Short break ideas

G

Ginge 2

Well-known member
So, for the first time in 25 years Mrs G and me have a few days off together.
Two weeks ago we took the kids ( young adults, 3 of them, 24,23,18 to NYC. Fabulous once in a lifetime break.
We have from next Sunday to Wednesday off together.
Obviously fairly potless after the Big Apple but looking for a bit of a early week, Sunday to Wednesday type of trip......

Where do you all recommended. UK or abroad....limited budget of about £500 plus spends for 3 nights.

Any ideas of destinations or websites welcome, but not a beech destination, not for us.
TIA....
 
Ginge 2 said:
So, for the first time in 25 years Mrs G and me have a few days off together.
Two weeks ago we took the kids ( young adults, 3 of them, 24,23,18 to NYC. Fabulous once in a lifetime break.
We have from next Sunday to Wednesday off together.
Obviously fairly potless after the Big Apple but looking for a bit of a early week, Sunday to Wednesday type of trip......

Where do you all recommended. UK or abroad....limited budget of about £500 plus spends for 3 nights.

Any ideas of destinations or websites welcome, but not a beech destination, not for us.
TIA....
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Kirkby Lonsdale we love it.
 
Ginge 2 said:
So, for the first time in 25 years Mrs G and me have a few days off together.
Two weeks ago we took the kids ( young adults, 3 of them, 24,23,18 to NYC. Fabulous once in a lifetime break.
We have from next Sunday to Wednesday off together.
Obviously fairly potless after the Big Apple but looking for a bit of a early week, Sunday to Wednesday type of trip......

Where do you all recommended. UK or abroad....limited budget of about £500 plus spends for 3 nights.

Any ideas of destinations or websites welcome, but not a beech destination, not for us.
TIA....
Click to expand...
So, no trees for you then. Me and wife like to take a cottage in this country. We've set ourselves a target of visiting all of the English and Welsh cathedrals and if that coincides with an away match, even better. So, last season we took a cottage near Leamington Spa and, after visiting Coventry's two cathedrals on the Saturday morning (then attending Tommy Hutch's book signing), I did Coventry City in the afternoon - wife isn't a footy fan. This season we took a very rural cottage near Starcross in Devon where we did Exeter Cathedral on the Friday and I did the Exeter City game on the Saturday.
 
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Mrs TJ and myself take short breaks in the UK whenever we get a chance. Needless to say, places like York, Harrogate, Chester, the Lakes, Peak District, Shropshire, Edinburgh etc are well known and very good. For a one off, I recommend Knutsford in Cheshire, not just a M6 service station but a quaint little town surrounded by other lovely towns like Nantwich. Try one of the spa hotels in the area like Cottons. Book through Secret Escapes and get nice extras like a room upgrade and bottle of wine.
 
Think Hoseasons are offering 3 night caravan breaks at around 100 gbp, just pick an area you want to explore
 
When Blackpool Airport was open we did a quick 3 day, 2 night weekend to Palma. So convenient & there in no time. Obviously not an option now 🙄
 
Liverpool is a good short break place. last there in 2014 to see the Human League. plenty of sight seeing . peoples museum albert dock . its very walkable. prices still reasonable. Planned to go there for our recent fortieth anniversary but sort of didnt happen with recently moving,
 
2 of mine and the Mrs' favourites have already been mentioned, Chester and Liverpool. Both great cities with a lot to do, plenty to see and loads of great places to eat and drink.
 
Another vote from Liverpool from me. You should get a decent hotel for around £200 for Sun, Mon & Tue nights. Lots to do and see, hot water comedy club has free admission on select nights and a good laugh. Loads of great food and drinking places too. Stick to the early evening set menu etc, sure places like Browns/miller and carter have 3 course deals for under £20 from 12-5
 
1966_and_all_that said:
So, no trees for you then. Me and wife like to take a cottage in this country. We've set ourselves a target of visiting all of the English and Welsh cathedrals and if that coincides with an away match, even better. So, last season we took a cottage near Leamington Spa and, after visiting Coventry's two cathedrals on the Saturday morning (then attending Tommy Hutch's book signing), I did Coventry City in the afternoon - wife isn't a footy fan. This season we took a very rural cottage near Starcross in Devon where we did Exeter Cathedral on the Friday and I did the Exeter City game on the Saturday.
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We went to Winchester Cathedral before we played Southampton. What a place that is.
 
glasshalffull said:
What’s been your favourite Cathedral so far ‘66 ?
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York Minster for its glass and the underpinning of its foundations. Ely for its decoration under the roof, Coventry for allowing our dog in and Carlisle for being better than I expected. I would also add Liverpool Anglican for being so bloody big but I've not done it with the wife yet so it doesn't count. Oh, and St. David's is really quaint.
 
St-Davids is lovely. Not been inside any of the others on your list. I think York Minster was over £20, and I was too tight on the day. Will go in on your recommendation next time I am there.
I am a big fan of Wells, Salisbury and Canterbury myself.
 
glasshalffull said:
What’s been your favourite Cathedral so far ‘66 ?
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I like Gloucester for its important stained glass window celebrating the English victory at Crecy in 1346 and the Cloisters. And Lincoln because it’s huge and has a magnificent high position, though it’s quite bare inside. I have not yet visited Durham but it’s high on the list. I like Salisbury too for its setting in the cathedral close.

Recently we have been touring Spanish cathedrals such as Santiago de Compostela, León, Burgos, Santo Domingo etc. They tend to be much more ornate (Plateresque) than English medieval cathedrals and filled with huge golden altars and massive paintings, all paid for by silver and gold looted from South America in the 1500s. Sometimes they are overwhelming in their richness but the art and sculpture can be magnificent.

