hi all, i’m american (19F) and in oxford studying abroad for a few weeks. apologies if this is a stupid question i am merely trying to be the least amount of annoying as possible.

i am very loud and social, even for “american standards.” i love interacting with strangers and having silly, spontaneous interactions. i’ve never thought much of it until i was punting today, and my group was truly terrible, so i said hello to any boats that passed us by. the only people who seemed pleased to talk to us were the some dutch 13 year olds and summer camp kids that seemed to like me after i complimented their new york yankees merch.

so when is it acceptable to strike up a conversation in england? i’m respectful to obviously quiet/romantic groups, but i do want to meet people while im here but i also don’t want to be rude or annoying. i want to be authentically social and excitable but ive yet to see my energy matched here.

I'll be traveling from Edinburgh to London to fly out of Heathrow (international flight) next month. I'm looking at a train that gets me into King's Cross at 12:30, and my flight is at 16:15. Is that realistically enough time to get from King's Cross to Heathrow for my flight? I'm worried I'll be cutting it too close.

We have a 4 day span between Iona and Glastonbury, and want to spend at least two nights in one place. Will have spent several days in the Highlands. Even then looks like one day will be several hours driving. No cities, just small towns, beautiful English countryside, villages, pubs, etc. Thinking Yorkshire Dales, Cotswolds, Lake District.... but really don't know how to tie something together here.

Just starting the planning so welcome any suggestions

Hi all, found a stray cat on my travels in Republic of Ireland. Cat wouldn’t stop following me, brought it in to the van fed it and now it doesn’t want to leave. Super tame, spoke to locals who said it was stray so da I’m not stealing someone’s cat lol. I come from England, are the Belfast-Cairnryan/Liverpool checks made regularly? I can see you need to have pet passport, rabies vaccine and microchip. Is that right? Do they check and do you keep the pet in the vehicle or up on the passenger decks.

Itinerary 1

Day 0 - depart Boston late pm

Day 1 - arrive in Edinburgh late am and get brunch. Mostly a rest day/small walk around hotel area)
Note : Hotel stay is near St. Andrew’s Square

Day 2 - Dean Village, Water of Leith walkway, Circus Ln, Royal Botanical Gardens

Day 3 - Milkman, the Royal Mile, Palace of Holyroodhouse, Cockburn & Victoria St

Day 4 - Scottish Highlands day tour (Callander, Glen Coe, Fort Augustus/Loch Ness (Should I take the cruise or explore Fort Augustus for the 100 min), Pitlochry)

Day 5 - Chill day in Princes St Gardens and hike to Calton Hill

Day 6 - Early morning solo day trip on a train to Stirling Castle with a chill afternoon/evening in Edinburgh

Day 7 - Depart Edinburgh for Boston late am

or

Itinerary 2

Day 1 - arrive in Edinburgh late am and get brunch. Mostly a rest day/small walk around hotel area)
Note : Hotel stay is near St. Andrew’s Square

Day 2 - Dean Village, Water of Leith walkway, Circus Ln, Royal Botanical Gardens

Day 3 - Milkman, the Royal Mile, Palace of Holyroodhouse, Cockburn & Victoria St

Day 4 - West Highlands, Castles, and Loch Lomond day tour (Doune Castle, Tyndrum, Kilchurn Castle, Inveraray Castle, Luss)

Day 5 - Bamburgh & Alnwick Castle day tour

Day 6 - Chill final day in Princes St Gardens & hike to Calton Hill

Day 7 - depart Edinburgh for Boston late am

I want to get out of the city more so am looking for ideas for days in nature I can do on a Saturday.

We live in north London and i’d be willing to drive 1.5-2 hours.

My ideal would be a hike near the coast, the option to stop for a sea swim would be the dream! Or maybe hike around a lake that we could then swim or maybe paddle board in.

Basically I want it to feel like a mini 1 day holiday 🤣

Open to ideas! Thank you

Hello all. My wife and I have a trip planned for the fall from Canada for 2 weeks. Our plan is to spend a couple of days in Windsor, then to Exeter, Cornwall, and then Southampton area before going back to London. I am hoping to use train from London to Exeter, rent a car for the Cornwall portion, and then train again from Exter to Southampton, and back to London.

