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.

[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 >.>

[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

[shanaqui]

How do you feel about castles?

[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.