The UK is a land made up of many regions, each with a special character and cultural heritage. There are non-stop cities; festivals of music, theatre, literature and the arts; and regional countryside with rolling hills, dramatic cliffs, ancient forests, rugged mountains and tranquil lakes. There are also wonderful islands to visit including the extraordinary range of the Scottish Islands, the Isle of Man, Anglesey, the Scilly Isles, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands. They have different traditional cultures, delightful scenery and offer many habitats for wildlife.
To get the most of the variety on hand you could base yourself in a particular city or region. London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast and the major regional cities offer historic and modern architecture, a spectrum of culture and more choice of day and night entertainment than you can fit into a hectic schedule. Or visit the beaches and the mountains of north Wales; absorb the dramatic scenery of Scotland and the Scottish Isles, and its whisky; sail, swim, cycle and walk in the Lake District in Cumbria; visit the dramatic shores and fine countryside of Northern Ireland; take in the wildlife from a boat in the Fens of East Anglia; enjoy the cliffs, beaches, fishing and sailing resorts of Cornwall and Devon in the south-west.
There is still so much more: the Yorkshire Moors or coastal resorts; walking and mountain-biking in the Pennines; the Derbyshire towns and dales; the Welsh borders; the south coast resorts; the 'garden' of Kent; Pembrokeshire and the Gower Peninsula in south Wales.
The British Isles is visited by millions of people each year, many returning time and again. It is seeped in history and has some stunning landscapes. It is also quirky at times, so you are assured of an interesting visit!
Wales
The principality of Wales is full of fascinating places to visit and stay. The castles of Beaumaris, Conwy, Harlech and Caernarfon are officially listed as World heritage sites and provide an insight into the troubled past of this great land. The national park of Snowdonia is stunning and provides walkers and climbers with ample opportunities to challenge their limits. South Wales also has interesting places to visit: Pembrokeshire is especially inviting for tourists.
England
We all know about the attractions of London but England has a lot more to offer outside of the city. The ‘English Riviera’, Torquay, is blessed with good weather and is a major tourist attraction. This is a great place to stay and explore the local seaside resorts and go inland towards the vast moors.
Windsor castle is a great place to visit and the town and surrounding areas are beautiful. Warwick castle in the centre of England is world famous and holds regular evens to show how life was like in the time it was built.
Chester
This Roman town has a fascinated history stretching back over 1500 years. This can be seen from the Roman, Medieval and Tudor remains liberally scattered across the city. The Walls surrounding the city can be walked around in a couple of hours and allow plenty of opportunity to take photographs. The world famous Rows date back over 500 years and are great for walking and shopping.
Scotland
A great place to visit, Scotland still has many places that are relatively uninhabited. And are great for getting away from it all. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles and the numerous lochs provide great fishing (Beware of the Loch Ness monster!) . In parts you can still hear Gaelic spoken and we all know about the Scottish expertise in making Whisky! You can also visit the ski resorts of Aviemore in the Cairngorms . Glasgow, the capital is now recognised as a centre of culture as well as being a great shopping centre.
Perhaps the best thing about the British Isles is its compactness. You can visit many places in a relatively short period of time. The most fascinating part of visiting is travelling the back roads and coming across places not regularly visited by Tourists. Come to the British Isles and see for yourselves what it has to offer.
You will find a significant difference in both price and facilities between hotels and guest houses in the UK. Hotels usually offer breakfasts, lunches, teas, dinners, a licensed bar and a range of services and facilities to suit individuals, families and often business groups. Country house hotels will often add recreational facilities in their grounds such as golf, tennis, swimming, health spas, gyms and attended play areas for children. Top league international hotels in London and major cities offer comprehensive amenities and services for business and holiday guests, and a choice of first class and luxury accommodation. Guest houses may not have bars or offer lunch or teas, but will have television and sitting lounges.
In England and Wales the AA, RAC (the largest UK motoring organisations) and the English Tourist Council have come together to provide an overall star for hotels and diamond rating for guest accommodation, including bed and breakfast. Hotels have between one and five stars; guest accommodation between one and five diamonds. In Scotland and Northern Ireland all tourist accommodation is also graded regularly to provide a clear indication of the level of facilities you can expect.
