<p>I will be traveling in October to London and then on to Wales to visit my son (he is attending a school there).</p>
<p>Other than the typical tourist sites in London, what should I see while I am there? My son will join us for 4 days and his passion is world religions (and religious architecture). </p>
<p>Any recommendations? What is the weather going to be like?</p>
<p>I don’t know what you would call “typical tourist sites.” St Paul’s of course, but how about the Brompton Oratorium in South Kensington? St John’s in Smith Square (a stone’s throw from Downing Street) was the site of many classical music concerts when we lived there. It is not outstanding in visual terms, but the acoustics are wonderful.
Not religious architecture, but an architectural wonder: the Soanes museum in London.
I haven’t been to London since a lot of new construction was done. S who was there more recently liked the Barbican’s modern architecture.
The weather in October is likely to be “changeable” as the BBC radio used to announce.</p>
<p>thanks marite – my parents (they are both 70) will be coming with me (actually, they are paying!). I have never been to the UK and my parents visited about 20 years ago.</p>
<p>My dad is busy planning what we want to see – but there is so very much. My son is attending school about 45 minutes south of Cardiff in Wales, so we are thinking of taking the train from London to Cardiff and stopping along the way to see Stratford-upon-Avon and the Cotswolds. Other than that, we haven’t decided what to see.</p>
<p>We will be in London for 2 days before we go pick up my son – and then he will be with us for 4 days. He is also spending the summer in Cambridge and I have a feeling he will have seen some of the most common sites already and we don’t want to repeat.</p>
<p>My son is most interested in “houses of worship” – cathedrals, mosques and temples especially those with some real history. He also loves monasteries. He is a bit of a maniac for religious architecture – but we will have to compromise, since my parents think he is a nut (and he is).</p>
<p>I ordered the DK book on London and Great Britain and I will look up the places you suggested.</p>
<p>I second the Soane Museum. I like the National Portrait Gallery. And in Wales you should go see the beautiful ruin of Tinturn Abbey. (Bring a copy of the Wordsworth poem with you.) <a href=“http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Poetry/WordsworthTinternAbbey.htm[/url]”>http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Poetry/WordsworthTinternAbbey.htm</a></p>
<p>Bath is pretty close to Wales and great for Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen fans. The Roman baths there are cool. Try the water!</p>
<p>How about the Lakes District?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/features/lake.shtml[/url]”>http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/features/lake.shtml</a></p>
<p>Brompton Oratory is good because it is near to many museums (V&A, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, etc) so your son could go and indulge his interest in religious architecture while you and your parents can see something else.</p>
<p>You could also see Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral (which is not the same place)</p>
<p>In October, it will be Ramadan…</p>
<p>The Lakes District is goregous, but a bit far afield for someone on a very short stay.</p>
<p>Bath is wonderful. I’ve just been watching the BBC 1995 video of Persuasion which takes place in Bath, and I’m reminded how wonderful that city is. It’s close to Wells with its cathedral, too.
Besides the National Portrait Gallery, the V&A is pretty wonderful, too, in its own quirky way. If I remember correctly, it had a throne used by a Chinese emperor.</p>
<p>I would consider making the drive between London and Wales, stopping for a night in Bath if you want to take it slow. You will really need a car once you get to Wales to get around and see the small towns.</p>
<p>I was in Wales during the summer and it rained and hailed while being bone chilling cold. London a few days before was warm and overcast.</p>
<p>Cardiff Stadium.</p>
<p>I’ve been to Bath many times (and even dumb enough to drink the water from the pump room) but I thought it was more South, nearer to Bristol right? Maybe a visit to the Brunel Suspencion bridge(first suspencion bridge?) near Bristol and visit the SSS Great Britain (the first ironship).
