What should we do with our trip to England to celebrate 30 years of Marriage?

Question

If I may ask,

My wife and I are celebrating 30 years of marriage with a trip to England.  Most likely it will be in September.

What worldly advice do you have for us?  We will have two weeks.

We will focus on Middle to Southern England.  My awesome wife, who will have nothing to do with dead people, has graciously allowed me time to visit some of my ancestral homes as long as we can plan fun stuff in those areas.

As I have boatloads of Great Migration ancestors, I think I can make that happen.  I have started organizing my English Ancestors as a start to identifying places to visit.

We are open to any and all advice, Genealogy related or otherwise.  

What do you think would make for an awesome trip?

Comments

If in London for any mount of time, try a Tower of London tour.  Going by their videos, they are both educational, and a hoot!

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Check for train stations - had a quick look at places your ancestors lived, Kennett has a train station so just check if its on a mainline or if you will need to change.

A lot seem to be little villages which are harder to access than bigger towns or cities.

It would really be helpful to know the accessibility - train frequency and times.

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Just checked they do guided tours of Salisbury which includes Stonehenge from London, that's somewhere I have always wanted to visit so a bit of sightseeing and Salisbury is one of your Ancestral homes.

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I love London , a trip on the river, Albert Victoria museum is a treat , British museum, Westminster abbey love it, sankt Pauls Church amazing visit

I dont know if you like castle one of my absolute favourites castle is Hampton court, you can’t take the train there, also your wife will probably love visiting Harrods it is a wonderful shop expensive but worth a visit.

We usually bye travel card then it is easy to get around 

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/how-to-pay-and-where-to-buy-tickets-and-oyster/whats-the-best-ticket-for-me#on-this-page-1

portobello road is fun

http://www.portobelloroad.co.uk/the-market/

And of course a walk in hide park.

I wish you a wonderful trip,

Answer 1

Also go see the Magna Carta at Salisbury Cathedral it is one of the originals.

Comments

HI Hilary, you and David has suggested this and I have put it at the top of our list.  Excellent suggestion!

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We went to Salisbury in 2019 for our nephew's wedding and managed to see it then when it was quiet.

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If you want another Magna Carta option, then there is also one on display at Lincoln Castle (with a couple of Charters of the Forest), and the bonus of visiting Lincoln Cathedral right next door in historic Lincoln.  

Answer 2

Michael, my husband and I like the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London. They are very nice there, and the location is really good. You and your wife will enjoy seeing the wonderful things there like the Royal Jewels at the Tower of London, the British Museum, the National Gallery and maybe shopping at Harrods for an anniversary gift. Glad you will get a chance to see where your ancestors lived and have a memorable trip.

Comments

Thanks Alexis, great ideas.  Shopping at Harrods might be a dangerous adventure. ;)

Answer 3

I have been fortunate to have been in London twice. It is an awesome city! My one bit of advice is get a hotel within an easy walk of an Underground Station, driving in London for those of us who drive on the right side of the road is no fun!

Places like Windsor, Stonehenge, Salisbury, etc. are all possible as day trips from London.

Comments

I don’t think driving in London is any fun for anyone! Luckily the city has excellent, cheap public transport (bus and Tube) which is the envy of the rest of the country. And of course London is famous for its black cabs.

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Thanks George and Katie.  We will take your driving suggestion seriously.  We drove in Ireland and quite and adventure and lately, living near Seattle, WA our daughter has been encouraging us how to use Uber and such more often.

Answer 4

This sounds lovely, Michael.  I recommend you not waste too much time in busy London and venture out into the smaller towns where you have connections; England is a place of rich and deep history and I'm sure you will have a wonderful time.

Comments

Thanks Jacqueline,  I agree, we will spend some time in London but definitely will get out and around Southern England.  We will save the North and Wales for another time.

Answer 5

Hi Michael

For Cambridgeshire see if there are any guided tours of Cambridge University. For the Isle of Wight there's Osborne House ,Queen Victoria's home, and then a ferry to Portsmouth to see the HMS Victory (Nelson's Ship) and King Henry VIII's ship the Mary Rose. The Mary Rose fits into the time period of your Buckinghamshire ancestors. They are all on my wishlist.

Comments

Cambridge is a very popular place to visit and it’s easy to get the train there from London (or elsewhere). The University is split into separate colleges and you can visit many of their beautiful gardens and some of the historic buildings. See https://footprints-tours.com/best-colleges-to-visit-at-cambridge-university/ (but check the latest access information on the college websites). There’s also a Botanic Garden, museums and a LOT of beautiful stonework that I’m totally blasé about now. You could also try punting on the River Cam, or get someone to do the hard work for you.

If you wanted to get to Kennett or Wood Ditton it would probably be best to go to Newmarket (a historic centre for horse-racing). There are buses to Wood Ditton and Kennett has a railway station too.

