Headed to London, York, and Edinburgh - Suggestions on things to see and do?

So one of the things I love about a lot of forums is that they are fairly international. What a better place than here to ask people with similar interests about neat things to go and do/see. So the wife and I (no children) will be heading to London, York, Edinburgh, and back to London over the course of 2 weeks in October.

What are everyone’s suggestions on things to do and see? Neither of us are very “touristy,” but we’re hug history nerds. I am of course into military history, her not so much, but she’ll put up with it for a time.

I appreciate the help!

1 Like

I was in London in July, both the Tower of London and the Imperial War Museum were pretty solid.

I’ll post up a few of the notable restaurants we went to when I get home.

2 Likes

RAF Duxford.

I know that it’s probably considered a tourist trap by the locals, but I really enjoyed the scotch whisky experience near Edinburgh castle.

3 Likes

The Tower is on both our lists, the Imperial War Museum is probably going to require somewhere she can go while I’m there. I’ll have to see what’s close.

Duxford would be pretty awesome, but I don’t think it’ll end up being on the route we’re taking up and back.

1 Like

Depending on your interests, there’s a great
railway museum at York.

London, there’s loads for you to do. The London Eye.

HMS Belfast if Navy ships are your thing.

You might also want to have a look at the walking tours. They range from historical tours of landmarks, Jack the Ripper walks in the East end to ghost walks at night.

2 Likes

Tate Modern. It’s not history and it’s not military but it’s not to be missed.

I second Duxford and the IWM. Their Great War exhibit is very impressive, as is the main entrance with that huge 15" naval gun. Your wife might not dislike it all that much, mine found enough of interest there (and also had a whale of a time poking fun at me transforming into an excited ten-year-old).

Are you two bookish? In that case do give the book sellers a good look. I don’t remember exactly the name of the street but there’s a great cluster of them near the theatre district.

2 Likes

If you’re in the East End you could go a little further back in time with the Curry Sark and the Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Both are worth a look.

Edit: Cutty Sark, of course. Damn autocorrect :grin:

1 Like

Duxford is an absolute must. Cosford raf museum is on your route north. York trains museum is fantastic and even people not actually into trains will be impressed.
London natural history museum and the science museum are phenomenal as is the iwm plus they are all near each other.
Oxford is worth a stop as well. Loads of beautiful architecture and museums plus @Victork2 is always up for a visit lol

I’ve driven the length and breadth of this island sonic you need any advice or recommendations give me a shout :grinning:

1 Like

York’s down the road from me, well a long road lol but I know it well. The Jorvik centre is a must to see (and smell :smiley: ) Yorks Viking origins. Cliffords Tower, you can’t miss it as it’s the castle on the huge hill near the centre, is great too. Get good views from the top. Also, just near there is York Castle Museum and worth a look too.

I definitely suggest getting the ORBX scenery for England. XP or FSX/P3D, which ever you are using. :wink:

Definitely Duxford. History nerds? I’ll have to break out my English Heritage guide book and see what is along you way. (driving or train?)

Off the top lf my head, Audley End (manor house and grounds) is near Duxford. There are a lot of not so well known historic sites scattered along the path of your trek. Castle Abbey and Grimes Graves (neolithic mines) are a little off a direct route. Of course you will be traveling over Hadrian’s Wall–lots of good stuff there. I’ll get back to you.

I am in London now! Was in Edinburgh last month and think I’ll be going again next month. London = Natural History Museum. Free! If you like Indian, try Dishoom in Edinburgh. They are in London too but there is usually a 1 - 2 hour wait for a table. In Edinburgh, there’s little to no wait. Run to Author’s seat! One of my favorite runs in Europe.

Thanks for all the suggestions for, that’s why I love this place!

What kind of temperatures should we be expecting in early October?

The plan is to take the trains between the three cities. We had debated on a car, but for the first trip we figured we’ll probably want to do a lot of “mainstream” things that won’t require the additional expense.

London:
We’re staying almost across the street from the British Museum so that’s on the list. Beyond that it’s fairly wide open. I believe we have 5 days in London (3 at the start 2 at the end) to go see/do things.

The Belfast and Victory are certainly on my list (along with the Cutty Shark and Maritime museum), not sure what her opinion on the them are.

I had never heard of the Tate, have to give that a gander. Also great suggestion on book sellers, I’ll need to purchase a shipping container though lol.

The natural history and science museums are on the short list already, just need to figure out transportation.

York:
TRAIN MUSEUM!!! Umm why yes I might find that of interest… :rofl:

Jorvik’s center and Cliffords Tower both sound great. The Castle Museum will definitely be on the list.

Edinburgh:
Thanks for the tip on Dishoom. On my wife list of 3 things we WILL do in England, eat Indian food is on there. We probably won’t run Author’s Seat (2 replacement hips kind puts a limit on running), but that looks like a lovely stroll!

I was in Edinburgh in June and found it to be a lovely place. Edinburgh Castle was overly touristy, maybe in October it’ll be tolerable. The regimental museums inside were quite nice though. The Royal Mile was also touristy but given the cobblestone alleys and such it was a pleasant place to hang out. We ate at Makars Mash Bar (twice) and really loved the food. The tram was easy to use, clean, and quick. I can’t imagine getting around in the city any other way.

If you are out to buy “souvenirs” it’s worth straying a few blocks from the main areas. In some cases the price more than halved. The whisky fudge wasn’t terribly good but the shortbread cookies are amazing. We saw some awesome street performers on the Royal Mile, though once the sun started to go down the homeless came out in force.

I fly into here nearly every week. My friend is the airfield boss. Great place

Its the UK…expect rain. :grin:

1 Like

That’s is completely MONSTROUSLY untrue!

It might be foggy as well. :grinning:

1 Like

Lol, noted. Main reason I ask is that my wife gets cold under about 60. Here in Texas it will still be high 90’s to low 100’s probably (we might be just in the mid 90’s), so it’s always a bit difficult to plan for another part of the world whose weather is so different.

Up to about mid-October you can (occasionally) get warm sunny days with little or no cloud. There will be a frost first thing though and it will chill down about 4pm.

That said, if she gets cold at 60 degrees, she’s going to be cold. And damp… did we talk about the rain?

It’ll be getting dark about 5pm as well, something my Texan friend couldn’t get his head around when he visited at Thanksgiving and it was getting dark at 4pm.

If you are going to travel up to Edinburgh via train, download the “Trainline” app. It’s v handy for checking travel times, routes and the tickets will be cheaper. You can also see the times when tickets are more expensive at commuter times. You can add your tickets to your phone wallet, most UK stations now have electronic scanners to use electronic tickets.

Another handy app would be “Tube Map” as this will tell you the shortest/quickest route when in London and which tubes to change at for your destination.

Tate seconded - both for the art and the cool turbine hall building.

Also recommend Kew Gardens. Very interesting gardens and greenhouses etc. Also right under the approach to Heathrow so you can plane-spot while you meander in the gardens. They also sell excellent Kew Gardens gin with local botanicals.

1 Like

If you have time for a detour up or down from Scotland I would say call off at the Lake District. It’s my favourite area in England, such a beautiful place.

1 Like