Hey guys,
I'll be visiting the UK later this week.
I'll start with a week in London, then a week in Edinburgh and then 5 days in Bristol before heading to London for another night to catch a cheap flight back home.
I have some ideas about what to do and see when I'm there.
I really like culture and history, I'm a big fan of museums and historical sights.
I also like the culinary aspects of traveling and always enjoy eating and drinking native delicacies when I'm exploring new places.
I like going to a pub or bar but I'm not much of a club kind of guy.
Since I'm sort of on a budget I'd rather go see and explore free/cheap sights than for example spend 30 quid on the London eye. Going to real restaurants will for the most part be outside of my planned budget as well.
I'm not afraid of spending money generally though, I just want to get the most for the least (adequate) amount.
Do you guys have any recommendations for things to see in London, Edinburgh or Bristol that aren't Madame-Tussaud's-tier expensive and offensively touristy?
Any specialties or attractions I, as a dumb tourist, could overlook, you hold in high regards?
It'll be my first time traveling solo without any friends or family but I think I can manage chatting up some people at the hostel or maybe a pub crawl.
Bristolian here. If you're on a budget theres loads to do for free round here, especially if local history is your thing. Couple of free things easy enough to get to from the center:
Bristol museum and gallery
Cabot tower
M-Shed
Clifton suspension bridge
Avon Gorge
Cheddar gorge hike
The street art bonanza around Stokes croft
Check out our historic harbour
If you're looking to spend a bit of cash check out:
SS great Britain
@Bristol
Clifton observatory and caves
Wooky Hole in Cheddar
You say you like local delicacies? Best i can reccomed is local cider, its dry as a nuns chuff and you've got to chew the last 1/4 of the pint. Get some of that at "The Apple" its a pub on a boat and it sells a cider so rough you can only buy it by the half pint.
When you in the city anyways?
>>1110668
Hey, thanks for all the suggestions.
I'm glad to get some insight on the one destination of my trip I have the least amount of ideas about what to do!
Where I'm from some nice cider is very appreciated so dry cider is something I can get behind very well, sounds great.
I'll be in Bristol from the 20th to the 24th of may. Why, would you be up for a cheeky pint or some cider with me?
I'd be very glad to know some actual Brits when I get there.
If you're on a budget, why are you flying internally?
>>1110635
You should check out Bath while you're in Bristol, it's less than a tenner on the train for a day return. The Roman baths themselves are a bit pricy at £15, but it's a lovely city to just explore for a few hours
>>1110740
It's far cheaper than getting a train
In London, the V&A, natural history and science museums are all free and literally next door to each other. They're also 3 of my favourite places to visit and about 10 minute walk from Hyde Park. There's a whole day set out for you.
Kew gardens is also a couple of stops away on the tube if you're into plants.
>>1110635
>Likes culinary but outside of restaurant budget
Can only speak for London but Camden and Brixton might be good areas for you, they have a large amount of delicious street food from all kinds of cuisines; Brixton having a predominantly Jamaican/Carribean influence whilst Camden is more diverse. Tends to be considerably cheaper than pub/restaurant prices.
Camden Market is definitely worth a visit, if only for the atmosphere if you aren't planning on buying anything. Both Camden and Brixton also have a lot of music venues so if you catch an artist you like playing the UK chances are it'll be at one of those areas
You could spend a few hours at the museums in South Kensington (Natural History, Science and Victoria and Albert) which are all free. If it's a nice day you could get there via a walk through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens from, say, Marble Arch or Lancaster Gate tube stations.
Another day you could visit the National Gallery and neighbouring National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square then wander up through Covent Garden to the British Museum in Bloomsbury (also all free).
You can take the Thames Clipper to Greenwich where there are some nice pubs with good "pub grub" and walk up through Greenwich Park to the Royal Observatory which has decent views of the National Maritime Museum, Royal Naval College and across to the Canary Wharf business district. Pic related.
>>1110673
Yeah cider sounds good, its always handy to have a local contact anyways.
Send me an email in case this thread disappears.
[email protected]
Also completely second the guy who says visit Bath, 10 minutes on the train for a completely different bit of history.
Thanks for your replies, I'll be making some notes before leaving, maybe the thread will still be up when I'm travelling around.
How is the Imperial War Museum? On paper it sounds very interesting to me and I wonder wether you'd recommend it, is it worth it?
>>1110910
Cheers.
>>1110812
I don't really want to spend more than maybe 10-20£ a day on food, which I understand can be sort of challenging in London of all places.
I don't think I can afford the slightest bit of posh eating that way.
Bristol is a junkie filled shithole, but there are some places worth seeing, plus it has a nice topography.
Most places were covered here >>1110668 but I would also suggest a walk around Clifton itself. A lot of pubs in the centre are a bit rubbish, but you can find some gems in Clifton and Redland (esp recommend pic related)
>>1110955
>How is the Imperial War Museum?