If you are planning a longer stay in the UK, you may consider renting or buying property in the UK.
Rented property is available all over the UK and there is a large rental market for properties in London. Rented property is offered both furnished and unfurnished and typically involves short-lease tenancies. In London and major cities, there are agencies that specifically offer property for rent. National, regional and local estate agents also represent owners of rented property and you can also find apartments ('flats') and houses available to let through online agencies, newspaper advertisements and dedicated property magazines.
Estate agents often provide a complete service for those wishing to buy property. This typically includes professional services such as valuing and surveying potential properties. They may also offer in-house or affiliated legal services to cover the buying process (known as 'conveyancing') and often have links to established mortgage firms who provide long-term loans for purchases. Conveyancing services are also widely available through solicitors, and finance is offered competitively through banks, building societies and other financial institutions.
It is highly recommended that you seek independent legal advice if you are considering buying property in the UK.
Leisure and holiday parks are a way of enjoying an extremely wide variety of recreational and leisure pursuits at one site. They are located all over the UK with many based at or near coastal resorts. They usually offer accommodation for touring or camping as well as lodges, chalets or spacious static caravans for hire - all well equipped so you can set up your temporary home as you wish.
The great benefit of this form of holiday accommodation is the facilities for young children which can include kids clubs, attended play areas, activity workshops, waterslides, heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, children's farms, pets corners and even summertime pantomimes. For teenagers and adults there are nightclubs, pubs, restaurants and a variety of sports. Some leisure parks focus on particular interest holidays such as sailing, golfing, fishing or horse-riding.
The British Graded Holiday Parks Rating Scheme, which gives ratings reflecting facilities and environment, may help you choose from the variety on offer.
There are many hostels located all over England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Hostels vary in style and amenities but they offer bedrooms with between two and six beds for young people, families and groups. They usually provide substantial breakfasts and dinners at low prices and have communal kitchen facilities if you prefer to cater for yourself.
The main hostel organisations are the Youth Hostel Association (YHA), the Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA) and Hostelling International Northern Ireland (HINI). You do not have to be a 'youth' to stay because there is no upper age limit (in Scotland the lower age limit is 5). But you do have to be a member of the YHA or SYHA, which involves paying a small annual membership fee. There are also a variety of independent hostels offering accommodation. Staying in hostels is traditionally popular with people pursuing backpacking, walking, cycling or generally exploring outdoor pursuits. But there are also hostels in many towns and cities, which enable members to enjoy good basic accommodation on a low budget.
Many visitors, often families, choose caravanning or camping (C&C) over other accommodation - for good reason. A camping park does not tie you down; it can be a stopover, a base for exploration, or a place of leisure. C&C parks in the UK are cheap but offer many advantages. All provide good washing facilities, basic amenities and utilities to enable comfortable living. There's often a shop on site and recreation facilities for children and adults. Many are open all year and are good for short breaks in spring, autumn or even the winter months.
Most parks admit tents, touring and motor caravans and offer a range of central facilities. The larger parks will have caravan holiday homes for hire. These are usually spacious and well equipped with two or three good sized bedrooms, a sitting room with comfortable furnishings and a separate dining area. They will often have modern conveniences such as colour televisions, fridges, hot showers, en-suite bathrooms and microwaves.
There's a great choice all over the UK. To help you choose, the national tourist boards inspect C&C sites in their regions and grade them according to the British Graded Holiday Parks Scheme. Ratings of between one and five stars are awarded, based on cleanliness, environment and the quality of facilities and services provided.
Bed and breakfast accommodation, advertised by the famous 'B&B vacancies' sign, is mostly in private homes and the emphasis is on bedrooms rather than on facilities such as a bar or restaurant. They are often the least expensive form of guest accommodation although prices vary between those in the most popular holiday locations and those offering stopovers 'en route'.
Thousands of bed and breakfasts have been visited anonymously by tourist officers to be inspected for a diamond rating of between one and five stars. This is intended as a guide to the quality of accommodation and food on offer.
