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If you had longer, I might advise against the bus tour as it's not exactly the most spontaneous way to discover a city - but for a short trip, it is a pretty good way to get an overview. I've only ever been on one, in Oxford, and enjoyed it. Lots of visitors to London have commented that they had more - and much cheaper! - fun by simply riding around on the top decks of normal buses, but obviously that requires more planning on your part not to end up in some far-flung suburb!
One thing I'd feel very strongly inclined to advise against is going for any sort of meal that is bundled with a bus tour. I really don't see that they are going to send you anywhere good. As Kaylene said, pub food is often pretty uninspiring - adequate for the soaking up of beer, but hardly an event in itself. There's also the paradox that pubs with the best old-time vibe wont be the ones serving great food, because good food will attract a crowd from further afield, and a 'real' pub atmosphere is dependent on it being dominated by locals.
One of the best 'gastro-pubs' in London is the Anchor and Hope on the Cut in Waterloo - but they don't take bookings (as is the fashion), so you have to take your luck. There's a list of other good ones, albeit a few years old, on this site (which is a great guide to eating in London more generally):
It's owned by Evgeny Levedev (the billionaire owner of the London Evening Standard), and Ian McKellen, so not exactly a salt-of-the-earth local, but it has a great tucked-away feeling to it, and a wonderful view of the river - as well as having been immortalised by both Dickens and Whistler.
Thank you so much for the very specific recommendations. I am very leery of that "Elizabethan banquet" thingie. To me, it sounds like an evening at Medieval Times in Dallas. YUCK.
I need to point out that we are in our early fifties, fit and healthy and energetic. We have no children with us. We have rather sophisticated taste and are not in "penny pinching" mode on this trip, though we don't care for ostentatious entertainment or dining. We do want to spend our money on EXPERIENCES rather than mundane things like transportation, whenever possible. So we will spend money rather freely for a good, comfortable hotel with top notch amenities, but if it came to a BritRail pass versus renting a car, we'd rent the car so that we could stop anywhere we wanted to as we explored.
We're going to England to see England - not to stumble around with a group tour or be shuffled quickly from one location to the other.
Actually, you know what - we won't need a car in Harrogate - my daughter has a car that seats 8. So that would take that expense completely off if we could ride the train from London to Harrogate.
I got on that website that you mentioned, George and Bill, earlier this morning and was totally confused by it! I just want to say "Here is my hotel. Where is the nearest train station? I want to board there and go to Harrogate on such and such a day at this particular time. Then four days later, I want to get on a train in Harrogate and go directly to the airport. How much will it cost me to ride in comfort but not luxury?"
Simple, it is not! At least, not until you get used to it.
London has about 12 main train terminals, from where you will catch trains to other parts of the country. These are roughly laid out in a ring around the middle of London, so that central London doesn't have to be cut up with rail lines. Each station broadly serves a different part of the country. When looking on a site such as thetrainline (the link I gave you), there will be an option to travel from 'London (any)', which you can select if you don't know which is the correct London station for your destination.
The station you will travel from to get to Harrogate is called King's Cross, which is logically enough located just to the north of central London. It's worth noting that the journey to Harrogate involves a change of trains in York - perhaps you want to consider building this into your itinerary?
There are lots of hotels of all types around King's Cross station - there is a very grand one in St Panras station (the St Pancras Renaissance), which is right next to King's Cross, which will be a bit above the budget you gave, but you might consider it if you are saving money elsewhere.
When you arrive at Heathrow, you can take an Tube train (Piccadilly Line) directly to King's Cross, assuming you stay around there, which takes around an hour. You will then take your train to Harrogate via York, and back again via exactly the same route, and once again take the Tube to Heathrow. Central London is the 'hub' for rail travel in the south-east of England, so there is no more direct route by train. Even so, the journey from Harrogate to Heathrow will take around four hours.
Man, I hope my travel agent knows what she's doing.
I am going to tell her, "Look, I want to catch the train near my hotel and go to Harrogate on a certain day at a certain time. Then I want to catch the train BACK from Harrogate to the airport on a certain day at a certain time, leaving me three hours to get through customs. How much will that cost me? Just tell me where to show up and when."