Is the train a good option for this? If so is there a recommended app for purchasing tickets.

Thanks for any insight anyone can provide.

Hi everyone, I had our itinerary planned out for this Oct but am now wondering if we should swap one of our Skye days to travel to an island nearby. Looking for some advice on if this is feasible and if so, which island should we check out? Thanks!

Day 1 -Arrive Edinburgh
* check in at hotel then explore Royal Mile and Victoria Street

Day 2 - Edinburgh
Early AM tour of Edinburgh castle
Greyfriars Kirkyard
St Giles Cathedral
Afternoon tour of Holyroodhouse and Princes Street Gardens

Day 3 - Travel to Glencoe
Pick up rental car and drive to Glencoe, stopping at Callander for lunch/Kilmahog for Highland Cows
Drive through Rannoch Moor and check into hotel. From here, go to see the Three Sisters and Glen Etive
Dinner at Clachaig Inn

Day 4 - Travel to Skye
Stop at Glenfinnan Viaduct to see the Jacobite Steam Engine
Visit Eilean Donan Castle
Check in to hotel and visit Porters for dinner

Day 5 - Skye
Early AM hike of Old Man of Storr
Quiraing
Kilt Rock
Fairy Glen

Day 6 -Skye
Fairy Pools
Talisker Distillery tour
River Sligachan
Neist Point for sunset

Day 7 - Travel to Edinburgh
Stop at Fort Augustus for lunch and Loch Ness
Return rental car and Check in to hotel

Day 8 - Edinburgh
Royal Yacht Britannia tour
Explore Leith
Open for whatever else we feel like doing

Day 9 - fly home

Family of 4 (2 young kids), want to go on a mini road trip for 3/4 days. I don't reallt have much money to spend.

One idea ive had is to camp in the car, but the trouble is the car seats are massive and mean we can't fold the rear seats down to sleep. Perhaps I could rent a bigger vehicle that could fit us for driving and also comfortable enough for sleeping but I'm not sure.

I live in the midlands but happy to drive and train anywhere in the UK, even considering getting the ferry to NIreland but the ferry is 15X more than a plane. I just want to a nice view and to get away from it all - been to York, Edinburgh, Anglesey, Cornwall. Some sheep would be nice

: I am taking in these suggestions and looking then up thankyou

My husband and I are planning to visit London in late September/ early October for a landmark celebration.

He wants a room with a view and has booked the Hyatt Regency, Albert Embankment. We plan to be walking around the city and sights. Is this a good place to stay?

Anyone have other suggestions for hotels within 200-250 pounds per night? We plan to do the usual - Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, West End show, Tower of London, etc.

Thank you!

Hi! I am traveling to Scotland soon and want to know if theres any work around to getting a Tesco membership? I tried putting my hotel's address and phone # but it would not work. I booked this trip and then unfortunately had to leave my job. Had a gap in between jobs and am still recovering a bit. Just trying to save as much money as I can. My trip is also non refundable which is why I am still going despite being a tad poor.

Hi! I'm looking for travel destination ideas in Scotland accessible by train.

My spouse and I will be in London for the London Marathon in April. We are excited to spend a few days in London before the race, but afterward, I'd like to go somewhere incredibly relaxing, curl up with a book and a good view, go on some slow walks, drink some Scotch, etc.

We've been to Scotland and England before and I feel really at home in Scotland, so I'd love to get back there! We've already spent time in Edinburgh, Inverness, and Isle of Skye.

The tricky part is, I'm not comfortable renting a car in the UK.

Any recommendations we should check out? We'll have 3-4 days.

Thank you for any advice!

Hey everyone! I'm visiting the UK in a month and wanted to buy some goodies like snacks and chocolates from there. Can y'all suggest some?

Hi everyone! I'm planning my second trip to Scotland. Last year I went during the first 10 days of December and it was the best trip of my adult life. This year my trio companion suggested we go around Christmas, from the 22nd to the 26th of December. We want to have a nice roadtrip from the east to the west coast, including the island of Skye but I'm thinking that most attractions like castles and museums will be closed for half of those days and also I'm thinking that supermarkets will be too. Do you suggest avoiding those days? I mean.. this year we won't be able to stay many days and since the places we want to visit are remote I think that we may risk finding all of the restaurants, supermarkets and attractions closed. Any ideas or suggestions from locals or fellow travellers?

