South England
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You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
You are currently reading a thread in /trv/ - Travel
I'm doing some travel in the south of England in a few weeks time, are there any must-visit towns there?
So far I have Bath, Salisbury (for Stonehenge), Brighton, Devon, Torquay, Brixham and Weymouth on my list. I was interested in Cornwall too but I was told I'd be going during the off season so a lot would be closed, but I'd still be interested in checking it out. Time and budget are both flexible, bot I'm obviously not looking at five-star accommodation nor spending a long time there.
I've also been looking at train timetables, is that the best and cheapest way to get around?
Any help would be much appreciated.
>>1050950
Trains are generally your best bet, yes. Buses are an option, but they're not great in terms of timescales - they run infrequently, and they tend to be slow. Bear in mind that tickets for most travel in the UK by train are a lot more expensive before about 930am or so.
>>1050996
Is it OK to buy them on the day or better and cheaper to book them a few days in advance?
>>1051001
sometimes I get to the station and its more expensive so I always book online now a couple of days before travelling
>>1051001
Yeah, 24 hours ahead of time is the cutoff for some of the advance fares I think, but the earlier the better, as there are multiple kinds of advance and superadvance - the more advance, the cheaper the ticket. Kind of a pain when you're trying to travel on the fly / without a lot of planning ahead. If cost is a big concern you could check out buses - I suspect they'd be cheaper.
>>1050950
this is my home turf
i live in brighton at the moment, its probably my favourite city in britain, but i'm originally from the new forest, and that whole area is worth spending some time in, its pretty much the closest thing to the kind of idyllic british countryside the shire in lord of the rings is based on, if you get a chance to explore some of the villages in this area and you like nature, definitely do it, isle of wight is good for the same reasons, and if you choose to go to Bournemouth i could probably hook you up with some friends to show you around the place.
the train isn't the cheapest way to get around but coaches take fucking forever, so its probably your best bet
where you from?
>>1051018
new forest is v nice but not a example of the rolling green and pleaeant land of rolling countryside.
essex suffolk border, hampshire downs, various rural places in the midlands, oxfordshire, buckinghamshire etc etc these are all far more appropriate places for the pastoral, green and pleasent land.
new forest is v nice but not the archtypal british countryside
>>1051045
I can vouch for Essex/Suffolk border, I visit Sudbury from time to time.
Castle Hedingham is worth a visit too in my opinion
Then again that's not quite south coast England.
>>1050950
Winchester is really cool for a day, so much history in that little city. Again, Isle of Wight is cool, like someone already said. Reading might also merit a day, depends on your schedule.
Cool tip: go to thetrainline.com and buy your train tickets there saying you have a JCP (JobCentrePlus) card. Massive discount, and nobody actually asks to see your card.
Go to the New Forest. Visit Lyndhurst & Burley. Plan a walk starting at Linford Bottom.
>>1051422
* also visit Bucklers Hard
Also consider doing a day trip from Weymouth or Poole to Guernsey.
The island and principally St Peter Port can be toured in a day. Guernsey is like 1950s England blended with France.
>>1051045
maybe it is for me because i live there, from what i can tell its like, a massive experience if you're from a big city, like, i went to college in brockenhurst and there are shitloads of new forest ponies and donkeys and the like wondering around the place. when i tell people from london about where i live they're like "YOU'VE SEEN A HORSE? IN REAL LIFE?"
see if you can find a beer festival to go to while you're here OP, they're the best, you get a great crossection of british culture
>>1051943
but n forest isnt the archtypal pastoral rolling,patchwork of fields, british countryside.
even though its very nice, in its heathy, foresty way.
If you're under 26, consider getting a 16-25 railcard at the first railway station you visit. Bring a small passport-type photo. This gives you a third off most train journeys and will pay for itself if you spend more than £75 on your train journeys here. An Advance ticket can be much cheaper than an on-the-day one but it's only valid for that train at that time and therefore kills flexibility. I only use these for journeys I know will be long/expensive and I won't need to replan. Everything else I just use an off-peak ticket.
Play around with the National Rail website because there are some odd trains that might work well with your itinerary. For example, there's a train that chugs its way from Bristol to Bath to Salisbury to Southampton (for Isle of Wight/Winchester/London links) to either Portsmouth Harbour (for Isle of Wight. Portsmouth itself is a bit of a dump although the historic dockyard is good) or Brighton.
Also, if you're from outside the EU, remember you can claim VAT (20% sales tax) back off most goods when you leave the country.
Bath is gorgeous and Brighton has a good vibe to it. I come from the Essex/Suffolk border and to me there's not much countryside more lovely than Dedham Vale, but your mileage may vary. If you're here and get stuck, don't worry about asking people for help. We're a friendly bunch but will keep ourselves to ourselves unless approached.
>>1052373
portsmouth may be a dump but pies and vinyl proves that british food isn't as shit as everyone says
