Hardly a city, but I think Durham is worth visiting and it’s less than half an hour from Newcastle by train. The cathedral is impressive and the castle, now a university residence, is interesting. If you stay the night there, I can recommend the Hotel Indigo which is in the old municipal offices. Sounds fusty but it’s rather fun, especially the breakfast room.
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Cambridge is one of my wifes favourite cities as its very walkable, and there is a lot to see & do within that walkable radius.
Parking is the only nightmare in central Cambridge, so its worth picking an accomodation place with a parking spot if you decide to stay overnight.
Or not drive there! I hate dealing with a car in UK cities.
I won’t have a car. I did last time I was island hopping but no use for one this time.
I booked my 4 nights in Ireland for $386 as I’m quite happy to sleep in a hole in the wall.
Arrive Londonderry 8am, spend most of the day until 7pm then take a train. Spend the night in Belfast, see that city the next day, stay the night, and head off for two solid days in Dublin before going home. Now I need to nail down the first half of the trip.
Bletchley Park was a great stop - I didn’t get to see it all but I imagine you could easily spend 2-4 hours there, maybe more depending on your interest. I saw some of the main stuff in an hour with my limited mobility friend, didn’t get to see any of the buildings farther from the entrance.
Yes 1 day each involving Cambridge, York, and Newcastle plus 2 days in Edinburgh is perfect. I think my itinerary is set.
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I was in Keswick in September 2023 and again this spring, really nice place. Nice little downtown district, and the Wainwright Pub was a great stop after a long day exploring the nearby peaks. There are a few approachable mountain hikes within walking distance of the town along with highest peaks in the UK for the more adventurous.
Good to know it is easy to access by train. Been trying to talk my parents into getting out of the US while they can still manage a fair bit of walking, and London to Keswick to Edinburgh might offer enough of a mix that I could manage playing tour guide for a week and still be able to get some time out on my own while they explore things closer to the accommodations.
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The train from London to Penrith averaged over 100 mph including stops so it is a fast ride. We had never stayed in an English country house before bu did so for Keswick. We scored a great price on this one in September and we loved it. We had late summer weather so it was a perfect four days there.
Your folks might enjoy the hop on and off boat rides around the lake?
We may try to go on vacation to Branson, MO; Worcester, MA; Gary, IN and maybe Manhattan, KS this year
What sort of price did you pay as it looks pricy?
About US$175 per night which included our lovely breakfasts, all taxes and fees and afternoon coffee and pastries. The staff, as well as the guests, were all very friendly, which is also worth something.
I have been to all of them
I have zero desire to go to any of them.
If you go to Gary, IN, make sure you go to the Indiana Dunes National Park. Very nice.
Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana,
Let me thay it wunth again.
Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana,
that’th the town that knew me when.
If you’d like to have a logical-ekth plan- a- thyun,
how I happened on thith elegant think-o-pa-thyun,
I will thay, without a moment of heth-i-ta-thyun,
there ith juht one plathe that can light my fathe
Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, not Lou-ee-thee-ana,
Parith, Franth, New York or Rome, but Gary, Indiana,
Gary Indiana, Gary, Indiana my home (thweet) home.
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Yo, Bee Gee!!! Which airline are you and Mussus Bee Gee taking???
Sorry, I neglected to put the sarcasm tags on that.
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Oh, that would be different then. Never mind!
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Accommodations across the UK seemed reasonable. Dollar was pretty strong when I went, so that helped. Lots of really neat little cottages in the country or small apartments in the cities on Airbnb. Without the stupid cleaning fees and other crap that gets added on in the US. It was easy to jump around for about $75 a night on average per person.
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Mrs. Hoffman and I are kicking around Australia in a year. It would be our 30th anniversary, we’ve never really had a chance to go do something big for any other anniversary because of kids, weather, surgeries, etc. and we’ve both decided we want to do something more than “let’s go out to dinner at a local restaurant.”
We’re thinking 10 days, but don’t know if that’s not enough. Also looking for places to go / tourist traps to avoid if we go there, and all the money-saving tips everyone has.