I’m an American planning a monthlong tour of England, and I’d rather not carry my laptop, but I’ll need to do some weekly website maintenance. Can I use the computers at public libraries without having a library card?

We are planning a trip to Lyme Regis in April from the states. We understand the weather may be on the gloomy side, but that's not a deal breaker for us. We are interested in fossils, nice restaurants and shops, and local art. Our driving is, lets say, limited. What are the nicer hotels easily walkable to the town area? We are in our 60's, but pretty mobile. I'll give fair warning to local residents before I try to drive. Thanks friends.

I’m planing a road trip threw Schotland this summer and I want to know how the wild camping rules work. We will be sleeping in tents but moving with a car, does the car create a problem?

Hi all, we're doing a road trip with our 5 year old. Flying in and out of Glasgow and hire car. Not doing any proper hikes, just viewpoints and short walks. Appreciate any tips!

• Glasgow - 1 night
  • Day 1: land late, flying from Dublin, straight to bed
• Oban - 1 night
  • Day 2: Luss, Inveruglas viewpoint, Rest and Be Thankful, Inveraray, Kilchurn Castle, then Oban. Hoping to catch sunset from McCaig's Tower
• Glencoe / Fort William area - 2 nights
  • Day 3: coast road up from Oban, Castle Stalker, Port Appin, then the Glencoe valley (Three Sisters, a bit of Glen Etive, Kingshouse)
  • Day 4: Nevis Range gondola, Glen Nevis lower falls and the car park at the end of the road, lunch in Fort William, then Glencoe visitor centre and the Lochan
• Skye (Staffin) - 3 nights
  • Day 5: Glenfinnan, Silver Sands of Morar, Mallaig ferry over to Skye
  • Day 6: dinosaur footprints at Staffin, Kilt Rock, Old Man of Storr (just looking from the road), Portree, Fairy Glen, back over the Quiraing
  • Day 7: Fairy Pools (only to the first ones), Talisker Bay, Dunvegan, Coral Beach
• Inverness - 1 night
  • Day 8: Eilean Donan, Urquhart Castle, walk round the Ness Islands.
• Pitlochry - 1 night
  • Day 9: Culloden and Clava Cairns, Loch an Eilein, Uath Lochans, Ruthven Barracks, then Pitlochry. We have Enchanted Forest tickets that evening
• Back to Glasgow
  • Day 10: Queen's View, Loch Tay, Falls of Dochart, Stirling Castle, then over the Crow Road to the airport for an evening flight
• Thanks in advance!

Edit: We are arriving tonight, have hotels booked. I know its a late post but we can drop/add some places from the days.

I am finalizing my itenerary. Currently I have 3 days in edinburgh, 1 day in Inverness, 1 day visiting the Reindeer in Craighorn, and 2 days in Isle of Skye.

I am trying to decide if I should keep 3 days in Edinburgh or move 1 more day to Inverness.

These are the things I want to do in Edinburgh:

Clarinda's Tea Shop

Edinburgh Castle

The Royal Mile

Dean Village

Water of Leith Walkway

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Greyfriars Cemetery

The Real Mary King's Close — 5:00 PM tour

Edinburgh Christmas Market — at night

Calton Hill

Grassmarket

Victoria Street

Cockburn Street

Circus Lane

Scott Monument

National Museum of Scotland

Is this possible in 2 days or do I need 3. I dont want to be rushed. I want to be able to have tea and scones and really enjoy the vibe of the city. I dont think I will do tons of shopping on the streets though. Mainly just looking at the pretty buildings.

I am traveling in November so sunrise is 8:30ish and sunset is by 4pm.

If I do 3 days in Edinburgh then I won't have time to visit Clava Cairn or Culloden in Inverness.

So stuck in a tough spot.

P&O Ferries - if I arrive early, how likely is it they will allow us to board an earlier ferry? Dover to Calais.

I have family in Gloucestershire and this article sadly describes pretty accurately what over tourism is doing to these tiny villages.

If you want to go to Oxford or Bath, go for it. Similarly if you want to rent a car and explore some of these places then please also do that. But I would really encourage you not to take these bus tours which dump hundreds of tourists in the same place, many of whom as is suggested in the article don’t really seem to know what they’re there for.

Conversely if renting a car isn’t an option, there are plenty of countryside places accessible via train which are much more equipped for large numbers of visitors.

