know the pros and cons of doing so.
Click to expand...
I have been half a dozen times or so, always business trips but I did take some time off to see things a couple of times. I really liked it, interesting places, friendly people, and beautiful scenery. The only con I can think of is cost, it is more expensive than the US, but costs can be controlled.

If you can afford it, I would say go for it!
 
There is one thing to remember about a UK visit. Right now we are experiencing the highest eye watering prices at the pump for fossil fuel. For example, diesel is hovering around the two pound per litre mark. A sixty-five litre tank of fuel would set you back: £130:00. or, almost 242NZD.

£2:00 per litre translates into £9:00 per gallon, for those of us with long memories. Fuel is going up daily and it's causing inflation to rise which in turn is increasing costs because our economy relies heavily on fossil fuel.

My apologies if that puts you off travelling, but it is what it is.
 
Packerjohn said:
Interesting topic here. About a year or 2 before my wife died we flew to London and immediately took the train to Penzance which we both loved dearly. This was in 2018 and this is what we did. We rented a car in four places: Cornwall, Wales, Scotland & Dublin for Ireland. In Cornwall, we spent time in Penzance. In Wales we toured the north and the south. In Scotland we took the ferry to the Orkney Islands. We enjoyed the highlands and Edinburgh is nice but we figured there are too many tourists. Edinburgh Castle was a hoard of creeping tourists. We found the Irish to be very friendly. We used Air B&B most of the time. In Scotland, we found that they left the key in the door but really did not want to see you. Sorry you Scottish! In Ireland, we were always greeted by the host. Are the Irish more open and more friendly than the Scottish? Yes, we found out.

We traveled in the spring before the hoard of tourists everywhere. However, in West Ireland at the "Cliffs of Mohr" I counted 44 big tour buses. It is a tourist jungle. You can see the same kind of cliffs up north with almost no tourists but advertising is advertising and you gotta see the Cliffs of Mohr.

I have been to London 8 times in my life and have no desire to see it again. Give me "good ole' Cornwall" anytime for decent real people. Apparently, London is often the only part of the Uk that most Americans ever see. My wife and I had this joke about Lonon: "Where are the British." This is politically incorrect statement so I shall end here.
Click to expand...
The British say the same thing
 
I think the point has been made that the UK consists of four geographically and culturally diverse countries. Then there are the numerous islands that make up part of the British Isles. There are many Brits who say they are going to the USA, but in reality are going to Orlando and Disney!
Yes, the UK is becoming expensive for some things, but some of the prices mentioned in this forum seem dear to us. If you do come, decide the sort of things you would like to see. We get caravanners thinking they can see Scotland in a week - no way. You need to decide what bits you want to visit. Same goes for the other 'Home nations'.
 
Orkney is a beautiful little place at the very far north of Scotland.. it rains a lot and the temps there are the coldest in the UK, and is a complete tourist trap...

Cornwall in the south west of England is the same.. overpriced seaside tourist trap... mainly with British tourists

We're an Island, we have so many beautiful coastal towns and villages there's no need to go to those which are overpriced and packed full of tourists.. ..

Equally we have 70 cities.. 52 in England alone.. so there's absolutely no need to go to overpriced London... some other cities have equally or more beautiful museums and attractions

I live in the London region.. just 20 miles from the city centre, yet I rarely go in summer because of the crowds... I would much rather go elsewhere, ..and do...

In Scotland.. the most beautiful places are not in the North.. but in fact in the west where I was born and raised.. the lochs and mountains are stunningly beautiful... and Glasgow city only 40 miles from Edinburgh the capital.. is larger , with more amenities.. and not as Expensive as Edinburgh
 
Last edited:
Many years ago I was in Malaysia. One morning I was leaving my hotel to go see the town. As I got downstairs there was this bloke sitting having a beer (yes, it was 8:30 am) and watching the sports on the telly. I said hi and chat the chap up a bit. I learned that he was from the UK. I said "aren't you a long way from home to come here & just to drink beer and watch games which you could do at home."
He told me that for him it was cheaper to fly from UK to Malaysia, sit around & have a great holiday in the Malaysian heat and fly back than to spend the same time touring around in the UK."

Yes, I agree with him. The UK is not a cheap holiday. Perhaps this is why you find the British all over Spain, Portugal, Malta, etc. As a Canadian we have a very friendly and long historical association with the British Empire and now the Commonwealth. So much of our culture has long been associated with the UK., There is the Scottish explorers like Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, Irish fiddle music, Scottish bag pipes, Robbie Burns Day, St. Patrick Day just to mention a few. Of course, her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II is our figure headed leader; something that Americans could never understand after they had that "tea party."
 
Minimize the cons and just go for the pros. Life is short and you will kick yourself in the butt at sometime if you don't. I was in London decades ago and still remember it fondly.
 