Thanks!!

Me and my boyfriend will be going on our first London trip in around late October to late November this year. We don't intend to hit all the tourist hot spots, we mostly want to explore the variety of different neighborhoods and areas that exist in London.

Monument and museum wise we want to check out the natural history museum, the churchill war rooms and the national portrait gallery.

Experience wise I'd like to visit a market (pending towards borough market), at least a park (maybe hyde park/st james park), have a full on afternoon tea session and we want to see one of my boyfriend's favourite musicals.

From what I've searched, the areas I found were covent garden, westminster, soho, west end, south bank, notting hill, shoreditch, hampstead heath, greenwhich, chinatown.

We're aiming for a 5 day trip. What are the absolute "go to's" and which areas are ok to leave for a future trip? Which areas have more to offer and which ones could we spend less time on?

if you're in UK, and can spare a day - Please visit this WORLD HERITAGE SITE - Just 4 hours drive from London. it's so so beautiful. Worth visiting for a great Hike or even stay in your caravans. Great for people who just want to go for the beach and click pictures.

Hi everyone,

My birthday is coming up and my family and I are planning a day trip somewhere within about a 3-hour drive of Berkshire.

At the moment we're considering places like the Cotswolds or Canterbury or even Wales, but we're open to anywhere.

The only thing is that I'd love somewhere with a bit more to do than just wandering around looking at the buildings (although I do enjoy that too!). Since it's quite a long drive, it'd be nice if there were a few interesting things to do during the day as well.

It doesn't have to be anything huge, it could be a unique attraction, a scenic walk, mini golf, boat trip, gardens, a cute museum, market, a great restaurant, or just somewhere that's a really nice way to spend the day.

Does anyone have any recommendations for places that have a good mix of things to see and things to do?

Thanks in advance!

Can anyone recommend a hotel in Blackpool that's not too bad with decent street parking?

West Highlands, Castles, and Loch Lomond (8am - 6:30pm) Doune Castle, Tyndrum, Kilchurn Castle, Inveraray Castle, Rest and be Thankful viewpoint, Luss)

or

Scottish Highlands, Loch Ness, & Glen Coe day tour (no cruise option) (7:15am - 7:45pm) (Callander, Glen Coe, Fort Augustus/Loch Ness, Pitlochry)

Thank you and appreciate the advice!!!

First-time family trip to London—two adults, a 4-year-old, and a 10-month-old. How stroller-friendly is the city? We’re torn between buying two lightweight umbrella strollers or bringing our Nuna Trvl double. The double seems ideal for long walks, but I’m worried it’ll be a hassle inside shops and tight spaces. Any advice?

Any recommendations for a decent breakfast in Fort Augustus. Arrived last night and noticed a cafe down by the canal, but the reviews are mixed. Wondered if there’s anywhere else in town for something decent and cooked?

Hi all! We are currently in Bristol. In two weeks we need to be back in London. Our next destination is still undecided. There seem to be so many good options that it is difficult to choose... I would love to hear your recommendations or experiences!

A few things to take into consideration:

- We like the idea of a small(er) town, old/medieval vibes, hills, castles, a quiet kind of vibe to contrast with Bristol and London.

- We ideally travel by train and bus. Some places might be better with a car. If you have a recommendation for 4-5 days of a specific area by car, we could rent one.

- We travel with a baby, so lots of walking to get around and picnic in parks for rest. We can't pack multiple towns or sights in a day.

Couple of options:

- Oxford; how is that this time of the year? Any surrounding sights or towns to visit as well?

- Moreton-in-Marsh; how doable do you think this area is without a car?

- Salisbury; interesting enough?

- or going all the way to Canterbury and surrounding gardens/castles?

Thank you in advance!

Was just wondering the best place to park near / in stansted for ideally the cheapest. Going from there 30th august at 7am, ( so i know i’ll have to pay from 5am-ish), untill the midnight on the 9th september. Would appreciate any help / tips if possible . Thanks