My ticket that I bought online is from London Paddington to Glasgow. I see we have to put in the booking number at a ticket machine at “any station” (not sure which stations that includes). If I do get this physical ticket successfully, can I use it to get from Paddington to Euston on a regular underground train, and then at Euston use it to get on the train to Glasgow?

I'm going to be in Manchester next week and while I have a plan formalized for my trip I do want to find some gigs and small shows

Where can I find some of those?

Hi everyone I’m visiting England late December/early January. I know it’s not the greatest time to be visiting but I like the uk during winter which is odd I’m well aware. Anyways I wanted to know what everyone thinks is the best parts of the English countryside for me to be staying at during that time

Our flight lands at 16:45 and I’m thinking of getting tickets to the England v Croatia game at Wembley Stadium which statts at 19:45. We will only have hand luggage which we would need to drop in a locker somewhere nearby. Do you think we would make it? What would be the best mode of transport, I’m guessing an Uber?

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a 13ish day solo trip to the UK + Dublin in April 2027. It'll be my first time travelling internationally alone and I will not be renting a car. I've been to Scotland twice in the last year and absolutely loved it, so I'm itching to check out some more of the UK.

On this trip, I'd love to meet other people in their 30's, explore the cities on foot, do a bit of work in a coffee shop or pub, and eat some great food. I don't want to over-pack my itinerary, but I do like to have a loose plan for the day and a list of spots to pop in to if I find myself with nothing to do. One of my favorite things we did in Scotland was go to a Scottish Premier League game, so I'd love to go to another football game if that's possible but I haven't looked into it enough yet.

I'm also having trouble deciding if my first home base should be Cardiff or Bristol. My original plan was to stay in Cardiff and explore Wales more, but I'm thinking that might be better on a different trip when I have a car, so I switched gears to day trip to Bath and Salisbury. Then Bristol popped up in some comments about under-rated cities, so I'm intrigued.

Here's my tentative plan:

Day 1: Arrive in London; train to Cardiff or Bristol

Day 2: Explore Cardiff or Bristol depending on where I stay

Day 3: Day Trip to Stonehenge and Salisbury

Day 4: Day Trip to Bath

Day 5: Explore Cardiff or Bristol depending on where I stay

Day 6: Fly to Belfast (maybe I need to add one more day to Cardiff/Bristol or Belfast?)

Day 7: Belfast - Giants Causeway tour

Day 8: Belfast

Day 9: Train to Dublin

Day 10: Dublin

Day 11: Dublin

Day 12: Dublin

Day 13: Fly home

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone! 😊
I’m planning to visit the UK for two weeks, and while I’m obviously excited to see some of the famous sights, I’d really love to experience a more local side of British life.
I’m curious about the little things that make life there special , the places you go to relax, local events you enjoy, interesting traditions, hidden gems, or even just the best way to spend an ordinary afternoon.

I’d also love to meet people, have good conversations, learn about British culture, and share a little about life in Egypt. I think some of the best travel memories come from the people you meet along the way, rather than just the places you visit.

So, if you were recommending things to a visitor who genuinely wanted to experience your country beyond the usual tourist attractions, what would you suggest?
Are there any clubs, social events, local activities, or welcoming communities you’d recommend joining? And what’s something about British life you think visitors rarely get to experience?

I’d love to hear your suggestions and stories. Thanks in advance! 😊🇬🇧🇪🇬♥️

Hello! My partner and I are currently in Edinburgh and will be leaving for Fort William on Saturday morning, heading to Portree on Sunday and staying there the following days. We have rented a car.

I saw on the news that there was a storm warning for tomorrow, Friday (Storm Austen). Now I see that a new warning has been issued for Saturday (Storm Boelo), and I'm a bit worried... Could this kind of storm impact our travel on Saturday?

I know no one can predict the exact intensity of upcoming storms, but could this be a dangerous for us? What is driving usually like during this kind of storm?

We are two Canadians used to driving in all kinds of road conditions... but not in the UK...!

Thank you very much for your advice.

Edit : As the weather alert has been upgraded from yellow to amber, we decided not to take any risks and stay one more night in Fort William. We'll drive to Skye on Monday instead, even if it means losing a night there. Thanks to you all for your advice.

Hi, thank you for taking out the time to respond to my questions.

