We're Going to England in September!!! Help Us Plan Our Trip, Please!!!

We need help! The wife and I have plans to attend the Goodwood Revival on the 17th and 18th of September 2011. We will be in the country from the 13th to the 23rd.

What is not to be missed while in England? We were thinking Coventry?, Ace Cafe? Help!!!

 

Being a born and bred Coventrian I have trouble finding reasons to visit the City.(city centre crime rate is ridiculously high),anything,apart from it's old walls and Cathedrals (the transport museum is fantastic) has been butchered or torn down.
Close to Coventry there is Warwick castle which is expensive but worth it for history alone.
Stonehenge is a site to see and close to there is Beaulieu motor museum(another great place).
Ace cafe is a must see as are most of the tourist traps in London.

 

We did 2 weeks over there year before last...best trip ever. AVOID BIRMINGHAM. Nothing to see of any consequence, and our rental car got broken into for no good reason. It's only good for a central location to go see other stuff...but not worth it. Leeds was awesome...so was York. Sherwood Forrest is worth it just to say you've been there, and go to Ye Ole Trip to Jerusalem at the castle's base....great food! Newcastle was pretty nice, the Lake District on our way back down was the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen, the towns, amazing. As EnglishBob said, Warwick is worth it for history's sake.

In London, check out the Cheshire Cheese pub. It's down an alleyway close to the Tower, I believe. LOTS of history in that place, going back to 1666....barely survived the fire.

 

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Thanks guys.
Now, this is probably wishful thinking, but I don't suppose there is anything Hot Roddy going on during this time frame is there?

 

Hot Rod Drags
http://www.nsra.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35&Itemid=46

Dave

 

agreed york is nice as are the little towns /villages north of there , maybe take a trip through pickering up to goathland , its where a 50/60s tv show called "heartbeat" was filmed and its pretty much how it was back in the day , theres also a old skool steam railway runs along that way and a waterfall..york also has a free train museum

coastal towns of whitby and robins hood bay are nice too , best area to try fish and chips , things are a bit slower and nicer than london there

not sure id put ace cafe high on the list if im honest and london is just a tourist trap but i guess you want to see it anyway

for any london attractions ..see if you can book online before you leave or here if you bring a laptop , its often way cheaper to book early

watch out for speed cameras , theyre everywhere here

 

Yes - the NSRA's Hot Rod Drags, one of the best events here. Go on the Sunday. The track is 3 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon. That's pretty central and there is a lot to see in the area. 'Summer' will be coming to an end here by mid September though.

 

I agree with this - Yorkshire is a stunning place with lots of good beer. Beck's Hole (it's a village, not part of a girl) near Goathland is worth a visit, just for the tiny pub where your pint comes through a hole in the wall from the shop next door. The ruined abbey at Whitby inspired the whole Dracula thing as well.

Sorry, can't help with car stuff though.

 

from what ive seen both sides usa/uk , our car scene isnt a patch on what you guys have , prob best put the effort into seeing stuff you dont have at home

 

The National Motor Museum in Beaulieu isn't too far from Goodwood and worth a visit: http://nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/

The Revival festival is great (and expensive), I've been there several times and look forward to come back.

 

If you are going to Goodwood you are in the sunny south

Obviously the south coast played a major part in WW2, so a few things to look at

Tangmere was a fighter base during WW2. There is very little of the airfield left but there is a museum that covers WW2 into the 60s (or thereabouts)
http://www.tangmere-museum.org.uk/ Its about 15-20mins from Goodwood circuit

Up in Portsmouth is the D-Day museum : http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/

Portsmouth also has a royal navy museum http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/
You could go see HMS Victory, which took part in the battle of trafalgar in 1805 http://www.hms-victory.com/

Next door to Victory is the Mary Rose, she was a warship that sunk in 1545 and was raised in the 1980s : http://www.maryrose.org/

Further up the coast in Southampton, where the ***anic left on her only voyage in 1912, there is a small display at the Maritime Museum along with lots of other stuff http://www.southampton.gov.uk/s-leisure/artsheritage/museums-galleries/maritimemuseum.aspx

It is also where the Spitfire was designed and built. There is no dedicated musum but the hall of aviation kind of covers it, and lots of other aircraft : http://www.spitfireonline.co.uk/

Southampton is a very old city - one of the oldest building is Tudor House which dates back as far as the 12th Century, you can see how people lived back then http://www.southampton.gov.uk/s-leisure/artsheritage/museums-galleries/tudorhouse.aspx currently closed, but apparently re-opens next month.

