What's there to do in the UK?

Kinder Bueno

Looking for help and suggestion from the good folk of AH on this one.

I've never been abroad before and I have next week off work. I want to go to the UK just for a change of scenery and to experience the whole flying thing and experience another country. I know the UK is a lot like Ireland but I don't care as it's not Ireland. I want to go for maybe 3 or 4 days.

I'm unsure of what I'll do with my time once I get there. Any suggestions?

Corvo

Football and Vindaloos.

Fromthetrees

Get involved with some far right hate group?

brummytom

It's a big place. Whereabouts are you heading?

Kinder Bueno

brummytom wrote: »

It's a big place. Whereabouts are you heading?

I don't know. I was hoping someone would point me in the right direction. I don't care where I go to be honest.

The Backwards Man

You have to raise your little finger when drinking tea and know the proper etiquette regarding opening and closing umbrellas. If you are not adept at either of these then I suggest you stay at home, for the sake of your own safety, and that of others.

Depends where you are going, what you want to spend on accommodation and what interests you have.

Lots of free stuff to do in London for the price of a one day travelcard.

razorgil

has to be london, anywhere else just isn't british

dr.bollocko

Kinder Bueno wrote: »

I don't know. I was hoping someone would point me in the right direction. I don't care where I go to be honest.

Go to London then. Good a place to start as any I suppose.

ElleEm

What do you like to do?

The Backwards Man

Kinder Bueno wrote: »

I don't know. I was hoping someone would point me in the right direction. I don't care where I go to be honest.

Get on a bus and head to Newry then.:p







*runs*

Kinder Bueno

ElleEm wrote: »

What do you like to do?

I'm into most sports, movies, cars, mostly normal stuff.

London seems to be the popular choice. I'll have about €400-€500 to spend for the few days

Cedrus

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
— Samuel Johnson

brummytom

Kinder Bueno wrote: »

I don't know. I was hoping someone would point me in the right direction. I don't care where I go to be honest.

It depends what you're into, to be honest.

If you want a good nightlife, try London, Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool. Ditto for any kind of arts, or museums. If you're into literature, try Howarth (Yorkshire - Brontes' birthplace) or Stratford, Warwickshire (Shakespeare's). If you're into history, you could do a tour of Parliament; if you want a quaint 'English-y' feel, head to the Devon/Cornwall coast.

There's something for everyone, it just depends what you want.

The Backwards Man

Kinder Bueno wrote: »

I'm into most sports, movies, cars, mostly normal stuff.

London seems to be the popular choice. I'll have about €400-€500 to spend for the few days

If your including transport and accommodation in that budget, London isn't really doable I'm afraid.

mitosis

Day trip to Ireland.

the groutch

Declare bankruptcy

That's plenty OP. If the weather is good, you could spend an entire afternoon watching the free street entertainers in covent garden or on the south bank. Take a walk around hyde park. Go to the National History Museum and the National Gallery.

Browse around Harrods and go window shopping on the Kings Road. Relive your childhood in Hamleys.

In the evening, go to a show. Go clubbing.

My side of the river is South. Head to Greenwich, the cutty sark, maritime museum and Greenwich Park.

Chelsea flower show is on shortly too.

dr.bollocko

ElleEm wrote: »

What do you like to do?

Who me?
Oh I dunno.

Lots of stuff. Like for example tonight I went into work after every one had left and put black lids on all the blue pens. It's a comment on class segregation in the work place. I call it fart hands. Before I swapped the pens I farted on my hands. But that's not important right now.

Cambridge is nice OP.

LordSutch

Kinder Bueno wrote: »

What's there to do in the UK?

If you don't mind me saying so, the whole question is very vague!

Depends what Country/Region of the UK you are visiting > > > http://youtu.be/rNu8XDBSn10

My name is URL

It's expensive. Would you not go somewhere else in Europe? The price of a flight wouldn't be much higher for many destinations and your money will go a lot further.

If you're intent of going to the UK, then Edinburgh would be my top choice... there's loads to see and do both during the day and at night, and it's within commuting difference to some great scenic spots. If you want something a bit more laid back then Cornwall is lovely. Just my opinion, but London is massively overated... stupidly expensive tourist attractions and night-life and very sameish overall. Not my cup of tea but everyone's different.

pipelaser

London is just full of great things to do.