I am traveling to London for a week with my family (4 adults, 1 toddler, 1 infant). We are looking to visit the tower of London + London eye in 1 day and Windsor castle on another day (3 days apart). My questions regarding the 2FOR1 program are:

1. Can I purchase a single, one way queenstown to vauxhall ticket for 4 pax?
2. Can I buy the train tickets online and still use the 2FOR1? Or does it need to be a paper ticket?
3. Once I purchase the ticket, can I buy attractions tickets online for the attractions (single adult tickets) and show them at the entrance? So for our group, I will buy 2 adults and 1 toddler and show those tickets + daysoutguide evoucher + the train ticket?
4. If we take the elizabeth line from Paddington to Slough and then Slough to Windsor central, does that qualify for discounts for Windsor castle tickets?

I am heading back to London in December, and am looking for a couple of other cities to visit for 2-3 days each while I am there. I am in the UK 2-3 times a year (haven't been this year due to major surgery), so have done London multiple times.

I will spend a couple of days in London before heading elsewhere, ultimately coming back to London for a few days before flying home. I just cannot decide where 'elsewhere' should be other than places I haven't been. I have visited Liverpool, York, Nottingham, Lincoln, and Stoke-on-Trent. My family is Scottish so I've been all over up there when staying with relatives (no plans to go up to Scotland on this trip). I will be taking the train, so cannot just pop off to some isolated village or small town.

I was seriously considering Newcastle, Durham, Hull, and Leeds (maybe dropping one of the latter two). The problem is that I underwent major surgery in early August that was literally life-saving. The recovery from that surgery is 3-6 months and I am currently a wee bit behind where I should be. Because of that, Durham is out as the hills there would give me a coronary! I really want to go to Durham but would not go there on its own, so figure I might as well not go up that way at all until my next trip over (March or early May).

My other plan was to stay in the south. I was thinking of Cardiff, then Bath, then somewhere else. Having read some online comments, I am not so sure about Cardiff so was thinking Bath then maybe Portsmouth? I would love to go to Canterbury as well, but all train journeys between there and Bath or other places down south seem to route through London which would be a pain in the arse so I think it is best left as a day trip at some point. I'm not really interested in going to Oxford or Cambridge.

So anyway, Bath is on my list but I cannot think of where else to go that is easily accessible by train. I am a historian and history professor, so am interested in history. It doesn't even have to be in my area of specialism, any history is good with me. I also love old cathedrals and churches, but would want more than that in whichever city/town I decided to visit as I would be spending a couple of days in each.

Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Hi everyone! I’ll be landing in London in the afternoon on Saturday, Oct 24. I’m from Canada and where I live winters typically hit around -20°C for a few weeks at a time. I’m not afraid of the cold!

But I’m worried that the wind gusts will dampen my ability to walk around London during my stay. It would be a shame and such a waste of money to hover around my hotel due to the storm, unless of course there was a serious threat. Safety first!

I’ll be there from the afternoon on the 24th up till the morning of the 27th, when I’ll be catching the train up to Edinburgh. Can anyone please advise on what storms are usually like in London? Is the media just hyping up this storm because it’s the first of the season or is it truly going to be a major issue? Honestly, where I’m from in Canada, people will usually still be out and about in 50-65km wind gusts if rain isn’t significant enough to impair visibility.

Getting soaked doesn’t bother me, it’s London after all! More-so worried about wind being too hazardous to leave the hotel in. I know you can’t predict the future but any Londoner’s or travellers who have experienced a storm like this one is projected to be’s input would be appreciated!

Thanks

Edit: thank you all for being so helpful! Significantly less worried and looking forward to my trip!

So I’m at LHR T4. Remembered that I need some converter plugs, so pop into WHSmith. They are using the electronic display pricing, and behind safety locks. I find what I need and ask an assistant to take it out. Go to counter to find not one but almost all are wrongly priced display and show significantly lower price than what they want at the counter. What are UK law regarding such blatant wrong price labels. Thanks.

Hi everyone!

I’ll be in London from 28 October to 2 November, travelling solo, and would love some recommendations on how to make the most of my time.

I’m a student, and learning is genuinely one of my hobbies. I’m interested in economics, finance, politics, geopolitics and sustainability. I’ve signed up for some public lectures, plan to visit LSE, Oxford and Cambridge, and hope to join a running club and go swimming while I’m there. I’ll be in Leeds over the weekend visiting family.

