The FastDay Forum

Hello all,

I would dearly love some input from the UK locals since there is so much information on the net that it's almost overwhelming.  My DH and I are making a trip to Sweden and the Northern UK this summer.   My original plan was to just visit towns (primarily in Cumbria, Durham and North Yorkshire) where some of my family had come from, but we would also like to see some historical sites and do some hiking and/or birdwatching.  I guess my dilemmas seem to be:

- Northumberland or Yorkshire Dales or both
-Irish Sea coastline or North Sea coastline
- which castles, ruins, abbeys, gardens - there are so many!!
- does this sound way too ambitious?

We are only staying 5 nights and have already planned to go to Wales for one day and then head north to the Lake District for one night.  The distances appear to be not too great, but it's hard to know when the terrain is unfamiliar.  

And as far as fasting goes! - between Swedish fika and your "full English" it will certainly be a challenge!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or opinions.

Hi Hazel, I live in the lake district a very small town called Cockermouth (birth place of William Wordsworth. Just outside our town on the way to Keswick, we have a fabulous view point of the ospreys nesting in the trees near-by too. We have some beautiful places to go hiking, fells and lakes depending on where you are staying in the lakes but Windermere is a nice place as well as the surrounding areas to it Ambleside etc with ample fells and lakes to see in that area too.
Wales to the lake district is a long drive, you should possibly consider going to the Yorkshire Dales before heading all the way up here. Yorkshire Dales also have some beautiful places to see and visit, again depending on the area where you are staying.

If that was any help im not sure...happy fasting!!!

If you arrive late afternoon into the Lake District the traffic isn't too bad, you can average 60 mph on UK motorways but within the Lakes, N. Wales etc 30 or 40 mph is more likely.

Peak time traffic 5 - 7 pm on motorways especially around urban centres will slow things down too.

If you spend a single night in the Lakes you'll really just get time to drive through and out to your next destination with a couple of stops for meals or visits.

We used to joke about American tourists - "it's Tuesday so this must be England".

I will leave to the locals to suggest places to see/visit but my advice to you is to not pack many areas. If you do, you won't really see anything or enjoy your trip. I've seen people planning way too many things for short periods of time and then coming back to say that they saw nothing much...

Phil, my grandma used to say "it's Thursday so this must be Paris".

[Moogie]

Hi Hazel, I live in the lake district a very small town called Cockermouth (birth place of William Wordsworth. Just outside our town on the way to Keswick, we have a fabulous view point of the ospreys nesting in the trees near-by too. We have some beautiful places to go hiking, fells and lakes depending on where you are staying in the lakes but Windermere is a nice place as well as the surrounding areas to it Ambleside etc with ample fells and lakes to see in that area too.
Wales to the lake district is a long drive, you should possibly consider going to the Yorkshire Dales before heading all the way up here. Yorkshire Dales also have some beautiful places to see and visit, again depending on the area where you are staying.

If that was any help im not sure...happy fasting!!!

Sorry to hijack the thread, but as I'm heading to the Lake District for the first time on Friday I wondered if Jojo might have any suggestions for nice places to visit? We're staying nearish to Windermere, at a site on the Troutbeck river. Hoping to do quite a lot of fishing on the lakes, but I'd also love to visit some historical sites and could use a bit of local knowledge!

Hazel, sounds like you're going to have a busy holiday in the North of England and Wales. If you go to northern UK you may very well end up in the Shetlands or Orkneys, John O'Groats or Inverness - also very beautiful! I would recommend the west coast for stunning scenery that you'll remember for a lifetime It sounds as though you won't have enough time to visit us up here in the north, but come another year to Scotland!

Whitby and Hoods Bay on the North Yorkshire coast are lovely places and York is a great place to visit. You'll be spoilt for choice.

Hazel if you are going to the Lakes, after that go to the Tyne Valley / Hadrian's Wall, but instead of going along the M6/A69, I recommend going over the moors from Penrith via Alston to Allendale and Hexham. It is really a spectacular drive, especially at this time of year, and once you get to the Tyne Valley, loads to see - Roman stuff around Hexham, Corbridge and the middle third of Hadrian's Wall (the best bit, and you can hike alongside it) Then go cross- country again to Alnwick, Alnmouth and the Northumberland coast - plenty of opportunities for walking here with the Northumberland coastal path, as well as birdwatching at Embleton Bay, Beadnell, and Holy Island. Beaches fantastic. Castles - take your pick, we have the most castles per county in the country! Alnwick (H Potter filmed there) Warkworth, Dunstanburgh, Bamburgh, and of course Lindisfarne on Holy Island, all unmissable. Have I persuaded you yet? And I'm from Yorkshire (but that is fantastic as well !)

... Oh, just forgot, -the FOOD! Great pubs - the Rat at Anick, near Hexham, Barrasford Arms, loads of places in Hexham and Corbridge, the Alnwick Garden Tree house, the Ship Inn on the beach at Low Newton (Embleton Bay) - fresh crab sarnies to die for- or Craster seafood / kippers ...

Hi Hazel,
Durham is a lovely city with a beautiful cathedral & a castle if you like historic buildings. For walking you have the north Downs or just a stroll along the river. Where ever you go in the north east the scenery is quite spectacular.

Have a wonderful holiday .

Why not stay with us, handy for the Northumberland coastal route and lots of good bird watching sites very near! You would be most welcome at our little B&B www.middlestobswood.co.uk

Izzy summed it up perfectly .... 5 days just isn't enough....

You'll want more time in all those places.... Especially if you get good weather ....

Wales .... Can't recommend Snowdonia and liken peninsula enough
Lakes ... Just beautiful, impressive, great outdoors at its best

Pennines hills, Yorkshire Dales, mirth York moors, Peak District.... All full on walking territory plus lovely towns, great pubs, tea shops, historic castles

Northumberland coast - spectacular.....

You'll want 5 weeks or months rather than days....

Oh my!!  I wasn't expecting such a response!  Thank you everyone.  I will admit that after I submitted that i thought, Well they'll certainly know you're an American by the pace you're trying to set!

After reading this I asked DH if a transfer overseas was in the works anytime soon.  I could definitely spend quite awhile getting to all the places recommended.  

I guess the ambitiousness of this trip comes not from thinking I will see everything, it's more from the "I may never get back here again" perspective, but DH has reassured me we can come back, we still have so much more to see.  For us, it's a matter of getting an extended amount of time off from work and being able to afford the travel expenses. 

But all your responses have given me food for thought ( you can tell it's a fast day!!) and somewhat brought me to my senses( not sure if that's entirely possible).   Now back to the map!

Hi Izzy, yes they were coal miners. Mostly from the Durham ( Bishop Auckland, Crook, West Rainton) area. Some packed up the whole family and left, and a few just ventured here alone.