I recommend the "Fat Tire Bycycle tour" through the parks.
It costs about £20 for a 4 hour tour but its very interesting and you learn a lot about the history of the city, get to see all the land marks and get your bearings a bit more.

Also, check out this website, and choose a few things to do,

http://www.timeout.com/.

Make sure to hang out in Soho, Liecester Square, Trafalgar square and Covent Garden.

The pubs in around Liecester square are great fun on a Saturday evening, If you go over the weekend of a Lions test the athmosphere will be great.
Make sure to have a few beers in Waxys pub!

MadYaker

You've never left Ireland??? :eek: How old are you OP? London is probably the best, theres tons to do there.

I'm kinda jealous of you I think. I was too young to remember the first time I went on holidays, id say if I had spent all my life in Ireland until now my first trip to another country would be so amazing, a great experience that I'll never really have.

Sergeant

Visit Norwich. It's a joy to walk around since they pedestrianised the city centre.

dd972

razorgil wrote: »

has to be london, anywhere else just isn't british

Christ on a bike !, have you been to London?

How has the OP never left Ireland before? How old are they? Get the eff outta here!!!

LordSutch

London - Glasgow - Southampton - Belfast - Manchester - The West country - The Lake district -
Norfolk - Liverpool - Cornwall - Plymouth - Durham - Dundee - Cardiff - Edinburgh - South Wales?

Give a clue man, what part of the UK?

Kinder Bueno

I'm 25.

And LordSutch, I don't know what part I'm going to go to, that's why I started this thread.

LordSutch

May I suggest that you first decide if you want a trip to the country, or a trip to a City, then take it from there.

May I suggest a trip to Bath (fly into Bristol), lots if history there, then on the other hand if you want all the
excitement and glitz, hussle & bussle, Theatres, night clubs, etc, then you cant beat good old London town.

All the best with your decision.

Legs.Eleven

Kinder Bueno wrote: »

I'm 25.

And LordSutch, I don't know what part I'm going to go to, that's why I started this thread.

You're so cute going away for the first time. How exciting for you. I hope you have a good time. London was the first place I visited abroad and was blown away by the size of it and the hustle and bustle. It's a fantastic city. Would you consider staying in a hostel? Cheap and you can meet people who'd be doing all the touristy stuff.

Beefy78

Flights will be really expensive now. Does it have to be next week?

If yes then for goodness sake go to London. Edinburgh would be my favourite UK city but London is an amazing place with so much to see and do. I really appreciate how big it is and how much there is to do there since I moved to Dublin (which sounds like I'm insulting Dublin but I'm not). You'll have to find a hostel somewhere or join one of those sites where you can kip on someone's sofa but so long as they're not a serial killer it'll be worth it.

Man, I miss London.

deco nate

Kinder Bueno wrote: »

I'm 25.

And LordSutch, I don't know what part I'm going to go to, that's why I started this thread.

25 has 400-500 for the time to spend in the
uk...newcastle is the place to go great spot!
like nightlife= newcastle.like curry=newcastle
like ladies=newcastle.like good weather?
not newcastle..

Chuck Stone

Always fancied me a canal boat hire for a week or two and visit the industrial heritage and the nice little pubs you find near the canals.

On my bucket list for sure.

LordSutch

Ditto!

errlloyd

If you don't want a city OP visit Scotland.

Edinbugh, then see if you book yourself on a Haggis tour up to the highlands. Amazing.

ToddyDoody

Manchester to London on the West Coast Mainline takes only around 3 hours
.. So its not a case of either / or in terms of the cities. A good idea in Britain is to bite the bullet, put on your high brow glasses and go cultural for a while... Museums, galleries, churches, concerts.. Then slowly go lower and lower brow till, eventually, you're photographed on Facebook being turned down by coKed up prostitutes... Visit the Irish embassy at that point

pragmatic1

Kinder Bueno wrote: »

I don't know. I was hoping someone would point me in the right direction. I don't care where I go to be honest.

Give Liverpool a try. Great city and the people are really friendly and warm.

London is a great spot to. One of the best cities in the world.

Basil Fawlty

Has to be London, even just walking around the place is amazing. I highly recommend the tower of London, and HMS Belfast.

See what deals are on groupon OP, then check flight prices to those destinations.

Come back here with the options and we can vote on where you should go.