Packerjohn said:
Many years ago I was in Malaysia. One morning I was leaving my hotel to go see the town. As I got downstairs there was this bloke sitting having a beer (yes, it was 8:30 am) and watching the sports on the telly. I said hi and chat the chap up a bit. I learned that he was from the UK. I said "aren't you a long way from home to come here & just to drink beer and watch games which you could do at home."
He told me that for him it was cheaper to fly from UK to Malaysia, sit around & have a great holiday in the Malaysian heat and fly back than to spend the same time touring around in the UK."

Yes, I agree with him. The UK is not a cheap holiday. Perhaps this is why you find the British all over Spain, Portugal, Malta, etc. As a Canadian we have a very friendly and long historical association with the British Empire and now the Commonwealth. So much of our culture has long been associated with the UK., There is the Scottish explorers like Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser, Irish fiddle music, Scottish bag pipes, Robbie Burns Day, St. Patrick Day just to mention a few. Of course, her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II is our figure headed leader; something that Americans could never understand after they had that "tea party."
Click to expand...
It's very true, it's very expensive to staycation in the UK, which is why the vast majority of us holiday abroad....and in many cases like me, have bought property abroad..
During the aftermath of covid hoteliers and B&B's took advantage of the British public and raised their prices ever higher.. ridiculous amounts were being demanded for substandard accommodation.. This year most are able once again to fly abroad but they've been met by horrendous queues and cancellations at the airports, so what do you think the aforesaid B&B'ers and hotels have done.. ?..instead of encouraging the Brits to holiday at home , they've whacked up their prices yet again, and of course these prices discourage foreign visitors as well. IMO they deserve not to have a business...
 
Last edited:
Friends took a bus trip slightly off-season and though not inexpensive it saved lots. The weather was fine; there are no guarantees any time of year. They also researched and spent a few days in other places that weren’t main tourist centres. When my daughter was in Scotland in March she raved about the trains to the locals; they didn’t realize how good they were.
 
Jules said:
Friends took a bus trip slightly off-season and though not inexpensive it saved lots. The weather was fine; there are no guarantees any time of year. They also researched and spent a few days in other places that weren’t main tourist centres. When my daughter was in Scotland in March she raved about the trains to the locals; they didn’t realize how good they were.
Click to expand...
people are not in love with trains here in the UK because for one they're super expensive for the average passenger, and 2 the train drivers union hold this country to ransom which they're going to do next week by going on strike for yet MORE money... and will bring the country to it's knees :mad:
 
Last edited:
hollydolly said:
well the UK is an Island.. and we also have nearby Islands like Jersey and Guernsey
Click to expand...
To be pedantic, Great Britain is an island, the UK also includes N.Ireland and Jersey and Guernsey are not technically part of the UK. The British Isles has around 4400 islands, but only about 210 are inhabited. I enjoy visiting other countries, but unlike the many tourists, I don't go for the sun, sand and cheap booze. Still, I don't blame those who do because as has been pointed out, Greed has replaced Covid in the UK to strike down the would be holidaymaker. (Oh how I dislike that word 'staycation')
 
Capt Lightning said:
To be pedantic, Great Britain is an island, the UK also includes N.Ireland and Jersey and Guernsey are not technically part of the UK. The British Isles has around 4400 islands, but only about 210 are inhabited. I enjoy visiting other countries, but unlike the many tourists, I don't go for the sun, sand and cheap booze. Still, I don't blame those who do because as has been pointed out, Greed has replaced Covid in the UK to strike down the would be holidaymaker. (Oh how I dislike that word 'staycation')
Click to expand...
I did say Jersey and Geurnsey were nearby Islands..
 
Ironically, they're a lot nearer France than England. :D:D
Have you ever been there? I haven't though my daughter once flew to Jersey for a friend's wedding. She found it a bit boring.
Mind you, for having lived a long time in Hampshire, I've only been to the Isle of Wight once - but I've been to Rhode Island three times. It was a lot more fun than the Isle of Wight :).
 
Capt Lightning said:
Ironically, they're a lot nearer France than England. :D:D
Have you ever been there? I haven't though my daughter once flew to Jersey for a friend's wedding. She found it a bit boring.
Mind you, for having lived a long time in Hampshire, I've only been to the Isle of Wight once - but I've been to Rhode Island three times. It was a lot more fun than the Isle of Wight :).
Click to expand...
I lived on Gosport and never visited the IOW which is right next door basically.. .. been to the Greek islands lots of times... and Spanish and Turkish, and Cypriot... If I want to go to the beach I'm situated 45 minutes from the Essex coast.. and and 90 mins from the Norfolk coast..so that's where I go...no need to drive over to the IOW and all the faff of a ferry etc....never been to the Channel islands.. my late m-i-l used to go..
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top