Favorite spots for photography

[cigardoc]

<p>hello,<br>

i will be in the UK from may 23-29. We will be driving, hitting spots such as Canterbury, Dover, Sissinghurst, Salisbury, Glastonbury, Stonehenge, The Cotswolds, and, God willing some of the Brecon Beacons and St. David's. A bit of a whirlwind trip, although we will be staying for 3 days in Chipping Campden and doing a few day trips from there. I"ve searched the site for info, but now want to get some new info on best and/or favorite places for photos. <br>

i'm shooting e-6 and my wife is shooting digital. we both like landscape and architecture, although will be visiting several gardens as well. thanks in advance for any and all suggestions and recommendations.<br>

david</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>First, whilst the bulk of your trip falls outside school holidays, be aware that the weekend of 28/29/30 is a bank holiday and for many people the beginning of a school holiday week. So assume that airports, roads, hotels etc are likely to be busy and act accordingly. Its not a weekend to be looking to sort out accommodation on the hoof or failing to allow enough time to get to the airport.</p>

<p>I'm pleased you'll be driving since so many tourists seem to assume that you can get a scenic train ride from anywhere to anywhere else pretty much on demand, and sadly it isn't true. The price of fuel will shock you though. </p>

<p>The itinerary you propose is just about do-able, even with three days based in Chipping Campden, but its a stretch. Its going to depnd on how much you like driving and so what the best balance between motoring and sightseeing/photography should be. Personally I hate it when I spend all day in the car and then get a frustratingly small amount of time to see what I've been driving towards, but you might not feel the same. If it were me I'd be inclined to miss the extremities like St Davids and Dover/Canturbury and put together a more comfortablr itinerary around southern central England. </p>

<p>I'd put Bath and Oxford on your list of places to see. I'd swap the heritage coast of Dorset (nicer white cliffs than Dover IMO) for St David's and Pembrokeshire, not because the latter aren't good, but because they are a great deal more accessible if you're going to be visiting Salisbury and Stonehenge anyway. There's good cliffs and country walking and some very pleasant inland villages such as Corfe Castle. From the Cotswolds you can wander aimlessly ofr construct routes around the prettier towns and villages. Its very attractive but IMO hard to photograph well. Here's a random selection of small villages I wouldn't want to miss in a first visit to the Cotswolds</p>

<p>Upper and Lower Slaughters; Bourton on the Water ( touristy) , Bibury, Coln St Aldwyn's, Hatherop, Burford, Woodstock (near Oxford and Blenheim Palace) Stow on the Wold ( tourists) Broadway (tourists) and Snowshill. </p>

<p>Don't assume that you can -or will want to- cover vast mileages quickly in scenic areas. If you're seeing the best of the Cotswolds you'll be lucky to beat 30mph. You don't see the best of the country from motorways. </p>

[Roger G]

<p>You may photograph a lot but will you really "see" or understand anything? Your choice of course but this sounds like the typical "Today's Tuesday so this must be Belgium" whirlwind tour. I'd say stay in one place and get to know and photograph it.</p>

[jyoungman]

<p>If you're going even near Stonehenge, don't miss Avebury (it's a neolithic stone circle too, but wider). Personally I'd skip the town of Salisbury and go to Old Sarum (which _was_ Salisbury until 1220).</p>

 

[colin carron]

<p>I agree with the responses above in that your visit looks do-able but will be a stretch. I agree with David's advice on the Cotswolds and the mention of Avebury along with Stonehenge.</p>

<p>While heading off towards the Brecon beacons you might like to stop off at Tintern Abbey with its picturesque ruins set in a beautiful landscape.</p>

[cigardoc]

<p>thanks for the replies. i realize there are many places to see in the UK and we can never hope to see everything, even on multiple visits. however, your replies have been helpful in obtaining somewhat of a perspective we don't have.<br>

this is our first visit and we've actually trimmed the trip down a bit. we're basically going to take our time, see what we can, and go back another time to see some more. <br>

again, thanks to all.</p>

[aplumpton]

<p>With that short time period and much of it in Chippng Campden why not just walk the Cotswolds, meet locals, go to village markets. Bath is probably as intersting, if not more so, than Oxford, and Wells is not far away if I recall and also Avebury and Old Sarum. Some of my best visits have been to small out of the way villages, but then I prefer that and having some semblance of non touristy village life and contacts to that of the the glitz. Dover and Canterbury apear too far from your main interest. England is like great food (alas, not like most British food, except some simpler pub fare), if you enjoy good eating it is best to take your time with it.</p>

[daverave]

<p>My wife and I did a similar auto tour a few years ago but spent over two weeks doing it so I'm inclined to think that you are biting off an awful lot of mileage. The absolutely quaintest village that we came across was just north of Bath, called Castle Combe. I agree that Avebury is as photogenic as Stonehenge. Bath is very nice and we also spent a couple of days in Chipping Campden and environs. The Durdle Door (Dorset Coast?) is pretty cool including the beach to the west of it.<br>

Remember that many of these village roads you will be driving off of the motorways are very narrow and a challenge while driving on the "wrong" side of the road. It can be stressful when you are in a hurry. And one of you needs to be a very diligent navigator. Don't be afraid to make several loops in a roundabout while you get your bearings.<br>

See this folder for a preview:<br>

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=715419</p>

[tpurvis]

<p>I can relate a personal story on driving too much and thinking you will get to<br />take photos at all. My wife and I took a 11 day trip from Paris, Eastern<br />France, Lake Region of Italy, Venice, Tuscany, Portofino IT and Aix en Provence.<br />We stayed either one day or three in each location. The one day locations, we<br />arrived too late and had to leave too early to spend any quality time taking<br />photos. Imagine driving all day from Siena to Portofino only to arrive with<br />only an hour to photograph the harbor. Three days in Tuscany, three great<br />sunsets, all viewed from the highway and no photos. The most productive time<br />was in Aix where we spend the majority of our time just walking around the Old<br />Town and hitting the various markets.<br>

My advice is to slow down and enjoy what is in front of you. For me, all of Europe<br />is interesting and worthy of my attention. I am thankful that I can check<br />Venice off my bucket list. And I did return with several hundred images to add<br />to my portfolio, but most of the trip was a blur.<br>

Our next adventure is 13 nights in Paris. I plan on doing it right and enjoy the<br />city along with photography. I would suggest you do the same. Good luck and<br />post your work.</p>