It’s best to book train travel in advance if you can as it can be a lot cheaper.

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Very helpful ideas Katie and Maureen, thank you.  I am seeing that we should step up our adventures by learning to use alternative transportation more effectively.

Answer 6

Two weeks will fly by - I would concentrate on the highest density of ancestors in a particular area - Yorkshire and Westmoreland are Northern so if you are looking for Southern or Midlands both are out.

Westmoreland is now in Cumbria and maybe parts in Lancashire. I was up there recently and we seem to be in and out of the boundary lines. Both are lovely places, but train rides would take a great chunk of the day.

Comments

Sorry missed Cheshire that is further South than Lancashire but would be classed as a Northern town.

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Thank you Heather, getting to know the country side better will be a goal of the trip.  We hope to get to the North on another trip.

Answer 7

Windsor is quick to get to from London. It has the castle and Eton College is a short walk across the river.

Hedgerley is a very small village a few miles north of Windsor. It has a church, a pub, and a row of probably 17th century houses, nothing you can visit. The nearest visitable attractions are the Quaker meeting house at Jordans (William Penn et al) about 5 miles away, and  a couple of miles further on there's Milton's Cottage where he wrote Paradise Lost in 1666.

By that time you're nearly in Amersham. The old town is nicely preserved though it has lots of cars in it. Go up to the new town and down the hill and you'll be in Chesham. It has its attractive bits.

Chesham and Amersham are on the same rail line so easy to get to from London

Comments

Depends on your budget but if you want to visit London staying there can be very expensive. As John says Amersham and Chesham have good links to Central London   (Metropolitan  'tube' line but also Chiltern railway to Marylebone from Amersham.) It's  very doable, I lived in Chesham and commuted for years. You can go to a theatre and get the last train back.  However unless you were able and prepared to research bus  and train links you'd also need a car to explore other parts of the Chilterns.

If you are on a budget and want  to stay in central London rather than outside there are hotels called 'hub' (I won't give the exact  brand name). We now live outside London but have  used one of these when we visit and have an early start. The rooms are tiny and have no  windows but beds are comfortable and everything is very  high tech. Perfectly adequate if all you are going  want to do is sleep and shower in your room. The one we use is about 200 yds from Westminster Abbey.

Answer 8

It’s further north of your focus area of the south and Midlands, but York is packed with history and things to do (eg. York Minster, museums, the city walls etc) and you can do a day trip from London on the train (less than 2 hours each way). You can also book a free walking tour with a local guide which I’d really recommend.

Comments

I agree! On one our trips to England, we went to York. It was amazing and full of history.

Answer 9

First thing is get your Britrail pass,    https://www.britrail.com/

Used it on both of my trips to UK, one with my GS and GD.  You can travel anywhere in the UK., get on and off where ever you want.  We even booked the midnight sleeper train from Edinburgh to London, so as not to waste time..  You must do these before your trip. Have a great time!

Comments

Thank you Sandra, I will be sure to look into this.

Answer 10

Questions!

Are you going to drive? Take trains.? Take buses?

What are you more interested in, historical places or seeing the places your ancestors lived.? Or just the area your ancestors lived in?

What about other fascinating places, geological, ecological, archeological?

With only 2 weeks, I would say 3-4 days max in London and then pick 2 other places as bases for exploration in other areas. Perhaps Bath and Canterbury would work well.

London is a huge city, you could easily spend a month there and not get to know the place. Some of my favourite places, The Cabinet War rooms exhibit, Hampton Court, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral especially if you remember the bird lady in Mary Poppins singing to the pigeons on the steps of St Paul's, The Tower of London, for much more than the Crown Jewels.

Last time we actually stayed in London, we stayed at a small hotel within 10 mins walking distance of Victoria train station, which meant we could walk to Buckingham palace, Westminster, the London Eye, and also take taxis, buses or the tube.

Within the south central part of England, Bath is a must, Stonehenge is great, Chichester, Canterbury is great, Dover castle and WW2 exhibits. If you like caves, Cheddar Gorge and Wooky Hole not far from Bath.

This is a great website for looking at photos of villages and scenery, it also has lists of historic places, attractions etc. It isn't a booking and planning site, it will give you lots of ideas.

https://www.picturesofengland.com/

Comments

Hi M Ross,

We have no set plans as yet, our thinking is that we would spend a few days in London and then dive the countryside and stay a couple of days in different locations.  We love getting into the nooks and crannies but as this is our first trip there we should hit a few of the classic historical locations.

We love to hike.  My diet is limited but my wife loves to try new food locations.  A good country drive is often fun for us as well.

I do want to see some of the places of my ancestors but my wife will be short on patience, once we narrow things down a bit, I will pick a couple of places to dig into ancestral homes looking for the places that line up with my wife's interests.  If it was just me, I would be digging deep into the local history of my ancestors, I will have to settle for a taste and possibly a small meal.  Gravesites may be doable.

