Re: Recommendations for Wales in Mid March


jimstevens wrote:
On 2 Mar 2006 05:34:52 -0800, "barney@xxxxxxxxx" <barney@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:


jimstevens wrote:
My daughter and I will visit UK in mid March (12-22)

Would like to spend two or three days visiting West of London into
Wales. Would very much appreciate and and all advice on places we
should consider. Any events during that time would be of interest as
well.

We do have books to research but advice from those who know more then
us is often better.

We will also travel up to East Anglia (Cambridge to Peterborough) (I
was posted to the area in the 70's) and will go down to Bath for a
day. Any advice on these areas appreciated.


Hi Jim

If you can give a little more info on what you're interested in seeing
and doing, and how you're travelling, I'm sure I can give you some
detailed ideas for East Anglia.

In the meantime:

- Don't plan on spending any time in Peterborough except for perhaps an
hour or two to visit the magnificent cathedral - that building apart,
it's one of the dullest places in the region.

- The 2nd Air Division Memorial Library at Norwich (which has a
somewhat broader remit than its name suggests) may well be able to help
you with planning visits to the locations of bases where you were
posted, etc. - http://www.2ndair.org.uk/. They're a helpful bunch of
people and this is precisely the kind of thing they specialise in.

Barnaby

(Please reply in group - email address is no longer used.)

Barnaby, Thank you so much for your response.

Our plan are very flexible as we will drive.

I was at Alconbury in early 70's and really liked the area but did not
really see as much as I could have. I remember Cambridge was very
interesting architecture as was Peterborough Cathedral.

The people of the area were wonderful and like to wander around with
daughter to let her get some flavor of area. Certainly, things have
changed in 35 years.

We lived in St Ives so will prob visit there. Otherwise looking for
any fairs or other events, interesting history, and such.

Will drive so probably like to make a loop out of Kings Cross area,
spend one or two nights in area. Need to get good plans now so get
accommodations set up.

Okay, given that you only have two or three days here's what I'd
suggest as an interesting itinerary. (If you had longer I'd second an
earlier poster's suggestion of the Suffolk coast - Aldeburgh, Southwold
or Orford being the best bets - and perhaps a visit to Norwich, but
they're too far out of your way for this brief trip.)

Day 1.

Start out early from London

Drive to Bury St. Edmunds, maybe taking a look at Lavenham on the way -
a picture-postcard pretty English village with a good museum. In Bury,
have a look at the cathedral and Abbey Gardens, and give your daughter
a chance to see a fairly typical midsize English town - Cambridge being
very much atypical.

Have a late lunch at the Leaping Hare -
http://www.wykenvineyards.co.uk/ - a few miles' drive from Bury, and
possibly the best restaurant in East Anglia, IMHO.

Maybe drive on to Thetford, which is largely a dump BUT has a very good
local museum, if you're really interested. But, as guidebooks used to
say, "Thetford may be omitted". ;)

Either way, head to Ely for the night. Great cathedral, pleasant little
town, and much much less hassle than staying in Cambridge in terms of
traffic. The Old Fire Engine House is a good place to eat.

Day 2.

Go to Cambridge on the train - it takes about 15 minutes.

Spend the day in Cambridge, then back to Ely for the night.

Alternatively, if you don't want to spend both nights in the same
place, you could drive to Cambridge in the morning and use the
park-and-ride (leaving your car on the outskirts then taking a bus in).

Day 3.

Drive via St. Ives to Peterborough, for the cathedral only, then take a
look round Stamford if you haven't overdosed on pretty little towns by
now. And then it's a quick drive back to London.

Another option, if you didn't mind missing Peterborough, would be to
return via Saffron Walden and Audley End (one of the great British
country houses) - though in that case I'm not sure where St. Ives would
best fit logistically. If you did decide to take that option, you might
also find the Imperial War Museum at Duxford interesting - it's between
Cambridge and Saffron Walden.

Oh, and the other place I haven't mentioned that might interest you is
the American Cemetery at Madingley, on the outskirts of Cambridge -
should be about 20 minutes' bus ride from the centre.

(Please reply in group - email address is no longer used.)

.

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