[Archived] Days out

[ABBEY]

We went to Keswick today .. 1st time . Took ages driving due to a massive crash apperently . We ended up getting there via a single track lane with gates that needed opening and shutting . What a cool place it seems , it's like a chilled Windermere /bowness ..

Any tips for a decent hotel at good price for a weekend in a couple of months ?

[Rover95]

I stayed at the Keswick Country House hotel (I think it was called that) for my 40th a couple of years ago . Gorgeous old hotel.. Not sure of the price as it was a present .

Anyone got any good suggestions for a good day out for Monday ?

[patrickvalery]

I stayed at the Keswick Country House hotel (I think it was called that) for my 40th a couple of years ago . Gorgeous old hotel.. Not sure of the price as it was a present .

Anyone got any good suggestions for a good day out for Monday ?

I took my lads up to Warwick Castle last Thursday and i can't say i'd recommend that. Someone round every bleeding corner trying to rob me blind. Only paid £40 for us all to get in, but everything in there cost a fortune. I can't even say i enjoyed the £6.75 hot dog!

[ABBEY]

My cousin flies the birds there

[cn174]

Was thinking to go to Warwick Castle on tuesday actually...hmmm

Yesterday we went for a ride out to Blackpool. There's a new exhibition in the Winter Gardens called Illuminasia which is really pretty cool. I thought it was going to be a display of 'the illuminations' but inside, but it was a whole place of art made by some CHinese artists using silk and lights. It was £12 for adults, cant remember for kids.

http://www.illuminasia.co.uk/#!illuminasia-blackpool-images/cmvr

[ABBEY]

Were going the pleasure beach next week using tesco vouchers

[tomphil]

I took my lads up to Warwick Castle last Thursday and i can't say i'd recommend that. Someone round every bleeding corner trying to rob me blind. Only paid £40 for us all to get in, but everything in there cost a fortune. I can't even say i enjoyed the £6.75 hot dog!

Not been to Warwick Castle for a couple of years but last time had similar experiences of people in yer face at every turn trying to get you to part with brass and everything being expensive. Years ago it was a great day out but now probably over commercialised like everything else.

[Guest Norbert]

I took my lads up to Warwick Castle last Thursday and i can't say i'd recommend that. Someone round every bleeding corner trying to rob me blind. Only paid £40 for us all to get in, but everything in there cost a fortune. I can't even say i enjoyed the £6.75 hot dog!

Studied that place as part of a post grad diploma. It is pretty s__t. The castle itself is good, but it really has a tacky tourist trap feel to it.

The Big Pit in Wales is far better: http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/bigpit/ The topic may not be not get you at first, but it is actually a good example of how a big lottery grant can be spent well.

[Rover95]

We're off to Jungle Parc today.. Similar to Go Ape but they have a course for younger kids which we did with ours a few years ago. They'll be able to do the main one this time !

A good day out with older kids (7+) is Manley Mere.. Take a change of clothes though!

[Tom]

after taking suggestions on twitter today we had a picnic by the stream at downham and the little one had a paddle, then an ice cream at Chatburn, lovely day.

Heading to the pleasure beach in may for his birthday.

Currently got £200 in national rail vouchers that I need to use by November, not sure where to head to with those

[ABBEY]

chatburn pies mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Baz]

Love Keswick, there are literally hundreds of B&Bs within a stones throw of the town (go-lakes website is good for accommodation).The cartwheel is my fave, but theres little to choose between them. If your looking more upmarket the Skiddaw Hotel or the Keswick Arms, both overlooking the square are pretty good too.

Pubs, got to be the Dog & Gun for the locally brewed real ale and a good atmosphere (goulash is good too).

[Tom]

Went over to ribble steam railway this morning

Little un loved it, cost us £12 altogether we went up and down the route a couple of times

[Doug]

Love Keswick, there are literally hundreds of B&Bs within a stones throw of the town (go-lakes website is good for accommodation).The cartwheel is my fave, but theres little to choose between them. If your looking more upmarket the Skiddaw Hotel or the Keswick Arms, both overlooking the square are pretty good too.

Pubs, got to be the Dog & Gun for the locally brewed real ale and a good atmosphere (goulash is good too).

Every year I go with a bunch of pals for a long weekend to grange at the other end of Derwent. We do a decent couple of walks and always have a good drink in Keswick.

Tend to go towards Christmas when the lights are up in the centre and often snow on the ground, it's always a good break.

Oh, and the 'olde keswickian' chippy is always worth a visit!

