Rick Steves Best of England

THE BEST OF ENGLAND

Map: Top Destinations in England

THE BEST OF LONDON

THE BEST OF BATH

THE BEST OF THE COTSWOLDS

THE BEST OF THE LAKE DISTRICT

THE BEST OF YORK

THE BEST OF EDINBURGH

THE BEST OF THE REST

TRAVEL SMART

Designing Your Itinerary

Trip Costs

Map: Best of England in 2 Weeks

Before You Go

Travel Strategies on the Road

Climb the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral and marvel at the pageantry of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Strike up a conversation just to hear the Queen’s English. Ponder an ancient stone circle and wander the windswept hills that inspired Wordsworth. See a Shakespeare play or the latest splashy West End musical. Bite into a scone smothered with clotted cream, sip a cup of tea, and wave your pinky as if it’s a Union Jack. From appealing towns to the grandeur of London, England delights.

England is the center of the United Kingdom in every way: home to four out of five UK citizens, the seat of government, the economic powerhouse, and the cultural heart. Regardless of the revolution we had centuries ago, many American travelers feel that they “go home” when they visit England.

The English people have a worldwide reputation for being cheery, courteous, and well-mannered. And like in days past, Brits flock to the pub to be social. No matter what time of day, a visit to a historic pub is an enriching experience—and you’ll likely make a new friend or two.

Even as England races forward as a leading global player, it preserves its rich history. This means stone circles, ruined abbeys, cathedrals, castles, and palaces are still yours to explore.

Britannia rules—enjoy it royally.

THE BEST OF ENGLAND

This book focuses on England’s top destinations, offering a mix of exciting cities and irresistible villages.

London is one of the grandest cities in the world. The town of Bath has attracted visitors since the time of ancient Rome. Quaint Cotswolds towns offer an endearing contrast to the modern-day world. The serene Lake District—crisscrossed with trails, ridges, and lakes—has enough pubs to keep hikers watered and fed. York, with its colorful old town and ghost walks, is a popular haunt for travelers. Across the northern border, Edinburgh is too convenient to pass up—adding a wee bit of Scotland to your trip.

When there are interesting sights or towns near my top destinations, I cover these briefly (as “Near” sights), to help you fill out a free day or a longer stay.

Beyond the major destinations, I’ll cover the Best of the Rest—great destinations that don’t quite make my top cut, but are worth seeing if you have more time or specific interests: the historic college town of Oxford, majestic Blenheim Palace, Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, rejuvenated Liverpool, small Durham with its big cathedral, and ancient Hadrian’s Wall.

To help you link the top sights, I’ve designed a two-week itinerary (on here), with tips for tailoring it to your interests.

TRAVEL SMART

Approach England like a veteran traveler, even if it’s your first trip. Design your itinerary, get a handle on your budget, make advance arrangements, and follow my travel strategies on the road.

For my best advice on sightseeing, accommodations, restaurants, and transportation, see the Practicalities chapter.

Designing Your Itinerary

Decide when to go. July and August are peak season in England, with long days, the best weather, and a busy schedule of tourist fun. May and June can be lovely anywhere. Spring and fall offer decent weather and smaller crowds.

Winter travelers face few crowds and soft room prices (except in London), but sightseeing hours are shorter and the weather is reliably bad. In the countryside, some attractions open only on weekends or close entirely (Nov-Feb). While rural charm falls with the leaves, city sightseeing is fine in winter.

Choose your top destinations. My itinerary (on here) gives you an idea of how much you can reasonably see in 14 days, but it’s easy to adapt it to fit your interests and time frame.

London offers an amazing variety of sights, food, markets, and the most entertainment. Many travelers could spend a week here (and make easy day trips, if desired). Edinburgh offers similar big-city excitement, especially during its festivals in August. If you prefer midsize towns, Bath and York have much to offer.

Historians can choose among sights prehistoric (Stonehenge), Roman (Bath and Hadrian’s Wall), medieval (York and Warwick), royal (Tower of London, Windsor, and Blenheim), and many more.

Nature lovers linger in the Lake District (offering a range of easy-to-challenging hikes in a lakes-and-hills setting) and the Cotswolds (with easier hikes through villages, meadows, and rolling hills).

Literary fans make a pilgrimage to Stratford (Shakespeare), Oxford (Tolkien, Lewis, Woolf, Wilde, and more), Bath (Austen), the Lake District (Wordsworth and Potter), and Edinburgh (Burns, Stevenson, Scott, and more). Beatles fans from here, there, and everywhere head to Liverpool.

Draft a rough itinerary. Figure out how many destinations you can comfortably fit in the time you have. Don’t overdo it—few travelers wish they’d hurried more. Allow enough days per stop: Figure on at least two days for most destinations and four or more for London. Staying in a home base—like London or Bath—and making day trips can be more time-efficient than changing locations and hotels. Minimize one-night stands, especially consecutive ones; it can be worth taking a late-afternoon train ride or drive to get settled into a town for two nights.

Connect the dots. Link your destinations into a logical route. Determine which cities you’ll fly into and out of; begin your search for transatlantic flights at Kayak.com.

Instead of spending the first few days of your trip in busy London, I’d recommend a gentler small-town start in Bath and saving London for the grand finale. Going from Heathrow Airport to Bath takes just two hours by train. You’ll be more rested and ready to tackle England’s greatest city at the end of your trip.

Decide if you’ll travel by car, take public transportation, or use a combination. A car is particularly helpful for exploring the Cotswolds and the Lake District (where public transportation can be time-consuming), but is useless in big cities. Some travelers rent a car on site for a day or two, and use public transportation for the rest of their trip.

If relying on public transportation, you’ll likely use a mix of trains and buses. Trains are faster and more expensive than buses (which don’t run as often on Sundays). Also, for efficient regional sightseeing, consider minibus tours (offered from London, Bath, the Lake District, York, and Edinburgh).

Allot sufficient time for transportation in your itinerary. Whether you travel by train, bus, or car, it’ll take a half-day to get between most destinations. To determine approximate transportation times between your destinations, study the driving chart on here or check Google Maps; visit NationalRail.co.uk for train schedules or Traveline.info (a route-planning site that includes train and bus options). If traveling beyond England, consider taking the Eurostar train (to the Continent) or a flight; check Skyscanner.com for intra-European flights.

Plan your days. Fine-tune your itinerary; write out a day-by-day plan of where you’ll be and what you want to see. To help you make the most of your time, I’ve suggested day plans for each major destination. But take sight closures into account: Avoid visiting a town on the one day a week that its must-see sights are closed. Check if any holidays or festivals fall during your trip—these attract crowds and can close sights (for the latest, visit England’s tourist website, www.visitbritain.com).

Give yourself some slack. Every trip, and every traveler, needs downtime for doing laundry, picnic shopping, relaxing, people-watching, and so on. Pace yourself. Assume you will return.

Ready, set. . . You’ve designed the perfect itinerary for the trip of a lifetime.

Trip Costs

Run a reality check on your dream trip. You’ll have major transportation costs in addition to daily expenses.

Flight: A round-trip flight from the US to London costs about $900-1,500, depending on where you fly from and when.