Good
>is it worth it?
Yes
In the foyer there is the carcass of a car that was used in a car bomb explosion in Eye-rak. When you see it in person it's genuinely quite harrowing, like seeing the remains of a building bombed by NATO in Belgrade. Or maybe that's just me,
On a separate note, >>1110812 has some good advice regarding inexpensive food. But these "street food" stalls I personally find to be a bit overrated. It has been a fad in London for quite some time, but they're not always good. Plus eating standing in the street is a bit shit. The good thing about London though is there are certain areas where you can sample top notch world cuisine for cheap (by London standards) prices:
>Harringey Green Lanes
For Turkish food
>Wembley / Harrow / Tooting
For actual Indian food (as opposed to western Indian). Avoid Brick Lane for Indian food though as some guides suggest, it's shit
>Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush
For Damascene cuisine. Ayam Zaman is probably my favourite restaurant in London and very cheap
>>1111207
Thanks for all the info, m80.
I've only now realized that the Imperial War Museum is free, so it's a definite point on my list.
How "opinionated" are the WWI exhibitions? Still any bad blood with the Gerries?
I was pretty impressed with how respectful the museum in Verdun was to all parties involved.
How's the situation with live music? I imagine it to be pretty wild in London.
Are there any special places to check out to see some neat music and maybe have a pint without blowing obscene amounts of money?
>>1111367
I think in general the British are quite good at admitting our own faults in museums, or at least we try to avoid painting the opposition as purely evil bad guys. I'm constantly amazed going round Portugal and Spain and France how little their museums discuss the colonial atrocities/war crimes they committed as most were as bad or worse than the British.
Irish museums are ridiculous too, I know we fucked them for years but I barely saw a mention of the IRA and other Republican group's historical crimes, they all seemed to be portrayed as faultless good guys.
Im in edinburgh right now and kinda bored OP, maybe its just my bad luck but i personally wouldnt recommend more than a few days in the city. London is practically endless, but I think edinburg makes more sense as a hub for other places in scotland.
>>1111367
You could try the Dublin Castle if you end up going to Camden. Also, there's the Southbank which has the Tate Modern, Globe Theatre and Borough Market which is great for all kinds of street food etc.
>>1111381
I'll take a 4,50£ bus from Bristol to London, I'll have to take something similar if I want to visit bath. It's not a cheaper option to get to Edinburgh.
>>1111207
This guy certainly knows where the good eats are at. When I lived in south London I would always go to Tooting for Indian food. Almost all of it will be at least decent, and it's a relatively cheap place for a good nosh up.
I would say for the curious traveller you can find the last vestiges of indigenous London cuisine in the pie and mash shops in the east of the city. My pick would be G Kelly in Bow. M Manze is also good. Try some jellied eel too while you're at it. I think they're luvverly!
Excellent for anyone interested in history in London:
http://www.walks.com/
Photo semi-related, houses in Camden Lock area.
>>1111379
thts caus were cool lol :))))))))))))))))))
Just arrived in Leyton and I'm really enjoying the Bongoloid vibe here.
Any recommendations for the area?
Another bump
Anyone got any suggestions for Edinburgh?
I think I'll keep bumping for the extent of my trip.
>>1115005
Bump when u leave the country so I know it's safe to leave the house.
>>1115014
Will do.
So where are you now op
>>1111161
>>1110635
If you're planning to stay in a hostel and cook your own food, it really isn't that hard to stay on a tight budget. I stayed in London for about ten days and got most of my food from local supermarkets - I can't remember the names, but I'd usually have breakfast for less than two pounds, and then cook lunch or eat at Subway.
Obviously I wasn't living the London life or experiencing the culinary culture, but I was keeping to my budget. Spent a TON of time walking around the city, too, and got to see a lot of the big attractions.
I remember there was a load of free things to do in Edinburgh. I'll give a list after reading through the thread and getting home from work, if I can remember.
>>1115509
I'm in Edinburgh right now, staying really close to the castle.
I already did an alright bus tour, a pretty neat free walking tour, a pub crawl and I visited the national gallery, which was great.
I'll be here until Friday before heading to Bristol.
>>1111379
>I barely saw a mention of the IRA and other Republican group's historical crimes
Because that was in Northern Ireland, not the republic
>>1110635
Go to Bath if you're going to Bristol, it's touristy though.
Honestly you need to get out of the cities because cities in the UK are shit. Bristol is probably the nicest one though.
>>1111379
Irish museums barely say anything about the British either. They'd be within their rights to list near endless crimes on the brits' part.
>>1111379
>I barely saw a mention of the IRA and other Republican group's historical crimes
Don't you mean heroic struggle for independence from the evil British empire?
Up the RA
>>1110635
Stop being a pleb and visit SEA instead fag
>>1117622
I will later this year.
In London right now. Fairly close to British Museum. what do
>>1118698
Not OP, already been to the British Museum