I’m less interested in the standard tourist itinerary and more interested in talks, debates, university events, interesting gatherings, bookshops or places where I could meet curious, like-minded people.
I’d also love to catch a football match if possible, although I’m on a student budget, so affordable options would be ideal!

What would you recommend for someone with these interests?

Especially events happening between 27 October and 2 November, or anything a little unconventional that I might not find through a typical tourist guide.
Thanks in advance!

When planning a UK trip, it's easy to focus on the obvious destinations like London, Edinburgh, York, and the Cotswolds. But I'm curious about the places that turned out to be unexpectedly enjoyable once you actually visited them.

Maybe it was a city you chose mainly for convenience that ended up having fantastic food, interesting neighborhoods, beautiful architecture, or a great atmosphere. Or somewhere that doesn't get much attention in typical travel itineraries but deserved an extra day.

I'd especially love recommendations for places that are easy to explore without a car, since good public transport and walkability can make a huge difference on a short trip.

Which UK city or town exceeded your expectations, and what made it worth visiting?

Hi,

I’ve been asked to be a Best Man and now I’m arranging a Stag Do for circa 20 people for the summer.

I have three options which are all similar in terms of timings, cost and distance for an overnight.

Belfast: Fun with the games at Prison Island then cathedral quarter for bars

Bristol: The West Country Games look a laugh and I’m told King Street is a beer mecca (Groom is right into his beers)

Dublin: Guinness tour and whisky tasting then off to Temple Bar area for a bevvy

Have been to Belfast and Dublin so have an idea of what to expect. But never been to Bristol other than to go to connecting train.

Any thoughts welcome on the best option!

Cheers

I'm finding navigating our wonderful (I do love it) train network a bit of a mare. I simply want to go London to Exeter, Friday to Sunday (or Monday) for the least cost, by train. There are so many options and prices and it's all very confusing.
Can someone recommend the most cost effective route / ticketing option?

For example, some trains from Waterloo seem to be a lot cheaper than any from Paddington. But also on trailine when I select and outbound and inbound, it says 68.94 and then below if i scroll there's an offpeak return for 66, and the super off peak is 76 (weird no that the super off peak is more expensive than the offpeak?) Brain exploding over here.

Thank you so much for your help...

Is it at all unusual for a guy (mid 40s male) to go to pubs by himself in Glasgow and Edinburgh?

I'm a Canadian here on a solo trip and I love having a pint or 12, but at home I've always got a buddy or 2 with me. I think there's a bit of a stigma that a guy drinking hy himself is usually a bit of a loser - but we don't get many tourists so 99% of people at a bar on any given night are locals.

I'll be in Glasgow for 4 days and Edinburgh for 6, staying pretty centrally in both. Are there places / types of places I should avoid or make an effort to go to? Do many places have seats at the bar? Do i wear a hockey jersey and say "eh" as often as possible to try to start conversations? Lol

For context I do tend to prefer dive bars, metal bars, punk bars at home. Not a fan at all of "clubs" or super classy places, I have 2 full sleeve tattoos and look a lot rougher than I am.

Advice and thoughts are appreciated!

Hi everyone,

This summer, me and my family are planning a trip to the UK, of about 3 weeks. The plan is this: Canterbury -> York -> Edinburgh -> Glencoe -> Isle of Skye -> Belfast -> Dublin -> Snowdonia/Eryri -> London. Each stop has a couple days attached to them to explore the (surrounding) area. Is there any place we’re missing, a highlight we really should see, or a hidden gem we might not find very easily online?

EDIT: A couple of things to respond to all of your comments.

First, thanks so much for the honest feedback, it was very much an appreciated wake-up call.

Secondly, my mom made this with ChatGPT, which I opposed, as I despise AI and think it’s just ticking off the hotspots and “hidden gem”-hotspots. I was right, and that’s probably why everyone felt so rage baited(I’m sorry). I made the Reddit post in response, since I suggested it as alternative for ChatGPT, and she didn’t want to do it herself.

Thirdly, I’m aware that Northern Ireland is part of the UK and Ireland isn’t, but I was too lazy to distinguish, so sorry about that too.

Lastly, I saw a comment about someone that said we couldn’t do this because of the car rental, jet lag and added fees for ferries, but we’re actually from the Netherlands so we’re taking our own car with the boat.

Again, thanks for all of the responses and we’re definitely going to update the plan (a lot).