My visit to the United Kingdom.

[Kill Switch]

To all you Brits, (is that appropriate?).



My family and I will be going to London in June.  Probably stay for eight to ten days.  I would like to see Stonehenge, go to the Ace Cafe and also go to a real pub where I can drink real dark beer and chat.    The wife wants to see the palace and other tourist places.  Any other suggestions?  A soccer game might be fun.  



Thanks,



Rick

[trotts]

The list is Endless !  you will be out of luck to see a game as the season ends early May.  Season kicks off again early August !



If you are leaving London and going to Stonehenge then the Royal City of Bath is close to hand. Very English  :)

[abell]

Bath is a must if you are going to Stonehenge.



When I took my wife (she's American I'm English) over she absolutely loved both. I have always been a bit nonplussed by Stonehenge so I was surprised by that, since I always expect people to be disappointed.



If you can get up to the area, Warwick Castle is superb. That's my favorite part of the country anyway. I must have taken 10 or 15 American visitors there and they all loved it.



Real pubs are easy to find, but less so than they used to be  : (



Covent Garden and such all need to be done while you're in the city. London Eye a bit of a non-event IMHO.



Otherwise my only recommendation is to try to eat lots of pies and avoid the thousands of pizza places.

[greg]

Yup, it's ok to call us Brits, you can call us anything you like except late for dinner.

I live in Devon so probably a bit too far from the where you want to be, but have a great time anyway!

[ChrisN]

If you're a die-hard Triumph fan, and to replace the football (soccer?) match, don't forget to take your family on the factory tour at Hinkley!



Either way, have a great time.

[Chris Canning]

Hi Rick



I also have an 1100s know quite a few of the guys of the board,so when one of the American lads came over we meet up and had a great time,we took him to the recently re-opened bike Museum here in B'ham,obviously being based in the Midlands i'm biased but the suggestion for Warwick castle and the surrounding area is certainly a good one.



The guy we meet came from California so the weather was a shock(came just after Christmas),as was the exchange rate for the dollar,he left his wife and kids shopping in London while he came up but told us afterwards that he'd wished he'd brought his own jar of Vaseline!!!! if he'd have known how badly he was going to get shafted with the price of goods over here!!!!



Chris

[abell]

I got married in Worcs in 2004 and it was a lot more expensive than I was anticipating, thanks to that exchange rate!



It really is brutal - everything is more expensive to begin with, plus your money is being devalued at the point of exchange.



Just don't sit down and add up what a nice dinner out is costing, and don't go visiting Jack Lilley's, could get expensive.

[Mr Mistoffelees]

Kill Switch,



There is loads to do in London:

- Theatre / musicals twice a day (big choice),

- Loads of fancy Art Galleries,

- check out the local gig / concert guides if you want to see some live music,

- Spend a lunch time hanging around St James Park, gather a hamper (include wine), hire a deck chair or use a rug and waste a good couple of hours getting fat and drunk whilst soaking up the atmosphere,

- Stand at the back of the Old Bailey and boo the unfortunate souls being escorted in by the police (top fun),

- All major museums are now free (history, Science, War, moving image etc)

- Walk around the back streets of the old city and discover the curiosity shops, architecture,

- Soho is a must for errr unusual stuff (just remember customs on way home and think of the embarrassment it could cause)

- If you like Chinese food head to China Town for some top restaurants,

- Do a guided Jack the Ripper murder walk, not expensive and good fun,

- St Paul's cathedral (climb up to the whispering chamber),

- Cruise the River Thames + good boat restaurants,

- Night clubs in the evening,

+ all the usual tourist stuff like palace, Tower Of London, and Madame Tussards etc, but beware they can be expensive !.



To be honest there is so much to do / places to see (you could go every weekend for a year and not see it all) for all tastes, just have fun.



Top tip, buy a travel card to get around London (central zones) after 9:30am, costs about £3 to £5 and allows you to use all the buses, underground and trains within zone area all day as many times as you want.



Word of advice, London is a pretty safe city and well policed with no guns, but as with all major cities there is an element of scum. So make sure you carry your wallet in your front pocket and discourage the wife / girlfriend from wearing flash jewellery on display, donÌt walk around with a map out (it clearly makes you an easy target) and use black cabs only not private mini cabs

[knarf]

Go to the RedLion pub in Avesbury, theres a bike meet every Wednesday and the village is right in the middle of a stone circle. You can stay there as well which should be fun since its the most haunted building in the world).



http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/villages/redlion.shtml (http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/villages/redlion.shtml)



http://www.zincalloy.150m.com/meetups.html (http://www.zincalloy.150m.com/meetups.html)