[JAL]

If you want a good day out ....or two..... then look no further than Liverpool..... especially if its a blue sky day as theres plenty to see and do far better than Manchester folks.

Parking is expensive in the city but for three pounds a day up till 9.30pm, Kings car park opposite Wapping dock off the Strand road is best price boss.

[yoda]

If you want a good day out ....or two..... then look no further than Liverpool..... especially if its a blue sky day as theres plenty to see and do far better than Manchester folks.

Parking is expensive in the city but for three pounds a day up till 9.30pm, Kings car park opposite Wapping dock off the Strand road is best price boss.

The best time to visit Paris is in August when the French leave for the south, does something similar apply to Liverpool ?

[colin]

If you've got kids about 13 - 14 or under this is a good place http://www.theforbiddencorner.co.uk/

[Willie Eckerslike]

Change of location here but has anybody been to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in London? It's basically The Making of Harry Potter. Heard a lot about it before we went and just wondered what anyone else thought of it.

We went in March. If you're into Harry Potter its great.

Lots of props and sets. Explanations of how they make certain things happen and how the animations work.

Tons of photo opportunities with items like the flying Anglia, Privet Drive, wizards chess

You can sup butterbeer (tastes a bit like cream soda and £3 for half a pint)

Walk down Diagon Alley and see the fantastic scale model of Hogwarts and the grounds

Be careful in the shop or you might have to get a second mortgage!

All in all we are all glad we went. I'm sure you'll enjoy it

[JAL]

The best time to visit Paris is in August when the French leave for the south, does something similar apply to Liverpool ?

Been pleasantly surprised by Liverpool. Its literally on our door step, has a vast, vast array of interests other than just shopping, though the shopping it must be said is far more relaxed than it is in Manchester due to the seemingly lack of numbers in comparison.

The number of museums is staggering with most of them free. The two cathedrals are definite musts to visit, along with so, so much more.

[Al]

We went in March. If you're into Harry Potter its great.

Lots of props and sets. Explanations of how they make certain things happen and how the animations work.

Tons of photo opportunities with items like the flying Anglia, Privet Drive, wizards chess

You can sup butterbeer (tastes a bit like cream soda and £3 for half a pint)

Walk down Diagon Alley and see the fantastic scale model of Hogwarts and the grounds

Be careful in the shop or you might have to get a second mortgage!

All in all we are all glad we went. I'm sure you'll enjoy it

Anything to do with Harry Potter is to be avoided like the plague. (Possible exception of Emma Watson).

[gumboots]

did Skipton on Bank Holiday Monday. Castle was good. £7.30 which is quite pricy but it kept the little lad we had with us quiet, and since there were a dozen of us it was cheaper. Loads going on down by the canal - music festival and a guy with owls. Market in full swing and loads of places to eat. Good day.

[yoda]

We went at the weekend while we were down in London. I'm just glad we didn't make a dedicated trip for it. I guess we were expecting some sort of Universal Studios type of attraction but we just found it a bit tedious. It's basically a museum of props and sets. I guess it pays to do your research before you go!

We're definitely in the minority according to TripAdvisor, though. People absolutely love it. I'm just a bit surprised at the hype after having been there.

Trip Advisor is not the best way to find out about places, they are fending off a lot of legal cases now for allowing libelous comments to be posted with no regard to the effect on the businesses concerned and no checks to verify postings.

Once a business appears on Trip Advisor (with or without the owners consent) it is virtually impossible to remove it.

Which means open day for professional complainers.

[Al]

Trip Advisor is not the best way to find out about places, they are fending off a lot of legal cases now for allowing libelous comments to be posted with no regard to the effect on the businesses concerned and no checks to verify postings.

Once a business appears on Trip Advisor (with or without the owners consent) it is virtually impossible to remove it.

Which means open day for professional complainers.

I have found Tripadvisor to be very useful. If comments have an effect on businesses then they probably should get their places in order. You can only win a libel case if the comments are not true and if your hotel is worth it you get lots of positive feedback. I use it all the time and I find that I rarely have to make negative comments because I have researched the hotels before I go. Tripadvisor prevents me from going to poor hotels, which is what it was set up for. If you get bad reports there is probably a reason.

[Rover95]

I agree Al. I use trip advisor a lot to check out different places. If there are bad recent reviews then I would avoid like the plague. It is useful for hotels, restaurants & attractions.

However, I used it to check out musicals in the west end and found that most of them were highly rated with little difference between them. We chose a musical based on the reviews and I must say it wasn't great.. Each to their own I guess