I never had time to visit Cotsworld but I heard that is the place to visit and perhaps Shakespear birthplace(Stratford-upon-Avon) nearby.</p>
<p>Stay in Bloomsbury and avoid the more corporate hotels. See the Rosetta Stone and go see whatever the Royal Shakespeare Company has produced no matter what. You won’t believe how much English comes alive in their hands. British theater is as central to western civilization as anything you can experience in Europe. Be prepared for things closing up rather early after theater time though…everyone toddles to bed. Eat in pubs for lunch.</p>
<p>The Cotswalds are not to be missed. I don’t think it is possible to do England justice in a rush so basing in London with day trips to Oxford and other outings can be a good solution.</p>
<p>Well, since you’ll be heading west to Wales anyway, stop at Salisbury out in Wiltshire and see the cathedral. Salisbury Cathedral is the model for Trollope’s Barchester Cathedral. It’s ancient, archtecturally interesting, and they have a Magna Carta there.</p>
<p>Plus Stonehenge is nearby. You could catch it on the same trip.</p>
<p>When in London, I think riding the London Eye is an awesome way to get a full view of the city. </p>
<p>I second everything that’s been said about Bath (including the water from the pump room); it’s well worth the trip. </p>
<p>If you do the London Tower tour (very interesting), which is right next to the London Eye, be sure to pay the extra to get the official tour with the Beefeaters… they add so much insight and color to the tour.</p>
<p>If you do the British Museum (in Bloomsbury where someone else suggested), study about it ahead of time and pick a handful of areas you wish to visit, otherwise you could spend your whole time in London there, alone. It’s also where the Rosetta Stone is. </p>
<p>Windsor Castle (including St. George’s chapel) is a 1/2 train ride from Paddington Station, and also a beautiful spot.</p>
<p>Regarding weather… be prepared for anything. I was there the first week of April, expecting rain and temps in the 50s and 60s. It didn’t rain a drop the whole time I was there, and was in the mid to upper 70s every day.</p>
<p>By the way, when I was there, I, too, was visiting my daughter who was studying abroad for the semester. By the time I visited her, she really had a feel for what things not to miss, etc., based on things her friends had done with their visiting relatives prior to my coming - so your son may be able to clarify and plan an agenda once he’s been there a while based on what he learns and hears.</p>
<p>One more opinion… with so much to do, on my daughter’s recommendation, I passed on Stonehenge. I may do it someday, but she wasn’t all that impressed with it and it really takes up a lot of one day that you could be seeing several sites.</p>
<p>I would pass Stonehenge too and second the London Eye.</p>
<p>Do visit the Hindu Temple in the suburbs (I remember passing the Wimbledon train stop on the way)- they have an informative museum as well. The Tower of London is worth it. Skip the Wax Museum. Visit Harrods. See the changing of the guard and the “usual” places to visit, most are worth it- you need a lot more time than you will have. Enjoy.</p>
<p>One of our family’s favorite sites in London is Hampton Court Palace - even more fun if you happen to be there on a special event day. Full of Henry Viii history.</p>
<p>My favorite part of our London trip was the locking of the Gates at the Tower of London. You have to write for tickets (check their website) and get them for a specific date. They only allow a few people in and you get to see the guards go through the process that has been used for hundereds of years. I thought it was a great evening. It does happen late so the rest of the night is shot, but it was worth it.</p>
<p>if you’d like to do classic tourist stuff.<br>
<p>PS - be VERY careful crossing the street. I actually find driving in England OK but I make many more mistakes walking as I constantly look the wrong way before stepping into traffic!</p>
<p>I would go back to London just to have more time in Harrods. That place was so much fun. We loved the tube, also. As for Wales, Cardiff was a little boring to us. There’s a nice castle, but otherwise it seemed to be just a slightly depressed area. We drove to Wales from London, hitting Stonehenge and Bath along the way. Stonehenge was really fun, and we happened to hit it on a day when Druids were doing a solstice ceremony. Seeing little Druid kids in white robes wearing sneakers and holding cans of coke was awesome! In Wales, we went to an amazing place …<a href=“http://www.llanthony.co.uk/main.html[/url]”>http://www.llanthony.co.uk/main.html</a>, which has a really old abbey with a very old pub in the basement. We had a gorgeous and terrifying horseback experience there. The Cotswolds were very pretty, but quite a drive. Driving in England/Wales was very scary for us. Few highways and hardly any road signs…no stop signs. People see traffic rules as suggestions. The country lanes are extremely narrow and go one way, so going around a bend is an experience. Have a blast!</p>