The best of England...in a few days

Hello all,

 

I have unexpectedly (but welcomely) been asked to go to London for a job

interview in two weeks, and by chance it is happening during the fall holidays

here in France, so I'll have some time (a little more than a week in total) to

explore. Having never been to London before (other than passing through

Heathrow) I do plan on spending a few days there to see the sites (and

photograph them of course). However, I would like to put 3 or 4 days aside to

rent a car and get out into the countryside to take photos and I was would like

some advice from those in the know. I am, in essence, a travel photographer in

every sense of the word, but my main focus would be on landscapes. I'm not so

interested in the tourist 'must-sees' but rather interesting or inspiring places

to photograph, keeping in mind that this is late-October, early November that

we're talking about.

 

Normally, when planning a trip I would do all this research myself (and I am,

but time is limited due to work constraints), but since this is such short

notice and I really can't get anything here in France in English (I am NOT in

Paris) and I'd appreciate any advice from those living in the UK or have

travelled/photographed extensively there. My initial thought was to go to the

Lake District and base myself there for a few days, but I'd consider any other

thoughts or suggestions since I really don't know UK locations that well. I'm

not so concerned about staying close to London as I would not be doing day trips

out from there, but I think I would like to stay in England proper since I have

such a limited amount of time.

 

Cheers.

I'm biased (since I live close) but I would suggest Exmoor and the North Devon coast. You get a bit of everything here, from the open moorland, deep wooded valleys (Coombes), to the dramatic coastline where the moor falls into the sea over steep cliffs (similar to the California coast I am told), as well as beaches both rocky and sandy (one of the best surfing areas in the UK). I would base yourself somewhere like Lynton/Lynmouth to be central.

Access from London is via M4 and M5 motorways or via the A303 and take in Stonehenge/Salisbury Plain along the way.

 

I also love the Lake District and would certainly not put you off that idea. Another area to consider would be North Wales (Snowdonia National Park).

Of course, for an archaeologist, Stonehenge is a not-to-be-missed location, and it's in a part of England with lots of other antiquities and sights (sites) such as Avebury, Old Sarum, Salisbury Cathedral, and Silbury Hill, to mention just a few.<div></div>

You could base yourself in Bath and drive around the Cotswolds (both scenic) or stay near Cambridge and do East Anglia (likewise).

I think the lakes are a good choice at that time as most of the tourists have left. However you will have to take a chance on the weather. It can be superb at that time but it can also be ####.

 

Barry

London UK

To my mind, the countryside around the 'Goring Gap' where the Ridgeway crosses the

Thames as it makes its way to Oxford (Pangbourne and Whitchurch, Streatley, Goring) is

absolutely the best of England, but if you are fundamentally a landscape photographer,

then the Lake District would be a good bet, or the Devon coastline and the moors.

 

(Bear in mind that English weather is essentially unpredictable at this time of the year,

though at the moment we have a classic crisp sunny autumn.)

 

If you are in England over the fireworks night period, you might try to catch some sort of

fireworks display. There's loads of good ones, notably one at Leeds Castle (this is in Kent,

not Leeds) on the 3rd and 4th, and a torchlit procession in Winchester on the 3rd. Both are

annual events and good fun. The Winchester thing is probably pretty photogenic.

I agree, the area around Goring is superb. Windsor is very touristy but worth looking at, so too are Oxford and Cambridge.

 

I wouldn't bother with Stonehenge though, it may be of unparallelled significance, but when you get there it's something of a let down. Avebury is a little more interesting, to me and you could combine it with trips to see the Vale of White Horse or places like Marlborough.

Some good suggestions above. A word about weather. At this time of year the chances are you will get quite cloudy conditions. The Lake District is a beautiful area but often best seen by walking rather than by car. If you do go to the Lakes make sure you do not miss WasdaleHead which is best accessed (if you are feeling adventurous) by the Wrynose and Hard Knott passes. These require careful driving but are better tried at an off-season time of year as the traffic gets heavy.

 

While at the Lakes you could also have a look at Hadrians Wall (the wall runs alon a Whin Sill which makes it a great opportunity for landscapes). Also the Northumbria coastline is good with castles dotted along it to ward off invading Scots...

 

I would second Peter's suggestion of the Vale of the White Horse especially if the waether is clear.

 

I second the suggestions for Cornwall, particularly the 'heritage coast' from Lands End round to Bedruthan Steps. Quite magnificent.