Oh, and you will want to double check this, but booking your train tickets should be as simple as purchasing them online via thetrainline or a similar site, and then collecting them at the automatic ticket machine at your station of departure using the same card as you paid for them with. Thetrainline has a number you can call, but they don't like giving it out (!): [SIZE=2]01709 849449.[/SIZE]
Man, I hope my travel agent knows what she's doing.
I am going to tell her, "Look, I want to catch the train near my hotel and go to Harrogate on a certain day at a certain time. Then I want to catch the train BACK from Harrogate to the airport on a certain day at a certain time, leaving me three hours to get through customs. How much will that cost me? Just tell me where to show up and when."
Depends how good they are, and how interested they are in saving you money! Check the prices they quote against the site I linked you, to make sure they're not stitching you up.
Harrogate or York are good central locations for the north. If you head east, you have The North York Moors (mostly just to stop and get out of the car and take a look. They seem to go on forever.) At the end of the line is Whitby with the abbey which is a ruin but still amazing. You can stand by the abbey and the air is really clear and clean as you look out from a cliff over the ocean. It's great.
If you go down into the town of Whitby itself, that's where you get the fish'n'chips and look in the little shops. There is a place where you can walk down a very steep incline right to the water.
It's a day trip. In the other direction, you have the Yorkshire Dales. Gorgeous beyond belief. Stop at some little place and have a lunch which will be delicious. Go as far as you want into the Dales--Grassington is especially beautiful and Skipton is too. Skipton, of course, has a real castle that you can tour and it has pretty shops. The Dales is another day trip.
Make sure you have a camera at all times as it is achingly beautiful. I would also suggest Fountains Abbey and Ripon. As an American, you will probably be quite taken by the emerald green grass and the sheep! We Americans love seeing all the sheep and having to stop the car so the sheep can cross the road.
Betty's Tea Room, I think is in York and it's lots of fun. York has a wonderful bus tour where you can jump on and off the bus all day long. I would recommend that because getting around with the narrow streets can be trying and you can easily get lost or miss the best sights. The bus tour will take you to the Shambles, which is a medieval area of buildings so close together that the people on one side of the street could lean out the window and shake hands with the people on the other side of the street. It's all shops and beautiful flowers everywhere.
York takes at least a day or two. You can walk on top of the city walls (there are four gates, it was a medieval gated city) and there are millions of places you'll want to take pictures. There's a Viking Museum and also Castle Howard. The railway station in York is a wonder in and of itself.
Do not miss Hawarth because that is Bronte Country. It's a nice little village with touristy shops but the Bronte Parish is amazing. They have clothing that the sisters wore and tiny books that they made by hand. Takes a few hours and the walking is very steep up and down the streets. Then there is the Lake District which luckily shouldn't be crowded, being before the school kids get out. The driving can be tricky because it's hills and curves but what is in there? The cottage of William Wordsworth! You get to go right in and tour it. There is a gift shop and everywhere you look are flowers and lakes and green hills. There is good food everywhere. I needed one day for the Lake District and could have stayed longer.
Harlow Carr gardens are famous and are located in Harrogate--for the Royal Horticultural Society. I haven't been but it would take a day---trees, shrubs, every kind of flower, all in different sections. Carr Lane which is off the Harrogate Skipton Road.
Try to get to market day in one of the villages--in Skipton it's Wednesday. There was a huge market in Whitby but I don't remember the day. Whitby is famous for its jet and you can buy jewelry made with it.
Late May/early June--probably take warm clothes. Long sleeves as well as short sleeves, a cardigan, a fleece jacket, a rain jacket, and a folding umbrella. Walking shoes. I never needed sandals.
You can also fly back to London from Leeds Bradford Airport. It's a very short trip and if I remember, it was expensive at commuter time but the price went down a few hours later. For me it was worth it the one time that I did it rather than bothering with train or coach/bus.
You can also fly back to London from Leeds Bradford Airport. It's a very short trip and if I remember, it was expensive at commuter time but the price went down a few hours later. For me it was worth it the one time that I did it rather than bothering with train or coach/bus.
It will be quicker, assuming she's going straight to Heathrow. To get to central London it would be no faster than the train.
I wouldn't describe the train journey as a 'bother' - it's rather beautiful IMO - but on a tight schedule it could be worth taking a flight on the way back to save time. Although it depends very much on how the timings work out, as there will be far fewer flights each days than trains.
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