As private homes, including farmhouses and working farms, B&Bs tend to offer a very personal welcome, and an insight into British ways of life in different parts of the country. Breakfast is intended to fill you and will often include bacon, eggs, fried bread, tomatoes, even fried potatoes and local additions such as black pudding. Or you can enjoy a 'continental' breakfast: cereal, bread, toast, tea, coffee and juice.
Travelling by coach is a great way to travel across most parts of the country at much cheaper prices than travelling by train. Coach services can be used to take you on business and leisure, and more people are finding coach travel, espically when commuting to work, a useful mode of transport.
National Express and it's associated companies provide the most comprehensive coach service across the UK, and times and fares for their services can be seen on the National Express web site.
There are far more coach services than National Express, here is a short list of useful ones.
Buy Coach Tickets Online:
National Express - National coach operator
Regular Coach services:
AirLinks - Provides connections to, from and between airports.
Armchair - Provides commuter coach services from Reading and Maidenhead to London.
Berry's Coaches - Services between London and the West Country.
EasyBus - A potential coach service to keep your eye on, which is intending to offer London to Birmingham for £1.
Green Line - Provides connections across South East England.
MegaBus - Amazingly cheap intercity bus travel across the UK
National Express - Travel around Britain with National Express.
Oxford Bus - Services between London and Oxford.
Scottish Citylink - Travel around Scotland with ease.
Unlike other forms of transport within the UK, bus travel is not nationally coordinated and there is no national online bus journey planner, although Traveline is a good attempt. In addition two unofficial services are worth checking out. CarlBerry is an excellent attempt at helping people plan bus journeys across the UK. Xephos Internet has tried to produce the ultimate system, a combined bus and train journey planner.
Advice about bus times can be gained up ringing 0870 608 2 608, which is the National Public Transport information line.
Depending on numbers involved, coach travel is probably the cheapest way to get around the UK, particularly between the major towns and cities. National Express, Scottish Citylink and Ulsterbus offer daily services to more than 1,300 destinations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. National Express offers discount coachcards to students and young people aged 16 to 25; there is also a Tourist Trail Pass offering unlimited travel for a fixed period. The Scottish Explorer Pass covers coach services to around 190 destinations in Scotland. Coaches have toilet and washroom facilities and long routes usually provide videos and steward services offering snacks.
Tourist operators provide a great many special coach tours taking in local and regional sites. Coaches and minibuses are also widely available for corporate travel and group hire.
There are regular local and regional bus services operated by town and city councils throughout the UK. However, services to and from remote rural areas tend to be infrequent.
For the latest Road travel Information please visit the following web sites:
AA Roadwatch - AA traffic reports.
AA Route Planner - Plan your journey across the UK.
Geostar - Very detailed route planner for the whole of Europe.
Get Me There - Plan your journey across the UK and Europe. Provided by Toyota.
Highways Agency - Motorway traffic reports.
RAC - With the latest traffic reports and journey planner, this is a good site for all car drivers.
Traffic Wales: North - Latest traffic report from the North Wales Regional Traffic Control Centre.
Traffic Wales: South - Latest traffic report from the South Wales Regional Traffic Control Centre.
The UK is surrounded by water, but with the low cost of air travel, where and when is sea travel a viable option? Here is a guide the main ferry services from the UK.
The railway in the UK, started in 1825, is the grandfather of all railway systems, now featuring more than 2,400 stations serviced by 15,000 daily departures. The fast inter-city trains have standard or first class seats, the latter offering varying degrees of luxury and additional service, depending on the service operator. Standard seating is generally comfortable and most trains have restaurant or buffet cars or mobile refreshments. There are air-conditioned sleeping cars on overnight services from London to Wales, Scotland and the south-west of England.
Whenever you travel by train, ask which kind of ticket will save you the most money. There are many variables depending on when you travel. Also ask your local British Tourist Authority office or travel agent about railway ticket discount packages. The BritRail Pass, for example, is not sold in the UK. In North America it is available from Rail Europe in New York, and in Europe you can get it from Rail Europe offices, selected travel agents and major railway stations. Please not that travel on the London Underground or Heathrow Express is not included in a BritRail pass.
Make advance reservations to carry cycles by train; sometimes there is a small charge for this.
Timetables
Network Rail - Provides rail timetable information for Britain's national rail network.