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Three weeks in the British Isles

#4
Rent bikes on Innishmore outside Galway. Galway is a good town for music, too. If you like trad, that is

CelticFort-DunAengusonInishmore.jpg


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#5
All I can say is, I couldn't have done half the things I did in London recently without a tour guide. He gave us all the pertinent tips and showed us how to use the tube, and we were off to the races. Saw SO MUCH in three days, Buckingham, Parliament, The Eye, the reconstructed Globe, Denmark Street, Abbey Road, took in a musical (We Will Rock You), Windsor (an absolute MUST SEE IMHO), and so much more. THREE DAYS. Tour guides are worth every penny.
 
#6
Of course it's possible, but you will need to plan ahead decide the things that are a must. You won't see everything, or even come close, but you can pack a lot in those weeks if you are willing to stick to a tight schedule.

Ireland alone is worth more than 3 weeks, but it's your choice if you want quantity over quality.

I'm sure there are plenty of resident TB members who will have more to say, but if you've never been to London, you really need to spend time there to appreciate it.
 
#7
Thanks for the suggestions so far. This will be my first trip to the British Isles.
Galway looks great! We are in the early planning stages. My ancestors are from County Cork and I would like to go and see that area. My brother has more specific information about the location I will have to talk to him. I won't be looking for any relatives I just want to see where my family came from.
London is a must see for us, and everything else we are working out.
I have never seen a castle, is that worth it? Where would I go for that? What about Stonehedge? is that worth the trip? There as so many other things as well. Tolkien? C.S. Lewis? Oxford? Dublin? Glasgow? The Scottish moors and lots of other things, none a must so far that is why I am asking about these things here.
 
#8
slobake said:
Thanks for the suggestions so far. This will be my first trip to the British Isles.
Galway looks great! We are in the early planning stages. My ancestors are from County Cork and I would like to go and see that area. My brother has more specific information about the location I will have to talk to him. I won't be looking for any relatives I just want to see where my family came from.
London is a must see for us, and everything else we are working out.
I have never seen a castle, is that worth it? Where would I go for that? What about Stonehedge? is that worth the trip? There as so many other things as well. Tolkien? C.S. Lewis? Oxford? Dublin? Glasgow? The Scottish moors and lots of other things, none a must so far that is why I am asking about these things here.
Click to expand...

slobake...PM me with an email address. It would be my pleasure to make some suggestions.
 
#13
slobake said:
My wife and I are planning a trip to the British Isles in May. We would like to start out in Ireland, head over to Scotland and then down to England. Lastly we would like to head through the chunnel to Paris spend and head home from there.
Is this possible in three weeks?
Suggestions?
Click to expand...

Plenty of places to go. I'd certainly recommend a visit to both Edinburgh and Glasgow (you'll be just a couple months short of seeing the 2014 Commonwealth Games unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your POV!). There are a number of great cycling routes up into the Highlands that'd certainly be worth checking out, I'd also have a day out into the smaller isles too, if possible.

It's certainly possible, though it just depends on how you want to split your time! You could easily spend 3 weeks in Ireland, Scotland, England or France alone!


fmoore200 said:
Only the northern counties are still under British rule :mad::thumbdown:
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The British Isles are geographical, it isn't about who rules who.

I'm you're going to get mad at something, at least know what you're talking about :rolleyes:
 
#15
slobake said:
Thanks for the suggestions so far. This will be my first trip to the British Isles.
Galway looks great! We are in the early planning stages. My ancestors are from County Cork and I would like to go and see that area. My brother has more specific information about the location I will have to talk to him. I won't be looking for any relatives I just want to see where my family came from.
London is a must see for us, and everything else we are working out.
I have never seen a castle, is that worth it? Where would I go for that? What about Stonehedge? is that worth the trip? There as so many other things as well. Tolkien? C.S. Lewis? Oxford? Dublin? Glasgow? The Scottish moors and lots of other things, none a must so far that is why I am asking about these things here.
Click to expand...

You will see castles just driving around, and you can hop out of the car and see them. We found some abandoned turrets etc that you could just walk off the road and enter. We didn't exactly do any tours through well-kept or restored castles, except Caernarfon in Wales. Stonehenge is great, but if you want to see it up close you have to pay. We saw it from behind the fence. I do regret not having seen it up close because I've always been fascinated with the very early history of the British Isles. If you're in the area, at least drive by. Being on the Salisbury Planes there are stones etc to see in Amesbury, nearby.

I would highly, highly recommend, depending on your time, spending a few days in Cornwall. I traveled the coast of Cornwall, seeing Looe, St. Ives, Penzance, Mousehole, Newquay and Tintagel. Some of those places I stayed a night, some were just short stop-offs. This was 8 years ago and the magic of Cornwall is still in my mind. There is more to see in that corner of the Island than you could ever fit in. St. Michael's Mount near Penzance, and Tintagel Castle are amazing.
 
#20
If you're planning on driving most of it rather than cycling, you can cover a lot of ground in three weeks. Easily possible. The only question is how much you want to see in each place.

Stonehenge is the sort of place that's fairly underwhelming for many people - it's not quite as impressive as you might think (what with it only being 18 inches high).

For scenery, and good walking (and cycling), I'd recommend the western highlands of Scotland. Good beaches too, although the weather may not let you enjoy them.
 

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