Travel in Britain end of September?

Question

I'm considering visiting Britain for a week in September. I'll probably have to go through London as I'm coming from Canada and planning to go on to, and return from, Germany via the train. I want to see a fair amount of the country while I'm there so don't want to stay anywhere more than 2 nights. I have budget considerations but don't wish to hostel. Don't mind spending time on trains, watching scenery. Areas of Britain that interest me are on the water in Cornwall, East Anglia and Yorkshire, and of course a couple of days in London would be great. I am probably biting off more than I can chew, but if anyone has suggestions about places to stay and modes of travel, I'd like to hear them. Oh, and what sort of weather might I expect in those places in September?

Answer 1

Weather wise, especially Yorkshire it'll be generally cold and almost definately raining. I'd definately travel round by train, especially through west country and the north, it's by far the best way to see the countryside. Cheap hotels or B&Bs should be easy enough to find but I'd make sure you go online and book befoer you leave, end of september is a pretty good time as everyone is back at school, so generally prices come down. However London is always expensive, if you want somewhere nice, so I'd probably recommend (unless you find a good deal online- and there are good deals) staying outside London, and taking a day trip in- however traffic is horrendous... as are commuters on the tube so I'd watch out for that. If your tripping London, i'd do all the tourist stuff, theres some great open top bus rides over Tower Bridge etc that incorporate most of the history. Not to put you off, but I wouldn't reccomend London cabbies unless you have to, they're expensive and generally slow due to traffic volume, walking is much more beneficial anyway. For DEFINATE go to some of the remote villages in yorkshire, e.g. Pickering - honestly, it's beautiful.. just bring an umbrella, or atleast a coat, it rains a lot. As far as Cornwall goes - find a hotel on the coast, so much better.

Ermm this is all I can think of telling you, sorry if I've missed something out, hope you have fun here!

x*x

Answer 2

The weather? Cold and wet.

Britain is broken up into 3 countries:

1) England- It's very flat, and if you're ariving in London, it's worth spending 2 days there, sight-seeing. I love London because it's so different from the rest of England. Tons of different cultures and nationalities, all sharing one huge city. You won't run out of things to do or see there, e.g. St. James' Park, the London eye, Big Ben, Traffalgar Square. It's great, and use the underground, it's the easiest way of getting around London.

Manchester's a nice city to stay a night. The club, bar and restaurants are amazing, and everybody's cheerful.

Cornwall's overrated. Some nice beaches, but they're nothing special. There are a few nice seaside villages, but they'll all be closed in September, as they're owned by Londoners who use them in the summer.

Yorkshire's nice to drive through, or take a train through, but it's not really worth stopping there.

East Anglia isn't worth touching. It's a farming comunity, with nothing much to see.

Cumbria is very nice, with a few hills and lakes. It's great for walking, and Carlisle's a nice small city.

2) Scotland- Scotland is on the verge of gaining independence from Britain, so there's a lot of confidence up there.

Glasgow and Edinburough are fantastic cities, with great nightlives. Plenty of culture in both of them.

But if you really want to see Scotland, go north.

The highlands are spectacular. Plenty of Walks, and mountains to climb, but get advice from an expert before climbing, because some of them aren't safe for amateurs, and you will need instructions.

My favourite parts of Scotland are the islands. The Shetlands, Orkneys and Hebridies are all briming with nature and dramatic landscapes. But watch out because it takes a long time to sail to the Shetlands, so it will eat up a lot of your time.

My advice would be to visit the island of Mull. It has the beautiful town of Tobamory, and amazing wildlife, including red deer, golden eagles, sea eagles, ospreys, seals and dolphins.

Anything south of Glasgow and Edinburough isn't worth visiting.

3) Northern Ireland- Before it wasn't a safe place to visit, with the conflict between the republicans (who wanted a united Ireland, independent of England) and the unionists (who wanted to remain a part of the United Kingdom). At the moment they're sharing power, and things have cooled down, so it's perfectly safe to visit there.

You'll need to take a Ferry from Liverpool to get to Northern Ireland, and the only place worth visiting is Belfast, which is a changed city.

It's full of wine-bars and restaurants that are brilliant. But it's also worth visiting some of the hotspots of the conflict, like the estates. But be careful, and don't go there alone, because some of them are still very violent.

Giant's Causeway's cool to see, but it's not something deserving of its "natural wonder" status. It's just a bunch of hexagone-shaped rocks. It's good, but not worth traveling to if you're on a tight schedule.

4) Wales- Wales is the only one of the Celtic nations (Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Bretton (in France), Basque (in Spain)) where the language is still strong. Despite many years of horrible killing and persecution by the English, Welsh is still spoken in Wales by 1/3 of the inhabitants (mostly in the West and North). So it's worth remembering that signs are always in two languages.

Cardiff is a nice city, with a fantastic nightlife and some great tourist attractions, like the Millenium stadium and Cardiff castle. Again, one night is enough.

Swansea is an industrial city which isn't somewhere you want to stay. It's ugly, and the nightlife can be a bit much. But carry on down the Gwyr peninsular and you'll come across some of the world's best beaches. September will be too cold to go in the sea, but it's worth going to walk along the beaches of Llangeneth and Rhosili.

It's worth remembering that Wales has more Castles per square mile than any other country in the world. So pick at least one to visit. My suggestions would be Castell Carreg Cennen, near Brynaman in South Wales, which is now meerely a skeleton, but the views and ambiance is great. Also Castell Caernarfon in North Wales, which hasn't changed much since the Middle Ages, and is huge. It's in incredible shape considering its age.

But it's really worth climbing one of the world's most beautiful mountains, yr Wyddfa (or Snowdon in English). The climb takes around 4 hours up, and 4 hours down, and get advice before climbing, because on average 25 people a year die by falling off cliffs because they weren't experienced enough to walk some of the more difficult paths. But the view from the top is breathtaking. Edmund Hillary practiced on Snowdon before becoming the first man to climb Everest. It will blow you away!

My advice would be, whilst in Wales, the further West you are, the better. Plus remember that trains don't get you to many places, and getting from North to South is near impossible on train because of the landscape.

I hope this has been helpful, and if you have questions, message me!

Answer 3

There is no way you’ll get to see as much as you want in a week! Perhaps just do one of the places this time around. How about a few days in London and a few in Cornwall?

Cornwall is generally lovely in September - obviously no promises - I spend the last week in September and first week in October there every year. We walk on the beach in shorts quite often! At that time of year the children have returned to school and so most fo the holiday makers have gone home - in turn it is possible to get tables in restaurants, park your car easily and walk the dog on the beach.

If you are travelling by train to Germany why not pick up a Inter-railing ticket and that way you can travel to Cornwall (and other UK and European locations) by train.

Cornwall will take about 5 hours by train from Paddington station London. Really depends on where abouts in the county you want to go.

I’d suggest Falmouth for sailing and a busy working harbour town. Good bars and restaurants and a Maritime museum. Don’t miss St Michaels’ Mount near Penzance (end of the railway line from London) and the Minack Theatre (open air theatre cut out of the cliffs – a must see).

Consider St Ives for the Tate gallery and wonderful gallerys – again you can get there by train.

Don't forget to try a pasty (traditional tin miners meal) and a clotted cream tea!

Have a look at the links I’ve included for a lot more info and also some wonderful photographs!