One
of our Road Scholars once said "If I awoke and found myself to be alive
and well and living in London, then I would know I passed away in my
sleep from the night before, and made it to Heaven." Yet without
skipping a beat, he would freely tell you that there is far more to
Great Britain that London. In fact, leaving London for other cities in
the British Isles may make the most economic sense as one can find the
costs of London can limit ones budget. Some of our favorite cities are
Oxford, Cambridge, and New Castle Upon Tyne. Hadrian's wall is still
visible on the western side of New Castle, and the city can boast a
rich and robust urban attractions.
In the center of New
Castle is the Grainger Market, the Eldon Square Shopping Center, and
the city was has been listed in the Top Ten places for nightlife in
Great Britain. There are many pubs and nightclubs in "The Bigg Market"
and Quayside area of the city center with even more offerings on
Collingwood Street, Neville
Street, Central Station and along the Osborne Road. Recently, an new
indoor complex of bars, upmarket clubs, restaurants and a 12-screen
cinema has been developed.
Near the Times Square area, there are several venues that cater to LBG interests in a district known as "The Pink Triangle."
There
are no shortage of restaurant venues in New Castle. Italian, Indian,
Persian, Japanese, Greek, French, are freely available and a vibrant
chinatown area has many asian offerings as well. In addition, there
are no shortages of Pubs that offer a wide range of dinner fare at very
reasonable prices.
New
Castle also hosts many theater venues. The Theater Royal on Grey Street
opened in 1837, has hosted the Royal Shakesperean Theater Company for
almost 30 years, as well as many West End touring shows. For those
seeking a more Volksbund theatrical experience, there is The
Journal Tyne Theater, the Northern Stage, Live Theater, the People's
Theater, The Round, and the Jubilee Theater which produces award
winning local productions.
In Late January and early February,
there is a wonderful Chinese New year festival in the Chinatown
district followed by the Sciencefest every march. The New Castle Beer
Festival takes place every April followed by the Evolution Music
Festival and the North East Art Expo every May followed by the Hoppins
Traveling Fair arriving in New Castle each June.
London is 40 square miles and hosts over 7 and a half million people making it very expensive.
If one wished to make a trip to Great Britain with a limited budget, a really smart plan could be to avoid London all together, and fly to Scotland or Northern England. In the off season, a person can rent a 4 person Country Cottage in a Northern Countryside village for about 50 dollars per person per night for an entire week. Cottages that house smaller and larger traveling parties are also available for far less than a London hotel with lodging that is dripping with charm, and allowing one to take in the British Countryside visiting Castles and villages, ancient ruins, and national parks to your hearts content. Then one could go to New Castle for one of their annual festivals, explore the pubs, restaurants, nightlife, take in a West End Show on tour from London, an RSC production, the contemporary arts museum, concert or musical venue.
New Castle has an urban rail system just like London but is less than 1 million people, making it easier to get around the city with much less expense.
Air France recently concluded an off season sale for airline tickets to and from Europe to be only 149 dollars each way. If one planned a visit between March and early May, one could find the off season rates and even short notice specials for every travel service, including tickets, rental cars, hotels, and of course, authentic holiday cottages in the British countryside....making a dream trip to Great Britain as cost effective as any travel destination in the United States.
If you go, we definitely recommend Dales Holiday Cottages for some wonderful places to stay at affordable rates that are dripping with charm. One thing that is nice about Dales Holiday Cottages is that they seem to cater to visitors within Great Britain. One can therefor meet many more local residents and learn more about the area, the history, the legend and lore, local anecdotes and surrounding events than one could ever do in a hotel that catered mostly to foreign travelers. Its a great way to immerse yourself in the British experience and make new acquaintances during ones travels.
