help me daydream slash plan!

[alexseanchai]

So I have realized that I save money better when I'm saving for something, something more exciting than 'my own apartment' and more concrete and, frankly, apparently attainable than 'getting out of debt'. Therefore I have decided I am saving for a month two weeks in the British Isles. Ireland, England, Wales. (Not sure if Scotland and Northern Ireland too.) Date to be determined, but this is definitely number three on the priority list, behind 'getting out of debt' and 'my own apartment', so we're talking a few years out at least.

Off the top of my head, places I can think of that I want to visit are Dublin (nowhere specific off the top of my head, but I know there's exciting things in the city), London (ditto), various family-history-pertinent spots in Ireland that I can't actually name without asking my dad the amateur genealogist (but Dublin's among them and I think so is London), Cadair Idris in Wales (Wiki it and look at the first paragraph of the 'myths' section; also, there is a reason this post has a music thingy), Stonehenge, Blarney Stone, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Where else in the British Isles, dear readers, should I put on my list of 'places I absolutely must see while touring the British Isles'? Other than 'some lovely little bed and breakfast somewhere in scenic Ireland where I can sit and write my heart out', of course. :)

Comments

[executrix]

Hay on Wye! It's on the border between England and Wales, it's got about a dozen bed-and-breakfasts, 31 bookshops, and a Saturday market. Don't miss the Cinema Bookshop--it's not just books *about* cinema, the building used to BE one. If you want to go during the Festival you have to book well in advance though.

[alexseanchai]

Shiny thanks!

[elanya]

Aberystwyth! It is a charming seaside town with a lovely castle ruins and a giant camera obscura! My sister lived there foer a few years.

If you are into prehistoric monuments, definitely check out Avesbury, and possibly West Kennet Longbarrow if you can get there. I had a wonderful time driving around in Ireland when I was there with a friend but the only place I remember we stayed was Sligo. We were mostly in Antrim and Leitrim which we visited for exceedingly nerdy reasons. We climbed a giant rock in the middle of nowhere that Fionn Maccumhail is supposed to have thrown after... I assume Diarmuid and Gráinne... when they ran off together. Climbing it is supposed to give you stamina. We also wandered aimlessly through the iron mountains on a very misty morning... it was good times, A++ would do again.

Also I don't believe you really need help daydreaming slash. That is what AO3 is for >.>

[alexseanchai]

Ooooh shiny, will put on list!

Also, :p

[rmc28]

If you go to Aberystwyth, not far away is Machynlleth, which was the historic seat of the Welsh parliament and has the most amazingly non-chain high street (or did anyway), and nearby has the Centre for Alternative Technology, which was founded back when worrying about climate change was a very niche hippy thing to do. It also recently has become a centre for Serious Mountain Biking, for some reason, and is not too far from Cader Idris.

(My aunt has lived in the area for as long as I remember, and I went there in school holidays a LOT. I've walked up the easy bit of Cader Idris, several times, once very hungover. I've not yet made it to the top.)

If you want a little scenic place to write your heart out, I am totally going to recommend my friend's gorgeous self-catering cottage in Wales. Ingi's an artist herself and knows about having peace and beauty around you.

Skara Brae in Orkney is also amazing, for the sense of deep time, and how recognisably human-home the 5,000-year-old settlement is. I went there once 12 years ago and am determined to take the family there in the next few years. In fact, when I went, we did 7 historic sights in one day and it was exhausting but SO AWESOME. Put Orkney on your list (even if it is for visit 2)!

[inoru_no_hoshi]

Newgrange is one I've always found deeply fascinating. The skill, the history, the fact that we no longer know why or for whom/what it was built... :3

Also, perhaps the Giant's Causeway if you add Northern Ireland to the itinerary. :D

[alexseanchai]

Oooh, okay. Thanks!

[shanaqui]

How do you feel about castles?

[alexseanchai]

They're pretty?

[rmc28]

Soooo, I grew up in Wiltshire, and if you want to see Stonehenge, I also want to take you to Avebury and West Kennet Long Barrow. Further afield (maybe another day) there's the Uffington white horse and the Rollright stones.

The little market town of Devizes makes a good base for Avebury / Stonehenge / Long Barrow, and has one of the longest flights of locks in the country, as well as a rather nice brewery. You could also visit some of the more recent white horses in Wiltshire too.

(Am serious: with a bit of notice, I would totally be up for taking a few days off and driving you around these places. I love them all.)

I love my home town of Cambridge, and the university and its museums, and a huge collection of women's art in what was my own College.

[elanya]

^5 for Avebury and West Kennet! Well and Stone Henge too I *suppose*, but it is harder to have a good experience there - it is much more controlled.

[rmc28]

I've never actually been to Stonehenge because it was always expensive/controlled, but I've been to Avebury loads of times.

[elanya]

Yeha - I was lucky, and I went with my Uni group, so there wasn't any additional expense, plus we got a lot more explanation of the site and so forth than what was provided (it is actually best viewed from the other side of the highway - that's where the processional path comes up, and where you can see it sitting properly on the horizon).

[alexseanchai]

OOOOOH

and as I've just recalled that I only get to pick ten workdays off when the vacation schedule goes around no matter how much annual leave I've got banked, it has to be a two-week vacation not a month-long one. IT IS GOING TO BE SO HARD TO CHOOSE.

[rmc28]

(I've seen your later post, but this is for visit 2)

Cambridge is less than an hour from London by train. From Cambridge, I can drive to the Uffington White Horse in 2-3 hours, with about an hour extra travel time to divert to the Rollrights on the way. From Uffington to Avebury is another hour or so, and from Avebury to Stonehenge about another hour.

Or skip it all and go directly to Stonehenge is 3-4 hours from Cambridge.

From Avebury/Stonehenge to Machynlleth is probably 4-5 hours driving.

From London-Orkney is about a day: leave London in the morning and arrive in Thurso in the evening and get the ferry the next morning. Or take the sleeper overnight to Inverness, and then 2-3 hours on the train to Thurso and then the ferry. Could be faster by plane.