You could also pop over to the Isle Of Wight, lots of stuff over there, probably the most impressive is Osbourne House, holiday home to Queen Victoria http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/osborne-house/

Inland from Portsmouth & Southampton in rural Hampshire is Chawton, a pretty unremarkable village except for the fact Jane Austen lived there: http://www.jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk/

Chawton is not far from Winchester, once the capital of England. There are a few museums there:
http://www.winchester.gov.uk/LeisureAndCulture/MuseumsAndGalleries/CityMuseum/
http://www.winchester.gov.uk/LeisureAndCulture/MuseumsAndGalleries/WestgateMuseum/

If you kept going West away from Portsmouth and Southampton you'd drive into the New Forest, first created in 1079 by William the first as hunting ground, http://www.newforest-online.co.uk/new-forest-attractions-index.asp

Beyond the new forest is Dorset, which is a scenic county, full of little towns and villages. You'll hit the Jur***ic Coast here, have a read of this site : http://www.jur***iccoast.com/305/section/visiting-the-coast-31.html

Further afield I would recommend a trip to Bletchley Park http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
Bletchley was the centre of code breaking during the war, it was here that people like Dilly Knox, Gordon Welchman and Alan Turing battled to break the german enigma cipher as well as Japanese codes. Its a really interesting place that also holds a huge museum of Churchill artifacts.

You could try the Brooklands museum : http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/

North Wales is quite scenic too, but as with everything up North (hell, the whole country!) I wouldn't bet on the weather !

Wherever you end up, check the english heritage and national trust sites, see if they have something nearby http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/ and http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-index.htm

Barring the drags if you want to see some UK hot rods there is a meet at Krispy Kremes on the outskirts of London each month, ask on our NSRA forum www.nsra.org.uk/newforum or http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk nearer the time - there may be a cruise local to wherever you end up going.

Oh and start saving for gas money, we're up to about $8/US Gal at the moment

Unless you really want to go see the sights of London I'd avoid and certainly wouldn't bother driving there. If you do go there a 10 minute walk from the Houses of Parliament will find you at the Churchill War Rooms, http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/

 

Wow! Thanks for the input and links everyone! I knew I could count on you all to steer us in the right direction. Lots to digest here.

 

If you go to Stratford on Avon you can call in to my workshop (The Intergalactic Custom Shop ) for a coffee if you like , I'm 6 miles south of Stratford and only 2 miles from the nearest drag strip (where the Hotrod drags are !) And Warwick is about 6 miles from Stratford (12 from me)
PM me if you want phone numbers ,address etc ,
Oh and the Cotswold hills are really stunning with lots of nice places to go ,
Cheers
Wayne

 

Thanks Wayne! That would be excellent! I was hoping to tour a couple of shops, hot rod, custom, coach builders... yo name it!

 

cactus im at the revival on the 16th,lots to see in london,brooklands is just to the south west
,http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/

 

Just FWIW, Google Maps works for mapping trips, etc.

Cosmo

 

Hey Cactus, Hot Rod Drags is a definite must see. Also, if you are going to London, head to the Brick Lane / Shoreditch area in London's east end. Plenty of Vintage clothes shops, good pubs, restaurants/cafes and you can do the whole 'Jack The Ripper' tour thing too, especially the night time one! Saturday or Sunday best time to visit and real safe for tourists too!

Portobello Road Market in west London on a Saturday is good and from there you can visit the Notting Hill area, Kings Road, Chelsea and also check out the Michelin building now a restaurant in the Fulham Road (http://www.bibendum.co.uk/index.html).

Sunday September 18 there is a Hot Rod & Custom show at Battlesbridge Antique Market. Not a big show but enough to keep you satisfied for a sunday afternoon if you love Hot Rods, Rockabilly, Beer 'n' Burgers! I live 10 miles from Battlesbridge & 35 miles from center of London so happy to help with travel info & pointing you in right direction for places to visit in London & the south east of England etc. PM me if I can help in any way.