We stayed in Spanish Government Parador hotels, which are often castles or palaces or converted monasteries, usually historic buildings, minimum 4-star sometimes 5-star which is a great experience. They do some good 3 and 5 night deals on their website or through Keytours/Keytel agents in London often for about £80-100 B&B per room but £200 for León say. And we just fly EasyJet to the nearest city, usually for less than £100 pp rtn.
 
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glasshalffull said:
St-Davids is lovely. Not been inside any of the others on your list. I think York Minster was over £20, and I was too tight on the day. Will go in on your recommendation next time I am there.
I am a big fan of Wells, Salisbury and Canterbury myself.
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There's loads we've yet to do, including Wells Canterbury and Salisbury. York has tickets that last a year. We went in February for a few nights to celebrate my wife's and two friends' birthdays. A friend and his wife went first then we used their tickets and split the difference.
 
Ginge, I signed up as a free member to a website called TravelZoo. Every day they send you one email with links to offers they have negotiated. At this time of year, bigger hotels want to fill rooms, so they often give 33% discount and sometimes 50% on 2 and 3 night B&B breaks and sometimes with dinner thrown in too (though there is usually a £25pp dinner limit excluding drinks). Hotels can be all over the country, Scotland, Yorkshire, Snowdonia etc and their tripadvisor reviews are usually pretty good. Obviously, mid-week stays are better value than the weekend and there is more availability.

The only inconvenience is that sometimes you have to faff around with vouchers for your booking and you have to be quick out of the blocks for the best offers.

TravelZoo also provide summaries of web links for cruises, luxury train travel, foreign holidays etc. It’s a useful alternative to reading the Travel pages in the Telegraph etc. Here’s an example, for 2 nights for 2 people... that’s right, £149 total.

£149—2-night Suffolk Broads break with dinner, save £408​

Ivy House Country Hotel​


 
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Archibald Knox said:
I like Gloucester for its important stained glass window celebrating the English victory at Crecy in 1346 and the Cloisters. And Lincoln because it’s huge and has a magnificent high position, though it’s quite bare inside. I have not yet visited Durham but it’s high on the list. I like Salisbury too for its setting in the cathedral close.

Recently we have been touring Spanish cathedrals such as Santiago de Compostela, León, Burgos, Santo Domingo etc. They tend to be much more ornate (Plateresque) than English medieval cathedrals and filled with huge golden altars and massive paintings, all paid for by silver and gold looted from South America in the 1500s. Sometimes they are overwhelming in their richness but the art and sculpture can be magnificent.

We stayed in Spanish Government Parador hotels, which are often castles or palaces or converted monasteries, usually historic buildings, minimum 4-star sometimes 5-star which is a great experience. They do some good 3 and 5 night deals on their website or through Keytours/Keytel agents in London often for about £80-100 B&B per room but £200 for León say. And we just fly EasyJet to the nearest city, usually for less than £100 pp rtn.
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We did the Cathedral in Barcelona a few years ago. Lots of side chapels and quite impressive. Of course, the advantage that European countries have, (France, Italy & Spain), is that they didn't have Henry VIII.
 
Archibald Knox said:
I like Gloucester for its important stained glass window celebrating the English victory at Crecy in 1346 and the Cloisters. And Lincoln because it’s huge and has a magnificent high position, though it’s quite bare inside. I have not yet visited Durham but it’s high on the list. I like Salisbury too for its setting in the cathedral close.

Recently we have been touring Spanish cathedrals such as Santiago de Compostela, León, Burgos, Santo Domingo etc. They tend to be much more ornate (Plateresque) than English medieval cathedrals and filled with huge golden altars and massive paintings, all paid for by silver and gold looted from South America in the 1500s. Sometimes they are overwhelming in their richness but the art and sculpture can be magnificent.

We stayed in Spanish Government Parador hotels, which are often castles or palaces or converted monasteries, usually historic buildings, minimum 4-star sometimes 5-star which is a great experience. They do some good 3 and 5 night deals on their website or through Keytours/Keytel agents in London often for about £80-100 B&B per room but £200 for León say. And we just fly EasyJet to the nearest city, usually for less than £100 pp rtn.
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Archie, I didn't know that about Gloucester Cathedral. It's now jumped up our list a few notches.
 
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tommytwojags said:
Mrs TJ and myself take short breaks in the UK whenever we get a chance. Needless to say, places like York, Harrogate, Chester, the Lakes, Peak District, Shropshire, Edinburgh etc are well known and very good. For a one off, I recommend Knutsford in Cheshire, not just a M6 service station but a quaint little town surrounded by other lovely towns like Nantwich. Try one of the spa hotels in the area like Cottons. Book through Secret Escapes and get nice extras like a room upgrade and bottle of wine.
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Knutsford…crickey….though Tatton Park is worth a visit….just be aware that it is in direct line to MIA for either take offs or landings….and it is considered “posh”😂 by many….but it is very accessible 😉
 
Fly to Bergamo for £39 each ( plus bags )
Great little city and easy access to Milan and Como ( and even Verona ) for day trips
Stay in the old town if you can
 
1966_and_all_that said:
Archie, I didn't know that about Gloucester Cathedral. It's now jumped up our list a few notches.
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It has also got the tomb of Edward II at the side of the nave (the soft boy king in the film Braveheart), who was murdered in nearby Berkeley Castle with a red hot poker thrust up his arse. No outward signs of violence on his corpse, you see.
 
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