My wife has mentioned Bath and the Cotswolds thus far that interest her.  The caves sound interesting.

I use to be National Park Ranger in Visitor Protection and worked at Mesa Verde National Park and Santa Monica Mountains NRA where I met my wife.  We love being outdoors but we are not quite as adventurous anymore.  I took my wife on her first backpacking experience when we first married 30 years ago.  I have come to enjoy Marriotts and a good B&B.

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I've been to London seven times and still haven't seen everything that I would like to see.

Answer 11

You could also visit Warwick Castle and Stratford Upon Avon, both of which are within an hour and a half of London by train. Winchester is another option as that is also about an hour and a half.  One of my favourite places is Hever Castle in Kent, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn which is a lovely day out and would   definitely be do-able from London. Further afield you could get to Chester in 2 and a half hours by train.

Comments

Hi Karen,

Thank you for your ideas.  Stratford Upon Avon is on our list.  My immigrant ancestor, Christopher Smith is from there.  We lived in Bristol, RI for a couple of years which is a neighbor to Newport and Providence, so I got to see where he lived and died. 

My daughter is and English major and suggested we go there as well.

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Stratford-upon-Avon is a wonderful place to visit! It is the birthplace and burial place of playwright and poet William Shakespeare. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre. It is where I met Prince Charles! He was there on a visit in Nov 1994 on my first trip to England.

Answer 12

"He who is tired of London is tired of life." Samuel Johnson.  I agree with most of the comments made; it is a matter of selecting from a very rich menu.  I have spent over 3 months in London on half-a-dozen or so trips and have visited all of the major tourist attractions, so I'll point to some minor attractions you might want to consider. (1) Churchill's WWII London headquarters.  Fascinating for any history buff. (2) Speakers' Corner at the edge of Hyde Park.  Hear British politics at first hand. (3) The Haunch of Venison Pub and Restaurant in Salisbury after you have seen the Magna Carta (and Old Saram and Stonehenge.) The Haunch of Venison (if it is still there) is the oldest restaurant in England. (4) Winchester Cathedral.  There you will see displayed what the locals claim with a straight face is King Arthur's round table. (55) Lunch at the Palm Court in Bath.  (6) Dinner at Simpsons on the Strand, for the look and taste of Old England. (7) For you big dinner consider Le Gavroche, near Sloan Square.

Comments

David, I love your "minor" attractions list!  Check, check, check!  Thank you.

Answer 13

Wow, lots of great idea's here. Thank you!.  Looks like London could be a trip all it's own.  

Has anyone done Genealogy research in the area?  Any suggestions on an approach?  We visited Ireland in 2011, my wife is 2nd Gen Irish.  It was very helpful to see the townlands as it gave a better understanding of where and how they lived.  Many were very small and you could see why someone might have lived in more than one over time.  Parish records and the people were a must.  Just talking with the locals gave us many answers to discovering her ancestors.

Comments

Has anyone visited the Cotswolds?

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Many, many times, when I was a child before we emigrated to Canada we lived quite close. It is a very lovely area, some of the towns and villages are incredibly busy in the summer.

 You could visit some of the smaller villages that are not on all the bus tour locations. Places with delightful names like Upper and Lower Slaughter.

I do like the idea of local guides, they are usually very well informed and willing to take you to fascinating, unusual places that are not on the everyone must go there list. There are many Roman ruins, you should definitely visit at least one.

Look at the English Heritage website.

Answer 14

If you have a London base for a few days, then Westminster Abbey is a must see with all the Royal tombs. Do the tour with these guys London Walks. Exceptional knowledge and very entertaining. And if you have time, do the old City of London walk with them too.

Answer 15

Thanks again for everyone who responded.   We have decided to delay this trip. With Covid restrictions, supply shortages, pending food supply issues and current world affairs, going right now seem to suggest we may have additional challenges.   With increased costs, we are going to save up a bit more, tighen our plans and go a bit later when things seem a bit more stable or we feel more confident we can navigate the addtional challenges.

Long live the Queen!

Comments

Michael, the next best thing is to find some of the multitude of England tourism videos on You Tube or Vimeo for the places you were planning to visit and have your vacation virtually.

While watching have some traditional English dishes to eat and top it off with a Newcastle Brown ale.

I leave tomorrow for a month in Great Britain and Ireland. Keeping my fingers crossed that there will be no unexpected events.

Answer 16

Hi all,

Our we have restarted our trip and plan to go in June.  I am ramping up the planning.

I reasked this question in case there is new info I should be aware of since we delayed our trip.

Thanks again for your wonderful ideas!

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1519783/30-year-wedding-anniversary-england-revived-what-would-you