LowKeyReturn

UK is and isn't like Ireland. If you're going to the UK and want it to be different head to London, similar to Ireland head to somewhere like Liverpool.

Quite country walks and site seeing; Oxfordshire / Cambridge / Norwich area.

Swingers; Birmingham

Fights; Leeds

Or you could head to Edinburgh which is cheaper and about 10x the craic of London.

If you're an outdoorsy camping sort Wales, bring your wellys.

MagicMarker

Never been abroad before so you decide to go to the UK. It's kind of like saying I've never eaten foreign cuisine before so I think I'll buy a french stick down in the Spar.

Go further afield man! Barcelona, Paris, Prague, Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, Vienna, Stockholm, Milan, Florence!!! Not fúcking Birmingham or Manchester.

brummytom

MagicMarker wrote: »

Not fúcking Birmingham or Manchester.

Oi!

joe swanson

You should go morris dancing. Great craic and everyone does it. You will become very socially acceptable and make lots of friends.

dd972

If you do go to London OP, base yourself in town, and I mean town, ie, Russell Square, Euston, Kensington, those places, and don't venture beyond Zone 2 or 3 of the Travelcard map.

80% of London is utter sh*te!

pablomakaveli

deco nate wrote: »

25 has 400-500 for the time to spend in the
uk...newcastle is the place to go great spot!
like nightlife= newcastle.like curry=newcastle
like ladies=newcastle.like good weather?
not newcastle..

I know loads of people who recommend Newcastle for a night out. Havent been on a night out there yet though but its top of my list.

Scruffles

MadYaker wrote: »

You've never left Ireland??? :eek: How old are you OP? London is probably the best, theres tons to do there.

I'm kinda jealous of you I think. I was too young to remember the first time I went on holidays, id say if I had spent all my life in Ireland until now my first trip to another country would be so amazing, a great experience that I'll never really have.

theres tons to do in so many other places to,most people who have only spent significant time if not all of it in london always say that.:P its a tourist honeypot but capitals are always cheesy and overrated thanks to the governments who overdo the funding they pump into specific areas but not enough into the deprived areas of their country.

if are going to have access to a car,then woud recommend the lake district OP, it is an amazing place for weird looking caves,scenic views, walks, kayaking, sailing,gorge walking and horse riding.

wales is also a awesome country-very beautiful,if avoid the deprived areas like rhyl which used to be decent.

woud also recommend manchester,its the home town of mine and it has many different things there to do.
it has one of the biggest irish communities in the UK if not the biggest so woud feel quite at home there,it things like has the trafford centre, the chill factor indoors snowboard/skiing centre,lots of equestrian centres horse riding, a hefty public transport system,oh and one thing can definitely recommend if a gamer-the kyoto lounge just off oxford road in picadilly [picadilly in manchester,not london for any london centric folks ],its aparently the only gamer bar/lounge in the UK,and its absolutely fookin amazing, we are trying to book the place but not sure if its accessible,a gamer geek staff of mine discovered it lsast night,they have every console available from the SNES onwards and once chosen by the gamer they sit down on individual sofas and have them hooked up to wall mounted flat screen tvs,they also have a state of the art PC room and a room for film nights-so imagine alcohol andd gaming on their top spec equipment,or a bunch of lord of the rings geeks doing their thing....whatever that is.:cool:

grenache

Anywhere but Birmingham is good OP. No offence brummytom but I find it a thoroughly gloomy place.

ABajaninCork

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Always fancied me a canal boat hire for a week or two and visit the industrial heritage and the nice little pubs you find near the canals.

On my bucket list for sure.

Go to the Llangollen canal. Lovely scenery, great pubs, even better food and beer and great people. The New Inn at Chirk's the best! And not too many locks either!!

ABajaninCork

If you don't want to go too far, then Cardiff's good for nightlife. Plenty to see and do in the surrounding area too.

But I always say you can't beat London. Especially in the summer.

kumate_champ07

The Backwards Man wrote: »

If your including transport and accommodation in that budget, London isn't really doable I'm afraid.

nice hostels for £16 a night, free internet and breakfast, showers etc. some have their own bars, great place to meet new people.

Oyster card for the underground, London can be done very cheap.

kumate_champ07

but ye, London is perfect for first time, it might give you the travel bug and you'll eventually want to visit NYC