 

Rent a car, but get a Diesel... Diesel fuel in Britain is about the same price as gas but something like an Astra Diesel will get 50+ MPG, helpful when fuel costs as much as Beer, or more. Speaking of the devil I usually get Alfa Romeos from Avis (Or is it Enterprise?) while I am there, not exactly a traditional car but they are a lot of fun to drive and we're car people, right?

Goodwood is one of those "Do this before you die" events.

Ace Cafe in London

The British Motor Museum.. the one in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Coventry Museum of transport is also great. I like the Vauxhall Heritage center in Luton, but then again I collect Vauxhalls

If you have time hit the Imperial War museum in Duxford.

Get a Sausage roll while you're there. England also has kick*** Indian food, try it. Also make sure you have a proper full english breakfast. Oh yeah, and Pie, I LOVE Steak and Ale Pie, it's one of the best foods on the planet. Period.

Great country, wonderful people, and some of the best driving roads you'll see... be careful of the M4 and M40 and the M25 (London's 270) can be a REAL nightmare with traffic.

Get cash from ATMs, and use your credit card, don't straight out buy more than £50 or so at the airport as ya get ****d on the exchange rate. Some cash is good to have tho.

Also, Discover is about as accepted in Europe as JCB is over here, AMEX is also a bit less accepted there than over here.

If you smoke, bring cigs with you, cigs are £6 a pack there and most American brands aren't available and Marlboros taste different.

Your cell phone will work if it's T-Mobile or AT&T, if you have a smartphone shut off ANY push stuff, it can cost you plenty.. data roaming is pricey. AT&T offers MUCH cheaper roaming rates if you pay an extra $5/mo.

You'll love it. I've been there countless times...

 

As an aside to all the car related stuff mentioned before, for some great sceenery try , the Lake District, (cars of the stars), the Peak District, and of course Snowdonia, North Wales, all very compact by US Standards, a must do Steam Train ride to the Summit of the highest mountain in England and Wales, you can see Ireland and the Isle of Man from the summit on a clear day,
http://www.snowdonrailway.co.uk/
Be warned, British weather is notoriously changeable, rain is almost guaranteed, so be prepared, and enjoy your holiday.

 

You guys rock! I may have to put in for more time off!
Thanks!!!

 

Take a **** pot full of cash !!!!! England is expensive

 

I go here every trip over

http://www.tankmuseum.org/

it will blow your mind

 

well lets see, there not appropriate cars for the board, but maybe i can live vicariously through y'all so while your there see if ya can drive the following cars,
TVR 450seac
MG MGF
Rover RV8
any TVR for that matter with a v8 lol

do it for me pleaaaaase???????

 

look up lord purple,on the board, hes a good dude, and very involved in the traditional scene over there.

 

I live in Chester - it's a Roman town with medieval walls. You're welcome to call in on us and I will fire up my Italian pizza oven. You can work on my T Model Ford in exchange ;-)

 

If you get up north take a look at the lake district... we've been collecting mountains and lakes for years we've got quite a collection now (& some very windy roads!). Take a look at the Lakeand Motor Museum, very good Donald Campbell exhibition & a nice spread of vintage english cars... Let me know and I'll give you the twopenny tour!

 

If you want to do the Drags which is a must - Flathead Meltdown - G***er Circus - etc etc and stay at the strip for the weekend and experience the whole "warm beer and **** band " in the clubhouse I can lend you a new pop up tent , double airbed and double sleeping bag .

 

The perfect time to visit England is always during summer, when conditions are the warmest and the extra hours of daylight are experienced. In England, summertime run from July to September. These months bring lots of tourists into the nation. Throughout high season hotel rooms are frequently fully-booked and very expensive. Vacation packages are plentiful. All attractions, museums and theaters are open but long queues are expected. The museums in England are so wonderful that when one goes to travel to England, one does not want to return ever. Be it beautiful Chelsea parks or the simpleton Manchester roads, England is superior as it has the right mixture of urban development as well as amazing nature.

 

Just popping in to say I am surfing the HAMB at the Ace Cafe! We are having a ball. Goodwood was unbelievable!! I may try to sneak in a couple videos of the action when we get back home.

Cheers!

 

oops double post.. internet on blink!