The UK is expensive, and once you change our dollar for their pound, a holiday in the UK seems just about impossible. Well, it did to me! But it's a place I love and I wanted my son to see it.I got the ball rolling by finding a good travel agent to help me find the cheapest tickets possible. But let's face it, any overseas tickets cost heaps, and Australia is just so damned far away! Next, I began researching what we could do there at the time of year we were going. Now you will think I am mad, but we went in their winter time. Yes, it was cold but not impossible, and with the right clothing we were fine.
There is a very good reason for going in winter and that is savings. I did do a lot of planning for this trip, but the one thing I didn't plan was where we would go once we got there. I did hire a car for 10 days in England, so that meant I had to decide on a pickup time and place and a return time and place. I also booked accommodation in Kirkwall, Orkney over the Christmas and New Year period. Very little is open there at that time of year so it was necessary to book.
Once I started researching all the places we would like to see I realized how expensive it was going to be. Entry fees alone were going to cost me an arm and a leg! But I did not want to get over there and have to keep saying to my son "no we can't go there, it's too expensive". That's just no way to holiday. What I did for London was to buy a London Pass online for each of us and it was fantastic. I brought 2 three day passes and we packed so much into those three days. It was such a great feeling not having to pull out my purse for all those entry fees. I never really worked out just how much money we saved, but it was heaps! Plus most places have a fast track for London Pass holders, of course there isn't many queues in winter, but it still felt great walking straight in with just a swipe of the card. Get your London Passes from www.londonpass.co.uk and check to see if they have any special price tickets for the London Eye, not inc
luded in the pass but a must do. Also check out this site, it was really helpful. www.visitbritain.com Accommodation that's clean, safe and cheap and in a good location can be pretty hard to find in any big city, but I found the perfect spot and I found it by talking about our trip to many people long before we went. So if you're planning a trip, I would suggest you talk to as many people as possible as it's amazing what you may find. Our accommodation was with the Francisian Sisters of the Heart of Jesus (no I am not religious and you don't have to be to stay there). The Sisters' guest house is not 2 minutes walk from Victoria Station, so the location is perfect. It's very simple, clean and safe and they even throw in brekkie! All this for only about €26 for adults and €13 for kids per night.
The other thing I looked at (isn't the Internet great!) before we left was how we would get about. I said I did hire a car, and I found a really cheap deal which was great but I have had loads of trouble with the company since then. Twice they have billed me for the same car (not at the special price but at full price) and they have just taken the money from my credit card. Oh, the company was Europcar. To tell you the truth, I really don't think car hire was worth the trouble and cost, the public transport is very good and not too expensive.
The most important part of my planning was to decide on what we really wanted to see. There is so much and you just can't see it all - but we certainly gave it a go, from the ruins of Tintagel down in Cornwall all the way up to Orkney where we watched a wild ball game called the Ba. We did heaps, and my last planning hint would be to join English Heritage before you go. You need to do it well before so your Heritage Card gets to you in time. Being a member may sound silly if you're only going for a short time, but it's much cheaper than any of the heritage passes and it gets you into so many places free or at a discount rate. Here's the link: www.english-heritage.org.uk
A Look At What We Saw