 

Have a great trip and best of luck with the interview.<div></div>

I'm afraid that you couldn't see the "Best of England" in even a few years! When travelling to foreign countries my wife and I usually were able to find locals that really knew the special places. Often they would become de facto guides to us and would be invited to their homes. What we have seen this way made us realize that England is a very special place not equalled anywhere else!

 

Best of luck!

Hi Everyone,

 

Thanks for all the suggestions -- definitely what I was looking for. I know I can't see the 'all' of the best that England has to offer, but one has to start somewhere...The more I travel the more I appreciate staying in one location and exploring it well, rather than try to take in too many places in too little time. Actually, with just three or four days (and all of that dependent on weather to boot) I sometimes feel 'what's the point?' but this will probably be my only chance to visit the UK for a while, so I'd like to make the most of it.

I was actually attacked as a sort of Yankee imperialist once, for telling a bunch of Brits on a UK photo website that they should quit their whining about not having anything to photograph! I was finally forgiven when I made it clear I was not being a wiseass.

 

Actually, you can go almost anywhere in Britain except _maybe_ the industrial midlands and see incredible historical and natural sights--all within a very short range by continental standards. Mountains, shores, plains, ruins, --an almost endless list. If you like industrial archaeology, even the midlands are fantastic.

 

The current setup at Stonehenge is, indeed, not as nice as it used to be, but Avebury and the other stuff in the vicinity still makes Wiltshire really special.<div></div>

Rachelle, I realised after posting my answer above that my wife and I spent 3 days in the Lakes in March of this year - not the best time of year for photography!. However we had a great time.

 

Looking back at the pictures the first day was spent around Keswick visiting my favourite stone circle (I know, another one, why are we all obsessed with them?) at Castlerigg just outside Keswick, We then continued on to the Langdales, a group of tiny villages below the mountainous Langdale Pike area.

 

Second day was really wet when I got soaked taking the shot of Ullswater. We followed our normal procedure of finding the smallest and most isolated road on the map and exploring the farms and villages there.

 

The third day we drove over the Wrynose and Hard Knott passes stopping frequently to take photos. This road is among the steepst and most remote in UK and often get closed during icy weather but may still be open at the moment. We took the road up to Wasdale Head and the shot below shows the packhorse bridge there - beautiful in any weather.

 

If you do decide to go I am sure you will enjoy it.<div></div>

The website "Walks with a Camera" has lots of great photos which may give you some ideas.

Bath would be a gorgeous place to base yourself. The area around it is beautiful. I have never been to the lake district, but my wife tells me that it is very, very beautiful (and I am making it a point to get there the next time I am back to England). Windsor was also very nice and a short drive from London. Stonehenge is really nice, and I wouldn't take back my trip to see the stones, but I would not consider them to be Earth shattering. Very, very interesting to see, but for me once in a life time (unless my children twist my arm in to taking them to England).<div></div>

Hi Rachelle

 

I'm from Nottingham, which is on the doorstep of another beautiful part of the UK - the county of Derbyshire.

 

Firstly, there are the Derbyshire Dales in the middle of the county, with places like Chatsworth House, and the towns of Bakewell and Matlock. The TV series "Peak Practice" was filmed here in a small town called Crich,near to Matlock, and the recent movie version of "Pride And Prejudice" was filmed at Chatsworth House.

 

And then there's the stunning Peak District National Park in the north of the county - apparently, this is the 2nd most visited national park in the world after Yellowstone Park. It gets 25 million visitors per year. It's very beautful in a rugged kind of way.

 

Anyway, wherever you decide to venture, I do hope you have a lovely time here.

 

Mark.

Another vote for Avebury which is a haunting place early in the morning this time of the year when you are likely to be on your own.

 

The southwest is very beautiful (Somerset, Devon and Cornwall) as are the mountains in central and north Wales (not England of course but easily accessible nevertheless), the Peak District as Mark has mentioned, the Yorkshire Dales and of course the Lake District. If you're tight on time the Peak District will give you a good idea of the range of British landscapes - except for coastlines of course.

The suggestions above are all worth photographing. However if you want to go to a single area where you can occupy yourself happily for 3-4 days then the Lakes stand out for countryside and Cornwall and Devon for coastal scenery, depending on which you'd prefer. These are the top level of photographic opportunity in bulk amongst England's landscapes. The places nearer to London are fine, but would require you to move about to use the time fruitfully, and are in many cases you'll be passing through areas that are a bit dull photographically between shots.

 

Were you to have a longer and be able to visit Scotland or Ireland, my suggestions may well be different.