If not London, where....?

[BoundaryGirl3939]

I was hoping to get to London for 2/3 nights. I love the look of the cafés, food markets, history. Looks like they have topclass bakeries.

It just seems to be so expensive there however. And some people hate the place (I know that others love it too).

Any cheaper alternatives/cities/regions on the same island?

I’m sure mumsnetters could help you plan a budget friendly London trip if you wanted.
It’s an expensive city but there’s so much free stuff on and available- cheaper places to stay a bit further out but well connected by transport - cheaper places eats and deals too.

@BoundaryGirl3939 I did a trip to London recently. Booked a hotel around a 30/40 min walk from the railway station. Visited lots of museums and attractions on foot all within roughly 40 min walk from the hotel. Next time I go back I'll do the same but in a different direction from the railway station to take in a new part of the city. Plenty of places you can drop your suitcase off at around the city if your too early for hotel check-in and dont want to be pulling luggage about.

OP I have friends in Dublin, and last year they took the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead and the train to Chester. It was a sail/rail ticket and was quite inexpensive. They absolutely loved it and were able to take a train to Liverpool for the day, which they also loved. It was a four day weekend break.

Am laughing at the idea of England being underrated in terms of tourism. Try to walk through the crowds at Whitby over the summer- definitely not a "hidden" gem!

We had a great time in Bristol a few weeks ago.

If you're going to either Liverpool or Manchester you could also go to Chester in the same trip. Might be a bit much to fit all three of them into a 3 night trip but definitely scope to do 2. Chester is quite a different type of history trip than Manchester and Liverpool.

Btw most of the museums in Liverpool shut on Mondays, so bear that in mind if it's one of the days you'd be over.

London is gorgeous just to walk around without spending any money on attractions. There is lots of street food and cheap places for lunch; Borough Market is vey expensive and I think it’s only open one day a week now (?). E.g. in Waterloo there is a street called Upper Marsh with food stalls every day. If you decide to come to London check out 2for1 London for offers on attractions and things like boat bus (can’t remember what’s it’s really called). The big museums and art galleries are free.

Edinburgh is one massive tourist trap so I wouldn't bother taking another trip. It is also very expensive

Do you have any recommendations for where else in Scotland to visit that is more of a hidden gem?

If you have transport, I love the Berwickshire coast. Usually stay in Coldingham.

I can imagine that English tourist destinations don’t get pushed too hard in ROI, though, can’t you?

Another vote for Bristol here- it's an amazing vibrant city with shedloads to see and do- music, street art, the docks, the Clifton Suspension Bridge etc and, as PPs have pointed out, you get a two for one with Bath being just down the road.

(not that Bristol's massively cheap accommodation wise either mind you 😬)

Thanks for the tip I shall check it out!

Yes agree! I used to live in Whitby and a hidden gem it is not. It’s about three streets that are of interest to tourists and they are totally packed from May to September.

It’s empty in the winter tho but then it’s not the best weather and a lot of cafes and restaurants are closed.

@BoundaryGirl3939 I second York which is cute or Cambridge or even Oxford?

Stay in Manchester or Liverpool and visit both! Plenty of direct flights from Ireland into each airport. It takes less time to get from Manchester to Liverpool on the train than it does to travel the length of the Northern Line on the tube. Both cities have really good food scenes. You mention bakeries, and Manchester in particular has lots of amazing independents.

Livepool is probably better for museums and galleries, but I prefer Manchester for going out in the evening, and there's always so much live music, whether you're into jazz, classical, or rock and pop. The central area of both cities are easily navigable on foot, and there's tram/underground if you did want to venture any further afield to explore the cities a bit more.

London is my favourite place to visit and I feel so lucky that we live close enough to just go in for an afternoon etc.

Last year we visited Liverpool and I really enjoyed it!

What are your favourite areas of London?

Depends on how long you have and if you want a big city experience or something smaller but still historic? We had friends visit last year who flew into London, caught train to Salisbury and spent one full day there, left early, an hour on the train to Bath and spent a day or two there. They then caught a train all the way to Edinburgh but you could as easily train back to London and spend a day or two there seeing whatever you fancied there.